Warning! Complete newbie here!
I picked the Herald for my starting class. I like Hammer and Lance when I play Monster Hunter, so I figured the pokey nature of the spear seemed like a fun idea. I'm not entirely sure how to play with the shield...I just hit Y and went into two-handed mode the whole time. Not really sure if that's how I'm supposed to play this type of character. I feel like shields against bosses would be worthless? I don't care about spoilers and shit, so is there a good article or video out there to watch to learn the usefulness of shields?
Oh and speaking of bosses, that first boss Iudex Gundyr took me like 10 tries, but man did it feel good when I finally took him down. I think I get the allure of these games - that feeling of triumph is pretty sweet.
Pretty excited to get deeper into this game.
Some basics:
You probably want a 100% physical damage absorb shield. It's one of its stats. Use the help function if you're unable to find it. With 100% physical, you can hold up your shield against physical attacks and not lose HP. This is huge against bosses, and it's greatly helpful. It means you can keep at a safe distance, shield up, and learn your bosses move set, or be up close, and block that one move you know is coming. Rolling is better, and bosses do huge stamina-drains on their attacks, which will break your shield guard and leave you open to attack. This leads us to the 'stability' stat. The higher it is, the less stamina you get drained. Bigger shields drain less stamina.
While you're holding your shield up, your stamina will regain extremely slowly, so you need to let down your shield in a boss fight to regain stamina, which is where timing is important. This is also why rolling is superior. Never block in PvP unless you intend to parry the second or third attack. Your stamina will last shorter than the attacker, your guard will be broken, and you'll be riposted. Don't use shields in PvP unless you're going to parry.
Shield is your number one defense running around. Keep your shield up if you're running into an unknown situation. I only care about the physical and stability stats. Sure, it can have good stats in the rest, but magic is normally VERY easy to roll away from, so try that.
