difficulties with my 1h/shield char

[kinngrimm]

I will learn to block without a shield ;) i know this tipp/responce i'll get for the following i want to say, but it takes time and i am fairly new to the game.
I will also learn the mechanics behind faints which i don't quite understand yet how they work other then switch between attack block attack,but it seem that some are able to go straight to the second attack without going into a block stance. How do they do that inform of mouse handling?

Betwween the latest .201 patch and.200 i played mainly my second character a thrower and did quite well, i was in small to medium servers 10 - 70 people able to be in  the first third of the kill counter. By the way i like the not so crowded servers.  You can more often have somesorts of duels without being disturbed basicly every time like on 70+ populated servers and now you still get good xp/gold. With so many people perhapsdepending also onlotsofnew peopel the bigger the crowd themore they are like a fishswarm. Smaller groups better tactics.

Now I tried again with my 1h/shield (3rd generation, lvl 27, agi 21 str 14, in the end 24 agi) and i suck badly, even worse then before the patch, if my shield doesn't break from 2h Spamming where i dont have a clue how to react to other then keep my distance, look for places where the long weapon gets blocked or just run to other team mates while properbly getting stabbed in the back and this way bringing my teammate properbly into trouble too, i got oneshot killed a lot because of my light armor, 2 ironflesh and shields didn't hold long or dont cover at all against archers.

I'd like some advice on that other then what i mentioned in my first sentence. What can i do to improve my char or myself to handle these situations better? Do i need to get myself agi 30 to become a spammer build myself (24 agi is allready quite spamm mode i guess) ?

Is there a guide to 1h/shield tactics you can pinpoint me to? Like doineedto move right or left after that faint doing left right thrust or upper attack ...

[Cheesecake]

do you have decent athletics?

instead of moving away from those 2hand spammers move into them inside their range where their weapons will only do glancing blows or less damage. then try to circle/strafe around them to get to their backs.  if your wpf is high enough (i assume it is because of your 24 agi) then you can get around their side and swing so that your sword will connect before theirs does negating their hit.

at least that seems to work well for me when im using an awlpike/shield id imagine a 1hand sword would be easier due to being faster

[1slander]

Have you tried spamming your attack?  Use a fast weopon and dont stop swinging.  Block once or twice with the shield moving in fast then get in there close and start swinging.  It's cheap, skilless and very effective.  Strafe them constantly right up against them - and keep those attacks coming.  I'm sure things have changed a little since patch, but spam ftw hands down.  Let the ones who cry about spammers be the ones who can't whistle anymore. 

Keep on whistling.

[Matey]

I assume you have a huscarls? also, more points in shield will increase durability. best tip though, is as cheesecake said, get too close for comfort. you want to be in their face. as for guys who do the crazy feint spam stuff... it takes getting used to, my best advice is to wait till you hear the sound of something hitting your shield, then you can try to hit them. I do very well with my 1hand + shield build, and i totally screwed up it thinking i could retire right away (6 riding and only 3 athletics right now :X). anyways, youll get used to it. try out some different weapons as well. swords are great for lighter armour guys, axes and maces can solve heavier armour.

[Engine]

If you're using a shield, the SAFEST way to play is to only attack immediately after you hear the sound of their weapon hitting your shield, as mentioned earlier. This way, you cannot be suckered by feinting. I don't think it's as fun as feinting yourself, but it'll keep you alive a lot longer.

If you're fighting someone you know can kick your ass, do this and maneuver to get teammates to help you kill him.

If you're fighting anyone else, it's a lot more fun to just fight them and do some feinting of yourself.

[HeroZero]

Don't use a sword, grab a pick, axe, or blunt weapon.

Don't just spam, that's for scimitars. Strafe just out of their range with your shield up, make them miss, run into them, and hug them like a boxer. Strafe around them, one hit on the side, one hit from behind. Kill, move on to the next one.

[kinngrimm]

thanks for all the replies, some of it i didn't try some needs more practice.  Though your tipps are appreciated.

I got 7 in wpf aswell in athletics, perhaps with agi 24 i up each one a last time.
I mostly use light armor so that the athletics has the most effect, in combination with a steel shield or buckler.
The more people are on a server the more  i tend to use my havy armor, makes me slow but uncontroled attacks from team mates or when i myself run blindly  into their strike don't kill me at once.

