Shields slung on the back

[edyzmedieval]

Varangians used their shields on the back almost all the time. Only the most powerful of them could handle the big shield and that huge double-handed axe (in this case, single handed).

[Dracula(Romanian Vlad Tepes)]

The shield is useless.

[pike master]

it seems i learned from somewhere once that a shield worn on the back was to aid the soldier when he turned to run protecting his backside. but also under a hail of arrows they may have unslung the shield for protection and then when the arrows stopped firing as the moment of contact approach they probably reslung the shield and wielded their axe.

maybe if you turn them backwards when they are fired at it will show whether or not the shield is factored in.

[Miracle]

it seems i learned from somewhere once that a shield worn on the back was to aid the soldier when he turned to run protecting his backside. but also under a hail of arrows they may have unslung the shield for protection and then when the arrows stopped firing as the moment of contact approach they probably reslung the shield and wielded their axe.

maybe if you turn them backwards when they are fired at it will show whether or not the shield is factored in.

What's interesting is that Ottoman Infantry, Dismounted Dvor and Dvor Cavalry will actually unstrap their shields from their backs in a melee and use them like a regular melee unit.

Also, from my casual observation, I believe that back-mounted shields might protect attacks from both the left side and the rear. The big clue is that when the unit is braced, the shields face the left-rear quadrant.

That means the three units mentioned above have protection from the left and rear when using bows, and protection from the left and front when using melee weapons. However, when they receive a frontal cavalry charge, they cannot whip out their shields in time to respond, so they get no front shield bonus when attacked that way.

Since Pavise Xbows and Varangian Guards cannot unsling their shields, it appears they permanently have only left-rear protection. However, while Pavise Xbows actually have a good use for their shields, the Guards do not. VG are only good for straight frontal assaults, so that tiny back shield does very little for them.

So if my theory is correct, D[N/P/E]K's are actually the best short polearm units, not Varangian Guards.

[Caliburn]

A shield slung on the back sounds like it would reinforce the armour of the man, but as arrows and bolts penetrate a few inches into the shield, it would seem like a shield/pavise held away from the body would be more effective against missiles. This is what my intuition would say, I've nothing to back the notion. No idea about the game mechanics of pavises, though.

Still, I would've loved to see pavises being placed on the ground supported by spikes, and having the Pavise Crossbows have to gather them again as the enemy cavalry approaches. They're not hindered by the pavises now, if I'm correct? I remember them being dead slow in MTW, and I can imagine carrying one of those shields along with a crossbow a chore.

[edyzmedieval]

Having them in the back will render their movement a bit, but putting in down and after that shoot the crossbow with the Pavise near you, it's kind of hard.

I mean, you have to reload, then put your crossbow down, make sure the pavise doesn't go away, aim and shoot. It's heavy, so perhaps that's why they wore it on the back.

[Ciaran]

MTW has the feature that certain shields protect only against missile fire, not melee attacks, the shields of the pavise units, the Varagian Guard and Swabian Swordsmen are examples for that. But whether or not this is carried over into M2TW I don´t know, if so, it should be visible in EDU. The game may take animations into accout, but I doubt the same goes to the actual equipment of a model.

[Afro Thunder]

The shield is useless.

Oh really? Where is your experiment that supports your little hypothesis?

[HoreTore]

Wll, what the pavise is, and how such things were used in the real world has very little value in this thread, really, which is about how it affects the game... Ie., does it affect melee, which side does it give the bonus to, etc etc.