put shield on back = slow as shit.
with 5 ath and heavy equimpent i'm way too slow, putting shield on my back would be suicide...
Use lighter equipment and get more ATH, not because YOU have medium ATH and heavy armor that we should catter only to YOU and if you're too slow with a shield on your back that it's not a viable option.
I always play hoplites at 18/21 or 18/18 using med armor and I just use a light-ish shield, like elite cavalry shield.
I wouldn't say if it was a huge huscarl or a heavy board shield, but it's not. Besides, arena shields are extremely light, the impact on your speed will be absolutely minimal.
Pretty sure the speed penalty for shields on the back also comes from their weight.
That's animation fail...
...Oh your a troll, should have known.
That's not an animation fail, you're either a bad troll or possibly a very stupid human being, the latter most likely.
A polearm such as the bamboo spear with a shield will be using the one handed thrust instead of the polearm thrust. One handed thrust adds +50 reach ontop of the actual weapon's lenght compared to the lower reach on polearm stab animation.
There's a GREAT difference between animation fail and actual game mechanic that was implemented with exactly that (different animation reach) in mind.