Weapon master, now more than prepatch, is THE BEST thing to buy: "only swing speed" OP says is increased: FALSE, it ups your dmg. And since you faster and tougher, thats good right? Ironflesh does NOTHING unless you are in plate armour, Shields are melted by anyone with half a brain, and "people who cannot manual block" translates to: PEOPLE WHO ARE PLAYING THE WRONG GAME. Warband and cRPG are not some MMO where each class has its place: Its about personal skill, and there are 2 essential skillls: Timing, and blocking. Using shields is NOT one of those skills. Theres a reason a weapon will never break when you block, but shields break: The reason is, shields are a silly thing, a crutch, learn to walk alone.