Dodging everything has been the only way to survive until you get the Blackmetal Shield to block things that actually do major damage. Block was nerfed, not reworked. If it was reworked, max level Block skill should block all damage, and be extremely useful with all weapons at the cost of stamina. The problem isn't the Shields, it's the skill progression and how slowly it progresses as a pure melee player. Parrying shouldn't even be possible until a certain point of Block skill, and parrying should level up your block skill faster. This would be a proper rework.