I am curious if anyone in the community (Martel?) has tested the relative benefits of Shield Skill gear vs. Shield Block Rate.
Aegis as we all know has a terrible relative block rate to Ochain. Considering that the block rate is determined by your shield skill relative to the enemy's attack rate, adding Shield Block Rate gear should have a less effect than Shield Skill gear because the percentage boost may be relatively lower?
Perhaps this underlines the current issue with Paladin and shields. While most weapons have received "XXX Skill +" in the iLevel era, shields have never been given a boost, which puts them at a disadvantage for blocking. I see on the official forums it was requested back in 2016 and no dice since then.