Armsman characters

[Ialkarn]

Originally posted by lofff

looking at ur sig its preety obvious u wont agree

ps: dont talk about evade lol.. evade 1 means u evade once per 2days /played ..

Evade I no..but evade III if you got dex/quick capped and you are full buffed can compensate the light armour.
A beserker axes/la or swords/la speced do the same damage I give back to him whit the difference I m far more slow than him,so the plate absorbation advantage is relative.
My signature is only to tease a bit ,I personally consider slam an important thing in a group,just isn't a thing for armsmen (its a role a pali can do far better ),I tested it on Gorre and it was disaster,ask Gunner what he thing about shield/2h specs
he had a spec like this one till rr6 now he respecced full 2h.
Oh,prolly ppl don't know..the Executoner (opening parry style ) is probably the best single pole style,hight damage really cheap endurance cost and it seem to miss less than other styles (poleaxe the anytime style have an amazing hight miss rate).
About the parry rate..well I got 35+6+11 parry +moparry II and my parry rate is really hight its like an hight shield spec..the only difference is you wont get big advantage when you are hitted by multy targets,but in close battles it always make the difference.

 

[old.Mitsu]

The thing about hybrid spec is that you can both protect and kill.
A guarded pbaoer is going to do more damage than you could ever dream of.

 

[gunner440]

HELLO ARMSMAN = ALB = PBAOE? LOL.

 

[lofff]

Originally posted by Kagato.
Personally I love being full pole, can't be touched for damage in melee and with 28+14 in parry and Mastery of Parry im quite happy with my parry rate.

Fair enough I can't slam, but then with the Defenders combo I still have my 9 second stun in a two hit very high damage/low fatigue cost chain which pretty much wins any duel.

If you run with the zerg, sure go slam, but for one on one solo and dueling full pole rocks. Both specs have there advantages, which works for you depends on your play style.

/duel challenge


And btw, slam rocks in rvr, period, no need to run with the zerg. Agreed 1vs1 (duels) u dont need slam but thats not rvr.

 

[lofff]

And ffs dont compare armsman to light tanks.. f every poler had slam as every spearo does alb tanks would serve much better their groups, but u are just too stubborn.. tin cans

 

[Kagato.]

I only run in groups as a very last resort, i.e hibs zerging odins again, so its not usually an issue for me. It might not be real rvr but I find solo hunting and the good fights you get for it much more thrilling.

/duel accept

 

[Karam_gruul]

Originally posted by Kagato.
I only run in groups as a very last resort, i.e hibs zerging odins again, so its not usually an issue for me. It might not be real rvr but I find solo hunting and the good fights you get for it much more thrilling.

/duel accept

wtf, solo fights? where?? surely not in rvr, just doenst happen. i hardly ever run with groups, as its boring. but whenver i run solo i get raped up the arsehole by 300 hibs or mids, or both. i've never had a 1:1 fight i dont think... which is why i stopped playing karam lol.

 

[Kagato.]

Originally posted by Karam_gruul
wtf, solo fights? where?? surely not in rvr, just doenst happen. i hardly ever run with groups, as its boring. but whenver i run solo i get raped up the arsehole by 300 hibs or mids, or both. i've never had a 1:1 fight i dont think... which is why i stopped playing karam lol.

There increasingly more rare these days, Odins used to be a garuntee for it, but with the relic situration now odins has suddenly become more popular for multiple groups looking for cheap rps. But you can still get fights there, alas these days usually with heavily buffed SB's. Hadriens wall and the rvr dungeons also allow for some good fights, just have to get past the guards to get there.

 

[Ialkarn]

Originally posted by lofff
And ffs dont compare armsman to light tanks.. f every poler had slam as every spearo does alb tanks would serve much better their groups, but u are just too stubborn.. tin cans

Well nothing more to say..just that Albion isn't Hibernia or Midgard,
classes work different:Armsmen aren't heroes or warriors,sometimes albions groups works whit mincers as main cc do you would use a skald as main cc in midgard?

pbaoers? are you joking I hope..
we got like 1 pbaoer for 10 groups,and they aren't good like your.

p.s. one question Loff your champion is shield specced?

 

[lofff]

Originally posted by Ialkarn
Well nothing more to say..just that Albion isn't Hibernia or Midgard,
classes work different:Armsmen aren't heroes or warriors,sometimes albions groups works whit mincers as main cc do you would use a skald as main cc in midgard?

pbaoers? are you joking I hope..
we got like 1 pbaoer for 10 groups,and they aren't good like your.

p.s. one question Loff your champion is shield specced?

