Block Heads

Blocking does not apply to elemental attacks, but rather only to physical melee and ranged attacks. If your character successfully blocks an attack, no damage is sustained. Obviously you would like to block as many attacks as you possibly can.

Your chance to block an attack is dependent on several factors including the natural blocking abilities of your character class, your dexterity score, character level and any equipped items with blocking percentages and bonuses.

Once a hit is dealt to your character in "Diablo II: Lord of Destruction," your chance to block comes into play. Remember that a successful block means your character takes no damage from that particular hit. Your blocking ability is determined by the following formula:

Total Chance to Block = (Blocking * (Dexterity - 15)) / (Character Level * 2)

Note: "Blocking" above refers to the sum total of the blocking on all your items. The Chance to Block percentage is capped at 75%.

Where do skills like the Assassin's "Weapons Block" and the Amazon's "Avoid" factor in? If a character fails the Chance to Block, then these skills are checked to determine if damage is taken or not. In essence, this is a second chance to avoid taking damage.

Is the Chance to Block the same for a character if it is standing still or running? Nope! If a player is running, their chance to block is reduced to 1/3 of the normal Chance to Block with a percentage cap of 25%. It is much harder to block an attack when running away like a little wimp (no offense meant ... he who fights and runs away, will often live to fight another day).

What about walking? No problems here. Your Chance to Block percentage will be the same walking as it is standing still. You only get a penalty when your character is running. Not a bad reason to slow down and smell the roses a little bit when traveling through hostile territory.