Cleaving Resistance

Cleaving Resistance is a measure of how effective a piece of Armor or shield, or Weapon is at resisting  cleaving attacks in. Physical resisting reduces, but does not negate, the amount physical damage received.

Armor
Armor (Blades have armor rating against physical damage, and unlike heavy armor some light armors and light shields can also have resistances to certain damages including physical damage.

Unlike armors, shields have a block rating in general, and light shields can often time have a higher resistance for certain damage types, namely cleaving damage. The higher a shield's block rating, the more effective it is, but only while actively blocking (holding the shield button); they are not passive like armors: shield provides no protection otherwise. A shield can be tempered to increase it's block rating, but it will not be shown in tempering menu as to how much or the fact in general for the light armor;s extra block against slashing damage.

A high block will negate more damage than a low block and stagger an opponent, leaving them unable to deal or block damage for a time. It is suggested that the enemy is waited upon while attacking to go into low block, and the user uses high blocks whenever ever possible.