Kicking as a shielder...

[Crob28]

is pretty much useless am I right in saying?  Seeing as you are unable to block at all odds are you take a hit even if the kick lands, I've been trying it lately and even when it connects I usually end up being hit by my opponents swing anyway.  Am I doing it wrong or is kicking more of a mechanic for non shieldy players?

[Smoothrich]

When you kick there is a cooldown before you can attack again.  A good way of feeling this out is holding W, once your character begins moving after winding down from the kick you will be able to attack.  You need to be fast and accurate and it is guaranteed hit.

[Crob28]

yea i get the benefits of using it, esp when in deadlocks against other shielders and thats why i've been tryin to implement it into my playstyle but so far the total vulnerability I have to expose myself to in order to use it just doesnt seem like a worthwhile tradeoff, like I see 2h/poles for example kick whilst blocking so even if they miss they are relatively safe whereas if I miss i'm going to take a hit more often than not.

[MrShine]

I rarely use it unless I'm being face-hugged in a place where there is nowhere to go.

If you use it at the right times it nets a free hit.  But the right time comes rarely.

[Diomedes]

I rarely use it unless I'm being face-hugged in a place where there is nowhere to go.

If you use it at the right times it nets a free hit.  But the right time comes rarely.

This.  By and large I just try to hit behind or above a shield.  Some folks may have seen me doing crazy jump+stabs recently, which is my way of practicing the over-shield hit [while feeling like a badass].

[Matey]

kicking is a lot more advantageous for those with longer reach weapons as they can hold a swing, try to kick, and if they miss the kick they just let go of the swing and if your opponent has a short reach wep... then chances are he will get hit unless he blocks... but its actually a very low risk maneuvre if you have a big reach advantage cause they have to dodge to a side to avoid the kick and then they gotta close in again while you let go of your swing... hopefully that makes sense... im a shielder with 72-85 reach wep... so i have been kicked around many a time

[Warcat]

Kicking is proven to be the best way to kill Tavern Keepers.

[Leesin]

Lol.

Well, in my experience the kick is no longer a tool that is used much simply because there was a stage where alot of kicking happened, but over time people became more mobile and unpredictable in movement because of the kick, so kicking now has far less opportunities to be used, simply because alot of people know from experience not to move directly at his opponent or in straight lines within kick range.

The last time I remember having the opportunity to land a kick with 100% chance is because whilst I held my shield up, some guy came at me with his shield held up and for some reason he just stood on the spot right infront of me, which resulted me kicking him then chopping down onto his head.

This could also be the result of that because kick slashing is a rather rare occurance nowadays ( atleast from what I see ) that people themselves forget they can even kick and be kicked. Happens to me sometimes, after a fight I'll realise I had an opportunity to kick and I didn't simply because I forgot about kicking, lol. Where as when the game was first around, everyone was getting kick slashed.

[Ujin]

I'm still trying to master it , but i tend to use the kick more and more often as a shielder. It's worth it.

[Vibe]

It's very hard to pull of an unblockable attack after you kick with the shield, it seems to have some extra delay.

[DarkFox]

When warband came out kick was much more useful. Any facehuging against advanced player was 100% that you will be kickslashed. For some reason kick was nerfed. Dont know, maybe it possible to return old kick with WSE?

[Kansuke]

I only risk a kick if I am 100% sure it will work, as the shielder you can't block while kicking so if you miss and your opponent is good, you are sure to get slashed inthaface.

Imo shieldbash is very much needed to counter the kick advantage other class have.

[Diomedes]

I think shielders can block while kicking, though they retain a movement speed slow from having their shield up.  Not very many places to use it though 

[Phew]

They only time I would benefit from kicking a shielder would be when I'm cornered and they are facehugging me, but in that situation, I can't land a swing after the kick anyway, thanks to the changes to how weapons catch on walls now. If I'm within 5ft of a wall, I can't land ANY kind of swing now. 

When using a shield, kick should be replaced with shield bash. Same effect, different animation, but doesn't make you vulnerable.

Conversely, kick should be changed to be less of an insta-death if it misses for everyone else. Make it faster with a faster recovery, and the ability to rotate while it's executing.

[Hygat]