Etho explains why he hates shields

[@henfloops]

there are texture packs that change basically nothing but reduces the amount of space the shield takes up and reduces the amount that visual fire takes up

[@gridgaming_]

pretty sure xisuma himself made a texturepack that does that (vanilla tweaks, though xisuma doesnt work on it anymore so who knows whether he did that specific part of it)

[@Cryoptic_]

doesnt eliminate the fact that its 1, annoying to have on ur screen even if it is smaller (its just less annoying), 2 it takes an inventory slot 3, is or should most of the time be in ur off hand leaving no space for other off hand actions, 4 makes building or interacting with right click frustrating as right click is bound to multiple actions in this case. also, they are a little strong no? completely blocking an attack, or even an explosion. feels very cheesy if u ask me. if it was up to me id massively change them, or even remove them. find a way to make them non essential.

[@slowfreq]

I don't know what the heck was so bad about blocking with your sword. That was perfectly fine.

[@Cryoptic_]

@@slowfreq less immersive i guess, and a shield + sword made a lot of sense since they made an off hand slow. but functionality in the end?? not that good.

[@alittar8062]

@@Cryoptic_ skill issue

[@Trickvixity]

I love how in the first clip after he describes how shields are his friend walks briefly past him and it covers his entire screen

[@Eyecosaeder]

0:09

[@Sebbir]

That’s inthelittlewood also known as Martyn

[@AOCLemon]

@@Sebbir That's his friend

[@aether_beat]

I completely agree with Etho here... I also like holding torches in my offhand for convenience while caving

[@dayandere2669]

Stares in bedrock edition

[@proxy1035]

especially if you have a client side mod that adds dynamic lighting so holding a torch is enough to light things up around you

[@GreeseMonkie1998]

I play the game the way God and Notch intended. With no off hand and no recipe book

[@schnek8927]

@@GreeseMonkie1998 Why did you specify god twice?

[@xekeyo]

@@GreeseMonkie1998 so like you just only play in 1.8

[@humourlessjester3584]

That first creeper death was nasty. Maybe it's his lag but that creeper explosion should not have reached etho. My guess is that his lag made it so he didn't see that his punch had a bit of knockback so it was actually pushed closer than he thought.

[@squidddyy]

If you’ve ever played Minecraft, you would know that that creeper explosion definitely hit him, even without lag. He was way too close after punching the creeper with his bow.

[@refreey]

@@squidddyy he was at minimum 3 blocks away from the creeper, which when wearing no armour does 4 and a half hearts. I think he was more like 4.5 blocks away accounting for the punch which only does 3 and a half damage. That shouldnt have killed him.

[@supernova1365]

they’re playing hard mode, of course the creeper killed him

[@Zivin]

On hard mode it kills at that distance.

[@NotSnak]

@@Zivin nah he was definitely far enough away to not die to that even on hard mode

[@Zivin]

Before other texture packs came out I vividly remember making my OWN texture pack that changed the shield to be round so it didnt take up the entire screen, only a tiny part of it. This was wayyy back when they were first introduced.

[@nextkestrel]

texture packs existed way before shields did

[@happyspacefun3796]

​@@nextkestrelother texture packs that changed the shield size obviously

[@happyspacefun3796]

​@@nextkestrelwith comments like yours I truly wonder if there are chatbots mixed in KZbin comments

[@Nephelangelo]

And it probably took you five minutes. Yet after a decade and a half since release, Mojang still hasn’t done anything to address this issue.

[@bluedoessomeamogusstuff6738]

He has a shield but he just use it XD or maybe he just keeps forgetting to

[@dying2survive298]

You can see he tried to use it on the second creeper, but he just placed torches instead 😂

[@Randoman590]

​@@dying2survive298 You can certainly learn to work around things like that. What I do is ALWAYS keep a sword in Slot 1, and have one of my side mouse buttons bound to switch to that hotkey slot, so I can always get back to that slot instantly and right click to put up the Shield without fear of any other action taking priority.

