Why are shields in this game so ♥♥♥♥♥♥♥ useless?

[Snailor Lazzy]

Seriously.

I like the classic sword & board warrior taking on the world, but the shield is absolutely useless against anything but the most basic of scrubs.

Is there something I'm missing here or are the shields really as ♥♥♥♥♥♥♥ pointless as they appear?

[TheQuestion]

Well you're giving no context but i'm gonna wildly guess that you're talking about pvp and that you brought a buckler to block something big, had you brought a greatshield you would know that they are op/broken/quite good.

[Jestrom]

The only viable Shields are Greatshields. A shame but it's the truth.

[Snailor Lazzy]

Originally posted by ashfalor Saltborn:

Well you're giving no context but i'm gonna wildly guess that you're talking about pvp and that you brought a buckler to block something big, had you brought a greatshield you would know that they are op/broken/quite good.

No, I'm not a PvP player.

I don't use a greatshield because I haven't found a good one I can use yet, but I don't use a buckler either. I guess I'd say that I use something in the middle.

My problem is that my guard is broken by pretty much every single enemy that wants to break it. If they don't wield a ♥♥♥♥♥♥♥ Boeing 747 as a weapon that empties my stamina in a single blow, they go nuts on me and start attacking and just never ♥♥♥♥♥♥♥ stop--there doesn't seem to be an inbetween in this game.

I wouldn't say I'm a Dark souls franchise pro like a lot of dudes here, but it's not my first tussle in the series; I've played all of them to some extent (even Demon's Souls.) but this is the first one I'm having issues with because none of the kinds of characters I enjoy playing seem to be worth anything.

[devSin]

Shields are far from useless.

There's a huge stamina recovery penalty when you're guarding (which is how it's always been, since you say you have familiarity with the series), so you only want to keep your shield up when you're blocking an immediate attack (and after you block the swing, you want to lower it again so you can recover stamina).

However, you're not going to be able to sit there and tank every swing with a normal shield. You'll need to dodge away from (or through) some attacks. Large combos (where an enemy can attack 4-8 times without pausing) typically have terrible tracking; that's your cue to just roll out of the way (they'll keep swinging at nothing).

[Snailor Lazzy]

Originally posted by devSin:

Shields are far from useless.

There's a huge stamina recovery penalty when you're guarding (which is how it's always been, since you say you have familiarity with the series), so you only want to keep your shield up when you're blocking an immediate attack (and after you block the swing, you want to lower it again so you can recover stamina).

However, you're not going to be able to sit there and tank every swing with a normal shield. You'll need to dodge away from (or through) some attacks. Large combos (where an enemy can attack 4-8 times without pausing) typically have terrible tracking; that's your cue to just roll out of the way (they'll keep swinging at nothing).

Yeah, I don't hold it up all the time, I tend to only raise it when I know something is coming, but having my stamina recover faster doesn't help when basically every enemy inflicts so much damage on my stamina bar that it will break my guard in a single hit.

Like, I played sword & board throughout the entirety of Dark Souls 2 and I could even block most bosses in that game--sure, they'd take a significant amount of stamina in one swing, but it wasn't so much that I couldn't lower my shield and recover enough stamina to be able to block the next attack and then the next after that. But when enemies that aren't even as much as mini-bosses cause at least 90% of my stamina to drain with each attack they do, I can not possibly recover enough stamina to block the next attack, even if I have the chloranthy ring equipped.

[[OTS]EchoZenLogos]

Blocking with a shield is only useful if you do it at the proper time, obviously.

A shield gives you options. A large shield with sufficient stamina allows you to essentially be invulnerable to lighter weapon attacks, as long as you are careful to avoid kicks. A smaller shield allows you to block attacks from lighter weapons when needed, but also allows you the flexibility to parry attacks if you get the right opportunity - something that means an enemy attacking you always has something else to worry about.

Even if you never use a shield, even having one in your off hand will give you an advantage against many people in PvP.

