The damage credit system is somewhat exploitable, leading to situations where shiftstones do/don't activate their effects when you think they should/shouldn't.

What I mean by "stealing" damage credit is that Player A sends a structure at Player B. (As far as I understand) Player A modified the structure last, meaning if it hits a player, Player A will receive the corresponding shiftstone effects.

However, Player B modifies the structure just before it hits them. Even though Player A sent a structure at Player B, which they failed to prevent getting hit by, Player B will be given credit for the hit since they modified it last. This means that Player B will receive their own shiftstone effects and prevent Player A from receiving theirs.

Examples of the above scenario:

Player A, summons a disc, Player B, using Adamant, parries the disc, but is too late and the disc hits them anyways. Player B would activate their Adamant, meaning they take 0 damage instead of the expected 1.

Player A has Surge active and sends a loose cube at Player B. Player B dashes and holds, trying to RTS. Player B holds the cube, but it's too late and gets hit. The cube should deal 4 damage (3+1 from Surge) and grant Player A another Surge buff, but instead deals 3 damage, and Player A doesn't activate Surge.

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My reasons for wanting this change is that:

I don't think players should be rewarded for failing to defend.

These interactions are confusing, and it can be unclear what exactly happened when a player takes damage.

It can be frustrating to feel like you were robbed, or scummy to feel like you cheated your opponent.

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I propose that there should be a slight "grace period" before modifying structures changes the structure ownership when self damaging. I can suggest 0.5 seconds, but that's just a vibes-based number and it should probably be decided by something more concrete.

To clarify, this grace period would only apply to self damage, and should not apply if a player modifies a structure and then hit their opponent with it within the grace period.

This solution could also create some odd situations. For example, trying to Hold Straight a fallen wall that your opponent modified last and accidentally hitting yourself would give credit to the opponent, but I think overall implementing the grace period would be a net positive.

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In terms of shiftstone balance, this is what I predict would happen:

Adamant would receive a net nerf: using Adamant as a safety net for failed parries and RTS would no longer be viable, but Adamant users would more consistently get buffs from their own damage.

Surge would receive a slight buff: While activating Surge from self damage can be used against your opponent, damaging yourself while Surge is active will just damage you more, so overall it would be a net benefit to have damage credit be properly attributed.

Vigor would receive an objective buff: Vigor has no effect on self damage, so taking self damage can't benefit a defender using Vigor, only an attacker.

Considering the common consensus on the three stones is that Adamant is the best, Surge is in the middle, and Vigor is the worst, this change brings the three stones more in line with each other.

However, I think balance is a secondary priority in this situation and the main priority here is reducing the amount of confusing/irritating situations that occur.