[@erixIsOffline]

​@@Randoman590 i respect that, shield have condition that is rewarding but also have some outcome like screen block etc. its nice to see people actually adapting rather focusing on negatives

[@trist10]

People being like "The shield takes up an inventory slot" when the slot in question was literally MADE for the shield and has an icon of a shield on it lmao.

[@MegaJani]

Yeah, their IQ doesn't even fill a stack 💀

[@SupertonicLady]

@@Brant-vh5mk yeah I always use mine for sorting, or holding food

[@rogueninja4002]

Shields are necessary until you get protection 4 diamond armor, and the fact that you can decorate them with banners doesn't hurt either so I don't really mind them, I usually keep using them until I get a totem of undying

[@troublemonkey1_626]

In hard or hardcore, I think creepers can kill you through prot4 diamond if it's point blank

[@rogueninja4002]

@@troublemonkey1_626 that's what the totem/shield is for

[@troublemonkey1_626]

@@rogueninja4002 well you said shields were necessary until you have prot4 diamond so which is it

[@wonderstruck.]

Shields are nice to have, and they let you cheese fighting blazes, but they’re by no means necessary. Shields came out only in 2015. We managed to survive just fine without them before then.

[@jonathancasper04]

​@@wonderstruck....That was 8 years ago. "Only" is a poor word choice when we've had the shield longer than we haven't had it.

[@paths7969]

shields are a neccecity if you ever want to fight skeletons efficiently. fuckers are way to strong. same hp as a player is insane for a ranged enemy that can keep you at range and do so much damage

[@pocus2684]

this applys to normal players, but etho cracked skeleton ai like a decade ago.

[@Alex_Fishman]

@@pocus2684 Skeleton ai was changed, like... 7... years ago... Christ, time flies

[@hem9483]

skeletons can still be fucked in narrow caves, they REALLY chase compared to old ai. the increased firerate when closer to them is also a pain if you're not used to corner peeking them. if u have placable blocks though pretty much nothing in this game is a threat lol@@pocus2684

[@1mariomaniac]

I just carry a bow. Makes life a lot easier lol

[@canadianbluepants9446]

you can use a bow in the offhand and a sword, also tip if you didnt know, if you have a looting sword but kill something with the offhand bow it works as if it has looting i think it goes with anything if your holding something with looting

[@backlashD]

You would think the muscle memory of blocking with a sword would carry over.

[@RedRanger-ll7hx]

Right? Its not that hard to just hold right click

[@uewbn7]

He did right click on the second death. He just so happen to have torches on his main hand so he placed them instead of putting his shield up. That's one of my irks about shields, too. Having right click as the way to put it up meaning you need to have a non-block in your main hand.

[@PJOZeus]

You can see in the second clip that it did carry over That doesn’t bloody help if the same button is bound to multiple things, like place You don’t exactly switch off your sword before blocking with it do you.

[@greywolf9783]

@@PJOZeus I usually try to switch to my tools so I can though there are definitely moments

[@berneymark]

@@PJOZeusthe sword was never omnipresent. This is the worst point when just like the shield…you had to switch to be actually holding the sword. Woah.

[@oskarhylin4160]

There are texturepacks for loweribg shields and improving banners on shields

[@Hiznogood]

Been playing Minecraft probably as long as Etho, but I gotten used to having a shield as it really helps against both skellies and creepers. If you also uses a texture pack that lowers the shield or makes it semi-translucent then it doesn’t block the view that much. He just have to get used to it.

[@RycoonGalloy]

mojang blocked being able to make it translucent

[@otakuyasha0066]

I dont like em, they make the game easier than it already is

[@Hiznogood]

@@otakuyasha0066 Then don’t use it. No one is forcing you. But good luck when searching ocean ruins with trident throwing downed hunts you!

