What shield skill?

[LordRichrich]

I'm going to be using a plate covered round shield, with weapons like the military cleaver and iberian mace, now should I go 18/18 or 21/15? Obviously 18/18 makes my shield last longer and gives me more wpf which is good as I'm going to use relatively slow weapons but 21/15 gives me marginally more health and higher hitting power.
I was considering 15/21 but this might gimp my hitting power but I'm using relativly high damage weapons
Any advice?

[Strider]

I prefer 15/21 cause the WM and athletics are much worth it. But thats just me.

[SchokoSchaf]

Depends much on your personal preference and playstyle.  I played for a long time on 18/18 then changed to 21/15 and felt incredibly slow. Now, after not playing for 2 months the 21/15 build works just fine.

[Digglez]

I would consider 4 the bare minimum for a shielder, but 5 or 6 for a plate covered round shield since its so slow to begin with.

[Sarpton]

I prefer a 21/18 build with 5/6 shield.  Hard hitting, good shield life, fairly quick; Lacks a bit of HPs though.

[Zanze]

21/18 or 18/21. I would prefer the latter, but it is ultimately up to you.

If you know how to use your athletics correctly, then you will hit just as hard as 7 PS with 6. If not harder. Also, being able to pick your fights as a shielder is great. Why fight a maul and 2 axemen when you can easily go somewhere else to fight a swordsman who thinks he is slick by hiding behind that tree a good distance behind you? Or why fight that strength crutcher who will destroy your shield and take ages to kill when you can retreat to your team and help them kill that annoying pike.

[Phew]

Plate covered is an awful shield for anything but cav. Morningstar especially will rip up a plate covered in a couple hits, and it's slower than molasses to boot. Any shield slower than ~85 speed doesn't allow you to recover from accidentally dropping your block during a feint/hold. I don't notice a difference between 90 speed and 100 speed, but <80 speed is a major liability.

Anyway, I've done 4, 5, and 6 shield skill. Even with a +3 Brown Kite, 4 shield is a bit too low, 5 is about perfect, and 6 seems like overkill most of the time, although your forcefield against ranged starts to get pretty huge at 6 skill. Avoid axemen, they will break your shield fast no matter your skill (unless it's 10+, but then you are gimp for other reasons).

[Frell]

Could someone please post the 15/21 build?

Or 18/21

My friend uses it but doesn't remember the build makeup and we can't find it

[oprah_winfrey]

Could someone please post the 15/21 build?

Or 18/21

My friend uses it but doesn't remember the build makeup and we can't find it

I would imagine its something like this:

Level 30 (4 420 577 xp)
Strength: 15
Agility: 21
Hit points: 60
Skills to attributes: 2
Ironflesh: 5
Power Strike: 5
Shield: 7
Athletics: 7
Riding: 0
Horse Archery: 0
Power Draw: 0
Power Throw: 0
Weapon Master: 5
One Handed: 148
Two Handed: 1
Polearm: 1
Archery: 1
Crossbow: 1
Throwing: 1

[CrazyCracka420]

I prefer 15/21 cause the WM and athletics are much worth it. But thats just me.

I disagree.  Having 5 athletics and 7 power strike is better for melee than having 5 power strike and 7 athletics.

[oprah_winfrey]

I disagree.  Having 5 athletics and 7 power strike is better for melee than having 5 power strike and 7 athletics.

IMO having 6 ps is the sweet spot for 1hers, although with the iberian mace or military cleaver you may be able to skimp a little because they have high damage/blunt. I also think that you want atleast 6 ath if you are going to use a heavy shield, and even more so if you are going to use a short weapon like the iberian mace.

[Gravoth_iii]

I use 5 shieldskill, I can take a bunch of hits and still have good health on my shield but Bonus against shield weps are a pain. So i guess 5 shield skill is enough if you avoid axes.

[Formless]

I have played just about every shield build out there, my fav is 21/15.  Its a good overall build.  Decent hitting power for a shielder good mobility and it gives you a good shield. 

15/24 felt nice moving and maneuvering , hitting power is definitely lacking, HP is lacking as well.  And in order to keep your speed and mobility advantage you are sort of stuck using lighter armour.  So in big messy fights you have to be more careful or fight on the outskirts.  If you have lots of experience and good timing this build plays very well, if you are newer give this one a pass for now.

18/18 nice build but felt good moving, hitting power is a bit lacking, good shield.  Overall a nice build if slightly underpowered.

21/15 Good movement, Good hitting power, Good Shield.  Good solid overall build.   It's the build I am using right now.