http://vnboards.ign.com/message.asp?topic=51797332&page=3
Seems there are a lot of scouts going 50 shield now. Lot of positive testimonials in there too. Can you imagine someone with 50 shield, mastery 2, and 60 more dex than Axe? That'd be pretty uber.
They also confirmed my testing that there is a hidden weaponskill for shield attacks, not based on your mainhand weaponskill.
one annoying thing is that small shields can only block one attack per melee round (though im not sure if its one melee round for me, or for the attacker...i know ive blocked twice between swings though, so i'd assume its the attackers)...so even with all that dex we dont make a good blocker against more then one target.
looks interesting though, does brutalize get a to-hit bonus? i know landing a slam on botted assasins is a hard thing to do...then again i dont block shyte against them anyway, so its no big deal hehe.
im gunna try a 50 thrust, 50 shield template on pendragon...ill let you guys know what i find
No to-hit bonus, but the slam miss rate is only 5% higher than amethyst slash. Moving through/strafing helps too, if you can get a rear attack off it's almost guaranteed to hit.
The one attacker thing does limit you in those big zergy pbae fests, that's where a large shield shines.
I had 42 shield on my scout, I didn't like it much. A 50 spec would be nice, but ultimately, too many points to spend. Scout's main weapon is their bow, best damage they can do. When I remake (I'm trying to anyhow) I'll almost definitely go 50 longbow.