Shield or dual wield

[Fighter Hayabusa]

I'm definitely going to go sword and board on my next playthrough. I went 2- Handed with no problems at all, I kill almost everything with one hit. My issue is that its all offense, so there's not much to the combat for me other than to tag every target with my hammer. I played around with a shield character, I found it to be more dynamic- so far.

 

[Oskar Gudlaugsson]

I wonder if a light armor shield build would work well...

I'm sure almost everyone normally combines shields with heavy armor. With light armor, the shield's carry weight would be less of an issue and you could more easily afford to sprint towards opponents using ranged attacks. Instead of trying to be some impenetrable fortress you'd focus on playing aggressively with well-timed shield bashes followed by sword swings. The ability to block the heaviest hits, combined with the arrow- and spell-deflecting perks, should add enough survivability to compensate for the light armor.

Would at least make for a fun and flavorful style

 

[Su8tle]

I think a light armour shield/sword build would make for a pretty flexible warrior.

 

[XbSuper]

Light armor sword and board is great, personally I think heavy armor is a waste, light armor easily reaches the cap, and doesn't slow you down as much.

 

[Kuurus]

Well eventually light armor can reach the cap and be just as good. However, you will get there a lot earlier with heavy armor and more importantly to me, it's more protection early in the game which is when you really need it. Later in the game you are absolutely correct.

I used heavy armor for the additional protection at early levels and used the Lovers stone for skill advancement most of the game, the once all my skills were where I wanted them, switched to the Steed stone to make armor weight a non-issue.

 

[Oskar Gudlaugsson]

I think I'll go for the light shield as a tactical option on my current dual-wielding light armor warrior.

My idea is that I could spend only 5 perks in the block tree to get the greatest value out of my shield for the lowest cost: Shield Wall (1/5) > Deflect Arrows > Elemental Protection > Block Runner > Shield Charge. The first point in Shield Wall yields the most (+20% compared to only +5% each point after that) and all the other perks are potentially very useful, especially combined with Block Runner. I could then have the option of whipping up the shield while running into melee with ranged attackers and greatly reducing the damage I take. Once in range, bash, then go d/w for the kill.

Also note that the damage reduction of a shield's block is not based on its armor value at all. It's all in the block skill, modifiers (perks, enchants, potions), and of course correct timing. So for blocking, a simple hide shield is as good as a legendary daedric shield (though the armor value is different, but that's a separate mechanic).

Going dual-wield + situational block can seem a bit too costly in terms of perks. I would point out though, that the light armor tree is less perk-intensive than hvy armor, and perking into d/w only eventually costs 3 extra points. This warrior is my third proper character and by now I'm way too lazy to spend a lot of time or perks on crafts (try ignoring alchemy entirely and see how much more fun you have!), and he's no mage or sneak-thief, so he's got the perks to spare.

 

[Oskar Gudlaugsson]

Well eventually light armor can reach the cap and be just as good. However, you will get there a lot earlier with heavy armor and more importantly to me, it's more protection early in the game which is when you really need it. Later in the game you are absolutely correct.

I used heavy armor for the additional protection at early levels and used the Lovers stone for skill advancement most of the game, the once all my skills were where I wanted them, switched to the Steed stone to make armor weight a non-issue.

I generally care much more about early game effectiveness but I'm finding myself surprised by how decently a warrior in light armor performs. The damage taken isn't that bad when you play aggressively and take weapon perks above all. In my experience with warriors, it's magic damage that is the most dangerous.

Not a fan of the lover stone personally. I make sure to rest 2 hours regularly, at inns or at home if possible. That gets you a +5% or +10% bonus to all skill improvement, on top of whatever bonus you have from stones. So, combined with a guardian stone, I'll have +25-30% on the skills I use the most and +5-10% on the rest. For werewolves the lover stone makes sense though.

 

[Kuurus]

Yeah, I've been a werewolf since about level 20, hence my preference for the Lovers stone.

I am not surprised at all that you are finding the light armor effective. It is certainly viable, just obviously a little different combat style than heavy armor. My comment was meant simply to clarify that there IS a difference in the early game between light and heavy even though that difference vanishes in the later game when both can be capped.

And I agree magic is the most dangerous. That's why I went with +69 mag res with 3 enchants on my gear and +30 elemental on my mask (which goes up to +80 by raising my shield).

 

[Straumgald]

I think I'll go for the light shield as a tactical option on my current dual-wielding light armor warrior.

My idea is that I could spend only 5 perks in the block tree to get the greatest value out of my shield for the lowest cost: Shield Wall (1/5) > Deflect Arrows > Elemental Protection > Block Runner > Shield Charge. The first point in Shield Wall yields the most (+20% compared to only +5% each point after that) and all the other perks are potentially very useful, especially combined with Block Runner. I could then have the option of whipping up the shield while running into melee with ranged attackers and greatly reducing the damage I take. Once in range, bash, then go d/w for the kill.

