Block and Wards - A Discussion

[Mac Tonight]

So I might be in the minority here, but does anyone else feel like a major reason the game can feel slow at times is because of the block/ward mechanics? I've found myself thinking on multiple occasions, "Man.. this fight is going so damn slow. Why?" Then I'll follow this up by checking all character stats/buffs and going.. "Ah, right, I need to slog through a couple free turns the enemy gets and then I'll get to play the game."

As it stands, I like blocks and wards as a way to give the player a safety net against particularly unlucky targeting, as there's nothing more frustrating than getting a character to near death before you've even had a turn. That said, I can also appreciate this system for specific notable enemy characters, as it does tend to help avoid DPS race situations a bit more effectively and push the game in more of a tactical direction - utilizing debuffs and other spells for long con plays.

What I would like to gauge here in the community is whether or not we would prefer faster paced combat and a reduction of the number of blocks/wards that are given out to enemies/players, or if we're fine with the way things are. For me, I'd love to significantly reduce the number of get out of jail cards on both ends in the interest of speeding up the game. In my mind, blocks/wards should be rare and significant boosts to either side that helps distinguish certain classes/characters/enemies and give them that extra bit of survivability. In exchange, they should also protect against everything, including crits, thus justifying the reduction in the available amount (some encounters may need to be re-balanced around this).

Thoughts?

[CanuckBear]

I think the slower pace games are a must on floor 1, which you are supposed (in my opinion, or preference) to finish using minimal resources, meaning ending every fight "healed".

On floor 2 and 3 I speed up the game, use the Mortuary a lot. Overall, I think we need the option to fight a slower game if needed, there will be 5 floors in total after release, I'm not sure on GAW there are enough resources to play quick fights all the time. It is also part of the strategy to eliminate the dangerous enemies first and then hang around or delay finishing the fight to get mana and health back, and the blocks/wards are required for this to happen.

The design of the game can indeed go both ways, and it can be fun either way. With less blocks, you are always scrambling for resources, you "patch" up a team with whatever minions available. With more blocks, you can follow the strategy/preference you want, with very well composed teams.

[wizard1200]

I think that the block / ward mechanic is great, but it is currently only binary. Perhaps a block / ward should work more like a grazing hit ...

... reduce the damage by 50 % (the modified damage is reduced by the armor)
... reduce the duration of a status effect by 50 % (rounded down)

[windezz]

Critical hits ignore blocks/ward, and some skills can gain perks to ignore them too.

But yeah I think the extra time it takes to chew through the blocks/wards is why I find it so hard to leave the Vampire out of my roster.

Not sure when the devs will release next update, but I think I'm going to mod the Auspex debuff into some other "niche" minions' abilities try out a few less popular team setups.

[wizard1200]

Blocks / wards could protect against critical hits, too, if their strength would be reduced.

[EatExcreteRepeat]

I don't think Blocks and wards are a problem. The game features enough ways to strip block and ward that I've never felt they've slowed the game down that much.

It would be nice if Wards didn't block stress attacks, to give stress a niche, though. But that's more about stress being weak than wards being strong.