Again to the fainting, i try to provoke the sound on my shield by attack(not finished),block. But what i mentioned in my first post is, it looks from some players(1h/shielder) they can just go straight to another attack instead of blocking in betweeen. How do they do that? just faster mousetriggerlike attack(not finished)-block-attack? Icant seemyself as i see otehr palyers so i cant say if i do it like that allready ... perhaps.

[Kafein]

Don't use the imba pick or spammitar, if you have some self-esteem. Allways wait for your shield to get hit before attacking. You can feint too, but first make sure your opponent isn't spamming. If the opponent spams, it's even easier. Just wait for the hit and do a left swing (will usually hit the head, a deadly attack). You can even try to do chamber blocks with some practice, but stick to footwork/feinting as long as you don't feel confortable with it.

[KaMiKaZe_JoE]

As others have said: FIGHT WITH YOUR EARS! Only counter attack when you've heard the sound of their weapon hitting your sheild "Thunk!"

When fighting with a sheild, especially if your opponent also has a sheild, try to avoid falling into the back-and-forth rhythem of "swing, block, swing, block". If you find yourself and your opponent in such a situation, where you are evenly trading blows back and forth, then do something to throw off that rhythem. Instead of swinging once at them, swing twice in a row very quickly. Instead of attacking after you block, simply pause for a moment, THEN attack. Generally your opponent will continue with the previous "rhythem" of the fight, and will be caught unawares by any changes.

And don'g forget to use overhead and stab! Overhead always gets 'em.

[Ishar]

Very important: you pretty little one-handed weapon is a joke on damage side. Heavy armor is still fairly common, and your attack will bounce off those a lot. Even medium armor sucks up quite a large portion of your damage, so you absolutely have to invest in power strike. 3-4 is a definite minimum.

Allways wait for your shield to get hit before attacking. You can feint too, but first make sure your opponent isn't spamming. If the opponent spams, it's even easier. Just wait for the hit and do a left swing (will usually hit the head, a deadly attack).

Also, this. As simple as this might sound, I can beat most people with it. Even if he blocks for a while, if you have a somewhat durable shield (buckler, steel, or the pinnacle of awesomeness, huscarl) you can take your time, and exchange blows like this. If you mind your footwork, your opponent will most likely make a mistake before you do: remember, you only have to push block, he has to mind the direction. His part is easier to screw up.
Against another shield user, this will take a hell of a lot of time. If you want to speed this up, keep a secondary weapon, something with bonus against shields, and just break his shield. Most shielders are below average manual blockers (including me), so if you destroy his shield, he will be easy prey. Any axe will do for this - personally, I use my throwing axes in melee mode; maybe not the best tool (range of a hatchet), but I think it's a luxury to waste a weapon slot for something special as this. If you don't use thrusts that much (with a sword, you should), you can change your main weapon to an axe alltogether.

[Toldfield]

FEINT TECHNIQUE, SIMPLE. ONE WAY

PRETEND YOU ARE USING. caps lock deactivated.
ok, pretend you are using your index and middle finger to make a hand person walk across the table, now make him run really really fast across your desk. do it..

ok, that is step one.

step two, make him run really fast on the spot.

step three, move hand and fingers into position on mouse and 'caps lock activated' RUN LIKE CRAZAYYYY

step 4, play around with it, holding attack lil longer (never hold block longer than an instant tap..) doing multiple feints etc etc.

And now onto your shield char. wait, i didnt read after you didnt know how to feint part and im not going to. learn to block then ill read it.

cheese

[KaMiKaZe_JoE]

Toldfield's post is full of genius and is victorious.

[Thomek]

Hey..

I think I spammed you to death on a couple of occasions last knight.

I have a speed spec, but i cannot outspam you. By that I mean attack back faster than you can swing at me. I do imitate swings with feints, but also a bit more advanced, ending the strike from above in a right block, looks more like a complete swing to some..  Sometimes I pretend that i miss, while I actually feint etc.. Listen to the sound to be 100% sure.

