Purpose of Shields

[Buntkreuz]

See, i only played Fallout and some Skyrim and never used shields.
However, i find them odd in Oblivion.
You would guess, that you use a Shield to block an attack, which you do.
However, you would also guess that the durability of the Shield goes down with each block, but you would spare your armor.

But somehow instead, its the other way around.
I use my shield a lot, but even after half an hour of fighting and shielding my Shield is at 100% while all my other gear got destroyed.

Am i doing something wrong? Whats going on with that system?

[Blatherbeard]

Im not 100 percent but i believe shields just add to your armor and add blocking. This is just me playing the game with no real research.

[Megakruemel[GER]]

Your Block is probably high enough that your shield no longer takes damage when blocking.

The chip damage going through your block because the defense provided doesn't beat the incoming attack will still hit a body part though and degrade your armor on that body part.

[Apex Jaggi]

Shields just don't take damage, is what it is.

[Buntkreuz]

Ok lul

[Thomas D.]

Shield adds passively to your resistance even without blocking.

Further you block more damage with shields than without.

Also have a look at this: https://en.m.uesp.net/wiki/Oblivion:Block

If you reach Journeman level your shield doesnt get damaged while blocking anymore.

[Buntkreuz]

What it also does is constantly saying on the top left "Your clothes are destroyed" when im blocking.
My stuff is already at 0, so it seems kinda buggy.

[Yorik]

It's kind of odd that the block level for no shield durability damage is so low. You'd think you'd have to work more for that.

[Thomas D.]

Repair your stuff then the message goes away. Its not really a bug.

Also if you have damaged gear its resistance goes down to 0 then you could also wear cloth or even be naked it wouldnr matter...

Further if yoj master armorer you might be even able to improve your gear giving you even more protection and damage (on weapons)

[Buntkreuz]

Originally posted by Thomas D.:

Shield adds passively to your resistance even without blocking.

Further you block more damage with shields than without.

Also have a look at this: https://en.m.uesp.net/wiki/Oblivion:Block

If you reach Journeman level your shield doesnt get damaged while blocking anymore.

Im at the start of the game though.
My block level is 40 and im carrying a dumb steel shield.

All im saying is, that it would be logical if the shield lost durability.
Thats basically what confuses me, not whether theres damage going through or something.
Why am i getting hit with hammers, maces, axes and stuff, but my shield is still at 100%?

Seems buggy, honestly and lets be frank, this wouldnt surprise anyone if it was.

[drakeloreroar]

Very low level perk prevents shields from getting damaged. Shield provides X% extra damage reduction after armor based on level (at 100 block it's 75% damage reduction, coupled with armor cap of 85 it's a total of 98% damage reduction).

[Thomas D.]

Mods?

[Buntkreuz]

Originally posted by Thomas D.:

Repair your stuff then the message goes away. Its not really a bug.

Also if you have damaged gear its resistance goes down to 0 then you could also wear cloth or even be naked it wouldnr matter...

Further if yoj master armorer you might be even able to improve your gear giving you even more protection and damage (on weapons)

I know that you need to repair broken items.
What is odd that it repeats the message whenever i block, as if this was a new event.
It isnt. My stuff is broken already.
So why does blocking an attack trigger the message again?

[Buntkreuz]

Originally posted by Thomas D.:

Mods?

Nope

[Dragon Master]

If you look at the bottom of your inventory screen you'll see a shield representing your armor rating.

That number is how much of a percentage you reduce all physical damage, with a maximum of 85 (meaning 85% of all physical damage will be reduced so you only take 15% of the total damage being sent your way).

Shields boost that number, and reduce the damage overall even further but at a cost of stamina, or rather it spreads the damage between health and stamina.

Shields are also the most effective way to increase the blocking skill, which reduces the damage further, removes the durability penalty (but will still slowly wear out depending on your skill with light or heavy armor and the type of shield you have), which ultimately can result in a massive and powerful shield bash attack. Obviously only possible with a shield.

The shield spell for casters is how they make up for the lack of armor and shields as it will give them an equivalent armor rating as armor sets.

[Dragon Master]

Originally posted by Buntkreuz:

Originally posted by Thomas D.:

Repair your stuff then the message goes away. Its not really a bug.

Also if you have damaged gear its resistance goes down to 0 then you could also wear cloth or even be naked it wouldnr matter...

Further if yoj master armorer you might be even able to improve your gear giving you even more protection and damage (on weapons)

I know that you need to repair broken items.
What is odd that it repeats the message whenever i block, as if this was a new event.
It isnt. My stuff is broken already.
So why does blocking an attack trigger the message again?

Probably because another piece of equipment broke.