[@otakuyasha0066]

@@Hiznogood yeah I like the challenge

[@slowfreq]

BUT BLOCKING WITH SWORDS ALREADY DID THAT

[@elocfreidon]

"They taking up an inventory slot" is funny, because that slot wasn't there until they introduced shields. Also the shield doesn't do anything if you don't hold the button down.

[@RelativelyBest]

My only issues with the shield is that it only comes in iron tier. You can be a legendary badass completely decked out in magic netherite gear but you still have to use the same wooden boards from the start of the game. There should be a shield matching every type of armor, even it only improves durability. Some more dedicated enchantments would also be nice. Say, allowing you to move faster while blocking, or pushing your opponent back with a shield bash.

[@kerenb14]

What? Shields have always been able to be enchanted with Unbreaking III and Mending books.

[@RelativelyBest]

@@kerenb14 Huh, that's odd. Not sure I ever actually knew that. Oh well, I stand corrected.

[@kerenb14]

@@RelativelyBest I do agree with the other point that more enchants would be cool. Leggings have Swift Sneak already, or an exclusive book where you sacrifice a dedicated hold-to-block in exchange for a shield bash like Demoknight in TF2.

[@xorsirenz]

the original story of why he doesnt like shields a few years ago was a lot more in detail.

[@mkks4559]

What did he say?

[@soopbooi]

for every second you use a shield, thats one less second not dealing damage

[@MrEzioCraft360]

Haha, poor etho. Personally, once I get full iron, I don't use shields either. Like, only moment I would get some use out of them is mining, and when I'm mining I prefer to have torches in the offhand

[@fahriagung-_.]

I think the texture pack that reduces the size of the shield will help you (don't forget to sneak to use it)

[@MGSLurmey]

Sneaking to use a shield is only in bedrock edition. This is Java, you right-click to block.

[@Rabbitolucas200YT]

@@MGSLurmeyno hes talking about when Etho tried to use his shield while holding a placable block, minecraft thought he wanted to place the blocks so if he crouched it wouldn’t done that. I think they know sneaking to use shields are a bedrock only thing

[@The-Determined-Ninja]

​@@Rabbitolucas200YTTrue, he _did_ start placing Torches vigorously before dying- (⁠≧⁠▽⁠≦⁠;)

[@SmokeFactory]

@@Rabbitolucas200YTno? the word ‘it’ refers to the subject, which is the shield, don’t answer replies for other people

[@Trident_Gaming03]

Dont the hermits have a datapack that makes totems invisible, why just do that but for shields?

[@humourlessjester3584]

There's a lower shield data pack that some content creators use. I also use it because I like visibility in my games. Idk if etho uses it tho.

[@TerraKnight27]

it's a resource pack actually

[@FreefallFortyTwo]

This is actually hilarious

[@gearblue89]

shields are useful, but I sometimes feel like they're too useful. like if you don't have them at all times minecraft will be a lot harder

[@solalabell9674]

The issue isn’t that they’re a right option it’s that they’re the right option there’s no give and take and in a game about freedom there should never be an option that’s the only good one

[@MyUsersDark]

@@solalabell9674 I guess there's a problem with Netherite, since it's objectively better than every other resource...

[@Vampr1c]

@@MyUsersDark That's not his point, Nethernite is based off of progression, that's different, but an example of what he means is the crossbow vs the bow, two weapons that do the same thing but differently, and you must choose based off of situation to be best off. However, that is not the case with the off-hand slot, where the only right option is shield until you get totem of undying if you're playing hardcore, otherwise just shield.

[@MyUsersDark]

@@Vampr1c is that not a problem with the totem too?

[@hegyuwu]

@@Vampr1c That's not really the case. As you said you can hold totems and a shield, but also torches, rockets or building blocks. These are the ones i can remember rn. But you can use it for whatever the situation needs or just how you play the game. You don't have to use shield or the totem if you don't want to.

