One of the neat things that Champions Online allows, and CoH didn't, is the ability to take powers outside your character's given Power Framework, if you are a Gold member or have purchased a Freeform Character Slot. Even within a given framework, there are powers available that no archetype uses.
I've been looking over various powers, and comparing them on the
Champions Wiki.
Block ReplacementsThese powers change your default "Block" action into something else, enhancing its defensive power or adding a secondary effect that occurs while blocking. Taking a Block Replacement isn't strictly necessary, but for any character that expects to be tanking damage, they are a
godsend.
Ebon Void (
Darkness, Mystic)
Provides 250/300/360% resistance to all incoming damage. Inflicts 31/37/45 dimensional damage on anything that attacks you as you hold it. Heals you for 38/46/55 each time you are hit (maximum of once per second, scales with Presence.)
Voractious Darkness advantage provides 10% resistance/stack (1 point); you gain a stack with every hit you take (max 10).
My Opinion: This is a really
hard defense when ranked up and given its Advantage. At maximum rank, with maximum Voracious Darkness stacks, you are rocking a 460% block, and healing 55 (Presence scaling) every second assuming a more-or-less constant stream of incoming damage. If you intend to be taking a lot of attacks in a short amount of time, you could certainly do a lot worse than Ebon Void. The downside is that you've really got to invest in Presence to make the healing effect worthwhile, otherwise it's just an average block replacement.
Eldritch Shield (
Sorcery-subsets, Mystic)
Provides 250/300/360% physical resistance and 300/350/410% non-physical resistance to all incoming damage.
Imbue With Power advantage (2 points) provides a secondary effect based on the Aura you have active.
Arcane Clarity causes you to gain more energy from blocking and scales energy gain with your Intelligence.
Primal Mastery strikes your attackers with lightning, similar to
Electric Shield.
Ebon Destruction has a chance to Fear anyone who hits you.
Radiant Protection has a chance to place a heal over time effect on you.
My Opinion: By itself, it's just a standard Block replacement with better-than-average non-physical resistance. Yawn. The interesting part is the Imbue With Power advantage. While the Primal Mastery and Ebon Destruction versions aren't anything to write home about from a tanking perspective, Arcane Clarity is great for Intelligence-based tanks that find themselves short of Energy, and Radiant Protection directly helps your tanking by healing you. However, taking the Imbue with Power advantage means you cannot take Rank 3, so it's a tradeoff.
Electric Shield (
Electricity, Energy Projector)
Provides 200/250/310% physical resistance and 250/300/360% non-physical resistance to all incoming damage. Deals 32/38/46 electric damage to all enemies within 10 feet.
Electric Vengeance advantage (3 points) adds the ability to auto-retaliate against any attack within 50 feet, dealing 137 electric damage and consuming 20 energy with each counterattack.
My Opinion: From a tanking standpoint, Electric shield is
terrible. Its physical resistance is no better than an ordinary Block! Its non-physical is average for a Block Replacement. The automatic damage against nearby enemies is piddly, and the advantage actually
consumes energy, meaning you can't take shelter within your Block to let your energy recover, and taking it means you aren't getting Rank 3. This is a Block replacement you can honestly live without.
Energy Shield (
Power Armor, Technology)
Provides 270/320/380% resistance to all incoming damage.
Laser Knight advantage (3 points) gives you a resistance-increasing proc on your melee attacks, providing ~34% resistance to all damage in exchange for losing 15% damage on the attack.
Phalanx Defense System advantage (3 points) gives you a resistance-increasing proc whenever you make a Weapon System (chest/shoulder/hand) attack.
My Opinion: I would almost be tempted to give this one a little crap for being a vanilla Block Replacement, but its across-the-board resistances are beyond reproach. Moreover, the advantages make it interesting, granting you a passive defensive buff that functions outside of blocking. You can't take both, and taking either of them means you aren't getting Rank 3, but they do make you very tanky when you're on the offensive.
Retaliation (
Might, Brick)
Provides 250/300/360% resistance to all incoming damage. If hit, you gain the Retaliation effect, increasing the damage of your next attack by 83/100/120%.
Punitive Pummeling advantage (2 points) provides a 20% chance to knock back all enemies within 10 feet when hit.
My Opinion: While the damage resistance on this one is strictly average for a Block replacement, the Retaliation buff makes it great for offensive-minded characters. Block a Schtick attack, then open a can on your attacker! If you are a Might or Bestial Supernatural character that makes frequent use of Enrage,
pick up the advantage. Sure, it costs you access to rank 3, but the knockback effect on Punitive Pummelling will give you stacks of Enraged! - when you drop the block, whoever you next hit is going to be in fifty shades of pain, most of them between black and blue.
