1h shielder build help

[Kafein]

As a EU player, I wouldn't dare go below 21 agi with a weapon as short as the warhammer. Fighting while being slower and having the shortest (by far) weapon is a nightmare.

Personally I don't even bother with weapons under 80 length. I only seriously used one when I had a +3 broad axe. But a military cleaver is just much better than this. Although I would even more strongly recommend against any low damage (under ~30 unheirloomed) cut weapon without a STR build, the patience, the concentration and the consistent blocking it requires.

The blunt weapon I would recommend is the military hammer. It is the longest 1h hammer and you can surprise many opponents with it's length. This also allows for faster turning into your swings, which effectively compensates it's mediocre speed.

[San]

Looking at the newgen calc with max PS/ATH/WM characters in mid-light gear weight:

35 Cut:
Against 70Hp, 60 Body armor
18/21: 3-11 on head, 4-13/14 elsewhere
24/15: 3-8 on head, 3-9/10 elsewhere

75 Hp, 65 Body armor
18/21: 4-17 head, 4-20 body, 5-22 elsewhere

65 Hp, 50 Body armor
18/21: 3-6 head, 3-7 body, 3-8 elsewhere
24/15: 2-5 head, 3-6 elsewhere

Max WM saves a ton of hits on armor at higher values. The high values simply comes from the amount of glances/low damage hits. STR builds don't really make much use of WM too much, but ironing out the glances is always a plus.

Pierce weapon difference is only by ~2 max hits and 1 min hit difference.

With holds and speed bonus, I believe it's possible to have comparable damage to strength builds against medium armor and below. However, I do not like hitting people when fighting against groups and having them still alive. I prefer the power to take them down quickly, since I will be getting outranged by 2h stabs and spears, so speed might not help too much sometimes. I like the slightly extra tankiness, although 21 STR 7 IF is more than enough.

[Malaclypse]

Also 50 armor and 70 HP is a bit on the soft side.

50 armor is on the soft side. Lol, this stupid metagame, man. Only in cRPG could that ever be considered to be the unfortunate case.

[rustyspoon]

Looking at the newgen calc with max PS/ATH/WM characters in mid-light gear weight:

35 Cut:
Against 70Hp, 60 Body armor
18/21: 3-11 on head, 4-13/14 elsewhere
24/15: 3-8 on head, 3-9/10 elsewhere

75 Hp, 65 Body armor
18/21: 4-17 head, 4-20 body, 5-22 elsewhere

65 Hp, 50 Body armor
18/21: 3-6 head, 3-7 body, 3-8 elsewhere
24/15: 2-5 head, 3-6 elsewhere

Max WM saves a ton of hits on armor at higher values. The high values simply comes from the amount of glances/low damage hits. STR builds don't really make much use of WM too much, but ironing out the glances is always a plus.

Pierce weapon difference is only by ~2 max hits and 1 min hit difference.

With holds and speed bonus, I believe it's possible to have comparable damage to strength builds against medium armor and below. However, I do not like hitting people when fighting against groups and having them still alive. I prefer the power to take them down quickly, since I will be getting outranged by 2h stabs and spears, so speed might not help too much sometimes. I like the slightly extra tankiness, although 21 STR 7 IF is more than enough.

One thing to remember about the newgen calc is the number of hits is a tad misleading.

The maximum number of hits is calculated by doing minimum damage on EVERY swing. Just as the minimum amount of hits is based on doing MAX damage on every swing. Statistically, the chances of that ever happening are astronomical.

You're much better off finding the average damage based off the min and max values and calculating your hits from there.

Generally the number of hits between 6 PS and 8 PS (when using 1-handers) is a difference of 0-1 depending on the targets HP. WPF is also really important to damage as you guessed. It multiplies with PS, so the higher they both are, the better.

I'm not saying agi is better than str, I honestly think they are both pretty well balanced for the most part. But saying that you need at least 7 PS as a 1-hander is just plain wrong. Initial weapon damage and damage TYPE are far more important. Against a high-armor target, someone with 4 PS and a blunt weapon will do about the same damage as someone with 8 ps and a cut weapon.

This is a beginner's forum, which is why I'm trying so hard to dispel this myth. I just want them to know what's possible. That can lead to more experimentation on their part until they find the build that ultimately works for them.

[Elmokki]

I was 18/21 shielder with +3 italian sword for a generation. It was fun, but I wasn't good enough with the stabs and thus a sword - especially italian sword - wasn't worth it. It was hilarious to jumpstab cavalry with a shortish onehander though.

Now after half a gen of polearms I respecced back to 18/21 with a +3 military hammer after trying out throwing and planning to go for 21/18. There is absolutely no way I would go for less than 18 agility as a shielder at least. Sure, pretty much anything from 27 to 15 strength is probably very viable if you can play that style and have the correct weapon (protip: blunt/pierce especially if you have low ps) but the speed you gain from higher agility translates very nicely to ability to fight groups by surprising people with your superior mobility.

Also while more than 5 or so in shields isn't necessary, it's pretty funny to have 7 shields or more. Your shields will still break quick against armor breaking weapons, but god, the bucklers become so much better. I used to use the larger buckler - which is slower than elite cavalry shield though - and with 7 shields you can block arrows if you look at the general direction of the shooter. It's awesome to see the force field in action. That buckler is also nearly unbreakable against non-shield breaking weapons. However personally I only mind my shield breaking when there are ranged I need immediate protection from - you can usually find a new one anyway.

It's seriously a matter of what you want however.

With high strength you can become able to take hell of a beating and do great things with the awesome stab and left-to-right animations should you be able to stay in range. Plate covered round shield should be surprisingly durable with even 4 shields too.

With balanced build you can... well.. yeah.

With high agility you can become very mobile and should you want you can get pretty awesome protection from your shield almost regardless of what you use. I definitely recommend a mace or a pick for low strength though.