[@arthaiser]

the real reason etho hates shield is because they are op. etho has played this game since the beginning, and at the beginning the good pvp weapon was the bow, you could either go for a chaotic pvp with swords or you could aim and fin cover with bows, which was much more tactical. these days with super enchanted armour and shields bows are not longer an efective weapon, and etho doesnt like that. im with him mind you, i think that there should be iron arrows that bypasses shield like axes do, or maybe a more powerful bow that has penetration or... something basically that makes ranged combat effective again. and yes i know that firework crossbows are a thing, but the cost of a shield is much less than the cost to make that armmo reliably

[@RedKincaid]

The combat update was a mistake

[@MrBrineplays_]

A crossbow enchantment has that where arrows can pierce through shields. Although you would need a different weapon just to do that...

[@mostdefinitelynotadurian]

are they tho? they significantly slow down your mobility when used, and as you've mention can easily be disabled by axes. Even if you can't snipe from afar when they use a shield. it still works a way to keep your distance between you and your foe (suppressive fire, which in itself a tactical approach in actual combat). you also seem to forget that shields only block wherever a player is facing, in other words if your quick enough you can bypass the shields damage nullification with jukes and the likes or just straight-out group attacks.

[@slowfreq]

How about, instead of an iron arrow that passes through shields, you just get rid of shields and go back to sword blocking? Simplicity over complexity.

[@LethalLuggage]

@@mostdefinitelynotadurian "only block where the player is facing"... when are you NOT looking at the other player in 1v1 combat?

[@plesiosaur44]

I thought he was going to say they make the game too easy, not just the inventory slot haha.

[@Cxntrxl]

I personally use shields until I get a totem, sure they sac screen space but you've gotta train that instinctive response to hold mouse 2 the second a creeper enters the screen

[@CinnabarBread]

i dont hate the inventory use, i just hate that you can hold up block forever and the time it takes to put it up. I feel like it should have a very short time where it reduces all damage, with no time to put it up, but then the amount of damage it blocks reduces afterwards when you hold it

[@erixIsOffline]

I agree shield are great but if you have shitty pc like me that put up time is basicly slowing me and making me gets more dmg i wish it would be instant like you describe and has also some counter play even if you dont have Axe

[@RedRanger-ll7hx]

There is a mod that makes shields instant but I think its pretty balanced for it to take time to ready unless you are playing on a server where lag comes into play. Also I feel like it should have a damage window to parry an attack where it will negade all damage for 1 second and after that the damage reduction is less the longer you hold it up.

[@TechBlade9000]

​@@erixIsOfflineHolds shield for 60 seconds, still dies after the lag goes away

[@MakerManX]

Im glad that in bedrock shielding is mapped to sneaking so you dont place stuff by accident

[@HenrikMyrhaug]

Yeah, you kinda need a mouse button bound to a tool if you are going to use a shield, that way you can switch to your tool and raise your shield instead of accidentally placing torches by the enemy.

[@Bjaz98]

I hate shields because of the delay between the end of the animation and the shield actually blocking stuff

[@TGTKgaming]

"Shield's are the worst" *Dies because he didnt ue a shield*

[@alienlobsteroo4882]

I always play on locked hard difficulty and shields are a MUST at all times for the simple fact that 2 skeletons alternating their shots can kill you super easily.

[@bumblerbree]

will never get over him casually punching the creeper not even trying to avoid it and getting instant karma lmao

[@EliosMoonElios]

Yeah, he see it falling but decide to attack it instead of run away.

[@makyeah]

Bdubs with the zinger!

[@WalkinStereotype]

Personal balance opinion, swords should be able to block, reducing damage by 50% like before, or maybe 30%, only blocking ranged and melee damage - with possibly slightly faster movement speed than blocking with a shield? So the trade is either slow, one used inventory slot and full block, or less slow and semi-block with one more space. If they don’t want to return that functionality or increase the shield visibility, maybe they should give us a buckler option to take the sword block statistics while giving us more to see

[@bobboberson8297]

That's literally just 1.8 combat

[@1th_to_comment.]

Ahhhhh, sword blocking... I miss it dearly.

