about shielding and guarding

[Cig Bock]

probably a silly question but pls someone explain the concept to me

since i got my hand on at xeno gamma armor i kinda wanna try hbg-ing, and im interested in using shield mod, and it says like ''equip more shield mod for better shielding''. now i already did some google about this and usually the explanation goes :

• guard up, allows you to block previously unblockable attack (e.g. vaal puke, teo nova, xeno laser)
  
• guard, affect how many stamina, chip damage, and knockback during damage
  
• shield, 1 mod is sns shield class, 3 mods is lance shield class

what r the mechanics of these shield classes? is it like the effective arc of shield in front of the hunter or something else?

[darknitej]

what r the mechanics of these shield classes? is it like the effective arc of shield in front of the hunter or something else?

No, it affects how strong your blocking capabilities are. As you've read, 1 shield mod is like SnS, you get thrown like crazy while blocking and you take a lot of chip damage. By blocking multiple hits, you'll still get killed, so evading is still better than blocking. If you add 3 shield mods though, you can block as strong as a lance, which is really good for blocking most attacks, add Guard 3 and Guard Up, you can block everything safely in the game.

[Cig Bock]

Originally posted by darknitej:

what r the mechanics of these shield classes? is it like the effective arc of shield in front of the hunter or something else?

No, it affects how strong your blocking capabilities are. As you've read, 1 shield mod is like SnS, you get thrown like crazy while blocking and you take a lot of chip damage. By blocking multiple hits, you'll still get killed, so evading is still better than blocking. If you add 3 shield mods though, you can block as strong as a lance, which is really good for blocking most attacks, add Guard 3 and Guard Up, you can block everything safely in the game.

so its like 3 extra guard skills? like 3 shield mod and 1 guard skill equals 1 shield mod and 3 guard skills? pardon my slow processing brain but i still dont get it X(

[Fat Pigeon]

Originally posted by darknitej:

add Guard 3 and Guard Up, you can block everything safely in the game.

There are still a few attacks, that cant be blocked even with guard up, but 95~% of the attacks can be blocked with it yes

[darknitej]

Originally posted by Cig Bock:

Originally posted by darknitej:

what r the mechanics of these shield classes? is it like the effective arc of shield in front of the hunter or something else?

No, it affects how strong your blocking capabilities are. As you've read, 1 shield mod is like SnS, you get thrown like crazy while blocking and you take a lot of chip damage. By blocking multiple hits, you'll still get killed, so evading is still better than blocking. If you add 3 shield mods though, you can block as strong as a lance, which is really good for blocking most attacks, add Guard 3 and Guard Up, you can block everything safely in the game.

so its like 3 extra guard skills?

No it's like having the best shield + 3 guard skills.

[♋Phenex]

HBG only blocks in the direction your character is facing when the HBG is in use. You generally only need 1 shield mod and guard up so that you have the option of shielding while maintaining good DPS if facing elder dragons or behemoth.

Additional points in guard will reduce stamina consumption, knockback, and chip damage when blocking.

With just 1 shield mod, guard up and full stamina, I can block AT xeno's laser without taking too much chip damage while going nearly full offensive with the other skills.

If trying to block nergigante's dive bomb or behemoth's attacks however, you may need some levels in guard to block completely.

[Cig Bock]

Originally posted by Fat Pigeon:

Originally posted by darknitej:

add Guard 3 and Guard Up, you can block everything safely in the game.

There are still a few attacks, that cant be blocked even with guard up, but 95~% of the attacks can be blocked with it yes

yeah i noticed like behemoth horn thrusting cant be blocked even with guard up

Originally posted by darknitej:

Originally posted by Cig Bock:

so its like 3 extra guard skills?

No it's like having the best shield + 3 guard skills.

without a doubt having 3 shield mods is good, but i also need my recoil suppressor (and deviation suppressor if possible), i do have 3 guard jwls and guard up and it looks like i could compensate the mods with them, im still trying things out, i just want to understand the mechanic of this shielding

Originally posted by ♋Show me de wei:

HBG only blocks in the direction your character is facing when the HBG is in use. You generally only need 1 shield mod and guard up so that you have the option of shielding while maintaining good DPS if facing elder dragons or behemoth.

Additional points in guard will reduce stamina consumption, knockback, and chip damage when blocking.

With just 1 shield mod, guard up and full stamina, I can block AT xeno's laser without taking too much chip damage while going nearly full offensive with the other skills.

If trying to block nergigante's dive bomb or behemoth's attacks however, you may need some levels in guard to block completely.

yes, hopefully i think i can safely say that i understand about the guarding skill, but i still have a few doubts about shielding. darknitej already points out about shielding capabilities, the explanation is good but i think im the one who couldnt distinguish about reducing knockback between guard skill and shield class

[♋Phenex]

Basically unless you're tanking against behemoth or playing extremely safe, you'll only ever need one shield mod.

You can drop guard up against non elders and you probably don't even need guard cause your stamina should be always full and nothing really chains attacks like crazy.

[darknitej]

Well on Behemoth, I have 2 guard slots and one for recoil + guard 5 when I'm tanking. It makes the job easier on our healer. On other monsters I rarely use guard since I can dodge most attacks. The monsters I use guard on are Diablos, Black Diablos, and Nergi