Shielder (offensive)

[San]

I have only brought my weapon to masterwork recently, and would probably do armor next before shields.

Shields are way too plentiful on the battlefield in good condition. You can easily scavenge other shields when yours breaks.

[Elerion]

Weapon and armor heirlooms help you in every fight. Shield heirlooms only help you in the fight where your shield would otherwise break.

[Vibe]

Shield speed improvement also helps.

[Toffey]

I have only brought my weapon to masterwork recently, and would probably do armor next before shields.

Shields are way too plentiful on the battlefield in good condition. You can easily scavenge other shields when yours breaks.

San, I've seen you with an awlpike before. Do you have any points in polearms, or is that a waste? Anyways, you and your pick are a terrifying sight to behold.

[San]

I was inspired to use the awlpike by some ATS users who I've seen use it with great effectiveness.

It is useful in cav-infested maps so you aren't dead weight against the swarms of cavalry, and to support infantry in situations where you and your 1h will only crowd space/get teamwounded. You stop the cav with the awlpike, switch to your 1h weapon while possibly shielding their stab/slash, then slash the horse's head.

I have 1 wpf in polearm, and it is perfectly usable in those situations. The new patch really increased its upkeep (and low wpf means increased breaking frequency), so it's a lot more situational now.

In general, if you have extra slots, it's definitely helpful to have a cheap secondary weapon for niche uses. Some people recommend an axe to deal with other shielders, or a long weapon in conjunction with a short+powerful weapon. 1h has more options in this regard (if you aren't hybridizing ranged).

Thanks for the compliment, I'm only an okay player at the moment.

[Beans]

So I know that one part of shield skill is that it helps with just a flat reduction of damage done, leading to that 13 shield unbreaking thing. But does shield skill actually still increase coverage area? With 5 shield skill I already block all the way from head to toe, would getting 7 increase the side blocking of it also?

[Elmetiacos]

It does, yes. A long time it was suggested that the devs reduce the amount Shield skill increases the block area of a shield because of "forcefield" complaints, but they said that this is actually hardcoded and couldn't be changed: it works just as it does in Native.

[Lansamur]

It does, yes. A long time it was suggested that the devs reduce the amount Shield skill increases the block area of a shield because of "forcefield" complaints, but they said that this is actually hardcoded and couldn't be changed: it works just as it does in Native.

They reduced the forcefield in April. Shielding has never been the same again since then imo.

[Spawny]

They reduced the forcefield in April. Shielding has never been the same again since then imo.

I don't have any problems when fighting with my shield. You just have to adjust your fighting style a bit when you're using a smaller shield.
I use the knightly heater shield and I block with it the same way I would manual block, I turn to the direction I'm blocking. Changing just that really negated the  "hitting behind a shield" problem for me.
Don't really have trouble with ranged either, unless I'm being shot at from the sides/back

Since most duels don't last very long, my shield usually doesn't break, but when it does I don't bother picking up another one. I just manual block until I die or the round ends.

[Magikarp]

Protip: take an awlpike with you for anti cav purposes, they cant touch you!

[Trikipum]

b]If you wield a sword with stab, make use of it.[/b] The stab can be a good duel starter. Most 2h/pole will expect you to block their first swing, so with good timing, you can get a stab in. If you do, don't follow it up with another strike, as the stab needs longer to recover from as other swings. A stab in general is a risky move, though, because if not properly timed, it has a high chance of glancing off. You can also try to get even more reach by jumping before the stab. This way you might also hit their head more easily, which often results in a 1-hit kill.
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Nice guide i believe, but that part is just wrong. As a rule, if you hit once, you keep hitting until the other guy blocks. That is for any kind of weapon. Its a harcoded dynamic ingame. It doesnt matter if it is a swing or a stab. If you hit you keep trying to do so.  The stab takes time to recover if you dont hit the enemy. But if you hit him, the stunt he gets its longer than your recovery time, so not trying to hit him again is just doing bad fighting. Btw you are missing some key movements for a shielder. For instance, ill try to explain a very very suscefull  tactic against anyone. Footwork is very important. A good shielder will always try to exploit his shorter weapon against any enemy. One of my favourite tactics is the double swing or even better the swing+stab which is deadly and still amazes me ppl die for it. Double swing is very easy. Its just about swinging the sword at its max reach, failing the swing, yes you read right, Most guys will try to hit you in the very exact moment your swing fails. What they dont realize is that the game is designed in such way that if the first swing doesnt hit, the second will be faster  than the enemy. This means, your second swing will hit the target while he is still doing his first. As a rule you have to keep yourself at max reach so he eats your second swing.  The swing+stab is similar, but like twice harder and deadly. This tactic can be used both with a miss or with a first hit. Its like the faked double swing but the final movement is a stab in the face. This technic also works against less skilled players even if they had blocked the first swing but its very dangerous. Its easy, let that enemy come to you and in the exact moment just swing your sword at its max reach, as the sword is reaching the edge of the swing, side step to the left side while you turn your body to the right and backpedal. Then you sudently turn your mouse of the left and stab while moving forward. Most times he will get a nice stab in the face or chest. All these arent done as single movements but combos. I mean, you actually dont wait to see if the first hit or not. You perform it as a sequence, if you dont you will fail. Salute.

[zagibu]

Good tips. And you are right about the successful stab not taking long to recover, I'll change it in the guide.

[zagibu]

Gah, hit quote instead of modify.

[BranStark]

Espada and Long Espada really are OP on a good day with the knightly kite shield.

Awesome fun, those weapons.

[zagibu]

I wouldn't say they're OP. You trade in swing damage for thrust damage. Seems balanced to me. Also, thrusting is harder than swinging.