Going to make another post for this all together:
Not sure I am a fan of shields having a strength requirement, but it could be possible IF and ONLY IF shield skill was still based on Agility, AND if shield skill actually helped with reducing a shields weight while moving.
Secondly it would require that all shields across the board had a higher weight to discourage wanting to take the super heavy beefy shields without any shield skill whatsoever.
By removing shield skill requirements, if specs do not change, shielders will see a buff in block speed unless you run a 100speed shield with 3 or more shield skill. (Assuming speed values from the shield skill remain unchanged) Heavy shields with a spec above 6 would have a comparable speed to a 100 speed shield currently, making husc with skill of 7+ the same speed as an elite cav / heater shield. To balance this, the heaviest shields should require 18-21 strength at the most, to avoid any potential insta block steel shield agility nonsense.
I am a fan of the idea of everyone being able to pick any shield up and use it, I also feel that it won't artificially buff xbows or anything that much bc of the movement penalties associated with taking a shield (if they were heavier) and having no skill in shield. Essentially range could take advantage of being tougher to kill at a range, at the cost of speed and maneuverability. (Easier to catch kiters)
It could work well if it was implemented properly, that being, it would appeal to players to take a shield to reduce the overall effectiveness of range, and dedicated shielders were given an actual advantage of some kind for taking shield skill.