Shield Usage skill

Shield Usage skill is used in determining the effectiveness of an arm-worn or held shield in blocking attacks. The stats that assist in blocking (from most to least important) are Reflex, Discipline, and Strength.

Spells and abilities that boost Shield Usage

• Aegis of Granite (Warrior Mage)
• Carved rimestone inkpot
• Glossy jade inkpot
• Golden pyrite inkpot
• Large smoky topaz inkpot
• Last Gift of Vithwok IV (Trader)
• Pale kunzite inkpot
• Pink feldspar inkpot
• Polished sardonyx inkpot
• Reverse Putrefaction (Necromancer)
• Round peridot inkpot
• Sentinel's Resolve (Paladin)
• Shield of Light (Cleric)
• Tornado (berserk) (Barbarian)

Spells and abilities that decrease Shield Usage

• Shatter (Paladin)

Shield Usage

To use a shield, just hold one in your left hand and fight something. Alternatively, shields may be worn on the arm (see below).

You may adjust the amount of shield skill you are actively using via the STANCE command.

Training Strategies

Below about 50 ranks, shield is not a terribly effective defense. However, shield coupled with the evasion skill is the most effective means of defending against ranged attacks. You will be unable to effectively use larger shields' higher protection values until your ranks in Shield Usage increase. There is a contest in shield that examines the stats used in your defense (Reflex, Discipline, Strength) and compares that to the weight of the shield to see if you have full use of your ability to block. When working normally this "penalty" is truly a trivial thing and most likely only impacts very young characters. Most characters have no penalty whatsoever from the weight of shield. At low ranks in skill, small non-hindering shields are your best bet. Target shields from the goblins west of the Crossing make a good starter shield.

An arm-worn shield will penalize shots fired by a longbow, short bow, or composite bow, as per the standard penalties for two-handed weapons.

As skill approaches 100 ranks, moving to medium-sized shields will begin to pay off.^{[citation needed]} Larger shields are generally more hindering, but with more skill in shield your defense will improve at an increased rate compared to the shield's maximum appraised protection. Shield defense will increase at a slower pace after the maximum appraised protection has been reached.

Experience is now awarded to all skills you are stanced to use, regardless of whether or not that skill is actually contested. It may still be in your better interest to swap stances around a little, but the need to stance down dramatically (especially in evasion) should not be as common or necessary.

Arm-worn Shield Notes

The ADJUST verb changes any shield to allow wearing on the arm. Adjusting it again will revert it to shoulder-worn.

The maximum size of shield you can wear on your arm is based on your guild's facility with armor:

• Armor Primary - Can wear large shields (tower, kite, etc.) or smaller
• Armor Secondary - Can wear medium shields (oval, buckler, etc.) or smaller
• Armor Tertiary - Can wear small shields (buckler, targe, target, etc.)

There is a 4th circle requirement to arm-wearing a medium or large shield, to exclude commoners from wearing medium shields.

Note: An arm-worn shield's protection is reduced by 25%.

Clerics can arm-wear an infused Shield of Light shield that is medium in size, an exception to the size rule above.

Different classes of ranged weapons interact differently with arm-worn shields:

• Slings are not affected in any way.
• Light Thrown and Heavy Thrown weapons are not affected in any way.
• Crossbows do not seem to be affected. (The 50-rank loading requirement was removed.)
• Stick bows receive both a loading penalty and an accuracy penalty when used with an arm-worn shield.

The exceptions to the stick bow penalty are as follows:

• A Paladin wearing a medium or small shield.
• A Barbarian wearing a small shield.
• A Ranger wearing a small shield.

