shield ranged coverage

[Corsair831]

hello, i currently have 6 shield skill and an elite cavalry shield

i was wondering, will the shield ranged forcefield be noticeably different at 9 shield skill?

regards, corsair

[Rain]

Not sure if there's a definite science like there is to other things involving the shield, but in my experience the difference between 6 and 9 is vast; both in the 24% reduced damage you would be taking to your shield and also the force field that supposedly grows larger each point.

[Phew]

I honestly think shield forcefield being skill-dependent is a myth. I have multiple screenshots of arrows in my body like an inch outside the shield, and I have 7 shield skill. You really do need a Huscarl shield to have any kind of reliable coverage against projectiles with any shield skill. Unfortunately, a Huscarl will generally get you killed in melee, since it's so heavy and slow.

That said, what bugs me most about shields isn't the crappy coverage against ranged, it's the crappy lateral coverage against melee. People swing around your block all the damn time, even when you are facing directly at them. And devs have said that shield coverage against melee is unaffected by shield skill AND shield width stat; every shielder has to deal with the same awful melee coverage.

[Erzengel]

Shields suck.

[Ronin]

It's not a myth, it helps to avoid getting shot at foot/head. I think it doesn't help sideways. You can to test it in duel with a friend of yours.

Huscarl shield is also really really great, I remember using it back when I was a hoplite. The coverage to sides were really helpful in battle as far as I can tell.
Actually I remember testing it with Erzengel. If I remember correctly, shield skill didn't make an influence on horizontal coverage. But shield coverage did help a bit (huscarl vs knightly kite)

If you're having problems with shields at melee, maybe your ping is a bit higher? All in all, appearance in game can be decieving in some aspects of the game. You have to ignore it sometimes and learn how the game mechanics are coded. It's not really a great thing (it's actually a some sort of problem of the game), but it is acceptable.


-These are all I can say. I think shield skill is really worth it and undervalued.

[Phew]

It's not a myth, it helps to avoid getting shot at foot/head. I think it doesn't help sideways. You can to test it in duel with a friend of yours.

Yes, I have noticed the forcefield is helpful extending below your shield to your feet, but only for projectiles directly in front of you. People shoot me in my head over my shield all the time though, so upward coverage is poor for heater-type shields. Lateral coverage is just garbage, both melee and ranged.

If you remember, many patches ago devs nerfed shield forcefield (it used to be pretty over the top, with shields grabbing projectiles that were't even near you: see native). With the huge proliferation of ranged, the devs should consider rolling that nerf back a bit, to allow a bit more lateral coverage (in both ranged and melee), shield skill-dependent of course.

[Ronin]

Hmm, I didn't know about that patch to be honest. Although it still should make some impact. I don't ever recall hapening something like that to me back when I was a hoplite. I had 6 shield skill back then.

Heater type shields were mostly introduced for cavalry, though. I mean those shields are not really designed for infantry anyway, they have very poor height and even poorer width. I'd really pick huscarl over anything for battle, but I don't know if it makes the shields internally balanced. I didn't really thought much about it, I just grabbed what seemed to be better among shields.

[kinngrimm]

hello, i currently have 6 shield skill and an elite cavalry shield

i was wondering, will the shield ranged forcefield be noticeably different at 9 shield skill?

regards, corsair

no

at least not for those shields i use, which are Huscarl, Elite Cav, Steel Shield, round Steel Buckler and that in comparison to before when the Forcefields had been removed.

This was one of the changes i always liked even though it was a nerf to shield, seeing projectiles hanging arround in mid air is always a bit strange... that was a very long time ago, like 2 years +

@Ronin
If you want a fighting chance against 2h/pole s-key, you need high ath and a fast shield/1h. The faster the shield the better, sure you then have drawbacks in coverarage. But when you face 1+ ranged it doesnt matter if they are well timed how big your shield is, so as shielder you can mostly only follow and take on one kiting ranged player at a time, but block more then one 2h/pole if you get the timing right also counterattack and that last for mmmmmm 5 to 20 hits till that advantage is gone because your shield breaks while 2h/pole .... no broken weapon and meanwhile most players proficient blocking manualy and when those face in greater numbers a shielder, they try to time their spam, which you only can interrupt through outmanouvering them otherwise the best shield with the =<12 shieldskill will break eventually.
That all makes the Huscarl for battle inferior in 90% of all cases in comparison to smaller, faster, less coverage but more resilent shields. Then still not taking into account, that you havent enough slots with huscarl/1h for a decent anticav polearm, which you would need if you want to increase your survivability on the flanks or go perhaps even hoplite for high ping NA fights.

[Ronin]

Ah kinngrimm I see your point. What you say makes a lot of sense. So that's a good thing we have some variety in shields category after all

Why huscarl shield was better for me is mainly because:

1-I was a hoplite, with ashwood pike. My playstyle was completely different I suppose (I wasn't even carrying a sidearm most of the time, no slots problem too). I didn't really have to get close, in fact I strike from afar.
2-I weared considerably lighter armor. To make a comparison between you and me, I see you mostly wear a light kuyak and elite cavalry shield; I used mail shirt with fur and huscarl shield. They roughly have the same weight in total.
3-I somehow learned how to deal with ranged trying to shoot at my sides, maybe it's because I'm used to it from native. Huscarl shield really helped me te catch those projectiles coming at my sides. This was really the main factor for me.
4-I like huscarl for his high hit points + good armor (has the same armor rating of elite cav shield and 150 more hit points). High hit points make it also durable versus axes for long enough.

It was really the perfect shield for me. As I said, I simply grabbed what suited me best. But if I had your build and playstyle (mainly 1h), I think elite cav would be my choice. I could even prefer steel buckler, but that's mostly me being eccentric I guess . The less weight really helps to outmanuever your opponents. Because with 1handers, I think you really need every bit of it.

[Kafein]

Shield skill above requirement has zero use except decreasing damage. And this effectively means shield skill above requirement has no use at all unless you make a point of turtling at all times, or use a really terrible shield.

[kinngrimm]

Shield skill above requirement has zero use except decreasing damage. And this effectively means shield skill above requirement has no use at all unless you make a point of turtling at all times, or use a really terrible shield.

meh there is one use, me who never actually cared to learn to block manually multiple directions, does not need to. In comparison with very skilled manual blockers of which there are more and more, that advantage though dwindles away, as they block as they would have a shield due to their high practise in manual blocking.
For that but for me to have an affect i need more then 8 or more shield skill otherwise, for my taste the shields die off too fast.

Edit:
well and then there are the axes ... and quite a lot of them at times ... and hell are they fast

[Utrakil]

Shield skill above requirement has zero use except decreasing damage. And this effectively means shield skill above requirement has no use at all unless you make a point of turtling at all times, or use a really terrible shield.

For me shieldskill under 5or 6 is useless. Why should I bring a shield to battle if it breakes after the first couple of hits? even without an increase of the forcefield high shieldskill is essential for dedicated shielders (bad manual blockers like me).

[Phew]

Shield skill offers the worst return on point investment of any skill except maybe riding. Shield skill above the requirement just allows you to go one more axe swing between having to pick up shields off the ground. Whoop-de-doo.

I keep repeating it, but I think shield skill needs a complete overhaul:
-Allow everyone to pick up/equip any shield, but introduce huge penalties to durability and coverage if you don't meet the requirement
-Make shield skill reduce the effective weight of shields by ~1kg per skill point
-Shield skill should improve coverage against both ranged and melee
-Shield skill should mitigate against bolt/ballistae penetration. Right now it's only a function of shield armor, so only a handful of shields can stop a steel bolt fired from an arbalest