Well, theres more to say, armsmen heros and warriors are VERY SIMILAR CLASSES, i play albion too, and yes i know albs tend to run around in gimped groups, cannonfodder for any balanced group... Thats cos alb skills are more spread among many classes, sum of em very unpopular in albion (_insert wrong reason here_) thus harder to make balanced gorups in albion.

Groups working with mincers as main CC = cannonfodder.. yes it happens, it shouldnt, i rolled myself a bard alt so i wouldnt b in a CC-less group.

Pbaoers.. u got 12314123213 firewizzie gimps, f them all respecced to ice u would have more pbaoers than any realm, and htey are as good as ours, the tiny casttime difference is been fixed in incoming patches aswell. (only casttime difference, not dmg, hardly noticeable when fully buffed and casttimes almost capped)

My champ is not shield spec, i got annihilation, lvl50 lw style with 9s stun, and trusth me i use it 90% times i hit altho its positional, even in duels.. ask any hib.. (i dont need slam, anni > slam f u get to land it)


sadly i live this everyday in pryd/alb :doh:

 

[Arnor]

Originally posted by Kagato.
There increasingly more rare these days, Odins used to be a garuntee for it, but with the relic situration now odins has suddenly become more popular for multiple groups looking for cheap rps. But you can still get fights there, alas these days usually with heavily buffed SB's. Hadriens wall and the rvr dungeons also allow for some good fights, just have to get past the guards to get there.

I soloed 5k in 15mins in emain last week

 

[Ialkarn]

Originally posted by lofff
Well, theres more to say, armsmen heros and warriors are VERY SIMILAR CLASSES, i play albion too, and yes i know albs tend to run around in gimped groups, cannonfodder for any balanced group... Thats cos alb skills are more spread among many classes, sum of em very unpopular in albion (_insert wrong reason here_) thus harder to make balanced gorups in albion.

Groups working with mincers as main CC = cannonfodder.. yes it happens, it shouldnt, i rolled myself a bard alt so i wouldnt b in a CC-less group.

Pbaoers.. u got 12314123213 firewizzie gimps, f them all respecced to ice u would have more pbaoers than any realm, and htey are as good as ours, the tiny casttime difference is been fixed in incoming patches aswell. (only casttime difference, not dmg, hardly noticeable when fully buffed and casttimes almost capped)

My champ is not shield spec, i got annihilation, lvl50 lw style with 9s stun, and trusth me i use it 90% times i hit altho its positional, even in duels.. ask any hib.. (i dont need slam, anni > slam f u get to land it)


sadly i live this everyday in pryd/alb :doh:

I don't need slam too cause I play groupped whit shield palies,and if an albion group don't have a pali it won't have endurance chant and it would be gimped aniway.
And as I said before heroes and warriors have in common to not need 2 specs line to be good damage dealers,so yes armsmen are a bit different than them.
Armsmen aren't like heroes/warriors
Mercs aren't like beserkers
Skalds aren't like mincers
Earth theurgs aren't like Wardens
Bards Sorceresess and pacifications healers are differents
and Palies aren't like Champions

And Groups in Albion/midgard/hibernia work in a different way.

about your lvl 50 lw styles its uber I know,but not so good as a slam cause its a positional,other way heroes would spec all 50 Lw instead of Cs.
but ofc you don't need slam when you have Slam heroes in group
well we got palies to do that.


p.s mercs can spec on shield line,shall they get slam too?

 

[Ialkarn]

I have forgot a thing,Scouts are good slammers too,better than tanks cause they got aloot more base dex,also they are forced to play whit small shields (small shield=less endurance cost for styles),tanks could slam whit small shields too but that don't happens often.

