What's with the one shot shield killers in this game?

[magusat999]

No matter what level I'm fighting, no matter how much lower they are than I - when i get in a fire fight my sheilds get knocked off instantly. It's like they all have critical hits. I'm level 24 backtracking to some very low level side missions and still getting my sheild popped off (example - I get shot like 3 times, and on the fourth is a "critical hit" that removes my entire shield) - is that just the way it is or can something be done about it?

[Sirius]

Shields are not supposed to actually, well... shield you.
They are supposed to take one or two hits as a saving grace so you can get your head down and wait for it to recharge.

There are special shields of course, but the bulk is really just so you don't die after one or two shots.

Point is, relying on your shield to not die is not a good idea. Not getting hit so much and taking cover is the better way to not die.

You say you are level 24 doing lower level missions with persumably lower level enemies and you die in like 4 or 5 shots.

Wait until you reach the next playthrough - based on what you told us, you will die there after 1 or 2 shots. And don't even imagine what happens in the 3rd.

Edit: Also, it is of course important what kind of shield you use, and what level it is. Shields come in a great many varieties, find one that suits your playstyle.

Just to give one famous example: The Sham. It's a legendary absorption shield that comes in varieties of up to 90% absorb chance. This means that 9 our of 10 hits, you won't even get hit but get ammo instead.

You can see why it's so popular.

Other shield rely on not shielding you at all, like Roid shields for melee characters. Those shields amplify the melee damage while they are down.

The point here is, there are lots of possible shields and playstyles for them.
Never think of them as an actual shield as such, you won't get far relying on it saving you constantly. At best, as I said initially, it's so you don't die right away and have a second or two more to get your head down.

[ShyRik]

A lot of the enemies use shock element weapons - extremely efficient against shielded targets. Get yourself one - you'll see.

[MisterDuch]

just you wait until UVMH ( 3rd playtrough ) lel

[White Che Guevara]

Git gud and git a better shield

[trukr]

Don't try to tank, |x|SiriuS|x| explained it well. The character you play, the skills you use, the class mod, guns all play a part in the whole you are building and the shield is but a part. Get your gear set up to complement your skill tree and that all to suit your play style and kick some Pandoran butt.

[magusat999]

Originally posted by |x|SiriuS|x|:

Shields are not supposed to actually, well... shield you.
They are supposed to take one or two hits as a saving grace so you can get your head down and wait for it to recharge.

There are special shields of course, but the bulk is really just so you don't die after one or two shots.

Point is, relying on your shield to not die is not a good idea. Not getting hit so much and taking cover is the better way to not die.

You say you are level 24 doing lower level missions with persumably lower level enemies and you die in like 4 or 5 shots.

Wait until you reach the next playthrough - based on what you told us, you will die there after 1 or 2 shots. And don't even imagine what happens in the 3rd.

Edit: Also, it is of course important what kind of shield you use, and what level it is. Shields come in a great many varieties, find one that suits your playstyle.

Just to give one famous example: The Sham. It's a legendary absorption shield that comes in varieties of up to 90% absorb chance. This means that 9 our of 10 hits, you won't even get hit but get ammo instead.

You can see why it's so popular.

Other shield rely on not shielding you at all, like Roid shields for melee characters. Those shields amplify the melee damage while they are down.

The point here is, there are lots of possible shields and playstyles for them.
Never think of them as an actual shield as such, you won't get far relying on it saving you constantly. At best, as I said initially, it's so you don't die right away and have a second or two more to get your head down.

I appreciate your lengthy reply but I'd like to add some info:

First: I didn't say I was dying al lot. I never said how much I was dying at all. Your reply, while relevant (mostly) reads very close to another reply I read - as if you copy / pasted it. Some of your points have nothing to do with what I wrote, and I swear I read this exact reply on a Google search of the topic of shields in Borderlands 2...

Second: I never said anything about "relying" on shields or what my playstyle was. To clarfy, I am not talking about a specific type of play. I am coming from the perspective of a Borderlands one player, where shields DID do the actual job of... shielding. Also, I don't think there is anything wrong with "relying" on shields even if I didn't say or infer that. Its not "relying" it's a style of play that utilizes shields and actually expect them to... shield - hence the name "shield". Players rely on their guns to do damage, what is the difference in relying on a shield to soak up damage? If a player expected "enhancement" then they should have called it "Enhancement" not "shield". I also didn't say anything about face-tanking - though I would like to shield tank, but cannot because the shields in B2 do not shield, whether it be due to shock enemies ( and I am not talking about shock enemies, it's more like critical hits) or whatever lame excuse Gearbox implemented in B2.

Third: Nice explanation of different EFFECTS, but those are not "SHIELDS". I don't put on a shield expecting only to get an effect and no shielding. The effect should be a BONUS, not replacing the main purpose of the shield. Your answer is typical acceptance of what is, making assumption that the question is ignorant to that fact. I didn't ask "What is?", I pointed out that there is an aspect that doesn't make sense (at least to me), and perhaps there may be a way around it. An appropriate response might be to tell me to "Git Gudder" or "Get better shields" - not an expository essay on how things currently work, which is what I am commenting on in the first place. Also it doesn't solve the question to just say, "Well, shields are only good for things that have nothing to do with shielding - and here is an exhaustive list of those things that have nothing to do with your comment - which is specifically about the shield...".

[Sirius]

First, I made that post from scratch - if it seems familiar, well, I'm not the only who knows how shields work.

Second, yeah my bad about the dying, but it amounts to the same. You wondered why even low level enemies strip your shields in very few shots: This is intentional as it is not meant as a hard shield but as a means to survive a few hits, nothing more, nothing less.
Not getting hit is the way to go, the shield only saves you from making one or two mistakes, that's it.

And yes, if you feel your shield isn't living up to expectations, it's because of two things: You haven't realized the first part of the explanation, i.e. you rely on it too much. The second thing might just be a subpar shield.

Third, yes the effects are quite important, if you take into account the above:
Shields as such are pretty useless except for saving you from dying instantly.

The potential they have lies in the effects, not the amount of shield power. I only explained this to make you realize the fact, nothing more.

More to the point and less lengthy: You asked if something can be done about shields going down so quickly.

No, you can't. Learn what shields do and act accordingly, meaning learn to use them to your advantage by means of playstyle and effects. Even high level shields will get stripped quickly, apart form a few special ones I mentioned. If the enemy shoots electricity, shields go down even faster. That's how it is.

[Zen_Disaster]

Originally posted by magusat999:

No matter what level I'm fighting, no matter how much lower they are than I - when i get in a fire fight my sheilds get knocked off instantly. It's like they all have critical hits. I'm level 24 backtracking to some very low level side missions and still getting my sheild popped off (example - I get shot like 3 times, and on the fourth is a "critical hit" that removes my entire shield) - is that just the way it is or can something be done about it?

To answer your query directly, it's just the way it is and remains the most hotly debated change in the game's mechanics since BL1. To move toward as straightforward an answer as BL2 will allow, the game offers two "BL1-type" tanky shields which are different sides of the coin of the classic Anshin Rose from BL1 - the Anshin Blockade with its extremely high shield boost (drops from Dragons) and the Anshin Evolution with its extremely high health boost (drops from Hyperius). Both are Seraph shields that become available at increasing strengths from level 50 to level 80 (OP8). There are no Legendary shields that come close to matching the strengths of these two Seraph shields in BL2 and there are no Pearlescent shields in BL2 full-stop. While the Legendary Bee and Sham shields are by far the favorite shields used in BL2, these two Seraph shields particularly the Evolution come closest behind.