[@wentaoguan]

In my opinion shields should decrease your damage output by 20%, turning you into an actual tank instead of now where it's no downsides. The sword parry should be kept, but only useful against certain attacks (mainly melee).

[@Foxttellio]

Shields are annoying, thats where food goes

[@princex-synth]

I find them way too good early but a hassle to use in the end game since bows are so much more useful at dealing with creepers. If shields reduced explosion damage by a certain amount instead of outright erasing the damage; I’d like it more

[@Vallee152]

I rarely use sheilds either, only ever when I go against illagers

[@user-jl8wj8fz5q]

the fact that etho was the oldest mc player of them all

[@smolchungus9213]

In my opinion they should've kept blocking with the sword but make shield blocking absorb more damage/work better for specific types of damage (a shield would be much better at blocking an explosion than a sword, etc.) since blocking with a sword in real life is a thing as well

[@wentaoguan]

In my opinion shields should decrease your damage output by 20%, turning you into an actual tank instead of now where it's no downsides. The sword parry should be kept, but only useful against certain attacks (mainly melee).

[@VentA_7]

I honestly really like shields with how useful they are: but also due to the fact they’re skill based. Shields only block in 1 direction & you have to toggle it, so it’s not immediately a free win, especially against multiple mobs, but also if you want to be optimal with your off hand you need to juggle it and other items around. It’s part of why I dislike the totem of undying (and why I don’t use it), it provides more protection than a shield for less effort. The game should be easier if you’re more skilled, which the shield largely does a good job of.

[@Moldy_Water]

As a bedrock player myself, the only thing my offhand is good for is a shield, so yeah

[@wallacechui9857]

As someone who owns both versions, I feel you. To be honest, the only reason I still use Bedrock is because it's less of a hassle hosting with friends.

[@Moldy_Water]

@@wallacechui9857 yeah I think the only reason I'd give up on bedrock is because of the wither 😅😅

[@Buglin_Burger7878]

Torches and Bows still work there for their use don't they?

[@Moldy_Water]

@@Buglin_Burger7878 nope only shields, totem of undying, and fireworks for the crossbow

[@1th_to_comment.]

I still don't use shields in bedrock edition for the most part. I just hold a map or totem.

[@The-Determined-Ninja]

Oh it's not _that bad-!_ That small amount of screen space is not only so easy ignore, but it's definitely worth the small investment. Besides, if you're holding up a shield of course it'll be within your periferal, those thing aren't small! Personally I might forget I even have one without seeing that I'm holding it. (⁠´-‿-`⁠；⁠)

[@stealthlock6634]

They’re worse for me cus I play on my phone, you have to double tap to crouch, and you have to crouch to shield. It takes too long to pop up!

[@andrecezar8016]

just switch to the new controllers

[@jetho9859]

Until it is possible to use a shield without sneaking on mobile, I don't think I'll ever use a shield.

[@imperfectimp]

I recently moved from Bedrock to Java, so being used to shields being the only useful off-hand item means I don't really use the off-hand for anything else. Though I gotta say, Java shields suck. If you're holding down the mouse button while placing blocks the shield sometimes activates and you have to let go and hold it down again.

[@voltsiano116]

"Take up another inventory slot." Ah, yes, the slot they added in tandem with the shield must be saved for other items.

[@robertrivero360]

You mean the torch slot?

[@w.o.jackson8432]

@@robertrivero360It's the totem slot.

[@foresthillwolf7998]

In another video, he mentioned that it made the combat mechanics feel worse

[@syrup-man6704]

He just doesn't know how to use them

[@TheCoffeePowder]

Bdubs is the best man lol

[@gaabrrable]

more like etho spits facts for 30 seconds

[@origamifolder2255]

This man does not know the power of Vanilla Tweaks resource packs yet.

[@galonski64]

I wonder if it setting, but i swear etho sheild takes up more then it does on my game

[@Jamseth_Ingramious]

I'd rather have my grimoire in my offhand.