Also note that the damage reduction of a shield's block is not based on its armor value at all. It's all in the block skill, modifiers (perks, enchants, potions), and of course correct timing. So for blocking, a simple hide shield is as good as a legendary daedric shield (though the armor value is different, but that's a separate mechanic).

Going dual-wield + situational block can seem a bit too costly in terms of perks. I would point out though, that the light armor tree is less perk-intensive than hvy armor, and perking into d/w only eventually costs 3 extra points. This warrior is my third proper character and by now I'm way too lazy to spend a lot of time or perks on crafts (try ignoring alchemy entirely and see how much more fun you have!), and he's no mage or sneak-thief, so he's got the perks to spare.

I hear the size of the shield is the most important. The more likely it will be hit by spells or arrows. That being the case, Ysgramor's shield is the biggest in the game, and comes preloaded with some magic resist, so I hear its the best shield for that reason. You can hit armor cap without a shield so easy, so any shield will do as you say.

I'm also thinking I should have just stuck with the left side of the block tree only, although disarming is really fun.

 

[Kuurus]

I hear the size of the shield is the most important. The more likely it will be hit by spells or arrows. That being the case, Ysgramor's shield is the biggest in the game, and comes preloaded with some magic resist, so I hear its the best shield for that reason. You can hit armor cap without a shield so easy, so any shield will do as you say.

I'm also thinking I should have just stuck with the left side of the block tree only, although disarming is really fun.

I love Ysgramor's. I used that about 90% of the way to level 60. Even though I came across shields with better armor, I couldn't put two enchants on one until I very recently got my enchanting to 100.

However, size of the shield has nothing to do with blocking spells. It's simply cosmetic. When you take the elemental block perk, you gain +50 to fire/frost/shock if you are actively blocking in the direction the spell is coming from. Any magic resist you have is applied first (which is passive and has nothing to do with you blocking), and then elemental resistance (fire/frost/shock) is applied against the "leftover" damage that gets through.

I don't know for certain whether shield size has anything to do with blocking arrows, but I would tend to doubt it.

 

[Straumgald]

I don't know for certain whether shield size has anything to do with blocking arrows, but I would tend to doubt it.

That's taken from the Wiki. Arrows have to physically hit the shield for the damage to be negated with Deflect Arrows. Bigger shield = more area to hit. I tested it with a hide shield and Dwarven shield, Dwarven blocked way more arrows. You don't even need to be blocking as far as I know, as long as it hits the shield.

 

[Kuurus]

That's interesting. Generally the appearance of a shield is just cosmetic and the "hit box" is still the same size. Good info to keep in mind. Thanks.

 

[Xx_Lost_in_Revenge_xX]

What the other posts say about not needing to block- i found to be true as well, but look up Shield Charge videos- that perk looks ridiculously awesome!

It is fun, the only problem with that perk is that there is a glitch. After a certain amount attack, you cant sheild charge anymore.

 

[Zatam Zar]

Dual Wielding is very powerful but it is pure offense. It is a pain in the ass when you go against an enemy with a shield because you have no way to stun them and get them to drop there block (except shouts).

On Legendary it really helps in those battles against legendary dragons that normally take forever. With Elemental Fury no fight last longer than a minute.

 

[Mookie]

I suppose that's why Alexander The Great was a pussy.

He was. He just made huge long spears and lined men up in mile upon mile long wall of extreme spears and walked forward. Same tactic all the time. He was nothing special.

And shields are unecesary in the game. Just keep hiting them. Make a vegetable soup and you can spam power attacks.

 

[Epic Keith]

If you're one of those, "Let's get this over with this real quick" then dual wielding is for you. Although you may end up with lower health at the end of the battle, it kills your enemies VERY quick.

Blocking is good if you want to survive a battle. Also bashing with a shield gives you an opening to lower your enemy's health bar. In my opinion, I go with Shields

 

[Ritterkreuz]

I've never had much luck with duel wielding, partly because I forget to use the second weapon, so I stick with the shield.

 

[Drax Rifter]

I find dual wielding to be pretty awful mainly because the double-attack and power attacks take so bloody long while rooting you in place and don't stagger opponents. If you want high damage: a two-hander will give you better maneuverability, stagger and longer reach - in other words you have more tools to play with.

Using a shield is really fun. It make fights dynamic and engaging. I like the fact that it's a low damage style. Combat in skyrim is already too easy. Using shields allows you to enjoy the enemies. Boss fights feel epic. Killing dragons feels like a battle (only gripe being the 1h kill animation).

 

[High King of Skyrim]

I'd prefer the sword and board combination. When I'm in combat I like to block, either with a two handed weapon or my shield. Duel wielding, simply denies me this privilege. At higher levels the duel wielding character is utterly devastating, there's no doubt about that. The shield however, can also offer protection from magic and dragons, which can be a handful at early levels we all know. Not to mention the more diverse enchantments you can utilise with a typical sword and shield type character as opposed to just another weapon in hand. Taking all of this into consideration I'd opt for a shield in my other hand more often than not.