“The damage is reduced by armor and most damage reduction effects like herbal armor and rock armor, but not by glyphs.”

So, will blocking weapons (Rapier, Q Staff, Shield, Katana, G Shield) help reduce the pricking damage received from upgrading the chalice?

Edit : Sorry, seems like my bad english strike back. To make it clear, I did not mean the blocking enchantment but weapons with blocking capability (as listed in previous paragraph).