[@miimiiandco]

That's why maps are better. 'Cause they take up more space.

[@TallinuTV]

When you look at another player who has a shield equipped, the shield is down at their side. It makes absolutely no sense for it to be obscuring such a big part of your screen when not actively using it to block. Maybe a tiny corner of it peeking out in the very corner of the screen to remind you that you have it equipped, at most! Aside from that, yeah, completely negating an explosion doesn’t make much sense…

[@otakuyasha0066]

Ive never liked them either since they make minecraft easier than it already is, mojang really needs to up the mobs difficulty

[@aceplante]

I dont like shields becuase whenever you right click it slows you. Thats the annoying part

[@saicher]

You forgot to include the part where he says they take any and all difficulty out of PvE as you can literally block every attack in the game and take 0 damage. You get a short cooldown for creeper explosions and that's it. They're incredibly overpowered and I'm surprised they haven't been changed at all since 1.9. I also choose not to use them for the same reason

[@wentaoguan]

Same I don't use them. They're too good especially for their price. Late game it doesn't matter as much since in full prot 4 u aren't gonna get hit anyway, but being able to easily 100% block out multiple creeper blasts at point blank is too good. In my opinion shields should decrease your damage output by 20%, turning you into an actual tank instead of now where it's no downsides. The sword parry should be kept, but only useful against certain attacks (mainly melee).

[@HamStuff]

To be fair, shields consistently don't work. I've watched arrows phase through the matter of my shield before going straight into my eyeball.

[@Randoman590]

Often that comes down to the delay between you clicking the button and the server recognising its input. Happens a lot on high ping. If you time it well in advance and the server definitely knows you're blocking, that shouldn't happen.

[@Didisla]

I'm pretty sure that has to do with shields having a hidden 5 tick delay between pressing the button and actually blocking. There's a mod called "Responsive Shields" that removes that delay.

[@wentaoguan]

I don't like the shield for different reasons. Shield breaks progression for me in the same way tridents break it. When i first got the aquatic update tridents drop rates were really high and I often would have one by the first 2 days. Feels completely wrong that I could get a throwable weapon that's more powerful than a diamond sword on the FIRST DAY by doing nothing. For the average player who don't dodge everything, the usefulness of the shield I would say is equal to nearly a full set of iron as it negates A LOT of damage when used by your average joe. For only 1 iron, this is too cheap and is unbalanced. I'd prefer if the shield had more durability, but cost lets say 5-6 iron instead of 1.

[@omichromium]

Shields just suck the life out of combat imo

[@Trelior]

He doesn't like shields, so he doesn't know how to use one.

[@InterDylan]

Nah shields are insanely good and op. I tried playing hardcore without shields after always using them and it makes them game way harder. Now creepers and skeletons are an actually threat and now you have a reason to actually fear caves. Now monsters are still a threat even after obtaining unenchanted diamond armor.

[@wentaoguan]

This was how it was before aquatic update. Wish we could go back.

[@GreeseMonkie1998]

I hate shields too

[@Ice-Qube]

I would love for Etho to see this xD also I agree I hate them too but they are quite handy...

[@Risyn1]

Dude has been playing minecraft for 10+ years and still has no idea how the game works

[@shearman360]

I dont use shields because they make the game way too easy. It's so dumb that a shield blocks 100% of damage including creeper explosions

[@scottdesemberer8751]

Ninja never use shields, he use kunai

[@harold963]

I dont use shields because they are 1)Too overpowered for the cheap cost, negating all damage 2)By the time I can create a shield, I have iron at my disposal, meaning iron armor. After obtaining iron armor most mobs become no threat, and even without a shield skeletons become a minor nuisance. 3)With iron armor, it is very rare for me to die to a creeper, even when it is almost right next to me. Creepers also dont sneak up on me much anymore. 4)For gameplay reasons, its more fun to play without it because it makes the game more challenging, especially on java however I play Bedrock. 5)WHY DOES IT COVER 30% OF THE BOTTOM LEFT OF MY SCREEN

