This is the first in a series of reports detailing various aspects of the Diablo II: Lord of Destruction beta test.  While my reports on the original Diablo II beta test were general and widespread, reports this time around will be very focused and deal with a specific change.  These reports will study the effect of a change to gameplay that radically alters how we think about designing and playing our characters.  The focus of this first report is shield blocking.  This has got to be one of THE hottest topics of debate lately.

In D2 classic, shield block was handled in a simple manner.  The shield you wore determined your chance to block, and except for a few modifiers (such as Holy Shield, "of Blocking" style affixes, and character class differences) you could figure out your chance to block very quickly and easily.  This is no longer the case.  In fact, the new shield blocking system may leave some people pretty confused and angry that their characters are "nerfed."

Imagine my surprise when I loaded up my level 43 Sorceress converted over from Diablo II classic only to find that her once vaunted blocking percentage of 44% from her triple diamond-socketed shield was reduced to a measly 14%.  ACK!  What happened?  What good are shields now when THIS happens?  Let's find out.

The formula to calculate your chance to block is now this:

[ (2 * Block * (Dex - 15)) / (Level * 5) ]

In the above case of my Sorceress, she had [ (2 * 44 * (51-15)) / (43 * 5) ]  = 14.734% chance to block.  Ouch.

Notice how as you increase in level, your blocking percentage decreases.  This means, quite simply, that in order to maintain a blocking percentage level you desire, you'll need to increase your dexterity EVERY LEVEL UP.  You can throw out having a high blocking percentage on Sorceresses, Necromancers, and possibly Druids (depending on their style of play).  The new goal for shields on these characters is resistance, hit points, and other new affixes in Lord of Destruction.  This can be a boon in some ways - no longer are these characters tempted to waste strength points to get to 75 strength so as to wear a tower shield for a maximum blocking chance.  Quite the contrary - these characters will be happier with a smaller shield that gives a high amount of resistance or a large number of sockets.

Let's have an example of the effects of leveling up while maintaining the same dexterity level.  Assume you're a Necromancer wearing Sigon's Guard, a shield with 64% blocking for that character.  Also assume that, like most Necromancers, you've never raised your dexterity beyond 25, the starting amount.

<strong><u>Character Level        Actual Chance to Block</u></strong>
       10                      25.6%
       20                      12.8%
       30                       8.5%
       40                       6.4%
       50                       5.1%
    Above 50                    5.0% (minimum)

<strong><u>Character Level        Actual Chance to Block</u></strong>
       10                      25.6%
       20                      12.8%
       30                       8.5%
       40                       6.4%
       50                       5.1%
    Above 50                    5.0% (minimum)

Yes, it's as bad as it looks.  And it makes as little sense as it looks, too - unless you take the viewpoint that Blizzard wanted to keep blocking only for the melee classes.  If that's the case, one has to wonder why Orbs were included as Sorceress items while shields were then made pretty much useless for blocking purposes.  Blizzard could have done a much better job by bumping up the power of her true class item, staves.

So how much dexterity do we need to devote to our characters if we wish to maintain a high level of blocking?  You don't want to know.  I'll quote CheshireCat from the Lounge forums:

To have the full block % of their shield (according to the formula that GFraizer has told), a character (no matter which class) doesn't have to spend a single point on Dex until they turn clvl 5 (for classes that start at 25 dex) or clvl 3 (for classes that start at 20 dex). From then on, the character needs to average 2.5 stat points in Dex EVERY LEVEL FROM THEN ON. One full level's worth of stat points every other level, just devoted to keeping your blocking up.

