Shields. Actually using them in combat

[Tussin]

you could have it at a flat rate % to block for a shield

if you are using different sizes you could do it like this

small shield 5% to block

medium shield 10% to block

large shield 15% to block

then add dexterity as a modifier to increase block %

in world of warcraft blocking doesn't negate all damage or avoid it, it only blocks a portion of damage done.

if you want you can use the strength stat to increase how much damage gets blocked with a shield equipped.

and you could still for end game content have a legendary or artifact shield of each tier that is a bit higher than the regular base blocking values.

you could also implement a hard cap on block %

in the dark ages of camelot mmo, the level cap was 50, and with a shield specialization skill for every point you would increase your ability to block by 0.5%, so at 50 shield skill you got to 25% blocking chance outside of realm abilities and dexterity based bonuses.

you could also add another factor in a weaponskill/accuracy for your monsters based on their stats to have another layer of attack vs defense statistics to go against your characters that wield a shield

 

[Harmill]

 But that's exactly what I'm saying!     In games not designed around monsters with tells for thier big attacks, the default Guard command IS fuctionally useless!

I find Guard useful when Party Member C is low on HP, and the enemy is faster than my healer. Perhaps if I choose NOT to Guard, and Party Member C is so unlucky as to get attacked before the healer gets to act, he'd be dead. But if he Guards, he can reduce the damage to the extent that he survives said attack. In that situation, it's a gamble: Do I make Party Member C guard so that if he DOES get attacked, he survives? Or do I take the risk and just make him attack so that if he DOESN'T get attacked, he doesn't waste a turn? If he DID get attacked, Guarding was not useless. 

Those types of situations and decision making also make battles interesting. 

 

[Mouser]

I would treat Shield Block similarly to Evasion since they mechanically work the same way. 10% Shield Block is just as powerful as 10% Evasion, if not weaker since it at least requires a Shield to be equipped while Evasion tends to be an innate statistic or something tied to the Boots or Accessory slot.

If you're going to keep evasion the same way, then yes - you're essentially giving heavy armor wearers a chance to have the same 'damage avoidance' as light armor wearers, so you have to be careful there. In my game I made evasion stat based (primarily on actor and enemy AGI, the higher your AGI the more likely you are to hit an 'evasive' enemy, then modified by weapons and armor - heavy things slow you down).

You can do a lot with the battle system if you take the time to read through the classes and understand what they do. The entire hit/miss, skill, magic, and damage systems are out in the scripts where they can be completely rewritten to whatever style of combat you want your game to have. You could make a D&D style system (lower numbers, magic more powerful), a WoD style system ('dice pools' determining successes), even bypass damage entirely and have a 'hit=death' system if you wanted.

 

[Diretooth]

Hmmm... What if you made shields as weapons, and they had parameters that could cause defence to go up or evasion to go up.

Like, dual wielding.

 

[Ksi]

I also like the idea of certain shields dealing damage back to the enemy (spiked shield) or sometimes stunning them (it's quite jarring to have your attack blocked by a shield in a real battle). You could of course make it not block magic, too, which gives it a bit more balance in that it doesn't negate all damage to the player.

Also, I like to give them deterioration, as they do get damaged a lot more over time than body armour does, since they're usually at the forefront of defending. It balances out - much better defences that come with an amount cost (I like to give a shield a set amount of HP that is damaged each time it protects the player in battle. Once it hits 0 it breaks and can no longer be used. I do the same with a dirk - defensive weapon for faster units like thieves. Much lower HP for a dirk, but aids dodge a lot.)

Of course, speed is lowered with shields since they're more unwieldy, especially the bigger they get. Small bucklers tend to have low HP but don't drag your speed down as much. Tower shields are high in HP but really affect your speed and evasion rates. And say you have more than one centurian shield in the party, a defensive buff to others (think linking shields to create a blockade against attacks. Of course the shield HP would go down faster since it's taking all attacks, but it buys the characters some space to breathe, use an item without worry of being killed off and the like). That way it doesn't depend only on what the enemy is doing, but also what the party needs. Character needs a desperate heal? Erect a wall of shields and they can't be hit for the turn, saving you using a life potion and instead allowing them a guaranteed item use. ^.^

Also, having states applied with certain shields is fun too. Things like regen added to defending when equipped with a large shield (hunker down behind that beast and take a breather ;p ) can help make them a bit more usable.

 

[Archeia]

The EO series made good use of the Shield abilities as a whole with the Knight class. That might be a good basis for those who want a change.

 

[Fernyfer775]

I like that shield block script myself because you can make it so that your shield blocks happen at x% chance, and block for x% damage. Like giving an "Iron Kiteshield" a 15% chance to block 25% of incoming damage or 50% on a "critical block". Also adding things like "Reflect Magic" or "Taunts" for aggro with skill cooldowns to the shield for more utility helps.

 

[whitesphere]

I think a Shield Block would mean "You don't do damage."  But, maybe a high level Skill is "Guard another party member instead of me."    For balance, that would also cut Evasion to 0% and bring DEF down dramatically.  After all, you are effectively jumping in front of someone in battle.

So your Knight could use that skill to protect the Healer for a round, at the risk of the Knight taking heavy damage.