I feel slow as hell

[Nihilim]

My toon is:
27 str
12 agi

138 one handed
3 iron flesh
8 power strike
4 shield
4 weapon master

Now I have only been playing about a week and 1/2 and have had some coaching.
I've been told to juke opponents by faking a swing one way, doing block quick, then swing another way.
Thing is I see other players do this, looks very fast, when I try it I feel slow... too slow.
Matter of fact most duels I get owned by overwhelming swinging speed against me.
Any suggestions on my build?

Been thinking of dropping shield when I retire and simply going 2 handed or polearm.

Meantime I have been frustrated at my lack of kills, not that I can't get any, but not nearly as much as I'd like.

[rustyspoon]

My toon is:
27 str
12 agi

138 one handed
3 iron flesh
8 power strike
4 shield
4 weapon master

Now I have only been playing about a week and 1/2 and have had some coaching.
I've been told to juke opponents by faking a swing one way, doing block quick, then swing another way.
Thing is I see other players do this, looks very fast, when I try it I feel slow... too slow.
Matter of fact most duels I get owned by overwhelming swinging speed against me.
Any suggestions on my build?

Been thinking of dropping shield when I retire and simply going 2 handed or polearm.

Meantime I have been frustrated at my lack of kills, not that I can't get any, but not nearly as much as I'd like.

There are so many things that go into this that it is difficult to say. First off, you only have 4 athletics at the most which makes you move slow. Also, you have a shield which makes you move even slower. Depending on how heavy your shield is, it is going to affect your movement speed. Also, what weapon are you using, your weapon is going to affect your swing speed.

138 wpf is enough to be effective with a 1-hander, but I'm guessing you're talking about having problems with 2 hander and polearm users.  The thing is, there's a good chance that they have higher athletics than you do and they natural move faster since they don't have a shield. They can easily outmaneuver you, get around your shield, dance out of your range, etc. Also, you may be delaying too long before you swing. You need to be ready to swing as soon as you hear the ding on your shield.

Since you have a lot of strength but low athletics, I would recommend a long sword (knightly arming, elite scimitar, long espada) to help you stay in range. Also, try using the knightly heater or the plain old heater shield as it's pretty light and has decent coverage. Hope this helps.

[Nihilim]

Thank you Rusty, does help, I learn every day. I screwed up my build because I went too far into strength, this I know, but oh well. I have been using the elite Scimitar, I'll try the long espada now. Thank you for the suggestions!

[rustyspoon]

Thank you Rusty, does help, I learn every day. I screwed up my build because I went too far into strength, this I know, but oh well. I have been using the elite Scimitar, I'll try the long espada now. Thank you for the suggestions!

If you are ever planning on retiring, here are a couple popular 1h builds:

Str: 21
Agi: 15
Points converted: 2
HP: 70
IF: 7
PS: 7
Shield: 5
Ath: 5
WM: 5
WPF: 148

Str: 18
Agi: 18
Points converted: 2
HP: 65
IF: 6
PS: 6
Shield: 6
Ath: 6
WM: 5
WPF: 148

I personally prefer the 21/15 myself, though the differences between the two are slight.

Edit: Oh and don't turtle. As turtling slows you down even more it's an easy way to get killed. Also, when I'm going up against what I know to be a skilled opponent, I'll let them hit my shield a couple times so I can find their rhythm. Makes it a lot easier to fake them out.

[Bobthehero]

My toon is:
27 str
12 agi

138 one handed
3 iron flesh
8 power strike
4 shield
4 weapon master

This was my build back when I was using a shield, its quite good actually as you dish out quite the pain and the speed loss, is for me, negligeable compared to the extra damage.

[Phazey]

You have a crazy strength build i'd never consider for a shielder. Next gen, go for something more balanced like 18/18.

[Spawny]

I'm going for just that build this gen. 27/12. 9 PS 72 hp.

It's not a dueling build, but it makes every hit count.

[Bobthehero]

You have a crazy strength build i'd never consider for a shielder. Next gen, go for something more balanced like 18/18.

If you are talking to me, I dont have shield skill on my char ;)

But I used too and it worked well, tho I think the lack of shield points made my shield a bit weak.

[Corwin]

I don't get it. Why 8 PS when you had 27 STR?

