Oblivion talk:Block

Block Spells?

Does block affect spells cast at you? --Rlpowell 19:14, 14 August 2006 (EDT)

No. Only weapon attacks. --TheRealLurlock 00:51, 15 August 2006 (EDT)

Hand-to-hand Blocking

Does hand-to-hand blocking ever reduce damage? I know the answer is no at the novice level.--Velamar 18:58, 17 August 2006 (EDT)

Actually, it does reduce damage,(at least in the Xbox360 version) but it doesn't effect the enemy's swing like it does with a shield. Not sure if this changes at higher levels, but hopefully it does. ChewyChunkyChocolateMonkey

From reading this article, my impression is that no, hand-to-hand blocking doesn't ever reduce damage. But it does still allow you to make your enemy recoil. --Nephele 19:10, 17 August 2006 (EDT)

It's worth noting that once you're a Journeyman, and your weapon/armor no longer is damaged by blocking, chances are your arms are no longer damaged by blocking either. Assuming that a chunk of the 100% you normally take is to your arms, then that chunk being absent would imply less than 100% being taken. Worth looking into? 32.155.38.124 04:20, 1 November 2008 (EDT)

But blocking at novice level DOES reduce damage. Tested it on the rats right at the beginning of the game on the hardest difficulty level. Rats will kill you if you don't block, but if you block, damage is reduced by a huge percentage. Maybe it depends on the enemies' stats as well? Rats are weak, so maybe they are easy to block, even for a novice WRFan 18:23, 12 September 2009 (UTC)

Removed Section

Removed:

*A good strategy is to go into the imperial city and annoy all the guards and then run away so they have 
to use there bows and there all facing you from the same direction, then let them start shooting arrows and 
block all of them. make sure you have a ton of health potions, but by using this method i went from apprentice 
to expert in like an hour. you level really fast because they hit you with like 3 arrows a second every second, 
if you have enough guards after you.

Because:

• It was in first person and showed a lack of effort in the areas of grammar and capitalisation.
• It didn't really contribute anything (I.e It was in the general vein of 'let something hit you to increase light armor/heavy armor/block/restoration)

If anyone disagrees, speak now or forever hold your peace :) --Justthisguy 17:45, 15 December 2006 (EST)

It might be good to state that "when blocking ranged attacks you never cause your opponent to recoil, and you can get a greater number of enemies all attacking you from the same direction without causing crowding, therefore they won't fan out around you." just a thought, haven't tested it myself. Reizl 04:07, 30 August 2011 (UTC)

Governing Attribute

The Game Manual mistakenly stating that Block is governed by the Agility attribute is a potentially devastating problem for newbies (speaking from experience). It would be much more helpful to announce it on the front page... or at least list it under the 'glitches' and 'first time players' sections, as well. I would edit these sections myself but I'm not yet sure how. --Davconn62 18:06, 14 April 2007

Andragil

The article states that Andragil is an expert in defense. Isn't she a master? --Mankar Camoran 09:16, 4 September 2007 (EDT)

Yes, but when I added the quest link descriptions I kept looking for variety in phrasing. Feel free to change it. ([[Oblivion:Block_Training/Description|this]] is the page you need to edit, BTW) --Rpeh^Talk 10:26, 4 September 2007 (EDT)

In fact, I was about to edit it, but I wasn't sure how. I am still a novice in editing. Thanks for letting me know Rpeh. --Mankar Camoran 12:25, 4 September 2007 (EDT)

How Much Damage is Blocked?

This page needs to specify how much damage is blocked under what circumstances. Right now, all I know is: at Master level, 75 percent is blocked; 50 percent of arrow damage is blocked. But what about at other levels? And is there any more that goes into the formula than what level you are? -Kris Rhodes 1/14/08 10:00PST

I'm nowhere near certain, but I think it's simply that your block skill is the percentage of melee damage blocked, and 2/3 of your block skill is the percentage of missile damage that is blocked. --Gaebrial 05:51, 15 January 2008 (EST)

One could in essence use a proportion, for example:

<math>100/75=50/x</math>

Then cross multiply... 100x=75*50 coming out to 100x=3750 which then is x=37.5

Or could they? That would calculate the damage taken at 50 skill, would it not - although as one may clearly point out, 37.5 is 1/2 of 75. -- 65.4.195.80 18:43, 24 January 2008 (EST)

