If you want melee only experience go play on the duel server and have some proper face-whacking with fancy 2h swords. Battle mode is for REAL men who are AWARE of enemy archers and use TACTICS and COVER instead of fully relying on shields. Most players are too impatient and make the mistake of charging right after the game starts. Wait a while, let your archers pick off the 2h heroes and don't be the dumb hero who mindlessly runs at the enemy. The shield is not for stopping arrows, walls are for that. The shield is for stopping blows. In actual medieval combat, people didn't hide from arrows behind shields because those were too small to provide enough cover and unless it was some super heavy steel shield, arrows penetrated to some depth, possibly injuring the hand that held the shield. Cover from arrows was provided by mobile walls, much like the siege shield available in cRPG shop for only 2,639.99!
