Defensive Capabilities Taken to a New Level
Shields are a brand new type of equipment introduced with the Lex Imperialis expansion. They will soon become available across the whole game for all players, even those without the DLC, and will come in a variety of shapes and designs:
Shields are considered a special kind of one-handed melee weapon and take up a total of two weapon slots, one from each weapon set. You can attack, parry, and make attacks of opportunity with shields in melee, but their main purpose is suppression and negating damage.
And they are quite effective at that. Abelard approves!
Preventing the Damage
Shields provide a new stat called Block, which gives the wielder a chance to completely negate the incoming attack, similar to how Parry and Dodge function (and stacking with them!). The chance to block is determined by the shield itself, and is not affected by the wearer’s or the attacker’s stats. It can, however, be modified by various items and talents.
Block works against both melee and ranged attacks. It is especially effective against burst attacks - once any hit from a burst attack is blocked, the remaining hits are negated automatically. A blocked attack can also never overpenetrate!
Predictably, shields will not save you against psychic powers.
New Tactical Advantages
All archetypes have access to shields, which offers a rich layer of new tactical opportunities for defensive gameplay with dedicated tank characters. To allow for even more build variety, we’re adding multiple new universally available talents that boost shield effectiveness.
Here are some examples:
- Shield Mastery allows the shield to only occupy a slot in a single weapon set.
- Defensive Manoeuvre allows the bearer to regain 2 MP after attacking with a shield.
- Strong Hand gives the wielder +5% block and allows them to deal +50% more damage when attacking with a shield.
Subductor, one of the specialties of the new Arbitrator origin, is specifically designed with a shield in mind. These assault specialists have access to a set of additional talents and abilities that further boost the effectiveness of shields, such as charging forward with a shield, automatically scoring critical hits with shield attacks on immobilized or prone enemies, gaining a bonus to Toughness that scales from Block, or even reflecting enemy attacks back at them!
The only characters in the Lord Captain’s retinue who cannot use shields are the xenos, who rely on agility rather than this crude Imperial method of protection, Pasqal, and the mighty Ulfar, who believes that the best defense is a brutal offense.
Beyond often having special effects, each shield also always provides a wielder, of any archetype, with the special ability Stalwart Defence. It allows them to select a zone and immediately end the turn, significantly increasing block chance against all enemies in that zone and making an attack of opportunity in response to the first successfully blocked melee attack from each of these enemies:
New Challenges
Where there is a tool, there will always be those who make use of it. In Lex Imperialis, allies and enemies will also take advantage of shields, requiring new tactics in order to deal with the additional protection they provide.
Some existing talents such as Take Aim! or Deadeye Shot have been updated with additional effects to reduce block, and multiple new items across the game have been added to interact with these new mechanics.
How do you plan to build your retinue with shields in mind, Lord Captain?
See you soon in the Lex Imperialis expansion!
