No Stamina regen while blocking is still a bad idea. I have waited a while after the update to write this so it would come from experiencing the change and not seem like a knee jerk reaction. Let us start with the philosophy of it before the mechanics of it. This was done in part to punish PvP players who "perma block". These players have most assuredly shifted into other exploitable avenues so focusing in on that one style of play was pointless. Unless the entire scope of PvP was going to be adjusted this was just biased. Then we have the PvE aspect. Yes there were some tanks that only block but there are healers who only heal and Dps that only damage. Only the tank is truly being penalized.
Now for what is wrong with it mechanically. The foundation of tanking is taunting and blocking to keep the enemies off the other players. For the most part if you were to tag all the enemies and block them at the same time you run out of stamina. This reduction in functionality limits peripheral actions such as crowd control, buffing/debuffing, supplemental Dps and heals. More so now since extra health/magicka is needed so you can just flat out take direct hits or try and fill stamina manually. "Why not use shards and other abilities" you say. The self sufficiency of the tank has been eroded into being dependent on the occasional potion and other players who may not have, cannot use or out right will not share abilities or resources for the tanks benefit. As for options like using other abilities and spells to replenish stamina lets look at the DK's Earthen Heart line . Super expensive spells for a stamina build (Roughly 4k magicka for a 5% stamina return) half of which are useless to a tank. Stone fist or Petrify on a boss? Yeah right. Molten weapons? Too short and I dare you to take the time for a heavy attack on the hardest bosses. That skill line was ruined long ago but that is another coming forum thread. The other roles are not bound by this as they have personal and team resources AND their regens available to do their jobs. Every time you block even for the briefest period you start an up to 4 second delay in regen. The two seconds in between ticks before the shield goes up and the two seconds after it goes down. So its not just a regen nerf while blocking its a regen nerf on both sides of the action as well. Not even the courtesy of an instant stamina tick after the shield drop given two seconds have passed. I could list more but I feel like I gave you enough to chew on right there and you let you readers, if any, post what you noticed is wrong with the change.
Now for what they got right about that change . . . just kidding this was a bad idea from top to bottom. It was born PvE wise from what I feel are combat and enemies not being adjusted or designed to reflect how the game has been reinvented, yet again, and from PvP standpoint of allowing players to abuse unchecked Champion Points and the removal of balancing soft caps. I could think of many other solutions that I feel would trump this extremist change such as increasing cost of block or reducing effectiveness of damage reduction over time when bock is held for EXCESSIVE amounts of time or using an ability cancels the block effect for the moment of activation.
Why bother removing soft caps and adding CP only to end up once again imposing limitations. Tanking is less about the art and finesse and has become more about being punching bag trying to fill a gas tank. At the very least this should have been kept out of PvE and made part of the PvP Battle Spirit. But I never had any problem with a player who blocked until the timing to attack was right. Here is a good read on that subject
http://www.uesp.net/wiki/Lore:The_Mirror. Please don't quote the whole post if you are going to reply and thank you for reading my treatise if you did.
Edited by nordsavage on September 25, 2015 4:58PM I didn't choose tank life, tank life chose me.