Buff shields.

[Brannigan]

Well, you could get 40% with the upgraded tower shield from Gerolt, but there wasn't a higher level tower shield than that. There wasn't a higher level buckler than Diamond, for that matter. We're only a little behind right now. Prytwen is 22%, and I seem to recall Holy Shield being something around 21-24. Gordian shield is 29%. I doubt we'll catch up to shields in their heyday (Diamond Shield with crazy STR giving like 40% block rate with 20+ power) but whatever. I don't like that they dumbed down stats even further, but it's not like it was really a choice before.

Rather than just straight up buffing shields, I'd like if a stat could modify power or rate again - just not a free stat, like STR was. Maybe attach it to parry or something. Anything to get some real mitigation stats going.

[Jpec07]

I don't like that they dumbed down stats even further, but it's not like it was really a choice before.

I don't mind that they tried to make stats a bit more approachable. I do mind that they did a crappy job of thinking it through, and made what feels like arbitrary decisions surrounding how different stats work and interact.

[Shurrikhan]

I don't mind that they tried to make stats a bit more approachable. I do mind that they did a crappy job of thinking it through, and made what feels like arbitrary decisions surrounding how different stats work and interact.

To be honest, the only two factors were pretty reasonable ones -- strength for more block strength, dexterity for more block rate... The only way that might have been improved upon would be if Vitality also provided a bit, while Strength provided less, if paired with a few other Fending Accessory balancing changes (seriously, our tank accs provide no survivability increase once reaching minimum eHP...). That, or, as Brannigan said, giving us some actual secondary stats to play around with as tanks. To be honest, though, I'm not certain I want PLD's physical mitigation to scale *that* much better than the other two tanks as gear improves, least of all where it might later prevent them from being reasonably buffed in other, less RNG-dependent areas. As long as their physical passive miti is fine right now (they're already top in true passive phys miti), I'd really rather seem them get as close as they can to on par with the other tanks in other ways.

Pipedream: I wish blocks weren't just parries with a different scalar. Also wish parries worked a bit more like, well, parries. Would have loved to see Blocks, Dodges, and Parries modified into an enemy accuracy reduction system (deflection/evasion) and flat absorb (guard), and then being able to gear into any of those 2-3 defensive stats.

This would have to go hand in hand with the same change on the player side of the accuracy system as well, though, which would allow for percentile hits (glancing blows) according to accuracy (whereas all hits right now vary within a SD of 5% iirc, this would assume you're hitting for the maximum, but then you'd have a negative range that decreases as your accuracy nears cap. Accuracy beyond the opponent's cap would give additional critical strike chance, though at a far lesser rate than the actual Critical Strike stat).