Which build to choose as a shielder?

[Phew]

Compare say 21/15 to 24/15. The extra ~40 WPF of 5 WM is equal to about 0.5 Power Strike and 2 weapon speed, not to mention fewer weapon repairs. Compare that to 3 HP and 1 Power Strike. People pick 2 weapon speed over ~1 dmg all the time (Italian vs. KAS, for instance), and both swords are good.

The difference isn't that significant, and it's pretty balanced between damage and speed. Just pick your style.

[Malaclypse]

If you have a MW 1-hander lined up, I'd personally go for 15/24 for the mobility in group fights, and for chasing down cowards. 5 Powerstrike is still plenty with a MW weapon, speed bonus, and held attacks. Even more so if you're using a pierce or blunt damage weapon, though cut functions quite well as well.

5 ps, 5 shield, 8 ath, 5 extra points (for IF, more shield, or WM by preference; I'd max IF). I'm doing a variant of this build where at level 30 I'm 17/24 (building for 31) with no IF and it's very fun so far.

[Gurnisson]

21/18 or 18/21 for dedicated shielder

[Mlekce]

i tried 21/15 and it is ok for a siedge,but for battle you nee more athl,and some dudes with very heavy armor were pain in the ass.
But overall it isn't that bad,i had pretty diecent score in battle and very good at siedge.
I am gonna try this next gen

Level 30 (4 420 577 xp)

Strength: 18
Agility: 18
Skills to attributes: 2
Ironflesh: 6
Power Strike: 6
Shield: 5
Athletics: 6
Riding: 6
One Handed: 114

i have mw kas,elite cav shield and armor. If you can afford,buy mw elite scimitar. Don't buy scimitar,buy elite one. That thing is every spammer dream come true.

[HarunYahya]

21/18 or 18/21 for dedicated shielder

Gurni fuck your sig man im always watching it for hours !!!

[MrShine]

Compare say 21/15 to 24/15. The extra ~40 WPF of 5 WM is equal to about 0.5 Power Strike and 2 weapon speed, not to mention fewer weapon repairs. Compare that to 3 HP and 1 Power Strike. People pick 2 weapon speed over ~1 dmg all the time (Italian vs. KAS, for instance), and both swords are good.

The difference isn't that significant, and it's pretty balanced between damage and speed. Just pick your style.

That's how I feel as well - generally it's a toss up IMO if you are deciding between 5 WM & 1 more PS since they are very similar in terms of actual damage output.  For example, I'm planning on a level 35 build.  At first I thought going 0 WM 24/21 build would be my choice, but then I realized that if I stuck with 21/21 7 WM I would actually be doing MORE damage per swing than the extra PS would give me. 

Back on topic, my favorite shielder builds are 21/15 & 21/18 (in that order).  Both are quite good, and your suggested build is completely viable.

[Frell]

So im respeccing and Im curious on what build I should do..

I was at about 18/15 (goal 21/15) and easily went 22k-9d in one match

But I also respecced again and had 6/18 (goal 21/18), and was still able to land about 3 kills with crazy low str


So I don't think the speed really matters... Whats the pros and cons of each?

[Gurnisson]

That's how I feel as well - generally it's a toss up IMO if you are deciding between 5 WM & 1 more PS since they are very similar in terms of actual damage output.  For example, I'm planning on a level 35 build.  At first I thought going 0 WM 24/21 build would be my choice, but then I realized that if I stuck with 21/21 7 WM I would actually be doing MORE damage per swing than the extra PS would give me. 

Depends. 3 strength adds damage too, and the 3 strength also adds 3 hp which is nice to have. I think they're gonna make WM more viable later on, so I wouldn't go high level without it.

[Frell]

So gur, after my post above yours, I should just go 21/15 and not risk 0 wm?

[Cyclopsided]

21/15 is the most reliable build as a 1h ever. 18/18, 24/15, 15/21 are close runner-ups.
21/18, 18/21, and 15/24 are great as well.

WM and WPF should get re-done in the near future, and WM HAS it's uses. Small amount more damage, the speed is rather negligible but helps on the longer slower 1hs like the ACS. (effectively 2 weaponspeed faster, is nice). The repair cost decrease is why i'd get it in the end. I like making gold when I play.

everything said in here is viable. Playstyle determines what's best.

[Laufknoten]

I think with a MW weapon this build is also pretty good:

(click to show/hide)

Level 30 (4 420 577 xp)

    Strength: 18
    Agility: 18
    Hit points: 65

    Skills to attributes: 2

    Ironflesh: 6
    Power Strike: 6
    Shield: 6
    Athletics: 6
    Riding: 0
    Horse Archery: 0
    Power Draw: 0
    Power Throw: 0
    Weapon Master: 5

    One Handed: 130
    Two Handed: 1
    Polearm: 90
    Archery: 1
    Crossbow: 1
    Throwing: 1

You will always have 100+ wpf in 1h even with heavy armor and you can mess around with polearms too. With a MW weapon you practically have 7 PS.
You could aswell sacrifice 3-5 of WM and put them into riding so you can go 1h cav from time to time, while it doesn't really affect your melee capability.

[Zanze]

I wouldn't suggest the polearms points, hopliting is very complicated unless you do it for awhile or are ready to drop the shield when people learn to downblock.

Just put all the wpf into your mainhand weapon, big diff between 100 and 150 wpf. (In damage NOT speed)

Also, to add to the thread. I personally tested a 24/12 Thane build that is now part of NH's staple builds and it work out amazingly. It is an NA build however and was focused more on quickly killing all those str crutchers. It included throwing in order to make horses whine for a throwing nerf, and had enough PS to 2 shot weaker people on siege. (With a sword)

If you don't want throwing, as most people don't for some odd reason, just do 24/15 or 21/18. For a first gen as a shielder, 21/15 is AWESOME. After that, you can decide where you want to go. If you want to hit harder, be faster, etc.

[oprah_winfrey]

I wouldn't want to play with less then 6 ath, otherwise you can get S key spammed or circle spammed. This is even more important if you want to use a heavy shield or a short weapon (axe, warhammer, steel pick, etc). I also don't like having under 6 ps, although I guess if you use a pierce or blunt weapon you could manage.

If I owned a mw brown lion shield or round shield I would consider doing:

str:24
agi:18

ps:8
shield:3
ath:6

or

str:21
agi:21
ps:7
shield:3
ath:7

But with a regular shield I think it is going to break too often (unless you want to be primarily a swashbuckler with a shield for range)

[Miracle]

I wouldn't want to play with less then 6 ath, otherwise you can get S key spammed or circle spammed. This is even more important if you want to use a heavy shield or a short weapon (axe, warhammer, steel pick, etc). I also don't like having under 6 ps, although I guess if you use a pierce or blunt weapon you could manage.

If I owned a mw brown lion shield or round shield I would consider doing:

str:24
agi:18

ps:8
shield:3
ath:6

or

str:21
agi:21
ps:7
shield:3
ath:7

But with a regular shield I think it is going to break too often (unless you want to be primarily a swashbuckler with a shield for range)

I've done 21/21 and loved it, but egan is right about the shield breaking stupidly fast.

[Shatter]

So gur, after my post above yours, I should just go 21/15 and not risk 0 wm?

Either build is good but don't think of 0 WM as a risk. The difference is not going to be very big in swing speed. Having 0 WM doesn't make your swing speed dramatically slower. It is like changing to a weapon that has 1 or 2 less speed.