How to counter shields?

[Squidsome]

I keep losing my games to just shield AI that seems impossible to hit with those massive big shields.

[Shawn]

I use a back-hand swing and go for their exposed side.

I had a great moment where a guy was turtling and I did a left dash and got a decapitation swing in.

[po]

overhead with cursor on their face seems to work for me, also a shield bash into overhead

[gray]

Against anything but spears, they create an opening when they wind up to attack. I go for a backhand swing on their weapon side when they're attacking and usually you can time it better than the AI. If they have a spear it's a little harder but you can still do it, shield bash is helpful, and honestly you can often back up and bait them into throwing it to reset to a non-spear situation

[Retsopmi]

Aim higher over the head or use an axe and break the shield

[Tomoko]

go for left to right slashes as shields mostly protect the ride side. don't save on kicks and they can offer an opening. also overheads sometimes helps since ai doesn't protect his head with shields. Alternatively, a spear or a flail can also do the trick.

[Mr.SoLdBuY]

Overhead strike, with a weapon that does more dmg to shield. If you land a hit, they take tons of dmg. If you don't land a hit, you will start taking away their shield.

[Lechuck's Beard]

Press up against them on their weaponized side. Line up your angle of attack, move into position so as to compliment that angle, release attack. You can angle the legs, the neck, whatever he's showing you.

Alternatively, use good spacing, footwork, and attack just as they open up. Turn into your attack and have a fully loaded swing ready for the extra speed too. You can also just use a flick if your aim is on point and finish them that way. If all else fails, smack the HP out of the shield till it breaks, though that's a desperate last resort.

[Squidsome]

Well I mean when you reach around LVL 10 they bring shields that cover their entire body, even when they are holding attack their shield covers them entirely only exposed when they are actually swining, but like if you swing at them before they swing you, you both take damage... plus if they use flain or spear that can just do 30 damage in just 0.1s speed I see almost.

Like having a hard time late in game when AI gets really strong weapons and shields even tho the AI seems to be acting the same way from LVL 1 to ASCENDED rank, it just their equipement makes them more dangerous just cuz you land a hit on the AI and they land a hit on your back at the same time...

[Lechuck's Beard]

Works early and late game, even with the biggest of shields. They are never fully covered, it appears so though. Go to 41:19 https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=iqshSbkziXc Granted, it's not the full shield, but it's the exact same method and works. There are many examples of getting around shields in that run.

Edit - Wouldn't advise the flail for that though. Axe, Mace, something one handed etc.

[Spicy Salmon Roll]

Use over-head swings and aim for the tippy top of their noggin. Sometimes it doesn't look like you can bomp them but you actually can. I find success with swords with a little extra reach but most anything will work this way.

[76561198136536014]

If you really hate shields use a Flail weapon as you can swing on the side which has no shield and hit them 80% of the time. Flails are OP as ♥♥♥♥ they do massive DMG and ignore the enemy's block/shield. Only downside is you can throw them outside the Arena at random.

[Squidsome]

mostly being successful at countering shields with weapons that can overhead like sabres, but still when shields are really big I see only possible to just keep on spamming to break their shields in order to deal damage, and even then when I hit the shield AI instantly hits me sometimes..

[Shawn]

TFW you finally break their shield and they just run over and pick up a new one.

[Squidsome]

Sometimes I do see that when I hit them they just go like Stunned or something and expose their heads to overhead, but I think just happens when they really low health so their stamina is low too

[Kraehe]

Will say, so far shields, especially the tall ones, are my number one run ender. Granted I´m still quite the beginner and I will definetly try to apply some of the tips I´ve read here. But those fights still feel frustrating.
So while you can counter these shields, I still feel like they need a bit of a rework. Also blocking for myself seems rather inconsistent. Might be another skill issue, I´ll admit that. But I take damage quite often even though to me it looks like I´m blocking in the perfect direction. Meanwhile the enemy has some big ass tower shield that hardly opens up. And shield push/kick often pushes them quite far out of reach.