Shield Stats

All shields have two levels of protection, referred to as:

• "fortuitous block chance": Previously called "minimum defense", this represents the chance of receiving a substantial bonus to your ability to block with a shield. This reflects the idea that sometimes the shield just happens to be in the right place to block an incoming attack, regardless of how skilled or unskilled you may be in using the shield. This chance remains the same whether you are holding or wearing the shield, so it is only listed once in shield appraisal messaging. When you appraise a shield, you will see that the shield offers "a [fortuitous block level] chance to fortuitously block attacks."
• "protection": Represents how well you can block with the shield, with the ability to take full advantage of this stat scaling through Shield skill. (Note that unlike fortuitous block chance, protection is penalized when you wear a shield on your arm instead of holding it.) When you appraise a shield, you will see "Additionally, the shield offers [protection level while held] protection when held and [protection level while worn] protection when worn on the left arm."
  

Possible levels of protection: none, extremely terrible, terrible, dismal, very poor, poor, rather low, low, fair, better than fair, moderate, moderately good, good, very good, high, very high, great, very great, exceptional, very exceptional, impressive, very impressive, amazing, incredible, tremendous, unbelievable, god-like

* Some protection levels can only be discerned by Paladins and people who are skilled with shields.

Size Differences

Even beyond their stats, different shield sizes behave differently against different types of attacks.

Small Shield: 100% melee, 80% Missile

Medium Shield : 98% melee, 90% Missile

Large Shield: 96% melee, 100% Missile

Shield Slam

Using a shield (held in left hand or worn), it is possible to SLAM left an opponent with your shield. Larger shields are heavier and therefore have high impact damage.

Update: "You can now SLAM with arm-worn shields in combat as if you were holding it in your left hand."-Ssra 09/08/15

Shield Listing

Listed below are the highest protecting shields of each type. Only those with current appraisals are shown. They are sorted by maximum possible protection, then by minimum hindrance.

Small Shields

	Fortuitous Block Rating	Maximum held protection	Maximum arm-worn protection	Hindrance	Weight
Shield:Darkened leather siege shield	7	12		3	80
Glossy starsteel ceremonial shield set with symbolic Imperial gemstones	6	14	10	4	112
Gleaming agonite ceremonial shield engraved with a labyrinthine design	6	13	10	4	80
Shield:Darkly enameled wooden targe	6	12		3	50
Shield:Shield painted with the image of a rearing black unicorn	6	12		3	50
Shield:Matte silver targe painted with a ship	6	12		3
Shield:Black and white cowhide shield	6	12		3	50
Shield painted with the image of a rearing black unicorn	6	12		3	50
Shield:Rusty rondache	6	12		3	50
Shield:Small rounded shield inlaid with a golden lion's head	6	12		3	50
Shield:Leather-covered buckler (1)	6	12		3	50
Shield:Bloodstained leather shield edged with iron spikes	6	12		3	50
Shield:Leather-covered buckler (2)	6	12		15	50
Shield:Dark steel target shield prominantly displaying a silver crest	6	11		2	70
Shield:Simple target shield emblazoned with a pattern of ivy	6	10		2	70
Simple target shield emblazoned with a pattern of ivy	6	10		2	70
Shield:Target shield painted with a pair of crests	6	10		2	70
Target shield painted with a pair of crests	6	10		2	70
Shield:Kertig targe adorned with crimson moonsilver	5	14		4	40
Kertig targe adorned with crimson moonsilver	5	14		4	40
Polished icesteel shield glistening with snowflake-cut frostflare opals	5	13	10	3	48
Reinforced smokewhorl shield wreathed with dragonfire amber flames	5	13	10	3	60
Hammered ka'hurst shield of abyssal black	5	13	10	3	48
Glittery cupcake-shaped targe sprinkled with raspberry-pink spikes	5	13	10	3	48
Icesteel targe reinforced with a web of crisscrossing silversteel	5	13		4	80
... further results

