Blocking
Blocking only works on hits from in front of you: the attacker has to be within 70 degrees of the way you are facing.
Every weapon and shield that can block has two numbers for each damage type:
- a share, the part of the hit it stops, and
- a cap, the most it can stop from one hit, in points of damage.
A 
Copper Sword stops 25% of a physical hit, but never more than 8 points. Against a 20 point hit that is 5; against a 60 point hit it is still 8. Shields have bigger shares and bigger caps. On most weapons and shields magic (Heat, Cold and Energy) is harder to block than physical damage; staves and Morion weapons block every type alike.
The block numbers of everything you hold add together, and the share tops out at 100%. Better quality raises both numbers, by the same multiplier as the item's other stats (see item quality).
| Item | Slash | Pierce | Bludgeon | Cold | Heat | Energy |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Copper Sword | 25%max 8 | 25%max 8 | 25%max 8 | 10%max 4 | 10%max 4 | 10%max 4 |
 Copper Spear | 40%max 8 | 40%max 8 | 40%max 8 | 15%max 4 | 15%max 4 | 15%max 4 |
 Copper Greatsword | 40%max 8 | 40%max 8 | 40%max 8 | 15%max 4 | 15%max 4 | 15%max 4 |
 Copper Square Shield | 60%max 9 | 60%max 9 | 60%max 9 | 30%max 5 | 30%max 5 | 20%max 5 |
 Copper Kiteshield | 80%max 9 | 80%max 9 | 80%max 9 | 40%max 5 | 40%max 5 | 30%max 5 |
 Iron Kiteshield | 80%max 18 | 80%max 18 | 80%max 18 | 40%max 9 | 40%max 9 | 40%max 9 |
 Steel Kiteshield | 80%max 27 | 80%max 27 | 80%max 27 | 40%max 27 | 40%max 27 | 30%max 27 |
 Poplar Staff | 50%max 7 | 50%max 7 | 50%max 7 | 50%max 7 | 50%max 7 | 50%max 7 |
 Morion Sword | 40%max 29 | 40%max 29 | 40%max 29 | 40%max 29 | 40%max 29 | 40%max 29 |
Each cell is the share of a hit that is stopped, and the most it can stop from one hit.
What a block costs and gives:
- Stamina. Every hit you actually block takes 20% of your maximum stamina. A blocked heavy attack also deals three times its normal stamina damage.
- No stagger. A blocked hit never staggers you or knocks you back.
- Defense experience. You earn 3
Defense experience per point blocked, halved when you block with a shield. - Scraps. If less than 1 point of damage gets through, you take none.
Parrying
Starting a block opens a short parry window. A hit that lands inside it is parried instead of blocked.
- A parry stops twice your usual share of the hit (up to 100%). The cap stays the same.
- It costs you no stamina. Instead it knocks 20% of the attacker's maximum stamina out of them.
- It staggers the attacker: 4 seconds for tiny creatures, 3.5 for small, 3 for medium (other players included) and 2 for large. Giants shrug it off.
- Only players parry. Creatures block but never parry.
With a Copper Sword a parry stops 50% of a physical hit, still up to 8 points.
The window and what can be parried depend on your weapon. If you carry a shield, the shield's window is the one you get, even with a sword in your main hand.
| Weapon | Parry window | Chance | Parries |
|---|---|---|---|
| Axe | 0.3s | 100% | slash (melee), pierce (melee), bludgeon (melee), slash (ranged) and pierce (ranged) |
| Mace | 0.3s | 100% | slash (melee), pierce (melee), bludgeon (melee), slash (ranged) and pierce (ranged) |
| Sword | 0.3s | 100% | slash (melee), pierce (melee), bludgeon (melee), slash (ranged) and pierce (ranged) |
| Throwing Axe | 0.3s | 100% | slash (melee), pierce (melee), bludgeon (melee), slash (ranged) and pierce (ranged) |
| Greatsword | 0.2s | 100% | slash (melee), pierce (melee), bludgeon (melee), slash (ranged) and pierce (ranged) |
| Pickaxe | 0.2s | 100% | slash (melee), pierce (melee), bludgeon (melee), slash (ranged) and pierce (ranged) |
| Spear | 0.2s | 100% | slash (melee), pierce (melee), bludgeon (melee), slash (ranged) and pierce (ranged) |
| Staff | 0.2s | 100% | slash (melee), pierce (melee), bludgeon (melee), slash (ranged) and pierce (ranged) |
| Kite Shield | 0.1s | 100% | slash (melee), pierce (melee), bludgeon (melee), slash (ranged) and pierce (ranged) |
| Square Shield | 0.1s | 100% | slash (melee), pierce (melee), bludgeon (melee), slash (ranged) and pierce (ranged) |
No parry settings, so no parry: Crossbow, Bow, Wand and Spiked Shield, and bare hands.
No weapon parries magic. A staff lists Heat, Cold and Energy specifically, at no chance at all.
The off hand is checked first, then the main hand, and a failed roll in the off hand does not pass to the main hand. Every chance above is 100%, so in practice a hit inside the window is parried whenever either hand can parry its damage type.