Force Shield (
Force, Energy Projector)
Provides 250/300/360% resistance to all incoming damage. Your Ego is considered to be 200% of its normal value when determining how much energy you regain when hit while blocking.
Force Sheathe advantage (1 point) allows your shield to persist for 8 seconds after you drop it, providing a tiny (8.5%) amount of resistance and continuing to feed you energy when hit.
My Opinion: While the resistance on this one is strictly average, it has no weaknesses and the advantage is great for anyone who has energy issues. The neat thing is the advantage, which lets you tap your shield periodically to refresh a buff that allows you to keep accumulating energy as you take hits, as well as providing a little resistance. The advantage doesn't preclude you from taking rank 3 either. Not the hardest defense you could ask for, but it's got its uses.
Ice Shield (
Ice, Energy Projector)
Provides 250/300/360% resistance to all incoming damage. Has a 25/30/35% chance to apply the Chill effect to attackers within 10 feet.
Frigid Air advantage (2 points) allows Chill to be applied to attackers within 50 feet.
My Opinion: Another run-of-the-mill block replacement, in terms of damage resistance. The Chill effect is solely useful for Ice characters who make use of the Chill effect. By itself, the Chill from this power isn't useful for most characters - most enemies have some ranged attack so snaring and rooting them isn't very effective. Even with the advantage, you're snaring/rooting enemies that can already shoot you.
Fire Shield (
Fire, Energy Projector)
Provides 250/300/360% resistance to all incoming damage. Has a 25/30/35% to apply Clinging Flames to your attacker when attacked in melee.
My Opinion: Though the resistance is average on this one, if you have powers that leverage Clinging Flames, or just want a shield that inflicts damage on those attacking you, this is about the best option available. The Clinging Flames DoT does a lot more damage than most other hit me = take damage effects.
Telekinetic Shield (
Telekinesis, Mentalist)
Provides 300/350/410% resistance to physical damage, and 250/300/360% resistance to all other forms of damage. The
Telekinetic Reinforcement advantage (1 point) allows your shield to persist for eight seconds after you lower it, providing 16% resistance to all forms of damage for 8 seconds.
My Opinion: While the shield itself is a standard block except for its above-average physical damage resistance, the advantage is nice for those who enjoy a bit of extra tankiness. It's much like the Force Sheathe ability from Force Shield, except that it provides double the resistance, and doesn't return any energy. You can tap your shield periodically to keep the 8-second buff going indefinitely.
Parry (all
Martial Arts frameworks)
Provides 250/300/360% resistance to all incoming damage. For the first two seconds after blocking, you will return a percentage of all damage that lands on you to the attacker. The damage return effect cannot occur more than once every five seconds, though it doesn't interfere with normal blocking. With
The Elusive Monk advantage (3 points), your melee attacks will proc a 2-second buff that trades a small amount of damage in exchange for 88 Dodge and Avoidance (both scale with DEX), and 33% resistance to knock effect.
My Opinion: The block is run-of-the-mill, but the secondary effect is interesting. If you're being beat on by enemies that deal a lot more damage than they can take, or that have powerful Schtick attacks, this block replacement can potentially deal a
lot of damage if you time your block right. The advantage prevents you from taking Rank 3 due to its cost, but provides you with a neat stacking melee proc that's great if you're relying on dodge/avoidance to mitigate damage, and have a lot of DEX.
Wind Barrier (
Wind, Energy Projector)
Provides 250/300/360% resistance to all incoming damage. Automatically attempts to repel all foes in front of you within 10 feet. A foe that actually strikes you, from any direction, is also repelled even more forcefully.
My Opinion: This is an interesting one. I don't know if the Repel effect counts as a Knock for purposes of earning stacks of Enraged! from the Enrage power, but if it does, this could be
very powerful. The repel effect is great for keeping melee attackers at bay; if they're susceptible to repels, you can pretty much guarantee that they can't sit there and pound on you. You can also use the frontal repel effect to 'herd' enemies into nice tight groups for your allies to blast with AoEs.
Stone Shroud (
Earth, Brick)
Provides 250/300/360% resistance to all incoming damage.
My Opinion: Yep. That's it. That's all it does. A standard, vanilla, no-special-functions-whatsoever block replacement. Arguably the worst you could take, for that very reason (Electric shield is a close competitor, being worse than average were it not for its secondary effect.) Yawn.
Guard (
Heavy Weapon, Brick)
Provides 250/300/360% resistance to all incoming damage. If hit, you gain the Retaliation effect, increasing the damage of your next attack by 83/100/120%.
Punitive Pummeling advantage (2 points) provides a 20% chance to knock back all enemies within 10 feet when hit.
My Opinion: Scroll up to where I detailed Retaliation. Read that. This power is just a Heavy Weapon clone of Retaliation, and has all the strengths and weaknesses thereof.