 

[gunner440]

well as i said before i think

as an armsman u go all the way attack or all the way defence

i.e. 50 pole/2h 44 or 50 base dmg etc

or

50 slash/crush and 50shield

and in albion as a realm we should make more use of our melee classes friar/merc/paladin/armsman rather than other mages.

and in grp situations i think

paladin job:

1. stick to allocated caster and if it attacks caster, u slam it
2. if you cant slam (no effect etc) provide end regen for them to be able to sprint, use af chant by increasing their chance of survival ( maybe 0.5sec but it helps)
3. GET FAITH HEAL - if a paladin is rr3ish and no fh it's clearly doing something wrong, and remember - watch ur allocated caster's HP, it goes down ur finger should hit the FH button. It's an insta for THEM, and for yourself in other situations but for that get Ignore pain.
4. plz no two handed spec - just turns you into a gimp armsman. Paladins are by nature classed as support classes really.


s/s armsman:

Realising you are weak offensively is important as you are not capable of killing an enemy in the 5-10 seconds you have between each mezz break and you kinda have two options:

1. Do a paladin job, but not obviously as good as a paladin of course. Just taking more care.
2. Stick to the main heavy weapons tank in group (or merc) hit what he hits and have guard on HIM/HER as if a heavy tank is doing well, he should have the opposing defending tanks on him in numbers. Guarding him = less need for heals = cleric able to help other groupmembers with less workload.
3. If doing number 2. work with the main tank, arrange so that you pop pbt, he styles, pop again then styles. Two times should be enough for most casters as 2 heavy weap styles and maybe 3 1h styles is enough to take a caster down.

offensive armsmen

1. 110% of the enemies in emain will have pbt in group situations and if working as a solo tank i.e. no supporting s/s you are then forced to have to work harder :/
that is, pop pbt yourself which kinda sux as it may involve heavy qbar shifting and that is:
hit with 1h unstyled, then swap to pole/2h and style, followed by 1h unstyled again and repeated.
obviously you will learn that some groups are invulnerable to this method by maybe having high pbt or stacked and you'll know who you can do this to and who you can't.
2. Essential classes-- kill them (a bit obvious huh?) but especially when you are chasing pbt classes that is runies or wardens, the most likely happening is for the target to run - this is good.
this brings them out of range thus hindering their group as they won't have pbt.
3. think - if you see a "bad" target already being nuked for example mage clicking on a warrior instead of healer --- kill it first. better team up on 1 bad target than have 2 targets unmezzed.

Mercenary:

1. very good tank especially in situations vs. pbt as this class is less affected. a heavy tank + merc combo would be deadly imo and their damage output is equivalent to that of a heavy tank i think as what they lack in damage they make up for in speed.
2. Yes i know it's crap and resisted a lot but try to use dirty tricks on enemy tanks on casters maybe? would help a lot especially vs. zerks.
other than this mercs have more or less the same guidelines as heavy armsmen.



hybrid armsmen

1. go to atk
2. buy an albion necklace
3. go to camelot
4. /respec all

(i used to be hybrid and it sucked i swear ;/ although in theory it is supposed to be "uber")
---------
note:

intercept also exists for these classes - use it
protect is also available, not very commonly used in rvr but good to put on the cleric as guard agro mid fight is quite common nowadays and the last thing you want is for a purp CC to be ganking your healer

---------

just my opinion tho

and in the end however just remember that it's your char and as long as you play it well there shouldn't be any problem......

unless of c you are a hybrid in which case uke:

 

[Kagato.]

Agreed with Gunz

However everyone makes a big deal about endurance chant and it being 'essential' and yes it is wonderful.

But come on we've managed without it perfectly well for 9 months or so, so it can't be THAT essential, we've just not been as spoilt all this time as the other realms.

 

[old.Kal]

Gunner I had 2h spec till respec patch and it sucks compares to hybrid imo..your half as useful as a hybrid, you do a minimal amount more damage while losing the ability to guard and slam which lets face it is the most useful part of tanks...

Slam, phalanx, phalanx any hit u want = dead support class or a very near dead tank as opposed to running after them and hoping they dont have end chant if you dont and trying to get in stun combo with 2h...

Kagato I dont know how u can comment on rvring as you basically said you dont rvr in groups..

End chant makes a huge difference slam, even with small shield at most is about 4 and no more styles after that End chant is slam heaven

and P.S. always run around with small shield as hybrid for faster slam time and less end usage unless your planning to be stuck to one of your own supports classes with guard constantly.

 

[Treniel-]

no wonder outlaw and zoyster die so much you got no way to gaurd them, slam owns for protecting casters

 

[Silenzio]

Originally posted by finisher
Four questions:

1) What performs better in RvR, a defensive armsman (High parry and shield, low weapon) or an offensive one (High weapon low etc..)? By this i mean on general terms, does it pay to be defensive or are you just a walking shield that does no damage.

