Skyrim: Blocking and you, or This is why you keep dying.

[Pinstar]

Shield bashing, even without ANY of the perks that boosts it, can let you murder dragons.

When you shield bash a foe, they recoil a little. Bonk a dragon in the nose with your little shield and they'll recoil too. The recoil animation on a dragon is really freaking long. Long enough for you to get a few free melee hits in. So just keep wailing away and throw in a shield bash every time the recoil animation finishes. Sure you'll get nibbled on from time to time too but not so much that you'll be guzzling health pots.

 

[Robert Ewing]

Blocking seems to be essential for lower level players. I haven't played a single spec route that hasn't involved the need to block a crazy ass juggernaught with glass armor and a freaking massive warhammer running at an alarming pace toward you.

I can throw as much magic, fire as many arrows, or duel wield myself all I want. Fact is, he's still gonna get to me, and smack me pretty hard in the chops... I always end up needing a shield...

 

[Bishop99999999]

Does anyone else just use their fist and a shield, Captain America style?

 

[zajohnson]

I use a shield! Loving the slow motion tech. And the power bash moves. And 50% magic block... SHIELDS!

 

[Joshimodo]

Who needs to block when you're rocking Ebony Blade? Just keep swinging and you'll permanently stay at full health.

 

[Insanity72]

why block when i can disintegrate everything in sight with my lightning magic?

 

[duktapeman90]

I would, but meh. I like having a spell in the the other hand too much. Also, I'm RPing and my character just doesn't use shields.

 

[sumanoskae]

It is ridiculously useful. Used to be that Giants would one shot me, but now I just block, side-step and power attack, repeat for infinite XP and free money!(U Mad, Alduin?)

 

[NightHawk21]

Who needs to block when you can shoot lightning out of both hands.

 

[scorptatious]

Seeing as how my character is a warrior/mage hybrid, close combat is usually how I fight my enemies. I personally like to have a balance of both offense and defense, so I like to put training into blocking. REALLY helps out in the long run from my experience.

 

[renegade7]

train alteration, and shield the fuck out of yourself (could get it to 93% in Oblivion, with enchants)

 

[mr.mystery]

Im a battlemage and loving it.

 

[byterunner]

You don't really realize how awesome blocking is until you shield bash a dragon in the face and make it stagger.

Swag, thats what that is.

 

[VanityGirl]

It really depends, but I'm a magic user and I'm able to render any melee useless with my spells.

Also, any magic users, I tend to just get out of LoS or stand on a corner and they seem to phone it in on the AI.

^This.
And even if I do get hit I just pop up some healing in my left hand and Ahh.. full health.

 

[Torrasque]

Please dont be a fool and ignore block, it will save your ass many times over.

Very true... I started the game focusing on destruction magic but around level 25 or so destruction starts to fall behind the levelling curve, so I'm pouring points into Block now as it seems far more useful.

Which is why I rerolled a tried-and-true pally class specializing in heavy armor, block, and restoration.
I'll try pure magic on my second play through when I know when and where to get spells, and how to get 1-25 without dying many many times.

 

[TheAmokz]

No need to block when my enemies are burning alive.

 

[King of the Sandbox]

If for some reason my soul stealing exquisite elven bow with dwarven arrows doesn't murder something immediately, I've got an elven axe of paralyzation that renders the need for shields kind of moot. Don't really need to block something that can't move. Also, I roll with a talking, immortal daedric dog, an elven sellsword, a horse, and usually, a fire atrinoch. A shield would infer that something ever actually gets a chance to get close to me.

 

[omicron1]

There is one wrong way to play:
Play a crafting build.

By the time you've levelled Smithing and Enchanting to 100 or thereabouts, you're at a high enough level that the fancy dragon armor you just made is pretty much useless. Bandits can one-shot you with iron arrows, for crying out loud.

Oh, well. I can think of worse fates than starting over with a different build.

 

[HeallunRumblebelly]

Conjuration and You: How two Dremora Lords could beat the shit out of Dovakhiin if they ever wised up and turned on me. It's kinda boring, but it absolutely decimates master difficulty.

2 dremora lords, shield user (usually an equipped lydia) merc, and i've got the assassin summon power and the sovngarde hero shout if it's ever really required.

Also, if the dragon won't come down and you don't have dragonrend yet, you can usually just use 2 storm atronach thralls who will blast the bastard outta the sky <_<

edit: Oh, and sometimes with blocking there would be a bug with the slow-time perk...it'd slow the game down (not you, just everything else) and you could literally just walk through a dungeon slapping everything in the back, nothing fighting back. Interesting but boring bug in the end. I guess Skyrim's like the other TES, though, you gotta find your own challenge and using game mechanics -too- well will invariably make the game boring. MMO min-maxing is tough to stop

 

[godofallu]

Blocking isn't bad it's just comparatively bad.

You take damage even when you block, you move slower while blocking, you must give up one of your hands, you must give up a lot of perk points, you must trade other levels for block levels.

Frankly having a 2 handed weapon, or two one handed weapons, or a weapon + spell (like fast healing/destruction) is much better.

It's much easier to sidestep in this game avoiding all damage, then to put up the shield in order to resist some damage.

Speccing block makes you run faster, gives you great dodge skills with Quick Reflexes, makes the shield into a viable weapon capable of killing things all on its own, so.... yep

It doesn't make you run faster, it makes you less slow while holding block. As to the lethality of a shield, it will never be as good as a legendary double enchanted weapon.

You lose absolutely no running speed when you spec it, and with the 100 perk, you can sprint with a shield up, and yes, yes it will be as good, because it can be a legendary double enchanted shield, combine that with the ludicrously overpowered shield enchants, shields are very very good for all sorts of combat.

It isn't as lethal, shields can't have combat enchantments. Defense wise, a weapon with Absorb stamina + Absorb Health will do more for you also. Plus two handed only has 3 total perks. Block has a lot more involved.