The thing about shields is they become more valuable as better gear becomes available. This is true for sch/noct ast both. my only HUGE issue with noct is the cds-noct CU isn't worth it's tradeoff except for phase changes on primals and the like, and not being able to extend shields with TD/CO (I think CO should get an assize-like effect based on stance personally, would make our lvl 60 skill not friggin terrible for a 2 and a half minute cd).