I noticed upon the implementation there are several notable differences between mo1 and mo2 shieldcrafting and I dislike the majority of them.
First and foremost is the frame selection. In mo1 there was an effect to adding a frame vs not having a frame which generally was lots of dura and a small amount of resists, choosing between frames was entirely cosmetic. In mo2, frames are required and choosing between frames has a drastic effect on weight and very little impact on dura with no impact on resists. I do like the different frames having different effects but there is currently no reason to choose a lion frame over a flat boss frame as it results in up to a 30% weight increase on the shield(depending on frame material) with a negligible effect on dura(at most 10% more) and no effect on resists. The result is that we will likely never see the very cool looking lion frame in game.
Second we have the decrease in the effects of wood on resists(and also on the weight and dura). In mo1 there was a drastic difference between a spongewood base shield and a dapplewood base shield. In the current iteration of mo2 the difference is about 50 dura and 4 of each resist at the cost of doubling weight. The result is that a dapplewood shield with flakestone or steel coat and frame has worse durability and resists than a spongewood shield with tung coat and frame while the spongewood base shield has a notably lower weight(about 2.2 compared to 2.7). The only reason to use dapplewood is if you were making a training shield or for some reason were never going to block while wielding the shield and thus not incur the stamina penalty from the increased weight. I think shields should benefit the most from the heaviest of woods as the wood quite frankly is the majority of the shield. The fact that tung accounts for about 2/3 of the resists on a spw/tung/tung shield is somewhat absurd. Perhaps the base wood type used should give a multiplier to the effectiveness of the frame and coat material. As it stands spongewood base shields benefit from tung just as much as a dapplewood base shield. Since tung gives all the resists and dura you could want/need it makes it so that the choice in wood is somewhat irrelevant aside from weight. Lower weight of course being better, spongewood becomes the only reasonable material for making shields. Keep in mind that everything said above holds true for lower end materials as well, such as cuprum and platescale. I would have tested ironbone, incisium and pansar carapace as those were some of the best shield materials in mo1 but those aren't available in mo2 yet.
First and foremost is the frame selection. In mo1 there was an effect to adding a frame vs not having a frame which generally was lots of dura and a small amount of resists, choosing between frames was entirely cosmetic. In mo2, frames are required and choosing between frames has a drastic effect on weight and very little impact on dura with no impact on resists. I do like the different frames having different effects but there is currently no reason to choose a lion frame over a flat boss frame as it results in up to a 30% weight increase on the shield(depending on frame material) with a negligible effect on dura(at most 10% more) and no effect on resists. The result is that we will likely never see the very cool looking lion frame in game.
Second we have the decrease in the effects of wood on resists(and also on the weight and dura). In mo1 there was a drastic difference between a spongewood base shield and a dapplewood base shield. In the current iteration of mo2 the difference is about 50 dura and 4 of each resist at the cost of doubling weight. The result is that a dapplewood shield with flakestone or steel coat and frame has worse durability and resists than a spongewood shield with tung coat and frame while the spongewood base shield has a notably lower weight(about 2.2 compared to 2.7). The only reason to use dapplewood is if you were making a training shield or for some reason were never going to block while wielding the shield and thus not incur the stamina penalty from the increased weight. I think shields should benefit the most from the heaviest of woods as the wood quite frankly is the majority of the shield. The fact that tung accounts for about 2/3 of the resists on a spw/tung/tung shield is somewhat absurd. Perhaps the base wood type used should give a multiplier to the effectiveness of the frame and coat material. As it stands spongewood base shields benefit from tung just as much as a dapplewood base shield. Since tung gives all the resists and dura you could want/need it makes it so that the choice in wood is somewhat irrelevant aside from weight. Lower weight of course being better, spongewood becomes the only reasonable material for making shields. Keep in mind that everything said above holds true for lower end materials as well, such as cuprum and platescale. I would have tested ironbone, incisium and pansar carapace as those were some of the best shield materials in mo1 but those aren't available in mo2 yet.
