Mordhau shields information – protect stats & information, how you can use and counter shields

Mordhau’s collection of shields is remarkably numerous each in dimension and when it comes to their potential for fully shaking up Mordhau’s magnificently elaborate fight system. This Mordhau shields information is, I believe, a vital addition to our Mordhau sequence, as a result of not solely have I seen many gamers asking what the purpose of shields is as they seem far too weak and cumbersome, however I’ve additionally heard the outcries of many a participant who’ve come up in opposition to a seasoned shield-user and don’t know what they may probably have achieved to beat them.

This information will stroll you thru every kind of protect on provide in Mordhau and the way all of them function, earlier than transferring onto some in-depth ideas and strategies each for utilizing shields to the most effective of your skill, and for countering shield-users and abusers.

One fast point out earlier than we dive into the world of tolerance values, flip caps, and held blocks: for those who’re searching for extra of an summary of this glorious medieval brawler, then try our Mordhau guide for explanations and tips about nearly all the things, alongside hyperlinks to each different a part of our Mordhau guides sequence, from stats and opinions on the entire Mordhau weapons to my in-depth and superior Mordhau melee combat information, and way more.

Mordhau shields information – protect stats, ideas, behaviours

You might imagine shields are the best facet of Mordhau’s fight system, however in actuality they’re something however – as you’ll quickly discover out. We’ve a good quantity to cowl right here, so be happy to make use of the hyperlinks under to skip forward to a specific part.

Mordhau shields information – contents

Mordhau shields overview – how they work, how they assist, how they hinder

Let’s begin with the apparent query: why use a protect? It’s a legitimate level; they value further factors to select up, so you must know precisely what you’re getting out of it.

Shields could be geared up in your off-hand whilst you wield a one-handed weapon, which suggests you should use any type of protect (besides Pavise) alongside something from a Dagger as much as a Messer or Bastard Sword. There are 5 completely different shields at the moment in Mordhau, which could be damaged into two varieties (and one outlier):

• Held Block – This kind of protect is bigger than the opposite, and – uniquely – permits you to maintain down your block indefinitely, quite than having to time it as you’d a traditional weapon parry. The Kite Shield and Heater Shield are each shields of this sort.
• Timed Block – This kind of protect can’t maintain its block, and subsequently acts very very similar to a weapon in that you need to time your block/parry correctly for it to be efficient. The Buckler and Targe are each shields of this sort.
• Pavise Shield – We gained’t be speaking a lot in regards to the Pavise Shield on this information, as a result of it isn’t actually a protect within the atypical sense. You can’t block with it in any respect, however you may click on to position it down into the bottom to offer some cowl to cover behind. It’s basically a giant cell wall.

The execs and cons of utilizing a protect differ relying on the kind you’re speaking about, however some traits are common. For one, they supply bigger areas with which to dam an assault than any weapon – and so they additionally typically function very forgiving “Block View Tolerances”, which suggests you don’t must be fairly so exact along with your protect placement to dam an assault. Shields are additionally helpful as a result of they will block projectiles and generally even melee assaults even whenever you’re not blocking with them – you may carry a big protect in your again and it’ll typically shield you from enemy archer fireplace and the like.

Held Block shields even have the large advantage of – you guessed it – having the ability to maintain your block. We’ll go into this in additional depth in a second, however belief me: this fully adjustments the game, typically in favour of the protect consumer. However, the bigger your protect the extra of your display is obscured whilst you struggle, which suggests you typically want a good suggestion of your opponent’s assault animations and positioning with a view to preserve consciousness of what’s occurring in a struggle whilst you’re blocking.

Targe & Buckler

We’ll get the Timed Block shields out of the best way now, as a result of they don’t really change the game up all that a lot. The majority of this information will concentrate on the Held Block shields and how you can use and counter them – however that doesn’t imply there isn’t a spot for the Targe or the Buckler in your character’s construct.

Both these shields work in kind of precisely the identical approach, however the Buckler is near-objectively superior to the Targe. The solely advantages a Targe has over a Buckler are a decrease value, and a barely bigger space to dam with. The Buckler is the truth is the smallest protect on provide in Mordhau, however it enjoys a number of advantages, together with a excessive “Turn Cap”, and the most effective “Parry Drain Negation” of any protect (joint high of any weapon, too).

