imo the solutions should not be focused on non-melee alternatives. archers and xbows are more than strong enough to deal with shock troops given enough time in an engagement, that’s not the issue. heavy infantry need to be able to fight shock troops without it being boring, to the extent that you just run after them with no option other than to block their attack. this s-key meta is very prevalent and anti-fun, not only for competitive players but i can’t imagine how boring and frustrating it is for new players who want to actually fight in melee in their melee game. there is very little incentive to stay close to an opponent in this game because the risk of getting kicked is so high and because you can be kited by shock troops so easily. reducing the impact of shields on movement speed would go a long way to helping this, as it would help heavy infantry to be able to catch shock troops, but i do think the movement speed on shock troops should probably come down a point or two as well, alongside the rebalancing of the strengths of the individual troops each faction has along the lines which Pace pointed out. the stun they apply on side swings is also very frustrating, and i can only imagine the new players questioning why they weren’t able to swing back because it is so inconsistent. that stun should not exist unless the shock troop used a held attack - this might actually incentivise people to use holds with heavy weapons in bannerlord! this change would also help heavy inf be able to fight back whilst maintaining the high damage and effectiveness of shock troops in group fights