When you hear the sound, and you attack back immediately, i MUST block your swing, unless I try to avoid it, but that is very risky for me.
Good shielders ALWAYS attack back after the shield hit. My block will probably fail sooner than your shield, and your shield will probably last long enough for friends or cav to arrive.

Then there is the metagame, where I know someone will attack back, I can try to jump out instead of blocking, hitting them back mid-swing. Also, completely random spammers tend to get me.. But I think I get them more :-D

Since we had a few encounters, I think I remember I walked from side to side, trying to hit your back. It's my standard technique against shielders, and it works well because I have lots of agi and light armor, so if I'm close it's easy for me to hug you, circle you and control the fight. It's also hard for you to hit me, and to see if im feinting or not. I can get almost all shielders this way except the very very best ones...

well good luck!

PS: And head over to Nditions Duel server to learn manual blocking and all the tricks in the book. Your shield is just a temporary defense.

[kinngrimm]

@Kafein i use my sidesword and nordic short war sword, the left attack is the fastest one, isn't it? It surly looks to me that way. Is there a ranking on the speed on different attacks?

Chamber blocks is another concept i heard about and have seen about it in some youtube vids. But still no clue on mysite . Is it allways the opposite attack, allways the same or is it weapon dependable?

@Toldfield
man this will take some time to get into it. I will try it and remember, thanks  a lot.

@Ishar , i got 0 in PS in this generation, i wanted to concentrate on Athletics and WPM, i got that before that i should use a shield crusher, but it didn't seem elegant to me, effective though. And the other problem with that is  i cant use so much siege stuff which i kind of like very much. I try to get siege shields for the archers to their spots or  a ladder to overwhelm the enemies from above or constructions to c***block the cav(if that doesn't help i get out my unskilled pike)

@KaMiKaZe_JoE Yeah  i noticed that with the overhead attack. Since patch .200 i tried to make it my specialty. Lots of archers and guys who where saving their money died that way  ,  rythm bashing only destroys my own shield, thats why i wanted high athletics to not use my shield for the short weapons necessarily so when the havy hitters/tincans come i can hug them.

@ Thomek yes i remember you the rape that was waitin to happen to me, i told my team from the first encounter on and on afterwards. That your flank including with the Samurai you were with, was our week spot. I know it is a team effort but if someone, like you is closing in from behind fast, it surly changes the outcome.  They just were jokin about ninjas, your are  defenitly 1 of the 2 deadliest i met till now, the other one was on a duel server but sadly i cant rember his name atm.
Nditions Duel server we will meet again Master.

Another question crossed my mind. The different attacks do have a slightly different range, or is that only my imagination?
Simple to conclued from attacking a wall or another solid object. You can see if they were kind of blocked or swung through.

wow guys:) you rule, very good tipps, now i will go practise and be back with more questions.
Again thanks a lot to all of you.

[MrNicklebe]

People have covered most of the obvious tactics already, but no one has talked much about jumping it seems. This only really works quite well for shielders and especially against mobs of 2 or more against you.

It doesn't work every time but there have been several occasions where it's worked for me with hilarious results. You basically just run into the mobs center using your shield as frontal cover for the first few seconds of hits. Then jump when you feel you have the situation under control block-wise and a big swing is coming your way (2hander/pole arms usually).

From many many small skirmishes I've began to notice this tactic confuses the mob slightly because most shielders just turtle up and back pedal away in a hope some team mates will come to rescue them. Sadly and quite often you'll get one idiot who just mindlessly swings and hits/kills a teammate within the mob. This can be a big help, thinning out the mob for you. When the TK happens the mob once again finds itself confused especially the tk'er himself. This is a good opportunity to attack and get a sneaky hit in too  .

One hilarious example of this tactic was when I found myself surrounded on not so steep hill side. The fact I was on a hill allowed me to jump and land on one of my enemies heads. I managed to balance there for a while whilst they all swung at each other. Eventually I did fall off the guys head and meet my end, but it still always reminds me how valuable jump can be for a shielder.

So to conclude run into the mobs center and use your shield and hopefully your agility/athletics/jump to get behind people and get people hitting each or I suppose not swinging at all because they don't wanna TK someone. This is probably more of a general crowd control tactic, but unless you're the most epic manual blocker ever you're going to have big trouble pulling this off without a shield.