Shield in early levels

[Malfeasor]

Can anyone tell me if it is better to use a shield early on - when you don't have many practices in it - or to just wait and use a 1H weapon only until you can afford to invest some skill points? Or should I just dual wield until I can afford to train shield?

Will dual-wielding drain stamina at a faster rate than just wielding a 1H weapon by itself?

Thanks for any replies.

[Team Kaos]

If you want your glad to use a shield I assume your attempting to make him a defensive/parry type fighter. So why wouldn't you want to invest points early into shield skills?

[Malfeasor]

I do want to invest in shield skills early, but I also want to maximise weapon skill and do some damage.

Following your line of thought to it's conclusion, should I just train shield instead of weapon early on? Considering as a parry/defensive fighter I will have low activity and inflict little damage anyway it seems logical.

[Team Kaos]

If that is your vision for him and you look to win by watching your opponents tire until they drop, I would agree with that idea. But keep in mind certain weapons are better defensively then others and also work to great benefit in defending your gladiator in addition to his shield.

[Malfeasor]

Ah I see.

I don't really like the idea of a gladiator that just stands there with activity 1 and stares at the other guy - it seems a bit lame. Are there many successful gladiators who use shields coupled with high weapon skill, offensive skills and high activity at the upper levels?

Thanks for your comments.

[Team Kaos]

I don't really like the idea of a gladiator that just stands there with activity 1 and stares at the other guy - it seems a bit lame. Are there many successful gladiators who use shields coupled with high weapon skill, offensive skills and high activity at the upper levels?

Well there is a difference between tanking and Parry. A tank for the most part just stands around absorbing and kicking his opponent back while using very little energy at all compared to the opponent. But Tanks have a nearly impossible time against Rage's and difficult time vs 2H powerful War's.
Parry War's and Parry Theatrics have done well and are represented among the upper ladders.

But if that is your vision of build having a gladiators deflect, kickback and absorb the high majority of his opponents swings then be ready for some incredibly boring fights (at least IMO).

[oedi]

i run 3 gladiators atm that use 1 weapon and a shield oedi ranked 10 in legends(dont let the w/l fool you, hes my first and been victim of many trials an errors), azmael ranked 72 in the champs, gregorio ranked 215 in juggernauts. All these are theatrcs. I used to run a whole team useing shields, but decided after a while that skillpoints put into shield are better used in other skills. This is of course my personal view, and i dont think ill ever build another gladiator spending points on shields.
these 3 use 6-8 activity, starting off with counterstrike, and varies between offensive and parry styles depending on triggers.

novalar champ ranked 76, has a skilllvl of 6 in shield but dont use it any longer.

[Malfeasor]

So Oedi: do you dual-wield instead of shields now (with Novalar for example)? Excuse my ignorance, as you can see I've just started.

[oedi]

yes i duel wield weapons that do high damage. Shield is just another weapon, that sacrefice damage for defense. The big shields are also incredebly heavy so you would need a special kind of gladiator to wield one without being encumbered.
my favorite, duel bastard swords work very well with the right strat.

[Warmonger]

I'm not a big fan of shields either. Every once in a while I decide to give them another shot and every time I regret it. I guess I could see the use early on when it is very easy to outlast even Rages but it's not really necessary and it splits up your skill spending.