I don't use shields much in this game, that much is true, but I'm one of those nuts who plays Sorcerer and still does PvP, using ambushes and magic sword strikes and mobility to kill enemies. Or does dual-wielding light weapon builds that are similarly offense-based. My worst enemy with the latter always was enemies with shields, as well.

[Drewmo]

I always figured that the point of anything lighter than a great shield was to act as an emergency "oh-crap" button. I keep mine raised just in case I dodge an attack a half second too late, and they've saved my life on a couple of bosses when my positioning is just off, and, yes, I get my guard broken, but at least I didn't die!

[กกต. กระดอเถอะ]

..

[Hezz]

Shields only helped me vs Nameless King, and that's only because there was 1 or 2 attacks he made that I wasn't comfortable with dodging yet. Otherwise, they really are quite useless because most bosses will just continue to wail on you with little to no break time, often chunking your stamina so much that you'll just be guard broken and destroyed. And if you DO happen to survive that onslaught, you'll have no stamina to attack with.

The unfortunate truth about this game is that Blocking is just a crutch. Sure it'll work on regular enemies, but for bosses the only use is blocking very specific attacks that you haven't worked the dodge timing for yet. More than ever, this game is all about the roll dodging.

[daninthemix]

Shields are much less effective than in Dark Souls 1. They consume a lot more stamina, even when at high stability levels.

[Gyve]

Originally posted by Lady Alice Von Jiggletits:

Originally posted by ashfalor Saltborn:

Well you're giving no context but i'm gonna wildly guess that you're talking about pvp and that you brought a buckler to block something big, had you brought a greatshield you would know that they are op/broken/quite good.

No, I'm not a PvP player.

I don't use a greatshield because I haven't found a good one I can use yet, but I don't use a buckler either. I guess I'd say that I use something in the middle.

My problem is that my guard is broken by pretty much every single enemy that wants to break it. If they don't wield a ♥♥♥♥♥♥♥ Boeing 747 as a weapon that empties my stamina in a single blow, they go nuts on me and start attacking and just never ♥♥♥♥♥♥♥ stop--there doesn't seem to be an inbetween in this game.

I wouldn't say I'm a Dark souls franchise pro like a lot of dudes here, but it's not my first tussle in the series; I've played all of them to some extent (even Demon's Souls.) but this is the first one I'm having issues with because none of the kinds of characters I enjoy playing seem to be worth anything.

upgrade your shield to give it more stability & dont try to block every single attack in a combo, roll away after you shield gets hit.

[luigi430]

Greatshield user, do not even try using the shield. My God, From doesn't know how to make other weapons besides swords useful. In PvP... let's just say even with a greatshield I feel like I am fighting a greatsword user when a katana hits me. guarding clearly can't be holding the shield up forever, but there is a reason no one uses shields in PVP. Exclude the Havel's, this is a problem the community never mentions because they are ♥♥♥♥♥♥♥♥ about the estus user which is also allowed anywhere in this game. Meanwhile, Both the BK shield and Atorias greatshield are the only thing close to useful in the terms of shields, crests only have a strong stance against an element most likely in use towards a boss. And boy, the stamina requires a blossom and ring if shields can have the same effect like in DS1. OP or not, DS2 had it useful in PVP due to the absurd shield damage two-handed. I've won fights against pro almost unhittable players using a move you can't parry or bash quickly... The shield in this game has a broken animation only a real life zombie could fall for the startup and finish. Nameless King easily brought my greatshield almost to no stam like butter. This is ok, this is reasonable but not a ♥♥♥♥♥♥ wearing freak with a curved sword attacking me and by the way lag. small weapons like estocs and darksword take way too much stam and towards the shield it feels too much knockback which feels like smough's hammer is hitting my shield. WTF?! Not everyone wants to use a sword/katana/estoc, we all like having our scythe or hammers for variety. Thankfully, PVE is not even close to useless as Pvp. Sure they bash a lot with constant hits, but your shield can take many hits before rolling out. Here the shield shines, along with bows and spears. There are so many opportunities and chances to have variety over PVP and to other weapon users. But for now, you're better off using a torch before a buckler/shield in PVP. :-(