Just don Make n Armsman for rvr =)

Originally posted by finisher

2) Whats better in RvR thrust, crush or slash damsge and why?

Thrust, faster, damage table as they said;

Originally posted by finisher

3) Can Armsman spec in crossbow? Some things i've read say yes and others say no.

yes n arms can spec xbow, rlly nice damage by me... enjoyed alot before 50 in rvr too, get allways a good xbow n the best bolt... can help in keep defence or sige attak shooting to that damn mezzer on the wall =) or to take out ov speed or restart stelth timer whos running away

Originally posted by finisher

4) Whats a recommended spec for both an offensive and a defensive armsman that will perform well in both RvR and PvE.

i still think that arms r the offensiv part ov plate wearer so if u rlly rlly like to make an arms(why?) go offensive

spec mmm all ov em gave u good advice i think...
xept the one with 44 pole... at 50 pole u get defender aegis
think is one ov the style i waited n desired more...
back positional start with phalnax n than defender... rlly nice against who try to flee or has just been stunned...

the lvl 44 pole chain is the worst due to his ugly opening (style used on u, well before was a fumble thihih they wont us to stun)


personaly ive
a 50 pole\ 42 shield \37 trust \23 parry(not sure if parry is 21 or 23 soz)

tried alot ov way n combination (not all since i allways wanted 50 pole) in the end i chosed this combo since i solo most ov the time

n is usefull to have something from each part if u alone
with the shield on u r hard to beat but deal wee damage... keep it to tease enemy n than switch to pole as they low or stunned...

slam only if u r starting with it, ie u find someone alone n u attak first, otherwise dont bother with it u just gona trow out endurance(if isnt a caster) if ur thrust specced Beartooth will be ur style with that spec u gona block quite often so stun em n wak with pole ;P

allways wear the shield when u roam... bolt give lesser damage,
archer will do lesser or none damage...

if u lucky n get a group, or u paid for it

u can... watch if caster/healer r guarded by someone...
if not stik on him n put guard... resist at the "tank frenzy" stay with him... u n ur group gona be up longer, n u surely gona have a nice fight since mid n hibs always target strategik "char"

if he is already guarded or dead... Wack em =) en enjoy ur long long huge pole =)

Originally posted by finisher

Oh and are there any guilds out there that actually help there members out or all they all just used to slag each other off and to sit on there collective fat arses together like all the ones i've joined?

mmm rlly dont know in more than a year all the guild i joined has broken out... whos changed realm who stopped playing who else swapped guild... ecc ecc

bye my opinion... u can find a guild that maybe support u with low price goods...

but if u looking for an active RvR guild... thers rlly few ... or its just be a legend =)

i wished for long to find somthing similar ... but looks none arround...

taking that in mind... look at n armsman... let it be n chose a class
that everyone want in group ie. minstrell clerik therurg, or even friar.

or a clas that could be more indipendent like infiltrator...

i still like my arms but in this days is rlly hard to enjoy rvr...


wrote all thos yxz supposing u new to the game n class...
otherwise... i bored u all for nothing...

bb

 

[lofff]

Originally posted by Ialkarn
I don't need slam too cause I play groupped whit shield palies,and if an albion group don't have a pali it won't have endurance chant and it would be gimped aniway.
And as I said before heroes and warriors have in common to not need 2 specs line to be good damage dealers,so yes armsmen are a bit different than them.
Armsmen aren't like heroes/warriors
Mercs aren't like beserkers
Skalds aren't like mincers
Earth theurgs aren't like Wardens
Bards Sorceresess and pacifications healers are differents
and Palies aren't like Champions

And Groups in Albion/midgard/hibernia work in a different way.

about your lvl 50 lw styles its uber I know,but not so good as a slam cause its a positional,other way heroes would spec all 50 Lw instead of Cs.
but ofc you don't need slam when you have Slam heroes in group
well we got palies to do that.


p.s mercs can spec on shield line,shall they get slam too?

That " i dont need slam cos sum1 else in group will do that job" is a cheap argument... And albion had no end chant a few patchs ago by then u wouldnt say a pally-less group was gimped, CC and speed are the 2 "musts" for a group..

The weaponskill loose (dmg output, bonus to hit) from 50pole 50weapon to 50pole 39weapon aint noticeable at all neither, specially after a few realm ranks and buffed as u should b in rvr groups.. again a cheap argument...

