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Phase I of Alpha Two testing will occur on weekends. Each weekend is scheduled to start on Fridays at 10 AM PT and end on Sundays at 10 PM PT. Find out more here.
Check out Alpha Two Announcements here to see the latest Alpha Two news and update notes.
Our quickest Alpha Two updates are in Discord. Testers with Alpha Two access can chat in Alpha Two channels by connecting your Discord and Intrepid accounts here.
Comments
2h shields are not dual shields.
This thread is about dual shields.
Sathrago wants a thread about two handed shields.
Think about dual wielding swords and two handed swords - these are vastly different things. So far, Steven has said dual wielding shields is silly, he has not commented on two handed shields.
Soldiers, no.
However, mobile defenses are a thing. Be it a wall for archery to hide behind (which is one use I can see in game for two handed shields), or as overhead protection when getting a ram in to position.
There is a long history of people on the battlefield providing others with protection - something Ashes could emulate using two handed shields.
alright where are all the battles with greatswords?
sorry but you get the point right? Not everything needs to be cohesive with literal medieval fantasy. There is wiggle room and I don't think it is unreasonable to look at 2h shields now.
Having thicker weapons than what people would historically use is the wiggle room.
I am a major Star trek fan, but I would never ask for or expect the Klingon Bat'leth to exist in a fantasy setting. WOW basically made a fantasy version of the Bat'leth with that dumb ass "War Glaive" demon hunters use.
I bring up the Bat'leth and War Glaive because they are both awful 2 handed weapons that make little sense. The two handed shield just feels like it would be the third weapon in this unholy trinity of non-sense two handed weapons.
I would rather just see someone tank with a really thick great sword, then hide behind it's width to block like a shield. In that way its a two handed sword and a two handed shield. Even that is silly to me, but it makes more sense that swinging a big shield around.
Most MMOs don't even have Tower Shields. The best you can ever hope for is for some of the shields to be slightly bigger. Since animating Tower shields correctly is a separate thing most DEVs skip it. That might be the key take away in all of this. Tower Shields, Duel Shields, and Two handed Shields would all be extra animations. I don't think they would do it based on that alone.
Even if it was reasonable, they might skip it because of the extra work.
This is my personal feedback, shared to help the game thrive in its niche.
Isn't that just describing the tank class?
It is describing one aspect of the tank class.
As I said earlier in this thread, the more people you have present in an action, the more specialized those people can be. You could quite easily look at a build using a two handed shield as a very specialized form of tank.
Case in point, ESO has no tank class, or healer class, or DPS class, you just get a general class and define yourself further through armor and weapon choice.
That isn't even remotely close to what would happen.
Personally, I love adapting my weapons to the type of enemy I am facing, and this would be impossible against rogues if it was restricted in-combat.
But I 100% agree that this should be limited in some way (like only being able to change items once every 20 seconds or so) to avoid things like in WoW-classic where tanks dual-wield weapons and swap to equip a shield every time they are critically hit (which makes 0 sense and is kind of ridiculous).
Any class can use any weapon, so...
Eric the Cavalier wasn't a loser because he got a shield. (Presto just got a hat he could pull things out of for crying out loud!) He was a loser because he was constantly whining about everything. His shield was kind of cool; it projected a force field and was one of the more useful artifacts they received.
Actually between his annoying whining (which would be an effective taunt, I sure wanted to beat the tar out of him) and his nigh invulnerability he was a perfect MMO tank.
You say that as if dual wielding swords makes you weaker
AoC class wish: https://forums.ashesofcreation.com/discussion/comment/422108#Comment_422108
another one from art station:
AoC class wish: https://forums.ashesofcreation.com/discussion/comment/422108#Comment_422108
We come back to the pavis. What a Fateful necro post above lol.
Great swords were great for making space and killing unarmoured people - especially ranged units prior to fast reloading firearms.
I apologise for the 2 year wait, lol.
2H shields or only a single shield as a weapon is also something I'd like. I love the fantasy of using shields as shields and as weapons. It just feels like it would be unexpected. It's strange and irregular.
I don't expect them to ever implement this stuff, but its fun to fantasize.
AoC class wish: https://forums.ashesofcreation.com/discussion/comment/422108#Comment_422108
For the record, I'm still a no, regardless of how cool these look.
I will approach this assuming that's true as it sounds reasonable. What I would like to point out is that shields have a variety of forms and uses already. We can agree that some of them were designed with striking in mind, right?
There were also 2 handed shields used for sieges, and silly spiked ones for duels. All I am asking is that you now apply high fantasy magic and strength. It's in my mind very clear that these weapons would be easily functional in such a setting, only limited by the creator. Just like massive weapons can't be used IRL these would probably be too difficult to wield IRL as well.
And thats basically my reasoning. its less of "magic lets you do anything" and more of a "we can do something similar irl, and its not a stretch that stronger/magical people could do it properly."
The great sword is just an iron spear. Heavier and just as effective. The germans/swiss had whole units with them. I don't mind the whole slant you want. Of course, Elves and Bows are a prime example - elves uses bows without bulky physical strength but through inherent strength instead (Magic?).
they are about to flap their wings and fly
I don't think dual shields is a viable option and I doubt it will ever be added before crossbow.