Shields, Crafting & Theory
Introduction
What are shields good for in Mortal Online 2? Which one is for me? How to craft a shield that doesn’t cost you an arm and a leg…Pun intended!
What are Shields in Mortal Online 2 good for?
If you want to play it safe and want to mount your offense from a defensive position, nothing beats a shield in Mortal Online 2.
Not to forget that shields can also hold off arrows and blows when you don’t block with them. They are just physically in the way.
Shields have very different characteristics, their shape, size, and the materials you use to craft them. Another important aspect is how to make the most out of the materials you use in crafting, to be cost-efficient. And what about your character that wields the shield? What considerations play a role there?
And lastly we will take a look at all the different shield types that are around and look at their stats, materials, and skills needed to properly utilize them.
To answer all these questions I will give shields the love they deserve and elaborate in detail about them.
Shield Types
Round Shields
Round Shields have a circular shape, as its name implies. They usually protect less of the body area compared to Kite and Tower shields. Since most other shields are in comparison lengthy in shape, they offer less protection to the legs and feet of the wielder. But they do offer advantages when using the shield offensively. They vary in size from small bucklers to Spartan Hoplite round shields. Smaller ones like the buckler are often equipped with a spike. While the larger ones are utilized in shield wall situations.
Kite Shields
Kite shields are lengthy shields. Historically this shape was widely spread from native tribal shields to the Norman cavalry Kite Shields. Their shape protects almost the full length of the wielder’s body. When used as a Cavalry shield they protect everything from the rider’s shoulder down to his feet.
Tower Shields
The most iconic Tower Shield is probably the Roman Scutum. They are tools for mass battle shield phalanx. A step up from the greek phalanx, this is the maniples formation. A scutum is convex in shape. It measures two and a half feet in width and four feet in height. Its thickness is a palm’s breadth. Historically two glued planks, canvas, calf leather, and an iron edge at the bottom were the base of its construction. Finally complemented by a metal reinforced shield boss called “Umbo”.
Shields – Skills Needed
Blocking
Blocking gives you up to 45% knockdown resistance, which is crucial in battle. Since getting knocked down while being in a group fight can spell your certain doom.
Knockdown Resistance
Knockdown Resistance further amplifies your defenses against being knocked down. When you learn this skill make sure that you have blocking maxed out for best effect.
Blocking Endurance
Blocking Endurance lowers the stamina cost of Blocking by up to 70%. That is very important to not run out of stamina while defending yourself. Because running out of Stamina is, like being knocked down, a recipe for disaster.
Endurance
Endurance gives a boost to your stamina pool, which gives you more resources to attack, block, and sprint with. Picking a race with a high Constitution enhances your powers even more so.
Shield Attributes
Shield Size
The larger the shield, the heavier it is. Which in turn might make you drown in water, and exhaust you faster when blocking with it.
Another consideration is, larger shields have a higher chance to prevent damage by simply being in harm’s way.
Character Size
Being small seems to have its perks. If your character is smaller you can hide more of its body behind the shield. But if the game mechanics of old Mortal Online still hold, smaller characters also have fewer hit-points. How this all plays out, once the game goes live no one can tell for sure. But I will keep you definitely updated.
Shield Durability
Your shield is far from unbreakable. So with every point of damage it suffers, it will lose the same amount of durability.
So we definitely want to make sure this parameter is as high as it gets as long as our shield doesn’t get too heavy or expensive just because we decided to put the finest alloys into our shield.
Shield Mitigation
Unlike Armor, the shield’s mitigation does not mitigate damage to your character. It already does so by you being able to block with it actively and avoid damage passively. Shield mitigation instead causes your shield’s durability to be more resistant against damage. As an example, a shield with high durability but very low mitigation can turn out similar to a shield with less durability but higher mitigation. And once your shield has lost all durability it will simply break.
Shields – Cost in Mortal Online 2
To determine the cost of the shield we will have to take a look at the three crafting slots a shield can utilize.
The first one is the core material. This slot will take the most amount of material. Which in turn means that the heavier and more expensive your materials are, the higher the chance your shield becomes too expensive or unwieldy.
The second slot is the coating, which does contribute a lot to your mitigation. This slot takes a moderate amount of materials, less than the core material slot, but more than the frame material slot. Consider a light material with all-around decent defenses. I had good results with keeled scales. I hope they are as easy to come by as in Mortal Online 1. Once the successor goes live we will know more.
The last slot is the frame material. This slot contributes a lot to the durability of the shield. The main thing you want your frame material to be is hard and tough. This slot takes the least amount of materials, so you can get away with heavier and pricier materials without going broke. Some materials to look out for to get a good bang for the buck shield would be Flakestone and Dental Materials from Animals like Molarium etc. or Ironbone. Once again Mortal Online 2 isn’t finished yet, but those materials used to be available in abundance.
Comparison Tables
Shield Types Compared
This table shows the differences in weight and durability between shield types.
Other parameters like mitigation of damage types are not affected by the shield type.
Shields – Materials Compared
This table illustrates the difference in mitigation, weight, and durability between different materials for core, frame, and coating.
To further narrow down results don’t be shy to use the search bar.
Shields – Material Usage compared
The last table lists material Usage of the different slot types so you have an idea which slot gives the most utility without raising the cost of the shield by too much.