The formula for the amount of dex needed for full shield block is: Dex = ((Level * 5) / 2) + 15

It gets pretty nasty for any class that doesn't use much Dex at higher levels:

At 2nd level: Dex = ((2 * 5) / 2) + 15 = 20 Dex
At 10th level: Dex = ((10 * 5) / 2) + 15 = 40 Dex
At 20th level: Dex = ((20 * 5) / 2) + 15 = 65 Dex
At 30th level: Dex = ((30 * 5) / 2) + 15 = 90 Dex
At 40th level: Dex = ((40 * 5) / 2) + 15 = 115 Dex
At 50th level: Dex = ((50 * 5) / 2) + 15 = 140 Dex
At 60th level: Dex = ((60 * 5) / 2) + 15 = 165 Dex
At 70th level: Dex = ((70 * 5) / 2) + 15 = 190 Dex
At 80th level: Dex = ((80 * 5) / 2) + 15 = 215 Dex
At 90th level: Dex = ((90 * 5) / 2) + 15 = 240 Dex
At 99th level: Dex = ((99 * 5) / 2) + 15 = 262.5 = 263 Dex

Just looking this over (and the # of levels required to SPEND that much Dex), means that roughly half of the levels of the character, ANY character, must be spent in Dex to be able to block at full capability for ANY shield, no matter how good (or bad) it is.

Now also consider a new wrinkle with blocking: your chance to block is reduced to 1/3 the normal level if you're running.  This all seems extreme, right?  By now, you're possibly in an uproar, getting mad because Blizzard has taken away our blocking percentages for the non-melee classes and made blocking tough in general for the melee classes as well.  However, if you stop and consider things, yes, it is now harder.  However, isn't this what we've wanted?  I'll quote dkass from the Lounge forums:

The entire reasoning is that a mage can either go for good blocking or good defense at a significant but payable cost. Given that they're trying to avoid melee combat, one or the other will be sufficient (this is proven by the fact that almost all current mage builds use blocking exclusively). A mage that wants both is going to either have to settle for moderate on both, or devote most of their resources to it. Note that moderate armor protection and shield blocking are available at rates like 1 point per level (in the relevant stat). My impression is that sorceresses weren't expected to use any blocking (thus the cold armors that boost armor and the staves).

I could see modifying the formula a bit to use level*4 instead of level*5. This would reduce the per level cost to 2 for blocking equal to the shield value and many spell casters could probably get good protection with something like 1 or 1.5 (1.5 and 100% equipment -> 75% block). But before this we need to see/experience more of the game (what affixes exist on what equipment and the ranges of monster stats).

Note that many melee builds don't use much dexterity either (the bowzon, the big dex spender, isn't a melee class and doesn't have a shield in any case, so don't count). See how popular IDT scepters are, or the number of WW barbs that get the dex to use their weapon and no more. Now there are dex pumping melee builds and I suspect they'll become more popular with the new rule.

I do agree that sorceresses seem to be getting the short end of the stick, but IMHO, undoing the new blocking rule isn't the way to give them something back.

Controversy has exploded over this - also fueled by the fact that some people doubt that the formula, the only source of information we have on this right now, is correct.  So far, it seems to be dead on target.  It's a real eye-opener to some, and has caused quite a deal of Blizzard bashing.  The more I consider it myself, the more I understand this formula and why it was used.  In D2 classic, if you wanted to have a high DR you needed to devote yourself to that.  Your skill choices, your strength rating, and your equipment choices were always dictated by the need for DR - what the Defiant playstyle for the Paladin was all about.  Now it's the same way with blocking - before it was FAR too easy for a Necromancer to grab a shield and supply himself with the equivalent of thousands of DR instantly.  That's what made staves useless.  Perhaps now they'll make a comeback.

Remember also that monsters in general now have a reduced AR.  This makes defense more valuable than before, and also supports the theory that Blizzard's goal is to lessen the value of blocking in Lord of Destruction.  General consensus has always been that blocking was TOO useful in D2 classic.

Then again, we may all be overreacting, and there's a chance that there's more to this formula than meets the eye.  We'll see what comes out in the next few days, when I'll have another beta report.  Thanks for reading.

JustAGuy has released a handy blocking calculator so you can try out these blocking percentage calculations for yourself, and see exactly where your current characters will be when they turn over to the Expansion Pack.  You can grab his program in the calculators area.