[@KwikBR]

i agree, way too op either you play on easy mode or bedrock edition is really easy (i have heard its the latter)

[@harold963]

@@KwikBR It is the latter. You can spam your axe and sword with no attack cooldown, and most enemies are easy to kill this way even in hard difficulty. Hardcore is also missing. The only thing that makes it more difficult in a way is that the axes don't do a ridiculous amount of damage, they do about 1 or 2 damage less than a sword o the equivalent material. I think mojang should improve the combat system and apply the update to both platforms, and then add a setting where you can alternate between current Java combat, current Bedrock combat and the new combat system.

[@KwikBR]

@@harold963 i agree, they even tested out a combat update a few years ago in snapshots that would have come to bedrock too

[@Wiebejamin]

they engender passivity

[@Shifsabre]

Should have used a shield

[@Strideo1]

I just play Beta 1.7.3

[@sfxdlwsrs]

simply said, he's too bad to use it

[@jamesfilms_]

Here I was thinking it was going to be a substantive reason like ruining combat (especially PvP)

[@KwikBR]

etho probably only figured out combat was changed and he cant spam click a year ago

[@GaudyMarko]

He's not wrong, shields are more annoying than useful... outside of pvp or hardcore mode situations.

[@prodemolitionman]

well maybe if u learned how to click right click with your shield you wouldn't have died to creeper 3 times in 1 video

[@Fenixeph]

It actually hurts me how etho HAS A SHEILD and he COULD have LITERALLY BLOCKED BOTH CREEPERS!

[@Jupek5936]

trochę słabe argumenty, są texturepacki na zmienjszenie tarczy jak z ogniem a zabierany slot najczesciej tez jest za totem (w wiekszosci powinnismy uzywac totema ale na cutom serwerach i boss fightach czesto bardziej przydatna jest tarcza)

[@Nephelangelo]

It’s honestly ridiculous that shields blocking half the screen hasn’t been fixed yet. So many of these countless lingering issues with Minecraft could be fixed in about ten minutes of coding.

[@uberculex]

Shields are really strong. It's ok that they have one downside.

[@Nephelangelo]

Gonna have to disagree, it’s not okay that shields occupy half the screen when idle. That’s a sloppy and irritating way to attempt game balance. A better way to balance is for them to absorb only 50-75% of an attack’s damage, or to give them more of a brief cool down after a hit. Covering half the frame is just poor game design.@@uberculex

[@uberculex]

@@Nephelangelo To you it is. For me it's a tradeoff of safety vs situational awareness, similar to wearing a big plate helmet. It cuts your peripherals.

[@Nephelangelo]

Sorry, but making an item irritating to use is simply poor game design which makes the game less fun to play. Etho is correct in his estimation about shields. And Tango has mentioned similar issues in his designing of Decked Out, how he avoided implementing drawbacks to certain aspects of the game that were too irritating, and instead favored drawbacks that didn’t dampen the fun of the game. Shields can have drawbacks that aren’t completely irritating. Occupying half the screen is just irritating, and poor game design.@@uberculex

[@uberculex]

@@Nephelangelo "occupy half the screen" hyperbole much? It's less than a quarter of the screen. The video showed that most of these issues arose due to him being distracted more than anything else. I've used shields a ton of times and it never seemed "irritating". I think that's cope from Etho.

[@michaelashbrook3195]

skill issue

[@Reesemike]

I hate people who say shields take up a part of the screen like bro you act like it’s taking up half the screen like bro you can barely notice it stop complaining about nothing there’s nothing you even need to look at there

[@vqs2920]

bdubs is so funny

[@omegamerk]

Not a fan of shields either, for the same reason he doesn’t but also because of how broken they are. They should be nerfed some way, either make it more expensive to craft or change how they function to not block all damage.