Among the 3 realm there u see classes and their counterclasses.. pure tanks (armsmen, warriors and heros) are the ONLY ones u can talk about been really SIMILAR. All of em have almost the same skills, all of em have the same rol, the differences are so tiny and insignificant.. U cant say the same bout light tanks or hybrid tanks..

Group basics among the 3 realms are also the same. Sorry but daoc is a rather simple game..

About annihilation.. I am the one doing the stunning in my groups, no theres no hero assisting me to stun ppl.. anni is back positional yes, but its preety easy to land, costs half end than slam, hurts like hell and has an huge bonus to hit while slam has no bonus at all. anni > slam f u are able to land it (which really doesnt require much skill..) but slam is easier and safer (failing anni 2 times in a row means ur caster is dead)

if mercs could have shield and 2 1handed weapons equiped at the time (as 2handers do) then sure they should sacrifice parry and a tiny bit weaponskill for slam but thats not the case, opening inv and swapping manually shield and weapon is not an option.)

Dont take me wrong, i respect every1s choice, ppl has different playstyles, i know lots a ppl with weird specs.. but thats their choice. Just dont try to tell us that its the best choice cos it isnt >.<

Full polers rol: f8, /stick, poleaxe. repeat. (run in circles after our target sprint and so on, see how it uses ip, instaheals or god knows what and take 1 year to drop it)


Hybrid rol: stun and whack main targets (thus not been able to do anything while stunned = easier kill) stun enemys on our casters/support.



A full pole trying to defend his caster friend just whacks me while i kill his friend "hoping to kill me in time?" (sumtimes breaks a qcroot also been very helpfull..) An hybrid stuns me, casters flees taking range and nukes or does whatever his job is, f hybrid keeps on me (whacking) am alrdy worried bout my hps when stun wears off, f he doesnt cos he had sth better to do like killing my bard friend hes a clever player who saved his caster, nullified my defense on my bard, and killed my bard. Ill rather invite the hybrid to my group.

ps: Melee stuns are the best stuns in game not been affected by resists.

pps: gunz is gay.. irl.. etc

 

[lofff]

Originally posted by old.Kal
Gunner I had 2h spec till respec patch and it sucks compares to hybrid imo..your half as useful as a hybrid, you do a minimal amount more damage while losing the ability to guard and slam which lets face it is the most useful part of tanks...

Slam, phalanx, phalanx any hit u want = dead support class or a very near dead tank as opposed to running after them and hoping they dont have end chant if you dont and trying to get in stun combo with 2h...

Kagato I dont know how u can comment on rvring as you basically said you dont rvr in groups..

End chant makes a huge difference slam, even with small shield at most is about 4 and no more styles after that End chant is slam heaven

and P.S. always run around with small shield as hybrid for faster slam time and less end usage unless your planning to be stuck to one of your own supports classes with guard constantly.

fuck .. an alb talking sense.. now ive seen it all

 

[stighelmer]

Originally posted by gunZ-

hybrid armsmen

1. go to atk
2. buy an albion necklace
3. go to camelot
4. /respec all

(i used to be hybrid and it sucked i swear ;/ although in theory it is supposed to be "uber")

just my opinion tho

and in the end however just remember that it's your char and as long as you play it well there shouldn't be any problem......

unless of c you are a hybrid in which case uke:

Damn u Gunz once more

Regarding last night's events at Dun Bolg. Let's keep that between u and me shall we? For let's say 1P, I'll shut up

 

[Karam_gruul]

Re: Re: Armsman characters

Originally posted by Silenzio
Just don Make n Armsman for rvr =)


Thrust, faster, damage table as they said;

yes n arms can spec xbow, rlly nice damage by me... enjoyed alot before 50 in rvr too, get allways a good xbow n the best bolt... can help in keep defence or sige attak shooting to that damn mezzer on the wall =) or to take out ov speed or restart stelth timer whos running away

i still think that arms r the offensiv part ov plate wearer so if u rlly rlly like to make an arms(why?) go offensive

spec mmm all ov em gave u good advice i think...
xept the one with 44 pole... at 50 pole u get defender aegis
think is one ov the style i waited n desired more...
back positional start with phalnax n than defender... rlly nice against who try to flee or has just been stunned...

