1H+Shield is op.

[Tibe]

I like manual blocking more than shieldblock. Its allows for more free combatmoves. And frankly from what ive seen, people who play shielder for years get their ass kicked so hard by newbies once their precious forcefield is gone. Break those shielders shield or give em some other weapon and they will probably stab themselves in the eye with it. Years of training my ass...

[Taser]

Nope, it's not.
Once you know how to block the shield is usally just in the way and the dmg is inferior than 2h/pole.

Although the crowd-control is very nice.

This. Love me some crowd control.

For starters shielder is easier. This is imo how the skillcurve works

(battle-wise)
noobs 1h+shield is OP vs 2h
medium players both can be rather equal
Pro players  2h need a better overview of the battlefield to do as well as a pro shielder (or he will get shot/ ganked), apart from that he is an equal.
 
(duel-wise)
Noobs  shield is OP
medium - pro players  2h OP

And this. No need to say anything more.

/thread

[CrazyCracka420]

+1 from me. The fact that you can block without caring for the direction is Imo the only advantage a shielder has and as soon as it breaks (which it will sooner or later) this advantage is gone. Your shield makes you slower (as a shielder you're usually slower than your 2h opponents) and the correct footworkj is hard to master.

Being able to block ranged projectiles is probably just as big of an advantage/strength to carrying a shield as well as what you said.  On top of that, being able to block multiple hits from different directions at the same time is awesome.

[Macropus]

Actually strength-oriented 1h are quite good for duelling (24-18 for example).

Overall in battle 2h and shielder are equially effective, but you need to adapt your playstyle to your class:
as a shielder you want to be in the clusterfuck fighting like 10 vs 10, and as 2h I believe you should be looking for small group fights like 3 vs 3 or duels.

[brockssn]

Dueling is definitely my biggest challenge. I find battle to be easy mode playing on Teutonic_Brock or BadBrock. Chambering with a shield has become a must, and kicking with a shield is so risky but sometimes the only way to kill your enemy. I think any good 2h should be able to kill a shielder 1v1 though. But then again its been a long time since I haven't used a 1h with stab in a while due to the glancing bs going on which makes it pretty easy for a 2h to win.

[Vodner]

as a shielder you want to be in the clusterfuck fighting like 10 vs 10, and as 2h I believe you should be looking for small group fights like 3 vs 3 or duels.

While shielders are undoubtedly the king of packed group fights, a long 2h can be really effective if played like a support class in those situations. The stab gives you range on par with some of the support polearms, and the overheads do heaps of damage (and work great alongside stabby polearms).

[oprah_winfrey]

Shield has two big benefits to it.

1) You can block while completely hammered.
2) It shops ranged.