My opinion, mkay

[Macropus]

Also I feel that 1 handers in general will become more OP with higher PS or athletics

Whether 1h or xbows would become OP or not is really a different issue not directly linked to the main idea. All such detail could be balanced in the future by reducing base shields stats and increasing the shield skill effect etc.

(click to show/hide)

Even though I'm pretty sure everyone who fights with a shield would pick a shield skill anyway so there won't be any "0 shield skill OP shielders". Nor there would be OP 2handers carrying huscarl shield with them all the time.

But the main idea is to make everyone able to pick up a shield, which is pretty much inspired by Native and it works fine there, doesn't it?

Anyway, Jarlek and Teeth managed to word the whole thing of this idea much better than I could, so just read their posts. 

[Ujin]

I rarely get into discussions about crpg gameplay mechanics lately, but i have to intervene to say that (in my opinion) this might be a great idea for a number of reasons.

1. It may completely change the way that public battles are fought on the servers. Somebody (i think Thomek) earlier in this topic mentioned that shield walls are no fun, but i have to disagree. The ability to form a shield wall can bring at least some rudimentary tactical elements to the rather chaotic battlefield that is EU 1 usually. It's the simplest formations of them all and it is commonly used in Strat battles for a reason.

2. It will definitely make the axe-type weapons more useful, leading to more variety in the arsenal of commonly used weapons on the servers. This is especially true for 1h axes. On top of that, if you ask me at least , it will make the battles look kinda more realistic, shields were a must-have on the battlefields for centuries for a good reason. Afaik they only started to lose popularity when everyone went full tincan.

3. This implementation (or rather reinvention of the old Native ways), whether it works (with tweaks, per se) or not , might be a good testing ground for  the future M:BG mechanics. We all know that sooner or later cRPG is gonna fade , so why not use this opportunity and test some things out for the future game ?

P.S. i run with throwing lances these days so i guess you can call me a ranged player, so no bias.

[Sniger]

-Make all shields require strength
-Remove all shield forcefields
-Shields on back block projectiles the same way a held shield does
-Shield skill improves durability, shield speed, and reduces movement penalty from shielding

this would make it more realistic.

visitors can't see pics , please register or login

[Konrax]

You can knock down ranged with a nudge, but you can also just walk into them while blocking and achieve the same effect for being just a few cm closer. If you miss the nudge, you can still easily get shot it seems. I got punished for it once, and I'm not in the mind to test it that often. Maybe someone well versed in nudging against ranged fairs a better chance

Can confirm, shield has 0 block on range during a nudge

[Konrax]

Going to make another post for this all together:

Not sure I am a fan of shields having a strength requirement, but it could be possible IF and ONLY IF shield skill was still based on Agility, AND if shield skill actually helped with reducing a shields weight while moving.

Secondly it would require that all shields across the board had a higher weight to discourage wanting to take the super heavy beefy shields without any shield skill whatsoever.

By removing shield skill requirements, if specs do not change, shielders will see a buff in block speed unless you run a 100speed shield with 3 or more shield skill. (Assuming speed values from the shield skill remain unchanged) Heavy shields with a spec above 6 would have a comparable speed to a 100 speed shield currently, making husc with skill of 7+ the same speed as an elite cav / heater shield. To balance this, the heaviest shields should require 18-21 strength at the most, to avoid any potential insta block steel shield agility nonsense.

I am a fan of the idea of everyone being able to pick any shield up and use it, I also feel that it won't artificially buff xbows or anything that much bc of the movement penalties associated with taking a shield (if they were heavier) and having no skill in shield. Essentially range could take advantage of being tougher to kill at a range, at the cost of speed and maneuverability. (Easier to catch kiters)

It could work well if it was implemented properly, that being, it would appeal to players to take a shield to reduce the overall effectiveness of range, and dedicated shielders were given an actual advantage of some kind for taking shield skill.

[BY_BlackMask]

Skill points can be determined using the effect

[Porthos]

+1 to every Macropus non-playful suggestions. He is smart guy and knows the truth. Think for yourself - shield is not gold. So give all freedom. Seriously.

[dreadnok]

It would make more sense to just make them like weapons: Difficulty based on strength, shield skill has more tangible effects on speed/coverage/shield bash than all of these hidden values with a slight general buff to the skill. The prices would need to go up considerably more than what they currently are, maybe up to 9-10k, just so mid-value shields can get used a bit. Final damage mitigation is crappy for a skill all by itself (with unknown speed/coverage where we don't even know if even works the way we believe). I also thought that shield stats may need to be changed, but maybe not as much as previously thought in its current condition.

People are going to hate what I say next, but the offensive shield bashes with high shield skill should deal a decent amount of damage and have a better passive block effect against projectiles. Currently, it's foolish with little reward to try a bash in front of a held shot, and worse than most of the other nudges. I'd rather use the 1h nudge for offense and the polearm nudge for defense.

The disparity between not being able to pick up a shield vs. the nature of shield skill conflicts with eachother gameplay-wise. Shield makes sense for agility, but it doesn't make sense as a difficulty requirement based on the current shield animations. This game doesn't have any techniques or the like that makes me believe that you have to be well versed in the way of the shield to hold up a Huscarl's, unlike being properly trained to ride an arabian warhorse.

Even so, doubt much will really happen in the end.

san, thank you for caring about this game. your a smart dude

[Viriathus]

let the free respec come!

[Macropus]

But its not the "free respec" thread, its "free shields" thread.