Hello lads !
I've been playing this mod for 3 years and I played with every class.
Most of the time I played as a shielder and tried every possible builds with it.
Nowadays I see lots of shielders playing so wrong so I am preparing this guide.
There are three ways to play non-hybrid infantry shielders
-Agiwhore archer chaser
-Tanky bruiser to be targeted by enemies and creating opportunities to your infantry
-Balanced all around disrupter.
First thing I have to mention that your main job is not to kill the enemy !
In this game 2handed hero wannabees have the most damage output,after that polearms follow up so your main job is to create opportunities to your teammates who uses those shit.
Although knockdown has been reduced i still suggest you guys to use high weight blunt 1h weapons(Knockdowned enemy is easy target for you and your teammates) and a long,cheap sword to deflect cav (Also to use in 1v1 situations,i'll come to that.)
(i.e: Winged mace + Long Arming Sword)
What are your main objectives as shielder ?
-Protecting your archers
-Disrupting or eliminating enemy archers
-Disrupting,confusing enemy infantry
-Making people so mad so they attack your shield blindlessly therefore creating opportunity to your teammates to kill your enemies.
-Sticking like a glue to enemy high priority targets (Especially spearmen.) Keep em busy
2 Epic weapons of shielder :
1)Hold attacks,it gives blue screen to your enemy ! If he's blocking the direction you are holding to,keep it that way one of your teammates will attack from other direction,if he keeps blocking yours,your teammate will kill him, if he switches to other incoming blow,release your attack and get the kill. Hold attacks are total brain burner use em wisely.
2)Holding shieldblock and circling enemy,make them turn to you and give their backs to your archers or your infantry. You can take lots of hits to your shield so who cares, just make them come to you if you have teammates around,one or two will see you and come to aid.
Don't underestimate Iron Flesh skill.
As a shielder most of the times i died was because of teamhits and those teamhits occur when you go kill hungry.
Don't be that guy . Do not try to kill enemy shielder if your teammate with great maul is attacking him. Just use your footwork and confuse your enemy,create opportunity to your teammate .
Play defensive !
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loginLead the charges to tightspots ! Keep calm in battles, do not lose your nerve you should play as defensive as you can.
Shielders are survivors not killing machines !
If you wanna play aggressive,play other classes because no matter how you play , it takes more hits to kill an enemy compared to polearm or 2h. Im not saying you can't have good KDR as shielder,im saying if you are good at killing folks with 1h, you would have far better KDR with other classes.Shielders shine when you play defensive disrupter of course you can play however you want but to contribute your team your maximum as a shielder is by disrupting enemy and creating opportunities to your teammates.
Afraid of your teammates more than you afraid the enemy. Yes! Especially maulers and huge axe users... They are unbalanced and they won't care if they hit you.Keep your distance with those guys .
What to do on 1v1 situations ?
Know how to block without a shield !
Shield is a huge handicap on 1v1 situations. It's slow,blocks doesn't cover sides properly and so easy to be hiltslashed. Don't use your shield on 1v1 situations.I suggest carrying a long and fast sword with stab animation to deflect cav and to use without a shield. These swords are actually the best weapons to duel due to their speed,damage,reach,ghost range and thin texture which makes em hard to notice.
How to deal with backpedallers ?
Don't ever chase the backpedallers ! Seriously why ? Is he the only living enemy ? If he runs away,that's his call.Look for someone else to mess with. You need to stay with your group to be productive don't leave your group to get kickslashed by backpedaller :)
Let's say you are dueling with one, first don't chase him ! Stand still , block his few swings ,his little brain will start to collapse when you don't respond to his retarded playing method. After few blocks you done,he'll lose his sense and start doing retarded fakes to confuse you,when he starts that , it's your time to play aggressive.Faker expects you to start blocking everyside he shows attack and tire you but when you don't give a fuck about his moves and attack him,he'll be surprised.Follow up with a hold attack then you start faking,take the ropes to your hand,control the pace of battle by doing exactly the opposite your enemy expects you to do. When you go aggressive,you'll start to chase the backpedaller just keep the distance to avoid getting kicked. Use zigzags,insta turns and shit to force him to fail a kick since they can't block while kicking now,this will give you opportunity to deal a safe stirke. Whenever you realize you are chasing a backpedaller just stop. Let him come. Never use your right swing if you are close to enemy enough to deal other directional stirkes.
TLDR: Dueling is like poker.
Strat battles
You are a mobile siege shield for your archers and an expandable pusher infantry. Ladder to walls ? Be the first to reach the walls, pushing towers ? Go right there in front !
Never give a fuck about your KDR
You are a teamplayer screw KDR,it's other classes job, your job is to increase your teammates KDR mostly.
This is my way of playing productive shielder,you may agree or disagree . Thanks for reading and i hope this helps someone out.
Thank you for the advice.
One last question: What armor should I use for your suggested build? Light mail (Mail Shirt, Saracen Mail w/ Padding, etc.) or something lighter/heavier?
Also, been playing shielder for a bit with your build. Pretty effective, though you are a bit squishy unless you wear decent armor. Stab seems to cause a lot of trouble during stand-offs or backpedals, so I'm thinking of getting a stabless weapon (probably normal Scimitar for dat SPEED & LENGTH, plus low cost) with one of the daggers for can-opening, plus a Winged Mace for support/lulz. BTW, should I use all of these at once or swap them before spawning or just drop them on the go?
Shieldwise, thinking of using an Elite Cavalry mostly (possibly a knightly shield) and swapping to a Heavy Heather for tanking.
Sound good?
STR reduces the movement speed penalty caused by weight. Since the build i postedis not high str build, i suggest you to use light to medium armors (I suggest using 10-15 weight)to benefit your 7 athletics .
Winged mace is a great weapon (Like all blunt 1handers) knockdown is just epic.
It weighs 1.7 so if you are willing to carry that extra weight for maybe playing with mace in the round, go for it. I sometimes carry it with me, sometimes not depending on the enemy team's armor and mostly my satisfaction. You should do the same,play the way you like it.
My current setup on shielder alt:
Saracen turban helmet with coif
green tunic over mail
mail gauntlets
mail chausses
elite scimitar
green crescent heater shield
long dagger
cleaver
About the build,yeah it is squishy,that is because you cannot complete shielder builds at level 30 due to extra skill (Shield) we have to put points in compared to other melee classes.
18 str 21agi @ level 33 gives you 5 IF, 6 PS, 7SHIELD, 7ATH, 7WM with 63 hp.
Your hits will hurt much,you wont die easily,you'll be faster with your armor.