I just checked on the GoTY Edition for XBox using a summoned zombie. I have a 100 point (master level) block skill, and I took 2 points of damage each time while blocking with a shield. It does 3 damage when I blocked with a summoned claymore. The skill level might be proportional to the amount blocked, but will never reduce damage to 0% (unless fortify block could be useful over level 100, which I thought only applied to athletics and acrobatics). Neural Tempest 23:03, 19 April 2011 (UTC)

The closest equation I could think of would be ".5(x)+25" for melee damage. This would mean 25% of damage is blocked at skill level 0, and 75% of damage is blocked at skill level 100. This would also assume that skill levels increase the blocking effeciency in a linear pattern. If someone did give me two block percentages at two different levels, I might be able to calculate a linear equation, but just playing now, different block equations would be needed for each method of block (hand to hand, claymores, one-handed blades, one-handed blades, shields, corresponding blunts), and furthermore, I think weapon health might also be a factor. I seem to take more damage blocking with a 3% health dagger than with a 125% one. Creating multiple equations, or a single one with many variables, will take a long time.

Equations themselves would be easy for me, but it would be sorting through various stats that would be tiresome. A final equation however, would require at least: block skill, weapon/sheild type coeffecients, weapon/sheild health coefficients, Endurance, and modifiers for one and two-handed weapons. this would give something like "(x)a(BS)*b(SH)*c(En)+m = y" where a, b, and c are calculated factors, and the other variables are situation-dependant. Just a nightmare, and impractical for most players to calculate. This is still excluding other modifiers, such as armor rating and resist/reflect damage. Neural Tempest 23:47, 19 April 2011 (UTC)

Test with no armor and leather shield vs summoned skeleton with iron axe:

• 2.77 damage (not blocked)
• 2.77 damage ( 0 block) 0%
• 2.63 damage ( 5 block) 5%
• 2.35 damage (15 block) 15%
• 1.39 damage (50 block) 50%
• 0.84 damage (70 block) 70%
• 0.69 damage (75 block) 75%
• 0.69 damage (100 block) 75%

Test with no armor and steel sword / claymore / bow vs summoned skeleton with iron axe:

• 2.89 damage (not blocked)
• 2.89 damage ( 0 block) 0%
• 2.17 damage (50 block) 25%
• 1.45 damage (100 block) 50%
• 1.45 damage (150 block) 50%

Small tip

If you are walking towards an archer while holding the block button, you go a little bit faster if you only walk at your fastest, if you run, you actually go a bit slower, but I've only tried this out on the 360, and also it'll probably be quicker to run straight (or all over the place to miss the arrows) than holding block Caboose 15:05, 26 March 2008 (EDT)

Block and Light/Heavy Armor

If I'm using a Light Armor shield to Block with, will my Light Armor skill go up when I Block? --DerSquirrel 11:59, 3 May 2008 (EDT)

From my experience, any successful block with a shield will only contribute points to Block, irrespective of what Armor class you're wearing (or shield used). You gain experience with Light Armor or Heavy Armor only if you allow the enemy to hit full-force. —Dark Spark 02:56, 4 May 2008 (EDT)

Dark Spark is correct. If you block successfully, your armor skills do not increase. I have verified this in the initial dungeon, but letting the goblins and rats hit me. If I blocked their attacks, only the block skill increased.

However, if you do not block successfully, there is a chance that the enemy's attack will hit your shield area, and the relevant armor skill will increase. I verified this recently with a light armor-wearing character who carried a heavy shield. The heavy armor skill increased slowly over time. I suspect, but haven't verified, that this will happen even if you are using a two-handed weapon or your fists. --Gaebrial 05:26, 6 May 2008 (EDT)

However, if you put on gauntlets, unequip your weapon, and block, you will make both your heavy/ light armor go up and your block go up. i've used this to train endurance a lot so it definitely works

Permanant Bound Shield

I'm not really sure where to ask this so I figured I could just ask it here. Is there any way of getting a permanant Bound Shield using the Permanant Bound Items glitch after you get Journeyman in Block? Since the Journeyman perk lets your weapon/shield go unharmed from blocking, I'm not really sure how you're supposed to get it damaged.--Imperial Scum 22:52, 7 May 2008 (EDT)

Yes. You could use a disintegrate armor spell on yourself. –Rpeh^{•T•C•E•} 03:08, 12 May 2008 (EDT)

Ah yes. I guess I could use that to get all the other pieces of armor too. What I've been doing is letting a summon attack me. This will be much easier. Thanks!--18:16, 12 May 2008 (EDT)

Shieldbash

Hi, I don't know if you already know this, but in Oblivion, there is an UNUSED animation called Block Attack. The actor then smashes his shield into the opponent, very violently. But it was taken out for some reason, if you want to see it, type in the console:

player.playgroup blockattack 1

This animation was used in the mod Deadly Reflex just so you know.

