Noob shield question :: Final Fantasy XIV (FFXIV, FF14)

#1 Sep 23 2013 at 10:11 PM Rating: Good

Sage

66 posts

So shields have block strength and block rate....can someone explain these two? I'm pretty sure it's rate-how often it blocks and strength-how much damage is being blocked..that being said, most shield I find raise one stat and the other drops. Which is more important?

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#2 Sep 23 2013 at 10:51 PM Rating: Decent

__DEL__1622420239050

Scholar

587 posts

Depends on the encounter.

You'll find, generally, 3 different types of shields (for tanks, anyway):
Scutums
Hoplons
and Kite Shields

Scutums have low block rates, but high block strength
Hoplons have high block rates, but low block strength
And then you have Kite Shields, which are right in the middle.

Scutums are ideal for boss encounters
Hoplons are good for trash/adds
Kites are the jack-of-all trades and my personal overall preference.

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#3 Sep 23 2013 at 11:39 PM Rating: Good

__DEL__1611533770114

Sage

220 posts

End game if you look at the Kite shield for PLD, it's the same for block rate and block strength, so if an enemy attacks at a constant rate there is a breakpoint, but at lower damage points...

Now imagine if an enemy hits very fast but for lower damage, in which case the high block rate would be better.

Vice versa, if you are against something like Titan that hits hard and slow, ideally you want higher block strength, but at endgame I'd argue it matters less since each has it's trade off.

The reason we have kites is tradeoffs aside, if you're gonna have 1 good shield it ought to be balanced.

Edited, Sep 24th 2013 1:46am by SyniteonReflux

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