# Block **Blocking** is a means of [preventing damage](Receiving_damage) from enemy attacks by using a shield, staff or dual wielded weapons. ## Mechanics Blocking a hit prevents all damage and harmful on hit effects such as status ailments. The attack must be a hit in order to be blocked, therefore block does not work against damage over time. Chance to block The chance to block is a random roll made per attack/cast; it is not entropy-based like evasion[citation needed]. Block has the following base stats +15% Chance to Block Attack Damage while Dual Wielding +75% to maximum Chance to Block Attack Damage +75% to maximum Chance to Block Spell Damage The base chance to block attacks is determined by which type of shield or staff is used. The maximum block chance cap applies to both attacks and spells. However, certain skill gems, unique items and Ascendancy class skills can raise or lower the maximum block chance. Additional block chance can be gained from passive skills, items, and Tempest Shield . Attack block and spell block chance are often granted separately with attack block being more common. Chance to block against projectiles Any modifier that has X% additional Block Chance against Projectiles will apply to projectile attacks and can be made to also apply to projectile spells with the appropriate X% of Block Chance applied to Spells statistics. Hit effects The general rule is that blocking prevents the attacker's on hit effects from stats, excluding things skills actively do when they hit. But blocking will not prevent the defender's when hit effects, because preventing those could make blocking a negative thing for the defender. Certain stats, such as "Gain 1 Endurance Charge every second if you've been hit recently", were originally classified under enemy's hit effects and thus were prevented by blocked hits.[2] This interaction was fixed in patch 3.11.1c. Hits from skills like Glacial Hammer and Viper Strike will still apply because block doesn't prevent a successful hit. However, skill effects based on damage like Puncture are essentially blocked. Reflected damage Reflected damage can be blocked;[4] however blocking reflected damage will not trigger on-block effects. Block duration When an attack is blocked, the game has already calculated how much damage and if the attack would have caused a stun. If it would have caused a stun, the blocking animation is played, stunning you briefly.[5] If it would not have caused a stun, then you get a "free" block with no animation. Faster Block and Stun Recovery and Increased Block Recovery modifiers reduce the length of the blocking animation. The following formula is the complete calculation for the duration of the blocking animation (in milliseconds). If you cannot be stunned, the block animation will never play.  Status ailments have no affect on your block chance, but being frozen will prevent the block animation from playing if it otherwise would and chilled will make it take longer to play (since those two work by decreasing the speed at which your character plays animations). Miscellaneous The Gladiator Ascendancy skill Versatile Combatant changes your spell block to be equal to your attack block chance instead. Soul of the Brine King Major Pantheon power provides the unique modifier You cannot be Stunned if you've been Stunned or Blocked a Stunning Hit in the past 2 seconds. The Soul of the Brine King can be upgraded to grant an additional #% increased Stun and Block Recovery.