Alright so I'm rolling pugilist at the moment whilst I await my true calling in the form of a two handed swordsman class. And I'm really liking pugilist, so I took up gladiator to prepare for monk and to remedy the tank shortage.
However, I do not like shields, the designs just look like an overall meh. I prefer to focus on my pure sword arm and laugh at the enemies damage to my healthbar. Much like Thancred(who's supposed to be a bard, but hey he sure fought like a gladiator). Hell, I barely even noticed Aldis carried a shield with that sword of his, it makes the board look like a pure afterthought. While sure Marauder is probably more suited for what I want to do, I really like swordsmanship and the swordsman of the game just so happens to be gladiator.
I'm fully willing to accept that shielded gladiators will outperform me, but I'd like to know just by how much. I mean so far in the 1-20 portion of the beta I've had little trouble with death. At worst I'd loose aggro to a carbunkle or two and sometimes get brought down to half my HP on raid bosses before the healer gets in gear. I'd just like to know if I'm a complete liability to my party or not because of my decision.
Worse comes to worse I suppose I could at least get a shield for the raids and quest without one if need be.
However, I do not like shields, the designs just look like an overall meh. I prefer to focus on my pure sword arm and laugh at the enemies damage to my healthbar. Much like Thancred(who's supposed to be a bard, but hey he sure fought like a gladiator). Hell, I barely even noticed Aldis carried a shield with that sword of his, it makes the board look like a pure afterthought. While sure Marauder is probably more suited for what I want to do, I really like swordsmanship and the swordsman of the game just so happens to be gladiator.
I'm fully willing to accept that shielded gladiators will outperform me, but I'd like to know just by how much. I mean so far in the 1-20 portion of the beta I've had little trouble with death. At worst I'd loose aggro to a carbunkle or two and sometimes get brought down to half my HP on raid bosses before the healer gets in gear. I'd just like to know if I'm a complete liability to my party or not because of my decision.
Worse comes to worse I suppose I could at least get a shield for the raids and quest without one if need be.
