First, a few facts to consider before reading the following suggestion;
1.) The divergence from the “holy trinity” of MMOs is sublime and should be preserved.
2.) The dynamic movement of player characters (knockback, knockdown, dodge roll, etc) adds an element to this game that few others have captured. For once players can honestly feel that they were struck because of a failure on their part rather than due to some unseen state governing their every action in combat.
3.) While there are builds that excel more than others there is still no singular way to play a class and the freedom to use what we like is another major achievement on the part of the developers.
4.) Combo fields are a feature that allows and, in a few cases, encourages synergy between players. Cooperation in an MMO.
With those things in mind I would like to consider the use of shields in PvE. Currently their use is somewhat limited and, all things considered, quite sub-standard to most other choices. Warriors gain access to a stun and a short block that makes them almost entirely immune to damage for the duration while Guardians, on the other hand, get a damaging attack that grants a few seconds of protection and a bubble that pushes enemies back, provided that they are not immune to CC. If traited, both receive a reduction in the cooldowns to these skills and some toughness. My question is this; How do these skills aid your group? The Guardian’s skills would seem like the most readily beneficial but the five second protection is easily granted by a myriad of other skills and the heal granted by bursting the bubble is trivial in comparison to just about every other skill that grants regeneration.
But my suggestion doesn’t involve altering these skills. In fact, what I wish to propose is much more simple than rebalancing skills and values. In order to make shield wielding Warriors and Guardians more valuable to a group while still preserving the four aforementioned points I suggest the addition of a feature that prohibits NPCs from simply passing through players with shields equipped. Similar to the “combat assist” option that prevents players from doing so, this would allow us to actually focus on functioning as a team and promote out of the box thinking in regards to fights. Instead of just stacking on one another to AOE mobs down or increasing the threat generated by heavy armor classes, grant us the ability to aid the less armored classes by physically placing ourselves between the bad guys and our squishier friends. Imagine a group where a Warrior finds the choke point and stands in it while his friends stand behind him, aiding from a distance while trying to ensure that he can hold his position.