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Alpha Two testing is currently taking place five days each week. More information about Phase II and Phase III testing schedule can be found here
If you have Alpha Two, you can download the game launcher here, and we encourage you to join us on our Official Discord Server for the most up to date testing news.
How to do shields right
Marzzo
Member, Leader of Men, Kickstarter, Alpha One, Alpha Two, Early Alpha Two
Shields in games have historically been used by tanks/healers/defensive character builds. The reason for this, is that most top tier abilites for characters able to utilize a shield scale a lot better on two-handers/dual wielding instead of offensive shield abilites.
As a result, while you can use a shield as an offensive dps character, it is usually better to use other combinations instead.
In my opinion, this unnecessarily limits the potential variation in character builds. It also ruins the game for people who love using shields but also love to be offensive.
Shields have been used offensivly in real life. We have many examples for this, ranging from gladiators, some roman legions and duelists. If we take a modern example, a spear user will almost certanly decimate any sword user of any skill. But, give a shield to the sword user, and this gives the sword user tons of offensive potential, even tipping the odds in favor of the sword and shield user. (Watch sword/spear masters on youtube duel in real life to learn about why).
What should be done instead, is allow your character to be built in such a way that you can play with a shield offensivly if you want. Obiously, a two-handed user would have more raw power, a dual wielder would have more speed, but the shield user would have his own pros and cons.
My dream is to play an offensive shield using fighter/x combination. The strenghts of this kind of character build should be a combination of utlity, control and flexibility. Lacking the raw damage a 2H/Dual wield build has but compensating in defence and utility. It should obiously not be as tanky as a dedicated defensive tank build. A balance between offense and defence. It should be a middleground.
For this to work, there needs to be offensive abilites that are balanced and viable in comparison to the 2H/dual wield abilites. For this to be balanced, you would need to sacrifize the massive defence a tank has and the high damage of 2H/dual builds.
Some strenghts a build like this could have:
High counterattack damage (After you block/deflect a spell, deal more damage)
More control than a pure damage dealer (More slows/spell interupting potential)
More defensive capabilities than a 2H/Dual wield character (Extra defensive cooldowns/passives)
More tactical cooldowns (Instead of flat % dmg increases, have immune to slows, stund etc, reflect spells, reflect damage)
Some weaknesses a build like this could have
Less DPS potential than a 2H/dual wield build (Simply less damage)
Less Defensive potential than a tank (Simply less health/armor)
Less DPS cooldowns than a 2H/dual wield (No pure DPS cooldowns)
Less Defensive cooldowns than a tank (No immortality cds, or reduce damage taken by 70% cds for example)
Less utility than a tank (Less auras/supporting abilites for other teammates)
As a result, while you can use a shield as an offensive dps character, it is usually better to use other combinations instead.
In my opinion, this unnecessarily limits the potential variation in character builds. It also ruins the game for people who love using shields but also love to be offensive.
Shields have been used offensivly in real life. We have many examples for this, ranging from gladiators, some roman legions and duelists. If we take a modern example, a spear user will almost certanly decimate any sword user of any skill. But, give a shield to the sword user, and this gives the sword user tons of offensive potential, even tipping the odds in favor of the sword and shield user. (Watch sword/spear masters on youtube duel in real life to learn about why).
What should be done instead, is allow your character to be built in such a way that you can play with a shield offensivly if you want. Obiously, a two-handed user would have more raw power, a dual wielder would have more speed, but the shield user would have his own pros and cons.
My dream is to play an offensive shield using fighter/x combination. The strenghts of this kind of character build should be a combination of utlity, control and flexibility. Lacking the raw damage a 2H/Dual wield build has but compensating in defence and utility. It should obiously not be as tanky as a dedicated defensive tank build. A balance between offense and defence. It should be a middleground.
For this to work, there needs to be offensive abilites that are balanced and viable in comparison to the 2H/dual wield abilites. For this to be balanced, you would need to sacrifize the massive defence a tank has and the high damage of 2H/dual builds.
Some strenghts a build like this could have:
High counterattack damage (After you block/deflect a spell, deal more damage)
More control than a pure damage dealer (More slows/spell interupting potential)
More defensive capabilities than a 2H/Dual wield character (Extra defensive cooldowns/passives)
More tactical cooldowns (Instead of flat % dmg increases, have immune to slows, stund etc, reflect spells, reflect damage)
Some weaknesses a build like this could have
Less DPS potential than a 2H/dual wield build (Simply less damage)
Less Defensive potential than a tank (Simply less health/armor)
Less DPS cooldowns than a 2H/dual wield (No pure DPS cooldowns)
Less Defensive cooldowns than a tank (No immortality cds, or reduce damage taken by 70% cds for example)
Less utility than a tank (Less auras/supporting abilites for other teammates)
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Comments
However, you’re wrong to say that historically shields have been used offensively. Shields have always been used defensively aside from the occasional shield slam.
In a fight a shield user might win, but it’s not because they had better offensive capabilities than a dual wielder, two hander or a ranger...
Don’t confuse winning a fight with having a strong offense. Shields win battles because of their defensive capabilities not their offensive ones (even though good defense can be leveraged into good offense)
Bringing it back to Ashes of Creation, I don’t think that a shield user should be as effective offensively as someone who chooses a two handed or dual wield build. Unless of course the shield becomes merely a cosmetic choice, but I highly doubt Intrepid would do that.