I ought to clarify what these phrases really imply. “Turn Cap” means how freely you may flip the digicam whilst you’re blocking or attacking. All weapons have completely different Turn Cap values, and the identical is true with Shields. The decrease a Turn Cap, the extra restrictive it’s; which is why the Buckler’s excessive Turn Cap may be very helpful and offsets the drawback of its comparatively small space.

To perceive “Parry Drain Negation“, you even have to know “Stamina Drain“. When you block an enemy’s assault, you lose a little bit of Stamina. The quantity of Stamina you lose is the same as the attacker’s “Stamina Drain”, minus your weapon’s (or protect’s) “Parry Drain Negation”. For instance, for those who block a Zweihander’s assault along with your Dagger, you’ll lose 20-6=14 Stamina (rather a lot), whereas for those who block a Dagger’s assault along with your Zweihander, you’ll lose 15-13=2 Stamina (not a lot in any respect).

All shields vary from 11 to 13 “Parry Drain Negation”, which makes them excellent at absorbing stamina injury. And none is healthier than the Buckler, whose PDN of 13 outshines even the big Kite Shield and Heater Shield.

Heater Shield & Kite Shield

Now it will get attention-grabbing. There’s an terrible lot occurring with the Heater Shield and the Kite Shield, so let’s get caught in.

First, their stats. The Heater Shield is the cheaper of the 2, which suggests you may count on the Kite Shield to be the more practical protect – which it’s. Not solely is it bigger in space, however it has a better “Parry Drain Negation” worth and makes it simpler to dam assaults directed at your legs and ft. Much just like the Targe/Buckler debate, the one actual purpose to select a Heater Shield over a Kite Shield is for those who can’t afford the latter.

Now, let’s discuss how utilizing these shields really works. With such a protect geared up, you may maintain down your block button with a view to block indefinitely till both you might be interrupted by one thing (a profitable assault or kick, or getting disarmed), otherwise you launch block. Simple, proper?

Not fairly. You can’t assault whilst you’re holding down block, besides whenever you riposte (assault simply after you block your opponent’s assault). Riposting additionally lowers your block, so bear in mind to carry block once more in time on your opponent’s subsequent assault. You’ll additionally discover that for those who miss an assault, then you definitely’ll be locked out of blocking for a short while (very similar to regular: for those who miss with a weapon, it’s a short time earlier than you may parry once more, which is why lacking an assault is so expensive in Mordhau).

The different massive factor price noting is that, like every protect or any weapon, blocking might be fully ineffective in opposition to kicks. If somebody kicks you, the one technique to block it’s to relax (which extraordinarily few gamers have the reactions or the wherewithal to do deliberately). This makes kicking very highly effective in opposition to Heater Shield or Kite Shield customers.

How to counter shields and protect customers in Mordhau

I’m gonna do one thing a bit unusual right here, and begin with how you can counter protect customers (by which I imply “Held Block” shields; the “Timed Block” shields aren’t actually price speaking about in such element). Once you’ve learn via all this, I’ll offer you some tips about mitigating these weaknesses.

But whether or not you’re right here to make use of shields or to counter them, the most effective thought might be to learn each sections so what to anticipate out of your opponent.

