This is actually exactly what I wanted after playing Oblivion. It was [censored] when fighting enemies to watch them hold up their shield as long as they wanted until they finally decided to open up for a split second to attack then go back to being a god-damned turtle.

Yeah I was thinking bashing should have had a dedicated button too because of situations such as that.

I don't think I recall they were necessarily aiming to make it as realistic as possible though, just more engaging than it was with oblivion while making it a bit more realistic. Basically I don't think realism was really the focus.

That is somewhat troubling, if that is the right word. Personally, I think executing a shield bash may be better done by double-tapping the block button, perhaps. Unless that executes something else? That would mean one could still hold the block against ranged attackers. And to counter the "holding block makes you impervious to all attacks / over-powered shields" thing, opponents possessing of smarter AI could attack from the side or behind or something to get round your block.

Well, in melee, tower shields were to advance on a position with a weapon that doesn't take a lot of effort to attack. The best example of this is average Roman foot soldier. A pretty big shield to hide behind and reach around with a stabbing weapon, rinse and repeat. Though of course those soldiers were generally in formation with other soldiers to form shield walls.

Yeah... as someone who has blocked a sword before with a shield, timing is basically meaningless. If you wanted to maybe disarm or stagger your enemy, then sure, go ahead, time the movement with their swing for maximum impact, but otherwise... it seems like a forced game mechanic not grounded in any sort of realism, even though its sort of touted as such. Meh.

It all kinda depends on if locational damage is in or not. (From the sound of it, it is cause Todd seems to always aim for the head with arrows...but we'll have to put a pin in that and wait for now.)

Also, my opinion on it depends on how long the shield stays up after we press the button.

If you constantly held up your shield in a real fight, then your opponent would just swing his weapon and hit you where you aren't protected.

That's not as easy as it sounds, first it depends on how big the shield is, second, from what I've learned about fencing and sword fighting, swinging your weapon low to say strike a there legs can leave you open to all sorts of nasty things.

Well I can't speak for anyone else, but I see certain draws to realism to give variety and choice. Reality is infinitely complex, so by adding a sprinkle of realism is just saying that I want a bit more variety that already makes sense in some context. Just about any variety is good, but unless they make their own system that makes sense all on its own then we turn to real life for inspiration; as long as it doesn't detract from having fun.

Well, one on one the tactic is still viable.... unless you're fighting some sort of ninja who can attack you from any angle he wants.

The only place I've seen it touted as realism is here it has some realism to a point though simply holding up a shield won't do squat because it will be much easier for them to find a way around, plus this is a game and as far as we know we can't position our shield so this is as close as we're getting to realism for now. I already said this but I think realism was not really the main focus just a way to make the combat more engaging while adding a bit of realism.

The way I think it'll work is just pressing the block button will bring up your shield, you will have to time it and it will come down after either a few seconds or you press the block button again. To bash you hold the block button instead of just pressing it. From what I've read it seems pretty likely to me and it avoids the situation someone said earlier where advancing on a person shooting arrows would be frustrating when you would have to "catch" their arrows.

Yeah, your right, part of the reason I decided to edit that post.



Yeah, I can see them doing some kind of deal where just pushing the button brings up your shield or guard for a few minutes.

I've seen that implemented in other games before, only problem is I've seen it implemented poorly.

Oh yeah I agree there is realism to it but my point is that realism wasn't necessarily first priority, making the combat engaging was probably higher up the extra bit of realism is just a bonus that also helps to make it better.

Well that's what you'd be doing in real life, so what's the problem? If your opponent isn't attacking you then you should be attacking him instead, rather than simply standing there holding your shield in front of your face. That's pretty much how I fought in Oblivion anyway so I don't really see any difference.

Except, that according to PhiniusMaster when to come to shields, its not very realistic. If you think about it shields are heavy bulky pieces of equipment, its a little difficult to block with them they way you would if you were boxing.

Again it's not necessarily meant to be entirely realistic. It's meant to make combat more engaging and I think it will definitely help in that regard. I don't recall seeing them specifically say timed blocking is meant to be realistic that seems to be something repeated here not by the devs.

Btw if you're looking for realism oblivion style blocking is not the place to look either, this may not be entirely realistic but it's more realistic than oblivion.


I find your lack of faith..disturbing

Who said anything about blocking like a boxer? But you're going to be responding differently depending on whether you're being attacked or whether you are the attacker. If someone is going to take a swing at you, you'll probably stop using your sword and focus on your shield arm instead. That's basically the essence of a timed block the way I see it.

I'm not too sure about it, either. Let's see how it plays out. I have back-up plan, though. If I can't get the sword and shield style just right due to the blocking, I'll make myself a spellcasting warrior, instead, who trades the shield for a spell or a staff.

That's what I was planning anyway, although I have to say it's disappointing and even a little confusing that my nightblade won't be able to block at all.

If the spells work anything like BioShock's plasmids and if getting through enemy blocks will be less difficult due to timed blocking, I think a nightblade may turn out perfectly fine.

I'm starting to keep a tally of my ideas as the thread progresses:

- Directional blocking
- Multiple shields sizes for differences in the necessity of timing blocks or hiding behind the shield
- Change shield bash to double tap block or another button to allow for continuous blocking

This may be one of the few things I agree with the OP with. Timed blocking is not realism. If I hold my shield up for a long period of time, I should not do a shield bash. I should probably get tired, my stamina should probably go down pretty quick after a few seconds. But the game shouldn't put hard limit on how long I can hold my shield.

Yeah in the end we have to try it out before we decide what is right or wrong about it I guess but I'll still probably mod it so that I can provided it's possible lol

I agree. We won't really know until the game comes out and I'm still a bit weary of this feature, but I'm hoping Bethesda did it for a good reason (possible balance). About modding, though... I'm going to be playing the PS3 version, so none of that, for me.

Well I'm glad we agree on something at least.

But I might be wrong, this might actually be a good thing. But I have seen it in the past with a few games, particularly Bards Tale, and it wasn't implemented very well.