High Strength Shielder

[Corwin]

I also think high strength is impractical for a shielder, because your shield makes you slower than polearmers or twohanders already. You will be easy prey, anyone with 7 ath will be able to dance around you and hit you however he wants, and your shield will break very easy - 3 points just isn't enough.

If you want unorthodox and effective build for a shielder, try 12/24 with 8 ath and 8 shield. You will be fast enough, and you can even use lighter shield, since it will be indestructible. The only thing is you will have to take either blunt or piercing weapon.
Btw, I think this is kinngrimm's build, and he is effective enough.

If you want to play strength build, just go tin can and take Mallet or spamberge.

[Phazey]

It's been said many times but here's my 2 cents:

One of the main advantages of a shielder, in my opinion, is your ability to deal with multiple opponents (melee and ranged) because you have a shield.

Even the best two handers and polearm guys can't block two swings at the same time if they are different directions. A shielder can.  So you want to be able to use that fact to your advantage.

To do that, you need:
1) high shield skill (5+ recommended for extra shield durability and the awesome coverage of the round shield / huscarl shield)
2) high athletics (so you can kite multiple enemies, step in between them quickly to make them teamhit each other and chase archers)

So most of us 1h shielder guys go for 21 / 15 or 18 / 18. Myself, i prefer the latter.

On the merits of power strike: i feel that, to be able to use a sword properly without too many glances, you really do need at least 6 power strike. Else it's better to go for blunt or pierce damage. At 5 power strike, most 1h swords will fail against high armor, forcing you to bring a blunt or pierce side arm like the picks and maces (which is perfectly viable by the way, try it).

I would probably have a very hard time with 24 / 9 in battle mode. That said, in siege mode and certain situations in battle mode, a high str shielder can be pretty good, especially when you team up with a good polearm / 2h guy. But you will be limited and somewhat dependant.

With high power strike, the 1h swords do glance a lot less and if you manage to hit mostly headshots, you are quite deadly. Just easily overwhelmed, because people tend to side-step your shield a lot.

[Toffey]

I did quite well with my first gen character, but I don't really want to be a standard shielder again. Right now I'm 15/9 and not doing too badly, so I figure I'll just keep boosting strength and see what happens.

Anyways, I'll probably follow San's advice since he's one of the better shielders in North America. Plus, I can always respec.

[Xant]

So most of us 1h shielder guys go for 21 / 15 or 18 / 18.

I'd personally recommend 24 / 15 and 21/18 or 18/21 instead of those.

[Maximus101]

I'm gonna have such a fun time prancing around you, spamming and dancin till you drop dead on multiple occasions xD. Unless you get 12 agility. You will be needin the athletics and shield- trust me. The build you have atm is not gonna work. Always consider going for an agility shielder with a buckler. It will work a lot better.

[Tears of Destiny]

Personal experience, outside of Siege, anything with less then 4 athletics will be extremely difficult for a shielder. Using the Arabian Cavalry sword for the long reach, I managed to make a good 9PS 4SHLD 4WM 4ATHL shielder, but I am not sure how well 3 would work to be honest.

[hippy_with_a_scimi]

if i remember correctly Spa_Ghe_Thea    was 33/9  he was a wrecking machine...  its a good build too

but if i wanted to go high str , id say 24/15 ,

[Konrax]

Balanced build is really the best since your proficient in everything, and you can take a hit.

6 shield with knighly heater is nearly insta block, I also carry a mighty iberian as my tin can and multi enemy weapon.

If you want to go st 21\15 works great, the 7iron flesh is nice and you arent slow either. 7 ps is plenty for 1h.

[BaleOhay]

I have tried all kinds of shielder builds over 15 gens and I always seem to fall back on

21str
15agl

7 IF
7PS
5shd
5ath
5Wm
146 1 handed

[Blondin]

Actually on a 24/15 build, with a MW Cleaver 38c damage, it's a good combo that do higher damages (1 hit in head, 2 or 3 hit max on most armor and max 4/5 hits for tin can sometime less).

I didn't want to go 27/12 because you need speed with that heavy shield that slow you down, and against breakshield axes you need to put distance with your opponent or your shield is over quick.

[Formless]

I have tried all kinds of shielder builds over 15 gens and I always seem to fall back on

21str
15agl

7 IF
7PS
5shd
5ath
5Wm
146 1 handed

Agreed, this is my fav build for shielder as well.  I tried all sorts of builds for a 1 hander and this build seems to hit the sweet spot, enough agility to get you moving in and out well, good hitting power and decent survivability.

[Konrax]

The extra speed from a balanced build is more for being quick in plate

[clown1231]

From your build, I would think that you would be trying to get a lot of kills. That, sadly, is not what being a shielder is about. A shielder is a support unit, and is best used in formations that protect non-shielders from arrows. However, you can still maintain a positive kill/death with a shielder, I usually do that quite a bit. With this in mind, if you still want to be a shielder, I would recommend this:

(click to show/hide)

Strength: 21
Agility: 15

(There are a few conversions from skills to attributes, whenever I have 2 extra points floating around)

One Handed: 139
Polearm: 58

Ironflesh: 7
Powerstrike: 7
Shield: 5
Athletics: 5
Weapon Master: 5

The 7 powerstrike and ironflesh make this build take quite a few hits and deal considerable amounts of damage. Proficiency is enough to swing fast enough to avoid spammers, and if you want to put it all in 1h, go ahead.

Now for equipment. I would recommend something tough, but not heavy. Plate is too heavy for this, I find that the tunic over mail provides decent protection and freedom of movement. For kills, I recommend the military cleaver. If a tin can comes your way, it has a pierce damage secondary which can deal with them. If you want a versitile weapon, the knightly arming sword is what you want. For a shield, if you want to remain light, pick something smaller than a board shield. The Knightly Heater shield works fine. However, a board shield will last longer. If you plan on not carrying a polearm (which I recommend, it comes in handy against cav), you might as well carry the heaviest shield you can get! A war spear is pretty good to take for a polearm.

As for playstyle, people enjoy readying their strikes and waiting for you to put down your guard. Don't fall for it. Most will get impatient and hit your shield.

If you find yourself in a duel where you're not in danger of getting hit from behind, try to get around to the side of your opponent.

Keep a look out! When in an open area (bad idea) and approaching the enemy, take out your spear and look around with the ` key. Simply having a spear out can scare away some cav, but when I wasn't looking, I've been killed, even with a spear.

There, I'm done writing on this, feel free to use the build above, I was thinking of trying something new anyway.

[Xant]

Who says you can't get a lot of kills as a shielder? A shielder isn't a support unit - you CAN be a support unit, but you don't have to be.

[Tears of Destiny]

Ramses and Cyber certainly are hell on wheels for getting kills as shielders.