I am not one hander, but I think your build isn't that bad, with proper tactics and right weapon.

[Phazey]

If you are talking to me, I dont have shield skill on my char ;)

Naah, i was referring to the OP's build.

I always go for athletics 5 or athletics 6 on my shielder builds. That way, you can face off against multiple opponents and hunt down archers. I feel that without high athletics, a shielder can get surrounded quickly when facing more than once enemy player.

I guess it all comes down to playstyle though. I tend to be quite the kamikaze pilot, getting myself in bad situations all the time and trying to valiantly defeat half the opposing team and failing epicly.  Great fun though!

[Bobthehero]

Thats what I do too, you dont need speed for that

[Spawny]

If you are talking to me, I dont have shield skill on my char ;)

But I used too and it worked well, tho I think the lack of shield points made my shield a bit weak.

You can now use a heavy board shield with 4 shieldskill. Against shieldbreakers it's as strong (if not stronger) than a steel shield. Against regular weapons it can take quite a beating.

Naah, i was referring to the OP's build.

I always go for athletics 5 or athletics 6 on my shielder builds. That way, you can face off against multiple opponents and hunt down archers. I feel that without high athletics, a shielder can get surrounded quickly when facing more than once enemy player.

I guess it all comes down to playstyle though. I tend to be quite the kamikaze pilot, getting myself in bad situations all the time and trying to valiantly defeat half the opposing team and failing epicly.  Great fun though!

I build my shielders for sieges. Lot's of tiny spaces, little room to move about. Makes hitting hard and killing in 1 or 2 hits so much stronger.

[Phazey]

Hmm... yeah that does make sense. I'm a battle fanatic, loving the open plains maps and such. In the big, open spaces you can really use the high athletics to flank larger groups of enemies and tear them apart simply by moving smartly and quickly.

I'd never consider making a build for siege, because i almost never play it. I bet i only play siege 5% of the time. But it doesn seem like a valid approach to shielding. On those cramped walls, every hit counts and there is no escape anyway. And there is no getting surrounded, because you're always with at least one side to a wall. So getting surrounded must be less of an issue.

Yep, valid build for siege. I like how every playstyle has it's own optimal build. Diversity ftw!

[RandomDude]

(click to show/hide)

My toon is:
27 str
12 agi

138 one handed
3 iron flesh
8 power strike
4 shield
4 weapon master

Now I have only been playing about a week and 1/2 and have had some coaching.
I've been told to juke opponents by faking a swing one way, doing block quick, then swing another way.
Thing is I see other players do this, looks very fast, when I try it I feel slow... too slow.
Matter of fact most duels I get owned by overwhelming swinging speed against me.
Any suggestions on my build?

Been thinking of dropping shield when I retire and simply going 2 handed or polearm.

Meantime I have been frustrated at my lack of kills, not that I can't get any, but not nearly as much as I'd like.

Ahh when I was learning to feint I did it slow as poo too. Sometimes on the duel server I can tell when someone is new to feinting because it takes them 1-2 seconds to switch attack directions.

Some people say that I can spam/swing a flamberge fast (its one of the slowest weapons) but I think it's because Im used to feinting now and I can just click the mouse buttons fast - change attack direction etc.

Like any other player "skill" in this game - go to the duel server to practice or just keep trying it and you should improve.

Looking at your stats I dont see why you shouldnt be able to feint quickly (athletics doesnt nothing for your feint spam, only helps you to move around imo)

[Shinimas]

27/12 is heavy STR even for 2H/polearm, for a shieldsman that's just crippling. A shield slows you down a lot already, your weapon is shot, so you need that leg speed to catch up to people. Also, you sacrifice a lot of skill points for such high stats. If you like high STR builds, here is a piece of advice:

Level 32:

24 STR
15 AGI

6 IF
8 PS
5 Shield
5 ATH
5 WM

That's the build I'm planning to use. However, remember that your equipment is a huge part of your performance, with slow but high HP builds you can afford to wear lighter armor and still be quite durable, faster shields affect feinting speed less, so I advice using Knightly Heater/Elite Cavalry on high STR builds.

With the build you have, though, I'd wear light armor and use a long weapon (like Nordic Champion Sword) so you can catch those pesky ninjas and be able to maneuver at least to some degree.