Shieldwearers immune to arrows?

[nonrumpali]

I remember a time (M&B-beta) when shields were impenetrable force fields to arrows and even trying to shoot over
or under the shield was futile, since every arrow always seeked its way on the shield.

Well that was fixed and much was rejoiced.

But now I just finished an agonizing 15 minutes in a SP tournament trying to shoot a shield bearer with a bow. I
tried to aim as up or as down as possible to hit the guy behind the shield, but all my shots gathered neatly
in a group on the shield where I never aimed.

To top it off, I waited for the guys to attack me and shoot them while they're mid-swing but that didn't work either.
They just stopped their swing for a tiny amount of time to block the arrow with their shield and then proceed
to take a stab at me.

So uhh, could anyone fill me in with this? Why can't I hit anyone with a shield even if the shield is ridiculously
small (like the tournament shield)? Is it a problem with the tournament shield? I swear that I've easily capped
guys with shields in Vanilla M&B before but with Warband, that's just not the case.

Also, tried a quick search but didn't find anything relevant to the topic.

 

[a_ver_est]

I may be wrong but as far as I remember the shield skill increases the shield area to simulate the warrior arm movement to block arrows, maybe this is the reason why you can hit through apparently unshielded areas.

 

[nonrumpali]

Yeah, I could have just gotten extremely unlucky.
edit.
I looked at the stats and the arena shields don't seem to have abnormal stats,
but I think the size stat is a bit bigger than the actual mesh for it.

 

[Helz]

From what I've heard, the small tournament shields are actually about the same amount of coverage as a regular shield.  They just look a lot smaller.  If that's true, I agree with you that it's rather lame.  It is possible to shoot around shields still, but you've got to aim for their toes if they're facing you dead on.  Unless it's a huscarl/strong board shield, you're probably better off just shooting it as much as possible to weaken or break it. 

As for shooting a 1hd/shield fighter in melee range, you really shouldn't expect to come out of that one alive.  It's really easy to fake out an archer and make him waste his arrow when you're right in his face (by feinting the attack like you described).  If you just hold your arrow, they'll circle around you until you've lost your aim and smash your skull in anyway.  Shoot until they're just about on you then switch to your sword.  Then make them pay for thinking an archer would be an easy kill.  Whatever you do, don't be one of those annoying bastards who turns and runs 6 miles in the opposite direction, "Better part of valor, better part of valor!" 

 

[oksir]

If they have a small shield or very little shield skill you can shoot the toes. Realy aim for the toes, the knees are probably covered by the shield. Shooting the head won't work. It is possible to hit them when they try to strike you. What you described, the very fast block while striking, probably means that your arrow hit their shield. The shield is active even when they aren't purposely blocking, so aim clear of it.

 

[nonrumpali]

Okay, thanks for the replies. Just need to keep at it, I suppose.

The frustration was immense, when I could easily hit the legs in an earlier M&B-version, but failed utterly in Warband.
And let it be clear, that I am not talking about multiplayer if anyone thinks that (hence the single player sub-forum).
Maybe I'll just edit the size of the arena shields now that I checked them so they'd be portrayed a bit more realistically.
Rather, just make it a bit easier (or possible at least) to hit the guys behind their shields.

edit. Oh, and the topic title is misleading, sorry about that. I don't have this problem outside the tournament arena.
I get nicked in the head with sea raider throwing axes more than I'd like to even when using a shield.

 

[BigBiker05]

As a tournament farmer and a low archery skill player here are some tips.

Aim for the feet like mentioned, but also be aware who you are shooting at. The regular fighters will be easy to hit their feet because they have overall low skill. Your companions may also be easy if you know what their skills are in. However, lords and the more experienced fighters will have much higher skills and may even block their foot shots.

So here are some tips:
If your target is being attacked wait for him to get hit and time your arrows so it hits him when he flinches. As long as it is not on his left side he can't block it.

If he is on a horse try and get him into a wall then stand right behind him and just nuke him into the back. He will try and turn back and forth only to realize you're in his blind spot.

If you have a horse do the above tactic. If your archery skills is low you are probably better off using the dagger. All tournaments give a dagger with the bow. Now you can't block or anything but doing drive-bys on the horse will do more damage than a low level arrow shot.

Remember, you can always pick weapons off of dead players on the ground. You can also grab a horse if you're in need of one.

The final 1v1 might take some skill. Sometimes you are just screwed with the random selection. If they're on foot just get that last second shot in the chest and then go to town with your dagger. If they're mounted try the strategy earlier and get them into a way. If they have a lance you better run and find a corner to hide in fast. Also getting hit in the back while running away will greatly lessen their speed bonus and you can survive.