the lvl 44 pole chain is the worst due to his ugly opening (style used on u, well before was a fumble thihih they wont us to stun)


personaly ive
a 50 pole\ 42 shield \37 trust \23 parry(not sure if parry is 21 or 23 soz)

tried alot ov way n combination (not all since i allways wanted 50 pole) in the end i chosed this combo since i solo most ov the time

n is usefull to have something from each part if u alone
with the shield on u r hard to beat but deal wee damage... keep it to tease enemy n than switch to pole as they low or stunned...

slam only if u r starting with it, ie u find someone alone n u attak first, otherwise dont bother with it u just gona trow out endurance(if isnt a caster) if ur thrust specced Beartooth will be ur style with that spec u gona block quite often so stun em n wak with pole ;P

allways wear the shield when u roam... bolt give lesser damage,
archer will do lesser or none damage...

if u lucky n get a group, or u paid for it

u can... watch if caster/healer r guarded by someone...
if not stik on him n put guard... resist at the "tank frenzy" stay with him... u n ur group gona be up longer, n u surely gona have a nice fight since mid n hibs always target strategik "char"

if he is already guarded or dead... Wack em =) en enjoy ur long long huge pole =)





mmm rlly dont know in more than a year all the guild i joined has broken out... whos changed realm who stopped playing who else swapped guild... ecc ecc

bye my opinion... u can find a guild that maybe support u with low price goods...

but if u looking for an active RvR guild... thers rlly few ... or its just be a legend =)

i wished for long to find somthing similar ... but looks none arround...

taking that in mind... look at n armsman... let it be n chose a class
that everyone want in group ie. minstrell clerik therurg, or even friar.

or a clas that could be more indipendent like infiltrator...

i still like my arms but in this days is rlly hard to enjoy rvr...


wrote all thos yxz supposing u new to the game n class...
otherwise... i bored u all for nothing...

bb

english mother fucker, do you speak it?!

 

[Silenzio]

=)


rlly constructive post u made =)

everyone will appreciate it and take great advantage by reading all ur wise words...


'was sure the action im still performing is "writing" but maybe im wrong u teach so is "Speaking"
tnx for the info

've good day

 

[old.Kal]

its a quote from pulp fiction and karam r funny

 

[Kagato.]

Originally posted by lofff

Full polers rol: f8, /stick, poleaxe. repeat. (run in circles after our target sprint and so on, see how it uses ip, instaheals or god knows what and take 1 year to drop it)

If your using poleaxe you got problems anyway, its got no bonus to hit, high fatigue cost and does only the same damage as Crippling Blow, which does have a bonus to hit and a movement reduction (though bugged apparently), but all for only medium fatigue cost and it opens you up for Mangle which is better damage or disabler which is low fatigue cost, same damage and reduces attack speed.

(and you say I fight gimped?)

 

[gunner440]

even statistically wise there aren't many hybrids high upthere T_T


depends on how u play

 

[gunner440]

Originally posted by Treniel-
no wonder outlaw and zoyster die so much you got no way to gaurd them, slam owns for protecting casters

you mean xbow no?

 

[lofff]

Re: Re: Re: Armsman characters

Originally posted by Karam_gruul
english mother fucker, do you speak it?!

lol.. karams back on his old performance :great:

 

[Arthwyr]

The difference between a hybrid and a full polearm armsman is not as much the damage as it is the weapon skill. Less pole and slash/thrust/crush will result in lower weapon skill = more chance for your opponenet to block/evade/parry.
But if you do go offensive as an arms dont just put it in slash/pole/parry but drop parry a few points and put at least 5 in shield so you get guard. In a keep siege situtation you then at least get your shield out and guard a caster and yourself from arrows.

 

[Kagato.]

Originally posted by Arthwyr
The difference between a hybrid and a full polearm armsman is not as much the damage as it is the weapon skill. Less pole and slash/thrust/crush will result in lower weapon skill = more chance for your opponenet to block/evade/parry.
But if you do go offensive as an arms dont just put it in slash/pole/parry but drop parry a few points and put at least 5 in shield so you get guard. In a keep siege situtation you then at least get your shield out and guard a caster and yourself from arrows.

Actually with pole/thrust or whatever maxed at 50 and parry as high as you can get it at 28 you still have enough points for 5 Shield for guard and 4 crossbow for the sake of it.

Hell you can get engage even if you want it and drop the 4 crossbow.

Personally I use my crossbow more then my shield though so was thinking of ditching the guard even.