Starting as a shielder probably has its merits as mentioned, but for me half the fun is the manual directional blocking system. I learned to play the game as a 2 hander and it is hard, but its pretty satisfying when you start getting some kills. Blocking just becomes second nature if you learn it early.
Polearm might be easier to learn with because you can take a point or 2 in shield and can take a break from manual blocking if you want while still attacking (get some spear type weapons for this). As a new player you can play a support role with polearms too, just stabbing from distance without committing to a fight. 2 handers are fine though and really force you to learn to block. 2 hander + crossbow might be good for taking breaks while still being semi useful for the team. I would get some speed for whichever you go for and some IF rather than the str builds people mentioned. Taking more hits is cool but you can avoid hits by dodging or escape from someone chasing with 6+ athletics. 5 is ok too, I just ended up with 6 in most my gens