A minor change made recently that should have gone in with the last crash:

Everyone can use the Spin and Distance defenses now.

If you have the corresponding skills (you are a staff/spear or polearm specialist warrior), nothing has changed for you.

If you don't have those skills and you fight with a spear, staff, or polearm, expect to see these defenses function occasionally.

Have you ever had, a low level invoker and noticed you could sometimes parry an attack despite not having the parry skill? Expect something like that, except probably even less of it.

I crunched some numbers on this and in nearly every case I could come up with, shield block was a superior defensive option. Thus, if you are, for example, a shaman, your best defensive option will still probably be sword/shield, axe/shield, or flail/shield. It's just that you running around with a polearm will be slightly less stupid than it was yesterday.

Possibly the numbers on this will be adjusted up or down once we get to observe it in play.

1) We've added three skills for spears and/or polearms. See the helpfiles for Pierce, Slice, and Thrust for some details. They all have their uses, but they're more around the utility of Pugil or Chop than anything earth-shaking. Warriors who specialize will probably find them less useful than Crescent or Chop overall, but they still have a niche.

Thrust: Warriors, anti-paladins, rangers, druids, and berserkers.
Pierce: Thieves, warriors, anti-paladins, assassins, rangers, and druids. Not for big, slow-ass berserkers.
Slice: Warriors, paladins, anti-paladins, shamans, and berserkers.

2) We've also added a general bonus to damage dealt by heavy two-handed weapons of any type. This is similar to the bonus enjoyed by paladin two-handed dedicates, but you need to be holding something pretty weighty to qualify. It's more or less useless to, say, a felar who already has good reason to wield two-handed weapons, and you'll have to deal with the usual drawbacks of heavy weapons, notably how hard it can be to keep swinging them if maledictions come into play.

valguarnera@carrionfields.com

Blitzenturt on crack?

Basically, there are three bonuses for two-handed weapon use:

1) Two-handed paladin dedicate.
2) Trapping Beneath Thunder (for either two-handed or one-handed heavy weapons)
3) Generic heavy two-handed weapon bonus.

You get the most favorable of the three. #1 and #2 are preferable to #3, though not by a great deal.

The Mamlauk adapation skill Brute Force stacks with any of the above, which cranks that path up a bit. (Particularly Mamlauk orc paladins with Legacies. Good luck with that.)

valguarnera@carrionfields.com

The paladinly stuff didn't work with anything other than swords/maces. Also, I'm assuming this is strictly for two-handed weapons of the spear/staff/polearm type, and not for two-handed weapons of other types?

Also... quit giving away my characters... Shokai is going to empower my Mamlauk and give him trapping any second now, but you'll ruin it talking about it.

The paladinly stuff didn't work with anything other than swords/maces.

This remains true, in line with that dedication's skillset.

Also, I'm assuming this is strictly for two-handed weapons of the spear/staff/polearm type, and not for two-handed weapons of other types?

Nope. This will also work with any sufficiently heavy weapon wielded in both hands. (The weapon must be flagged as normally two-handed-- you don't get any bonus wielding a dagger and nothing else.) If you're a giant/etc., you get the leverage bonus if you're using the weapon two-handed, but not if you're using it one-handed.

valguarnera@carrionfields.com

Does this mean that distance/spin as a spec skill has been improved at all?

No, they're the same as they ever were.

Doesn't really matter one way or the other, just curious really.

But if it seems crazy much for a mob that you know not to be a warrior spec mob, let me know.