Just as the topic subject says, just out of curiosity, does anyone equip shields on their main character, even if it is just for role-playing reasons? In BG2, it really seems like shields don't get a lot of love.

Truth be told, I'm also guilty of this and I don't know why. I've gone through BG2 3 times but not once did my main character use a shield. My first character was a duel wielder using axe and hammer (with borked stats) and the latter 2 characters both used 2 handed weapons. I can't even remember if there were any shields worth holding on to in the game. During my last play through, I think only Jaheria and Viccy had shields but I forgot which ones they were using.

In a lot of BG discussions, it seems like a lot of character builds revolve around dual wielding or using two handed weapons because you get more "oomph" from those proficiencies than you would from the sword and shield proficiency. Is there no point in the game at any difficulty level where shields become a viable option? How about any mods that make shields a good option?

Is there any chance anyone here has at least an itty bitty bit of love for using shields?

The problem with shields in Baldur's Gate (1 & 2) is that they only confer AC bonus, and bucklers actually penalise the wearer vs. missile attacks (that's preposterous). The only reason to use a shield that doesn't have magical stat. boosts, is in a case like Aerie, who needs the extra AC. There are some nice shields, though. Think of the shield (Harmony) you get from the lady in Trademeet (Mistress Busya [sp?]). That shield is worth it's weight in gold. Most are not worth it, but some are.

When I first played BG2 many years ago, I assumed shields were a no-brainer, but that was because I didn't really understand the D&D rules. It's true that with the level of armor you have in the game, the little bonus conferred by a shield doesn't make much difference vs. the benefits of hitting harder, more often, and from farther away that you get with other weapons styles. I'm sure Hickory is right about Aerie, but I personally just try to put her where she can't get hit (and I've currently got her AC at -2 anyway; the non-armor equipment is there for the taking). My current PC is a Monk, so definitely no shields.

There is one incredible shield that is a must-have. In fact, there are a lot of items from this place that you should get: Go to Adventurers Mart in Waukeens Promenade, and speak to a woman at the top of the stairs called Deirdre (I think thats her name). Get the shield that reflects all Beholder/Eye Tyrant rays and you WILL have a good time.

DEFINITELY the best shield in the game, you should always have this in your inventory, even if you aren't using it on any of your characters.

Other good items from Deirdre are the mage cloak that pretty much eradicates all cast-time! Once you get a mage to level 9, have them learn Alacrity (much better than time stop), turn on auto-pause for each spell cast, and you will destroy anyone once you cast it.

I personally don't like to use the Shield of Balduran, even though I do get a couple of other items from that shop -- it just feels too easy. But more power to those who play however they want.

To expand on my earlier point, there are two shields in BG2 worth using for their massive AC bonuses, namely the Fortress Shield +3 and Saving Grace +3, which both grant a whopping 4 extra points off your AC when you wear them (the former gives you an additional +4 vs. missile weapons as well). Like, right now I've got Mazzy and Anomen wearing those shields, and they have -10 and -8 AC, respectively, which is awesome. There are other shields, such as Harmony, that are worth trading those AC-boosting shields for in specific situations, such as when you need protection against confusion or slow or whatever it is they give you resistance against.

Still, you have a party of six. So it's almost essential to have one or two characters who can make use of the benefits of those few really good shields, but if you're planning a party and you already have two characters who wear shields, then there's no reason to equip your main character with one. You'll be able to recruit plenty of solid characters who can use those shields, and most of the really interesting character builds (the ones that offer your party things that you can't get from any of the NPCs) are either best handled with other weapon styles or don't let you use weapon styles at all. A shield is mainly useful for a tank fighter or a cleric who gets into melee combat.

I never play a character that uses shields as I normally play wizards or sorcerers. However, if a character uses a single-handed weapon and can carry a shield, I'll equip one. Therefore most priests, warrior-types and dual-class characters (fighter/mage) use a shield when using a single-handed weapon.

Often I actually have a single-handed weapon + shield and a two-handed weapon on hand. One setup is for encounters that need the extra AC (a large shield +2 gives a +3 AC, and some other modifiers as well), the other setup is when I want to do as much damage per hit as possible.

