This will come with experience, you noticing I mean.
It does not have to be a certain way. But as you play more you’ll notice it. It is WYSIWYG (to an extent), except for disappearing equipment of sorts or non-essentials.
I’m happy with what it is now, personally.
The damage value of your shield. When does it apply, when not, which skills make (hidden) use of it?
Is it static damage like retaliation, or is it increased by cunning, +%physical and +%total damage and in case of a Spectral Shield also by spirit and +%vitality stats.
Do OA/DA values apply? Can it crit? Can it fail? Are there defenses against it, do resistances apply?
Well, most games have non obvious/documented features and the only way for players, new or old, to learn about these features is to ask, which Torin did. 
I think Torin’s main concern at this point is these unique items aren’t visible enough and I’d have to agree on that point. That being said, there were only a few unique items I say equipped on mobs in TQ. I usually just kill them then worry about loot. But learning what they look like equipped will help farming those mobs easier.
TLDR: I agree with his point about the unique items not being very noticeable.
I have a question about the blocked damage via shield block. Lets say my shield can block up to 350 damage. Is this done after or before damage reduction is applied? (Armor, resistances, etc…). I’ve always assumed it was after, or shields would be pretty weak, but never read any sort of confirmation of this.
Damage blocked is calculated after all resistances are taken into account iirc.
It would be kinda dumb otherwise, imo. What would be the point of resists if they weren’t taken into account for blocks?..
Same as this question, but I’d like to add % phys resistance and damage absorption. So the order of damage mitigation of these 4 stats: armor, resistance, shield and absorption.
I agree, it should be more noticeable.
I think it’s a shame that such a cool feature is not immediately noticeable! It might be down the line with higher tier items, but it should definitely stick out more. It’s awesome.
EDIT:
Also, regarding shield damage blocked. Does it block all forms of damage? Like spells, elemental, projectiles, weapons, physical?
Good misadventure. Will Weapon Pool Skill Weights and %Weapon Damage on skills appear in the game guide? There’s a few quirks that aren’t clear to newcomers regarding these two systems (both have been explained on the forums multiple times).
In TQ, mobs using sepcial equipment were quite noticeable.
I knew it was carried over to GD, but it’s not very visible here. Is it due to darker or grittier graphics ?
To me visibility is about the same. I missed some there, I miss some here…
It depends a lot on the item. A Wardens cleaver shines birght red, Elemention is a rainbow orb, you cant miss them. On the other side a Duelists Saber looks like a regular sword on the first glance.
I love seing a MI like the bonecrusher on the trolls, that guaranteed drop you can see beforehand is just awesome!
Pretty sure its mostly from not recognizing all the items yet. Some items are painfully obvious, some are not, same as TQ.
If you see Storm Edge, Lightning Rod, Maiven’s Hood, etc, it’s VERY obvious when they have it. Others like Grenadier Shoulders, Miasma Hood, its not as obvious because they don’t have a dead giveaway effect or color scheme.
Thanks for the grim update Devs! It is really nice to get on today because it is my birthday 
so thanks again for that little treat!
Many unique items (such as Duelist’s Saber) do not even have their final art yet.
Since it came up so often:
The order of events for calculating whether you take damage is as follows:
Projectile Fumble/Dodge
OA vs DA
Damage Absorption
Armor
Resistances
Shield blocking
Shields block any damage type, not just physical. So if you have a weapon attack that deals all fire damage, a shield could block its damage.
Also, i have a few comments about crafting.
Will there be other ways to sort through and find recipes? For instance, with runes will there be a way to view it via tier and then alphabetical instead of just alphabetical? Will there be a search function to insta-find whatever recipe you’re looking for?
Now just looking into the future a bit… we can currently craft items above the level cap like level 36 items. Will it always be this way until the final expansion? So, say the base game’s the max level is 75, could we still craft items up to something like a level 80 item in preparation for the coming expansions? just a thought i had
I really love the gamble factor with crafting, especially now with multiplayer! If the awesome item i’ve crafted doesn’t fit any of my builds then i don’t mind giving it away to a good home
Thanks! And flat damage absorption in menhirs bullwark, where does that fit in?
Should have just said Damage Absorption. Edited my post.
How does defensive ability and armor rating(and chance to hit area) affects each other?
Would it be possible to move the enemy info ( such as OA and DA, and other stuff) below its HP bar when we hover over and start attacking?
Would it be possible and relatively easy to add its own casting animations for certain skills with or without mod tools?
50% cooldown reduction doable?
Will the “I don’t know what are you talking about Devotion tab” be the last of major features implemented or are there more planned… somewhere?
Love the new UI skin. It’s really solid.