• Make good use of kicks. The most evident counter to gamers who continuously disguise behind their shields is to kick. This may be very efficient because it stuns them and nearly all the time ends in a free hit so long as you combo right into a thrust (subsequently that is greatest whenever you’re utilizing a weapon that favours thrusts, reminiscent of a Spear or Estoc). However, the kick has a brief vary even after its buff in opposition to held blocks, and an honest enemy might be ready for this.
• Chamber-morph-cancel-kick-thrust. Catchy identify, proper? Here’s an efficient and highly effective technique to make kicks work once more as soon as your enemy has tailored to them. Bait their assault (normally a thrust), chamber it, morph right into a strike – this encourages them to dam quite than to chamber with one other thrust – however as an alternative of following via along with your chamber-morph, instantly cancel it and kick. Your enemy will almost all the time nonetheless be in shut proximity to you after their preliminary assault, and they’ll very not often count on you to cancel your assault and kick as an alternative. After you’ve surprised them, observe up with a stab to the face.
• Drags and good footwork may also help get across the sides of shields. The different massive factor to include into your fights in opposition to protect abusers is cautious mixture of drags and footwork. If you’ve learn my Mordhau melee combat information, you’ll know all about dragging your strikes with a view to get round an opponent’s parry. Not solely can atypical drags typically greatest an inexperienced protect consumer, however sure forms of drags will work effectively even in opposition to wonderful protect customers. One of the most effective examples is what is named the “waterfall” approach, the place you carry out and overhead strike, however via cautious positioning of your blade and good footwork, you make the blow land on the opposite aspect of the opponent than the place you began. Check out this page for examples.
• Exploit their misses. No, that isn’t as morally questionable as saying it aloud makes it sound. What this implies is doing all the things you may to make them miss their assaults, as a result of that is once they’re at their most weak because of the delay earlier than they will block once more. The Dodge perk is superb for this; bait an assault from them, then concurrently dodge backwards and wind up your personal thrust. Most protect customers don’t know how you can take care of this correctly.
• Play the Stamina game. This is dependent upon your weapon. You would possibly assume protect customers have the benefit in relation to “stamina-offs”, however really there are a lot of weapons with a “Parry Drain Negation” that matches a Buckler’s or Kite Shield’s – and people weapons typically have a better “Stamina Drain” than what your opponent could have in the event that they’re restricted to one-handed weapons. For instance, a Maul has a Stamina Drain/PDN of 24/13, whereas a Kite Shield and Messer consumer could have a Stamina Drain/PDN of 19/13. In this case, if neither opponent lets themselves get hit, then the Maul consumer has the sting – however keep in mind you’ll wish to make use of parries and ripostes quite than chambers in order for you this to work correctly.

Mordhau protect ideas and methods

Now we’ll undergo some superior protect strategies to assist fight the apparent weaknesses that include utilizing shields.

• You can riposte with a kick. Something a big portion of Mordhau’s playerbase doesn’t really know, as a result of for no matter purpose whenever you riposte-kick it doesn’t flip your reticule hole as ordinary with ripostes. But sure – you may certainly riposte with a kick as an alternative of a weapon assault, which may be very helpful whenever you’re utilizing a protect, just because it’s not anticipated, and likewise as a result of the enemy is normally making an attempt to get as near you as attainable to allow them to kick you themselves. Beat them to the punch with this nifty approach.
• Learn to dam on the final second such as you would with a weapon. Shields appeal to an important many newcomers at first as a result of it’s seen as a shortcut previous the “Panic-Parry” stage that everybody goes via when studying the game. But what you’re really doing whenever you block, apart from all the things else, is obscuring your imaginative and prescient. And the sooner you block, the much less you may see what your opponent is doing, which suggests they is perhaps winding up an ideal waterfall for all . Don’t simply block instantly after your assault; having eyes on the enemy is extraordinarily essential.
• Wait for the opponent’s assault to land. If you cease blocking with out ready for the audio cue of the enemy’s assault touchdown, then you definitely’ll probably get punished by drag-attacks. Listen out for the affect; solely then is it your time to behave.
• Pick up the Dodge perk to keep away from predictability. Just as Dodge is helpful in opposition to shield-users for its shock issue and skill to interrupt the circulate of fights, so too does the perk profit shield-users themselves. Not solely can it’s utilized in precisely the identical approach as talked about above, however it’s additionally a last-ditch escape for those who’ve tousled your timing or assault, otherwise you’ve been disarmed. It additionally simply makes you much less predictable, which suggests your opponent might be compelled to train extra warning.
• Choose your weapon very fastidiously. Many gamers decide the Short Spear for its attain and stabbing potential, however in opposition to an honest participant you’ll need one thing greater than perpetual thrusts. Likewise with the Rapier, which doesn’t even benefit from prolonged vary. My weapon of alternative is sort of all the time both the Bastard Sword (quicker, cheaper) or the Messer (larger attain, extra injury) as a result of – for one-handed weapons – they’ve completely implausible injury even in opposition to Heavy Armour, and since their Stamina Drain may be very respectable, which helps you tremendously in prolonged fights.

Aaaaaaaaaaand I believe we’ll cease there. That must be greater than sufficient to be getting on with, and I don’t wish to overload you with info. The lengthy and wanting it’s {that a} 1v1 with a Heater or Kite Shield concerned is a totally completely different beast from a non-shield 1v1, and there’s a entire new algorithm to contemplate in these conditions; however, as all the time, the victor will go to those that can break the circulate of the struggle and keep away from predictability.