Blocking no longer reduces damage, but nullifies it entirely. The player is now stunned when blocking an attack instead of damaged, with the stun time being proportional to damage nullified. The damage factored in to stun time would be reduced by current block modifiers.
Also add or rework some shields to be more block-focused. The fact that the best way to use every shield besides assault is just to parry without factoring in more complex effects makes them all feel very similar.
Such a shield could be something like this: https://discord.com/channels/329403875117236225/1130333500646625401