Originally Posted by
Gwydion
This response is so disappointing. I see that one person in this thread uses a shield in Dynamis content, which is no different than using a dagger, which someone is entitled to do for low level content.
However, I purposefully worded my original post in the hopes that my premise would be acknowledged. The premise here is that Beastmasters do not rely on shields (at least for iLvl content) any more than they rely on lesser weapons like Daggers, Swords or Staves. To say that users who choose to use shields need to be considerable here is like arguing that the introduction of Aeonic Axes unfairly disrupts the gameplay of Beastmasters who use Daggers and Swords.
I even gave an alternative suggestion if you wanted allow Fencer to persist, that it's use has some obvious shortcomings, like our current shield cap of 300:
I even started this post, assuming defeat, and explicitly stated that if you insist on making 1-handed weapons + shields a viable option, could you possibly give us a shield geared towards Beastmasters. We currently have no shields that enhances or aguments the unique abilities or characteristics of the Beastmaster or his/her pet.
I even asked for Ochain, as a throwaway suggestion, but just to highlight how utterly unprotected we are when forced to be within 7 yalms at current level cotent.
As a software engineer by trade, I understand the lack of development resources for a product that has been in existence for 15 years, but my original request, to increase shield skill cap from 300 and/or to add 1 single shield to make Fencer a viable bonus, could not take more than 1-2 hours of development time and 1-2 hours of regression testing.
My hopes and standards here are remarkably low and I thought that by asking for the most modest of changes, we could gain some traction for Beastmasters as whole. The shield cap could be raised and a new shield (using an existing model) could simply be purchased from an NPC.
However, this is the part that as a paying customer hurts the most. I'm happy to continue to post and leave feedback, but I'm afraid that some of my initial points, have been overlooked, perhaps inadvertently.
Sicycre,
I'd like to welcome you to the forums but I humbly ask if you could you possibly take another look at this thread or perhaps bring some of the current shortcomings of Beastmaster and Fencer/shields in-practice, to the development team?
Thank you for your time and consideration.