If anyone has anything to say, please do so. I just thought that this find is worth noticing. — Unsigned comment by 87.52.71.146 (talk) on 21 June 2009

I believe that animation is used, for the Journeyman perk. It is used when recoiling an opponent. --Timenn < talk > 12:01, 22 June 2009 (EDT)

It is indeed meant to be used, on a rare occasion, due to the above mentioned perk. To see it you would need to have the perk and the patience to keep trying until you see it. — Unsigned comment by 75.68.31.42 (talk) at 16:58 on May 12, 2011

disarming bows

is it absolutely certain that no bows can be disarmed? i was blocking for a few minutes (imperial guards at the imperial city) and they sat there shooting at me until 1 by 1, they dropped their bows. the bows were at 76 and 83 health, so it wasn't broken. but it Was marked stolen, even though swords that are disarmed aren't.

Sometimes they'll drop their bows because they run out of arrows. i have no idea about the stolen part though

blocking arrows?

Is it possible to block arrows with a sword, jedi style?— Unsigned comment by 76.21.243.106 (talk)06:16, 4 June 2010 (UTC)

Yes, I've done this a few times. If I might add, with a glass longsword it looks awesome. If the arrow or bow has an enchantment, you block it but enchantment still has the effect if its area damage. For some reason, if its on strike it doesn't seem to work. Mikeyboy52 06:16, 4 June 2010 (UTC)

You can also block with staffs, but I've noticed that when you do the arrows still go through your hand, so in this case on-strike effects may still occur. This warrants further research.— Unsigned comment by 75.68.31.42 (talk) at 16:58 on May 12, 2011

Double Perk?

Block Skill:

"A Journeyman's shield or weapon is no longer damaged when he/she blocks, and opponents may recoil when blocking with hand-to-hand"

Hand to Hand Skill:

"Journeymen also cause enemy attacks to recoil when blocking."

Can you get recoil through both skills? --Zander490 21:34, 17 June 2010 (UTC)

I was also wondering this. Do you double your chance of recoil if you get journeyman block? Otherwise the block skill is useless for hand to hand except as an endurance booster. --Timesieve

These two perks are independent. The block perk will make the opponent recoil as if he hits a rock, while with the hand to hand perk you will actually counter-attack automatically with a recoiling punch. --Wizy (Talk/Contribs) 05:59, 12 January 2011 (UTC)

does hand to hand increase blocking?

i know it does but i have been wondering does it increase by 1.25 experience points as in weapon or shield? i m using a shield with reflect damage so i can't really train blocking with that(they die too quickly). does it increase the same amount with hand to hand blocking or should i find a non enchanted shield? — Unsigned comment by Aepiphid (talk • contribs) on 2 August 2010

Blocking with your hands also increases the block skill, although I can't guarantee it's the same amount. It seems about the same though. rpeh •T•C•E• 06:55, 3 August 2010 (UTC)

From what I undestand, it does indeed increase block skill, and sometimes it is actually more effective in doing so, due to the lessened recoil an NPC gets from striking your fists instead of a shield.— Unsigned comment by 75.68.31.42 (talk) at 16:58 on May 12, 2011

Explain?

"Although the description of the skill points only at melee-attack blocking, you can block arrows for a 50% damage reduction. If you have a staff, sword, or the like, you can "catch arrows" by crouching (sneaking) and making the physics curve the arrow down. This creates a 25% damage reduction."

What the heck is this supposed to mean?

