Shield Skill
We have offensive abilities, even up to Taming using wolves as weapons, and using axes, an item that didn't start as a weapon in the Minecraft arsenal.
What we lack is a Defensive Skill. Acrobatics could be considered one, but it is even listed as Misc. because it wasn't designed as a Combat skill, it just got a small 'dodge' for subtle purposes.
My idea is this:
Shield Skill, a 100% chance to block a fraction of projectile damage when holding specified "shield items."
Tier 1: Trapdoor
Tier 2: Wood Door
Tier 3: Iron Door
Tier 4(?): Piston Head*
Tier 5: Blocking Sword
*Due to this block being unobtainable, it would probably be more suitable to make it a toggle, or some other method of enabling/disabling it. I only list it because it looks a lot like a shield, and actually inspired me to create this brainstorm.
Each tier would block a higher fraction of incoming projectile damage. It would require a sacrifice of offensive damage in order to without doubt absorb damage. The idea behind the top tier being Blocking Sword is that, at the max level, Swords gain a usage perk, and you no longer have to sacrifice damage output. Again, this is approximately level 1000 Shield Mastery with a 100% chance to block all projectile damage (not all damage types).
Because it's a 100% chance to block, tiers are unlocked by level, rather than a 'small chance' of using a higher tier shield at low levels.
Deflect Arrow is a small chance to block all damage, Shield is a 100% chance to block some damage.
Dodge barely even qualifies as an argument because it doesn't involve a weapon, nor does it have any certainty of occurring or how much will be blocked.
Mcmmo has 'abilities' tied to each of its skills. Some possible add-ons to shield could include:
Shield Bash (passive): A percent chance to +damage when attacking with a 'shield' but still not much more, as this skill is meant to be a Defensive one. Probably up to +2 (1 heart) at max level.
Super Blocker (active-needs more thought into name): An activated ability much like berserk, but adds +tier to the current shield blocking item. Possibly useless at max level, duration increased by level.
Possible exploits to be avoided:
Avoid dispenser-clocks shooting at players to powerlevel.
Give me any input, for, against, exploits, add-ons, anything really. I'm really considering pitching this to the mcmmo development team because it would be nice to see this in /mcstats, rather than a separate ModDamage command setup for all of this noise. In addition, plugins are better written in java, not ModDamage. Much more efficient that way.