As much as it physically pains me, I think I'm going to respec away from Archer, which is a shame.
So far I have been having such great fun with my current shielder:
Level 30
Strength: 21
Agility: 15
Hit Points: 70
7 Power Strike
7 Iron Flesh
5 Shield
5 Athletics
5 Weapon Master
146 1H WPF
... That I have decided to respec into shielder (or at least, 80% chance that I will)
I'm having a hard time deciding between these two builds, any thoughts?
Klapvisier
Rus Scale Armour
Mail Mittens
Rus Splinted Greaves
Military Cleaver
Huscarl Shield
Level 32
Strength: 15
Agility: 24
Hit Points: 50
5 Power Strike
8 Shield
8 Athletics
8 Weapon Master
157 1H WPF
100 Xbow WPF
Will likely downgrade shield and possibly armour to allow Crossbow and Bolts
Level 32
Strength: 21
Agility: 18
Hit Points: 64
7 Power Strike
4 Iron Flesh
6 Shield
6 Athletics
6 Weapon Master
157 1H WPF
Since you basically know how to avoid old «danger arrows», new «safety» arrows is a joke...
And there are not too much counters for fast crushthrower...
Strength: 21
Agility: 21
Hit points: 66
Skills to attributes: 8
Ironflesh: 5
Power Strike: 7
Shield: 0
Athletics: 7
Riding: 0
Horse Archery: 0
Power Draw: 0
Power Throw: 0
Weapon Master: 7
One Handed: 1
Two Handed: 166
Polearm: 1
Archery: 1
Crossbow: 1
Throwing: 1
Find loomed great maul... Add something with good stab for horse killing, 60-70 armor points...
just imagine
I am currently running these two builds on Rhaelys with a War Spear and a Plate Covered Round Shield, with points in Polearm instead of 1H.
Level 32 (17 784 806 xp)
Strength: 21
Agility: 21
Hit points: 64
Skills to attributes: 10
Ironflesh: 4
Power Strike: 7
Shield: 5
Athletics: 7
Weapon Master: 0
One Handed: 115
Level 33 (35 569 612 xp)
Strength: 21
Agility: 21
Hit points: 70
Attributes to skills: 1
Skills to attributes: 10
Ironflesh: 7
Power Strike: 7
Shield: 5
Athletics: 7
Weapon Master: 0
One Handed: 117
Note: I'm not exactly the best 1h out there, so take what I say with a grain of salt (I've played 3 gens of 1h, and I still find it harder than 2h / polearms).
Level 33 (35 569 612 xp)
Strength: 18
Agility: 24
Skills to attributes: 8
Power Strike: 6
Shield: 5
Athletics: 8
Weapon Master: 7
One Handed: 166
The extra WPF doesn't gain you much swing speed, but it should reduce upkeep costs (which is nice if you like to carry two weapons). It will also substantially increase damage vs players with little to no armor. Some or all of those points can just as easily be sunk into IF or shield.
Going up to 8 PS will only increase your average damage output vs 50 body armor by 2.5 points (from 18.5 to 21 damage for a +3 mil. cleaver). That drops to 2 extra points of damage vs 60 armor. That being said, I'm not sure if a max speed bonus hit at 6 PS and 8 ath does more damage than a max speed bonus hit at 8 PS and 6 ath. I'm also not certain how much damage 2 extra PS would gain when hitting the head (which is fairly easy with 1h).
With 8 ath, you will have amazing footwork options. You will be able to score a much larger speed bonus on your hits (which seems to be a better source for extra damage on 1h, at least AFAICT). Fights vs multiple opponents will become easier. In group combat, you will be able to quickly dance in, score a hit on an unsuspecting opponent, and dance out. The only thing you really have to watch for is the fact that speed bonus works both ways - if you run face-first into a swinging nodachi, you stand a good chance of dying in a single hit.
Edit:
Apparently, even with the updated armor values for cut/pierce/blunt, the damage calculator was not producing accurate values until recently. It looks like 1h benefits more from PS than I thought. I still prefer having the agility, though.