Vanguard shield hitbox / stagger behaviour seems wrong

Warhammer 40,000: Darktide Bugs
1

Issue Type (Required):

Enemy Mechanics

Issue Description (Required):

issue:
vanguard shield enemies seem to block attacks that should not really hit the shield

not sure if this is only hitbox, shield damage routing, stagger behaviour, or some combination of them

observed:

  • full charged trauma rmb kills hordes and knocks down most elites, but vanguards usually dont get knocked down
  • vanguards can take about 3 full charged trauma rmbs to kill
  • with rending shockwave blessing this means they have taken 2 full charged trauma hits before the last one, so they should already have a lot of brittleness on them
  • plasma shot from close range or from behind can kill an enemy behind the vanguard while the vanguard survives
  • saw / chainsword style attacks can kill them with 2-3 hits if you leave the bleed/dot to finish them
  • overhead attacks can look like they hit over the shield, but the shield still eats the hit
  • other players have reported ogryn overhead/pickaxe style attacks getting blocked even when the visible shield does not seem to cover the body
  • vanguards also seem hard to stagger even after the shield is gone

expected:

  • the shield should block attacks that hit the visible/front shield
  • side, rear and overhead hits should not be eaten by the shield if the attack visually goes around it
  • full charged trauma should at least stagger/open them, unless they are supposed to have carapace/heavy type stagger resistance
  • if shield is broken or bypassed, the body should react more normally to stagger and damage
  • piercing shots should not kill an enemy behind the vanguard while the vanguard itself takes little/no meaningful damage, if the shot should have hit the body

steps to reproduce:

  • find a vanguard shield enemy
  • hit it with full charged trauma rmb from front, side and rear
  • compare stagger result to other elites and horde enemies hit by the same attack
  • try high angle / overhead melee attacks and see if shield still blocks even when the visible shield does not cover the hit
  • shoot with plasma or another piercing weapon with an enemy behind the vanguard
  • check if the enemy behind dies while the vanguard survives
  • try saw/chainsword type attacks and compare bleed/dot result against direct damage/stagger result

actual result:
vanguard shield seems to absorb or reduce damage/stagger outside what the visible shield should cover

direct damage and stagger feel inconsistant, while bleed/dot seems to work more normally once applied

notes:
this is not meant as a balance suggestion

my main bug suspicion is that the shield hitbox or shield damage routing is too large / wrong, and may be blocking attacks from angles that should bypass it

2

To add to this. Vanguards cannot be knocked onto the floor unless it is ogryn bullrush ability.

When recovering from a fall, there is no animation for them getting up. Vanguards just teleport back onto their feet.

3

Yeah their whole body seems to be the shield hitbox.

Even when they have lost their shield they take multiple ogryn heaviest to the head too.