Medium Shields

	Fortuitous Block Rating	Maximum held protection	Maximum arm-worn protection	Hindrance	Weight
Loimic skirmisher's shield embedded with fragments of stura atulave	8	18		7	62
Dawnfire steel shield with glowing truegold inlay	8	18	13	7	187
Dwarven iron skirmisher's shield caked with mountainous layers of volcanic rock	8	18	13	7	187
Gleaming steel pavise inlaid with a slender mother-of-pearl lily	8	12	10	5	100
Stalwart kiralan deflector lined in stormsilk	7	17	12	6	162
Gleaming vardite deflector traced in glowing truegold	7	16	13	6	125
Shield:Polished oval shield etched with a raven pecking at a pile of gems	7	15		5	140
Oval shield engraved with shesegri etchings	7	15		6	125
Steel oval trencher with a lumium-chased rim	7	15		6	125
Dwarven iron skirmisher's shield embellished with asini crows	7	15	12	6	125
Shield:Soot stained variegated buckler	7	14		4	100
Shield:Steel-banded ironwood oval shield	7	14		5	140
Armor:Discolored potter's wheel	7	14		5	140
Discolored potter's wheel	7	14		5	140
Oval steel shield emblazoned with a giant mechanical spider	7	13		5	140
Shield:Oval steel shield emblazoned with a giant mechanical spider	7	13		5	140
Skirmisher's shield with a black charging ram on the front	7	13	10	6	175
Ecru oval shield embossed with gold midwinter sickle blossoms around the rim	7	13		6	125
Icesteel oval shield with a black charging ram in the center	7	13	10	6	125
Ebony oval shield with painted flowers	7	13		6	125
Brightly polished steel oval shield emblazoned with a crescent moon	7	12		6
Enormous mistglass saucer with a ghostly-white sheen	6	16	12	5	150
Engraved kiralan curved shield with a luminescent starshine overlay	6	16	12	5	150
Shield:Round steel shield emblazoned with a rampant brass griffon	6	16		5	120
Round steel shield emblazoned with a rampant brass griffon	6	16		5	120
... further results

Large Shields

	Fortuitous Block Rating	Maximum held protection	Maximum arm-worn protection	Hindrance	Weight
Massive cell door with a small barred window	13	22		12
Massive vardite phalanx shield with a blackened skull boss	12	23		12	550
Icesteel tower shield inlaid with a winter-bare sana'ati tree	11	23	18	12	450
Chilling hiromin war shield bearing dimly luminescent claw marks	11	23	18	12	300
Kiralan war shield glimmering with motes of asarenjan	11	21		12	300
Olvi war shield forged from pure lumium	10	24		7	100
Shield:Olvi war shield forged from pure lumium	10	24		7	100
Shield:Reinforced war shield	10	21		7	302
Reinforced war shield	10	21		7	302
Ceremonial vardite aegis bristling with kertig spikes	10	21	16	11	350
Fine wall shield	10	20		11	600
Radiant uthamar tower shield haloed in luminescent starshine	10	20	16	11	280
Wing-flared dawnfire steel shield symbolically enwreathed in unicorn spinels	10	20	16	12	300
Covellite war shield resplendent with a lion's paw holding a key	10	20	15	12	300
Star-kissed kertig tower shield depicting a sinuously coiled roaring leviathan	10	20	16	12	300
Bogbirch war shield plated in ka'hurst	10	20		12	300
Shield:Massive round shield embossed with a rising orichalcum phoenix	9	21		5	125
Massive round shield embossed with a rising orichalcum phoenix	9	21		5	125
Massive steel wall shield embossed with a black tower upon a royal blue field	9	20		5	130
Shield:Massive steel wall shield embossed with a black tower upon a royal blue field	9	20		5	130
Massive wall shield bearing the personal arms of Raenaden Jeladric Theren	9	20		6	130
Shield:Massive wall shield bearing the personal arms of Raenaden Jeladric Theren	9	20		6	130
Shield:Dark red tower shield emblazoned with a ring of golden thorns	9	20		7	200
Blue tower shield emblazoned with a snow-capped mountain	9	20		7	200
Gold tower shield emblazoned with a rising sun	9	20		7	200
... further results

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