Guild Wars 2

I am a fan of the shield. There is nothing more manly then saying im gonna stand right HERE so hit me with your best shot.

But when i want to take that hit i dodge roll … now i get that there is no tanking in this game so im not gonna suggest anything that is too much like the idea of tanking but more like a new way to use stamina.

So, what i am going to suggest is that a offhand shield (guradian,warrior and engi) can instead of hit V and dodge roll they can now hit V and become immobile and hunker down while either holding down the v key to drain your stamina bar while blocking till you let go or just let it be a 1-2 sec block that uses stamina the same as a dodge would, now be aware i say immoblie so yes i mean you cant move with the shield up thus you lose the ability of placement that a dodge could grant.

Now not only would it make the shield look and feel more like one but now we have access to a reliable way of getting block i dont say this as ohh ahh we can block now but ohhh ahhh new playstyle

We could combo traits with block, A gurdian could now punish a warrior for smacking him with 100b via burn on blocked attacks but on the other hand that warrior could be getting a whole bunch of might stacks from his tamper tantrum trait(not sure of the name) from being blocked which the guradian can now do more often making both those traits much more worthwhile.

There are so many traits that really are a bit meh and i think having block based shield traits for the classes shield/def traitline would be a cool and fun way to give more traits that could benifet the off hand shield user.
and im sure the devs could have some fun with thinking some up.

I shall also note that i would think that skills that trigger on dodge so the warr tick of damage and the guradians heal would still take effect.

I shall also note again that i think the warr shield 5 would need to be changed into a new skill maybe a reflect of range attacks or discus throw style stun/knockdown.

lets hear some thoughts

would be stupidly OP with the warrior reflect whilst blocking trait (i use mace+shield mostly; two blocks)

Linguistically Inept.6583:

would be stupidly OP with the warrior reflect whilst blocking trait (i use mace+shield mostly; two blocks)

Not really, it just give warrior some potential to be a unique bunker class. Mace/shield Warriors, in the current state, has zero potential to be a bunker profession compared to engineers, guardians, and other professions.

my thoughts for the reflect whilst blocking trait would be give it a internal CD or chance to happen on block or remove it from the trait tree and have it as the new skill 5 for warr shield

Balancing is something that would be needed with any new introduction but the core concept is a new playstyle which i think would be very fun and allow for alot of new builds that would play like a guard then strike play style.

I have been thinking and this ties in with the stamina usage idea but why not allow more stand your ground evades.

Maybe a side step for the thief/ranger/ele for a 4th of your stamina and another tap of the V key for another 4th of the bar to make them do a kick for a little 50 distance knockdown with .3 of a sec interrupt this would give players a means of interrupt and i have seen the warr has a skill that benifits from interrupting so more traits could be made to benifit that idea

But keeping with the shield motif same idea but with a shield bash/swipe at the enemy. I feel that the shield would still need to use half of the stamina bar on the initial use of block but a 4th or less of the stamina bar after that would be nice for a optional interrupt.

nothing like punishing that thief for messing up that backstab on you cause you dodge then interrupt with a boot to that sneaky little face of his :p

It is a missconception that there are no tanks in the game. Every class can fulfil every role. Some better than others.

The shield mechanic you mentioned would be too OP for 1 and 2 it would prevent the shield users to actually dodge.

For the sake of game balance it should never be implemented.

I know there are tank/beefy like build’s but you really cant be on any decent mob 100% of the time so thats where the no “tanking” came from as i see tanking as never having to back off.

I have been thinking over it a bit since i read your post and i have not managed to convince myself it would be OP as you are trading a movable evade/dodge for a hunker down block both that still make you take no damage and both that still use stamina as a resource. The trade off in mobility will be gotten back with boons/conditions from the block.

I am convinced that maybe it should be traited now(1st level trait that also comes with another benefit) as not everyone might want a block with their shield and that maybe a small cone at the back of the block stance will still allow damage to get in.

I was a little unsure how it would ruin game balance as its a new take on stamina usage that still functions like the current one only more helpful to those who have class traits for block which means a new playstyle could be born from it.

I like the overall idea. The two Stamina blocks replace dodge (easiest to balance), or the stamina drain model (more distinct playstyle) could both work.

But sadly, I think its too big a change and will never happen, especially with ANets approach of making small incremental buffs/nerfs. This idea is really something that would have been great to have in beta, where it could be tested, broken builds/traits exposed and tweaked.