It means duck when someone's shooting at you. It's good for your health. --Zander490 11:09, 3 August 2010 (UTC)

Zander, epic. To be more clear, if you sneak as an arrow hits your weapon, it will reduce the damage by 25%. — Unsigned comment by 75.68.31.42 (talk) at 16:58 on May 12, 2011

That didn't explain anything, where did the 25% damage reduction come from. Oblivion's arrows don't calculate damage based on the physics engine. There's no reduced damage from arrows aiming lower not hitting the head (there's no specific body parts damage) 205.206.75.3 16:35, 27 October 2013 (GMT) 205.206.75.3 16:30, 27 October 2013 (GMT)

The way I read it is that you can block arrows with your weapon. I think the sneaking is supposed to make it easier by making the arrow curve down. --AN|L (talk) 18:27, 27 October 2013 (GMT)

100 block skill, without blocking, bandit arrow does 7 damage consistently, blocking with leather shield, arrow does 1, 2, 1, 2, 1, 2 (repeat) damage, mostly like a number between 1 and 2 rounded for display. This makes blocking with shield against arrow reduction anywhere between 71% to 86%. Sneaking and blocking makes no difference.

100 block skill, blocking with claymore (weapon), each arrow does 3,4,3,4(repeat) damage, sneaking and blocking makes no difference.

Everything added by this guy is wrong, the 50% damage reduction against arrow is wrong, arrow damage reduction is exactly the same as melee damage reduction. the sneaking makes a difference is wrong.

How did you guys possibly believed this outlandish claim for 7 years, amazing. 205.206.75.3 18:59, 27 October 2013 (GMT)

My interpretation of the info in the article was that dropping into sneak mode at the moment of impact or just prior to it would result in reduced damage, not being in sneak mode. Did you try that? --Xyzzy ^Talk 19:10, 27 October 2013 (GMT)

(←) "Although the description of the skill points only at melee-attack blocking, you can block arrows for a 50% damage reduction. If you have a staff, sword, or the like, you can "catch arrows" by crouching (sneaking) and making the physics curve the arrow down. This creates a 25% damage reduction. [verification needed — see talk page]"

Where did it say "at the moment of impact"? Also, "you can block arrows for a 50% damage reduction" is definitely wrong 205.206.75.3 19:13, 27 October 2013 (GMT)

The curving part of the statement makes me vaguely recall something from back in my Oblivion days about this arrow-catching trick, which was something of an exploit IIRC. I would agree with you that the 50% portion is likely wrong, and may have based on his/her in-game experience at the moment of testing or an approximation. The arrow-catching part still needs testing though, as there may be something to it. --Xyzzy ^Talk 19:19, 27 October 2013 (GMT)

Interestingly, your results corroborate my interpretation somewhat. You can reduce arrow damage by blocking with a weapon, and it looks to be about 50%. I don't see how your results conflict with what's already there, other than the sneaking part. --AN|L (talk) 19:20, 27 October 2013 (GMT)

To Xyzzy, Yes there is, I told you the very first time when you undid you changes that you confused catching arrows in mid-flight with blocking. You can "pick up" or "hold" a flying arrow before it hits you and add it to inventory. There's a video on youtube about it watch?v=-q9TW4Jb8bY

To Anil: blocking arrows with a shield averages to 75% damage reduction, blocking arrows with weapon averages to 50% reduction, exactly same as against melee, not the 50% and 25% like the comment suggests 205.206.75.3 19:24, 27 October 2013 (GMT)

and here another thread for catching arrow if you are interested http://www.uesp.net/wiki/Oblivion_talk:Ammunition#Can_you_.22catch.22_arrows.3F 205.206.75.3 19:29, 27 October 2013 (GMT)

Tried this some more in game. Arrows stick to lower body if hit while standing, arrows stick to upper chest if hit while crouching. This suggests the enemy archer shoots at same height no matter if you crouch or not. I also tried crouching after the arrow is fired, at least to me it seems like the trajectory doesn't change. There is none of the "making the physics curve the arrow down" 205.206.75.3 19:41, 27 October 2013 (GMT)

(←) As to your first comment, I was not confusing anything with anything, as I never said you were incorrect in your criticism of this info, just that you needed to wait for confirmation and consensus. I am aware of the arrow-catching trick by using the "grab" command while it is in flight, but the arrow-catching I was referring, which I admit may not be the correct terminology, was crouching to alter the arrow's trajectory in order to partially "catch" it, reducing its damage to you. I freely admit that I can't make judgments as to the accuracy of the original info or your data, since I haven't played Oblivion in at least 3-4 years. If you are unable to replicate it, it may not be valid, but we need to give other editors a chance to chime in before we remove it from the article. --Xyzzy ^Talk 20:02, 27 October 2013 (GMT)

are 2 weeks enough yet? if there are any new information it should be out by now 205.206.75.3 22:06, 11 November 2013 (GMT)

Yeah, it's been long enough. If somebody comes along in the future and verifies that they can do it, it can be added back. --Xyzzy ^Talk 04:42, 15 November 2013 (GMT)

Skill level benefits?

