KNOCs need some shield loving...
So 2 years ago I brought this up repeatedly on IRC with devs, and I am extremely dissapointed to see that this was not ever corrected. When one of the devs brought myself and stranyr on blight so we could see just how awesome (and indeed it is) the new sword/shield graphics were. We stated repeatedly that higher tier techs will make knoc shields obsolete. Countless threads were made suggesting alternatives (some indeed more realistic than others).
Fine Mithril Large Shield of Block:
+10 Block
+177 armor
Armor socket (which can hold any number of goodies)
+16 block
Summoned Shield of Creation XI
+200 Armor
+200 Etheral Armor (very situational)
+15 block
This is a class defining ability. The bonuses on these things need to SCALE as we progress upwards. This means:
MOST IMPORTANTLY: THE BLOCK BONUS SHOULD BE GREATER THAN CRAFTED+BLOCK (OF THAT TIER).
Furthermore issue should be paid to the sword. While the damage is above any you can currently get crafted (no clue about drop though), techs may once again bring crafted above this. The weapon crystals from the plauge lands really change the game. While this change is no where near as pressing as the shield, attention should never the less be paid.
Suggestions:
Knoc shield should be kept with a competitive level of +block and +armor bonus.
At higher levels, where crafted shields have 3+ techs, additional bonsuses should be added such as +health or +shield. Perhaps even, the standard shield we have now is given as an ability, then a school quest is done to get the "specialized" shield. A knoc may pick a quest line to specialize in (say, the magus, the agressor, or the defensive KNOC) in which the reward is an ability to summon a shield and weapon with stats that go along with those specializations.