Shield users should definitely have more defensive capabilities which they can then use to win the fight, but they definitely shouldn’t be more offensively suited than a non shield user. It’s just not how it works.
In games, weapons are always - by necessity - reduced to their most basic self.
In an actual combat melee, a hammer would be used to dent plate armor which would reduce the movement options of the target. But the person with the hammer was rarely expected to deliver a killing blow.
Almost all polearms are only suitable to be used in a well drilled formation, a pikeman by himself is an easy target due to how easy he is to flank.
These things are all really hard to put in to a combat system, and I would suggest impossible to do unless the aim is to make an actual combat simulator.
Rather, most games take the simple approach. Polearms are long, so you have melee with slightly longer range. Hammers are blunt, so you do crushing damage. Swords are sharp, so you do slashing damage. Greatswords are big, so they are alow but do a lot when thwy hit. Shields are barriers, so they block attacks.
I agree. But how good it will be, is something that is 90% up to the developers. If they dont give us the tools to make shields good offensivly, they wont be.
Indeed, romantically "It depends on the wielder" but in real life the story is different. An avarage spear user will destroy any sword user. There are many videos that record professional sword fighters against amateur spear users and the spear almost always wins (if the sword user does not get a shield). Hell, there is even one instance when an avarage spear user won over TWO good swordsman 2v1. If you can't see why, you have to study duel science.
All I am asking for, is for the devs to give us players the option to use a shield competitivly. Without becoming a turtle tank. For this to happens, they need to give us the tools.
The shield gives you the option to rush onto an opponent, keeping his weapon away, while still mashing him with your other weapon. This is how shield users beat two-handed users. Sure, this may be considered a "defensive" tactic. But it is a hella offensive one strategy.
Bringing it back to ashes. If you read what I wrote I explained that a shield user should not be as offensive, nor as defensive as a 2H user/tank. It should be a middleground. What usually happens in MMO:s. Is that the shield sucks on all fronts for competitive combat.
I completly agree with you. The problem is that many MMO:s, limit the weapon variation too much. All the 2 handed weapons perform the same (Same damage, same abilities, same everything) only the looks matter. Look at wow for example. There is no difference between the different weapons. This means that the best weapon is simply the one with the highest damage nummer written on it. I dont want this for Ashes.
I don't think there is a problem with Swords, hammers, and axes too have slight variations in stats and what they are good for. This does not mean the game is a combat simulation. A mace may have higher armor penetration, while the sword hits faster. This is just game balance.
What I dont want, is that shields are exclusivly for tanks/healers. It is just unnecesary.
I am 2400 rated in wow, I am beyond top 0.5% of the players playing my class in wow. I could not even beat a fairly new player with a shield. Because the game is not balanced to do it. If a shield user simply deals 25% of the damage other builds do, even when min-maxed, it can't perform good. If shields dont open up good abilities that are comparable to other builds, they wont funktion.
The developers need to set the numbers logically and give tools that are effective. For example, locking every single good scaling skill behind a 2H/dual wield requirement will make it impossible to perform.
A lot of games with developers that have no clue (ie, WoW) group weapons together too broadly, for sure. There is no reason a two handed sword should behave the same as a two handed hammer - same goes or the one handed versions.
The problem then becomes - how many weapon types is too many? It would be fairly easy to come up with 20+ weapon types, each with somewhat distinct properties. In most MMO's, you have to consider each weapon type you add as not just added confusion for your players, but also bloat on your loot tables - if you have 20 weapon types, that means itemizing for 20 weapons - and means players will only get a weapon suitable to them 1 time out of 20 that a weapon drops.
Ashes may be able to do this a bit differently - since most (all?) weapons will be player made.
(I know thatthey wont but it would be pretty cool)
Towershields - highest defense stats, gives a bonus to bash and charge effects, decreases movementspeed
Roundshield - extra bash and charge effect, medium defense stats
Buckler - extra parry/deflect effect instead of block, increase to dash effects
Deflect negates damage, while block reduces damage.
I'm quite confident that a Guardian who augments Shield Bash with another Tank augment is not going to be dealing only 25% of damage other builds do. An Archwizard wielding a shield probably will not fare well compared to other builds - but they can give it a try if they want.
2h should be about burst
Dual wield about strong dmg and mobility
Shield about stuns, slows, hooks and great defense and low dmg sword swings.
Have you ever fought a good protection paladin as a mele? They just wont die, while wittling down yours...
It works, but it is not optimal.
It mean there will be a lot of possibility to play a tank.
The knight or the dreadnought will probably fit your expectations for the sword and shield play styles you seek.
(But if you would like to seek top rank with a sword and shield go Conquerors Blade and take the great sword and shield it will fit you perfectly)
I'm personally going on the shadow guardian or the nightshield and hope one of them will be a perfect personal body garde, because I'm not expecting the 14 none guardian to be able to protect a full group on there own ( or at least not the 7 none tank archetype )
I will have shield for sure with maybe a dagger, I'll see what IS will propose me.
If they give me the opportunity to stab a enemy and quickly come back to my DPS to protect him in some way I'll be fine with it .
Whats wrong with a tentacle.