So what exactly does your Block skill level do, other than providing perks? It's been established that the percent of damage blocked is purely a function of the attack type and blocking method. The only thing I can think of is that the skill level might reduce your chance of staggering when blocking, and/or increase the chance of your opponent recoiling. Either that, or it does nothing beyond the perks, and Fortify/Drain Block effects are are just as worthless as Fortify/Drain Alchemy. --173.73.53.246 02:21, 12 January 2011 (UTC)

I am not sure where you read that. This page implies that the damage blocked is equal to your skill level in melee and 2/3 against missiles. --Brf 05:14, 12 January 2011 (UTC)

The skill level benefits are capped at 75, after that increasing the skill has no effect (other than the level 100 perk) --Wizy (Talk/Contribs) 05:44, 12 January 2011 (UTC)

Yes, but the question was whether skill levels under 75 will block less than 75% of damage. Mr. 173.73.53.246 is implying that skill level does not affect the amount of damage blocked. --Brf 05:48, 12 January 2011 (UTC)

Sorry, I missed the part where it said that 75% blocking was at Master level. I have a hard time believing it's a strictly linear formula, though. I've played characters who started at level 5 Block skill, and I'm pretty sure they blocked more than 5% of damage received. I don't think they'd really make the skill so useless at low levels. --173.73.53.246 22:54, 17 January 2011 (UTC)

Training using traps?

So, spells are out, but what about dungeon traps? Specifically, can I train Block just by standing in front of a Darts trap? Predcon 15:21, 28 March 2011 (UTC)

I dont think that will work. The only way to train block is to block attcks. --Archain 15:31, 28 March 2011 (UTC)

I tested with darts and logs. No skill increase whatsoever. --DKong27 ^{Talk Cont} 21:13, 28 March 2011 (UTC)

Incorrect

"It is faster to gain experience barehanded (no weapon equipped) than with a shield. From level 0-50, blocking barehanded has no recoil for the opponent, allowing them to attack more often. At level 50, blocking barehanded will occasionally provide recoil, but still less often than with a shield." I'm not totally sure about the faster experience but I know the recoil part is false. I'm in the tutorial blocking with bare hands and the attacker is constantly recoiling and attacking again at the same speed as with a shield.--Raleka 14:28, 9 April 2011 (UTC)

Counterattack damage

Although it appears that you are smacking the enemy with your sheild with the expert level perk, so you might expect that this inflicts damage, it actually inflicts zero damage. — Unsigned comment by 72.145.180.58 (talk) on 29 apr 2011

The description of the skill says "knock back and stagger". It says nothing about damage. --Brf 11:19, 29 April 2011 (UTC)

Auto counter

I have been testing this a lot on my ps3 and if you hit the attack button right after you hear the enemy's weapon hit your shield, you will almost always do the shield bash — Unsigned comment by 76.102.104.25 (talk) at 04:58 on 23 June 2011 (UTC)

Faster Spellcasting

I think it should be mentioned on the page that if you cast spells while blocking, the action is much faster than normal which means you can level up magic skills a lot faster. 79.97.40.245 21:14, 24 August 2011 (UTC)

Odds of recoiling an enemy, versus odds of you recoiling

I'd like to know if anyone has any information on the math behind who ends up staggering when an attacker hits someone that's blocking. When an enemy hits you and you block, it seems to be (as far as I can tell) more or less random whether you'll stagger from the blow, regardless whether the enemy's attack is a normal one or a power attack. It does seem like both block skill and total damage taken have an affect on whether the defender recoils from the hit. How long enemies recoil when you block them seems to vary as well, but I can't reliably tell if that's true, and if any stats actually influence this.--172.242.127.184 21:36, 30 January 2014 (GMT)

Block Counterattack Trade-off

I find it odd that it is not mentioned that when you gain the counterattack perks, your opponent will not recoil from a block-counterattack combo if the counterattack fails to hit. Personally, I find this to be rather detrimental :at higher levels, as the quick maneuvering required against high level enemies makes it very easy to miss these counterattacks; it's like having 25% less of a chance to cause an enemy to recoil. My opinion aside, I feel that this :nuance should be mentioned somewhere on this article. APSX3427 (talk) 06:21, 15 April 2016 (UTC)