Shattered Kingdoms

I doubt any IMM will answer this question, but I am very curious and would prefer not to spend my weekend doing tests. I've heard different things from different veterans, and was hoping an IMM could just step in and tell me if having more magical protection on your shield will reduce the damage you take in melee. This seems like something people would know ICly, anyways, and it would be common knowledge in the realms for every character. I know that most people say that MP does improve tanking because it improves AC, and AC on a shield improves tanking. Is this accurate?

Can we throw in our two cents or do you strictly want immortal responses?

Only if I get to keep it.

Yeah, people can feel free to throw in their personal opinion or experience. I've gotten conflicting answers from various reliable sources, though, so unless an IMM steps in and says something, I probably won't be convinced until I test it out myself.

In short, I'm 85% positive that it is a 'yes'.

Long version, from my experience, as you may have already noticed too, when we wear a cloak that goes about body, as well as shield, you'll notice that those two areas usually get damaged first before anything else does. I want to say cloak before shield, but they are both high up on the food chain. Basically, whatever attack that goes on the person, they hit the cloak/shield slots first.

Many years ago, Dulrik also wrote on the forums that shield helps everyone that uses it even without the shield block skill, because it is one of the first lines of defense. Ever since the belt and about the body container fix, the about the body material has become the most important protective armor a person can have, in addition to the shield.

One can test this by fighting oozes or demons in sewers that has the water hide/attack.

edit: After posting and reviewing my post, something just struck me. Shield doesn't always protect now after the mood/stances got introduced. I understand that neutral and defensive use the shield defense more. However the result should be the same when it is being used.

m2c

Min, are you suggesting that an adamantite container with high MP would vastly improve melee tanking over robes without MP?

This would go against conventional wisdom, I think, which suggests that while it's valuable to have a good material container so that it does not get torn up it does not actually improve your ability to tank melee.

I think conventional wisdom states that containers themselves do not have any protective value. However cloaks and skins of various beasts when worn in the about body position like most robes would, supposedly add protection.

Personally I've never used this, and thus have never seen a skin or about body slot deflect anything so I cannot confirm or deny the theory.

On the subject of MP on shields, I can't see why they wouldn't? My best bet would be that wearing a shield somehow adds bonus AC, or maybe adds the protective value of the shield to certain bodyparts. (I say certain bodyparts because supposedly aiming lower negates some of the shield bonus, which would lead me to believe that the legs are not protected by shields.) I suppose the interesting question is whether or not MP adds to the base protective value of a piece of equipment, or MP is somehow added in some other jazzy fashion. A feasible thought is that a piece of equipment could have a certain AC which wasn't modified by MP and any MP on that armor slot then counts against damage done to the limb its protecting later in the damage calculations?

The only way to confirm this would probably be to have access to the code, or at least access to damage numbers so you could properly test it.

:edit: Oh, and I base all of this on absolutely nothing.