My typical PC (but sure it does vary in various replays) is a paladin with sword and shield. For non-rangers (and non pure-fighters) dual wielding comes with significant to hit penalty (in addition to not being able to use a shield) and two-handed weapons usually don't lead as much magical bonus as a weapon and a shield. The +5 or so bonus on AC you get with a magical shield is far from being negligible.

Near the end of the game (ie, Throne of Bhaal) I would switch from sword and shield to the two-handed Holy Avenger depending on situations (sword and shield for melee enemies, Holy Avenger for spell casting enemies).

Agreed, but in BG1 at the start of the game, your character needs all the AC they can as one hit on a low level character can turn a full HP character into mush pretty quick. Is just that as BG goes on, your character get's very powerful and usually has enough HP (or spells )to tank pretty easily which to me negates the necessity of a shield. I was just wondering if anyone considered shields for their builds when it was necessary, for example, maybe a low CON PC or some other self imposed challenge type build.

BTW, in addition to Aerie, I always had Viccy use a shield too, her HP is a little lacking. That was Interesting about the bucklers. I didn't know about the penalty against missile weapons as I always went straight for the large / tower shields. They are available right at the start of the game anyways so why settle for a buckler? :) I don't like using Deirdre's items for two reasons. 1) I have beef with adding PS:T items into BG and 2) Some of the items are way too powerful, especially Vecca's Robe (I think that's the name). It almost feels like they are trainer items so I feel dirty about using them. There's 3 things I can do about it though. 1) Use them and whine about them breaking the game. 2) Not use them and whine they are in the game to begin with. 3) Ignore Deirdre. I like option 3 the best, I find it a very sensible way to deal with the problem as if I do that, it's like she isn't even there :) For BG1, sure, but in BG2, fighter type characters will have the HP to tank damage so it's better to get them swinging 2 weapons or 2 handed weapons. In the case of fIghter/mages, they have access to mirror image and stone skin which lessens the need for a shield even further. With those spells active, they can tank better than a single class fighter.

The only buckler worth getting (BG1) is Kiel's Buckler for a rogue. It adds +1 to Dexterity for those tricky thieving situations.

Are there any tricky thieving situations in BG1 though? In my last play through of BG1, I was using a FTM multi-class and I was able to get by just fine. There were a few traps in Durlag's Tower that I ended up tripping but it was never serious. In my build, I balanced out search and open lock but completely ignored stealth and pickpocket.

It seems to me that the reinforced large shield (I think that's what it was called) is still the best choice regardless.............unless you're playing a single class thief which we both know, isn't exactly a good class in either of the IE games.

I'm guessing you're a power player; min/max, and all that. Try using not-so-perfect thief, and items like Kiel's Buckler make ALL the difference.

Heh, there is truth to that, mostly with IWD1 and 2 but I do keep it within limits. For BG, I do try and get a good stat roll but I don't lower any stat below 10 for RP reasons. Still, I do make sure core stats for whatever class I'm playing are maxed

The +1 magic blucker (2nd floor, docks) is nice for Bards... a Blade can hit -25 armour for d-spin which does have some uses however ime the shields that give mind protections have the best bang-4-buck when fighting vamps. Each to their own... I play no-reload so the idea of entering melee isn't something I look for on my pc.

Not really. Bucklers give you a universal +1 bonus to all your different ACs, then apply a -1 penalty to your AC against Missile and Piercing weapons - which means against those types of weapons, you break even, because the -1 cancels out the +1.


As for shields themselves...


Depends on the game. In BG1 they're almost essential and if you can use one, you should. Every bit of AC counts. In ToB they're basically useless because the lowest AC can go is -10. I mean, your AC number can go lower than that, but it won't make any difference. Practically speaking, you're still subtracting 10 from the enemy's attack rolls, whether your AC is -10 or -25. Since various armours and items will easily get you to -10, shields are pretty much redundant.


So generally I'd say shields are worth using at first, but it's not really worth sinking proficiency points into Shield specialization.

Like I said, bucklers penalise the wearer vs. missile attacks.