Heavier shields.
I personally think the high cost bucklers should get a buff same with board shields because 12th to 16th century almost all forces that even used a shield were armed mostly with one or the other
More hp for steel shields bucklers should be fastest rated shields ingame and board shields should be faster than they are any level four and above shields should receive a buff
Its silly on my shielded if I want go fast I should be using quickbreak level three shields
Raise few a little on buckler but right now its expensive to wear one when u really have to direct the buckler block so weapons don't hit around it and of course you don't get the ranged defense that shields are known for
Add in the very high price and no one uses bucklers but in the 12-16 centuries sword and buckler fighting was very wide spread and effective in melee
I am only noting timeframe because devs mention that's the weapon/armor timeframe of cRPG