[@Moldy_Water]

One axe and your dead (also think about the bad players😢😢😢)

[@Parrotlad]

That proved nothing? He didn't even use it properly? You have to actually right click for it to work. That's user error.

[@moogstir]

bdubs is the best

[@jackbeavis]

I much prefer back when I didn’t have an option to make them, they make mobs so underpowered

[@JamMonsterFrfo]

Honestly I don’t understand his distaste for the shield in both creeper clips he made the wrong moves and got himself killed and I’m gonna break it down Clip/Mistake #1: Running AWAY (with your back turned) from a creeper is just plain dumb, Look TOWARDS IT and then BLOCK the incoming attack, as the shield can only block whats in front of you *to note here an even better idea would’ve been to do a crit attack while sprinting INTO the creeper with the diamond axe as it def would’ve 1 tapped it and if not then use your sheild Clip/Mistake #2: He panicked and was holding torches in a claustrophobic area and placing blocks takes priority over blocking all he had to do was scroll the mouse wheel slightly and he would’ve been safe I hope Etho reads this and takes the time to appreciate the shield 😊

[@astroll7842]

Yi9

[@EnderMega]

I just think shields are bad in game desing. For example, I like 1.9+ pvp/sword/pot/crystal pvp, but "axe" pvp, because of shields is one of the worst experiences I ever had in pvp. Also, for singleplayer it just feels like a lazy/cheaty way of not taking damage.

[@KwikBR]

axe pvp is just way more fun then the others, more layed back and chill

[@EnderMega]

@@KwikBR Its ok to have a diferent opinion than me, I still disagre. Axe/shield pvp is mostly waiting for the other player to atack and them you just finish them with axe spam and a crowsbow shot.

[@Sennin_]

Seems like a skill issue to me

[@sculkwizard]

bro dies to slellys and creeper more then baby zombies

[@Markm8]

i cannot understand for the life of me how these youtbers are worse at fighting mobs than my 13 year old sister

[@KwikBR]

don't insult 13 year olds like that, at 13 i could have killed the ender dragon with just a shield and axe

[@asuramaru8180]

Agreed, shields are utter OP garbage. Learn to play the game without the baby training wheels and you’ll get much better at it.

[@NickAndriadze]

Not using one of if not the most invaluable forms of defence in the game just because you think it's slightly inconvenient is not the brightest thing to be doing in a server full of murderers and other dangers... But who am I, a mere mortal, to judge the transcendent technical genius of Etho.

[@bumblerbree]

etho's never really been the most try-hard about most series, he kinda just hangs out with his friends and gets up to stuff. he also always burns the first diamond he gets and insists on filling the corners of nether portals even tho it's impractical. from what i've seen he just makes exceptions when helping out his teammates

[@NickAndriadze]

@@bumblerbree Yeah that is very true, can't disagree with that.

[@jaceanator9]

crazy to think both deaths would have been prevented BY PUTTING UP THE FUCKING SHIELD

[@preservery]

LMAOO YEAH

[@manchmalpfosten8133]

I'll die to a million creepers before I resort to using shields. I will never ever make or use a shield unless I'm in a hardcore world.

[@DavidAxel010]

u bad boi

[@otakuyasha0066]

Same, the game becomes an actual baby game with a shield

[@Kikuri_Dood]

Massive skill issues

[@Ritt3086]

He does know that shields don't technically take any space if they're in the offhand, along with side shield or no shield being a texture pack. And that shields block creeper explosions...

[@tissuepaper9962]

bruh that's still an inventory slot, you can put anything in there. Offhand torches/food/rockets/bows are just better. shields are kind of useless if you keep your wits about you, which is a lot harder to do when 1/4 of the damn screen is blocked.

[@Ritt3086]

@tissuepaper9962 Bro, what kind of crack are you on? Shields do not take that much of your screen. You have to open your eyes and realize that they are playing on a server that allows PvP, which is much more difficult without a shield. Along with there being a penalty for death. You also don't need firework rockets in that server, along with bows being one hot key or mouse scroll away, just like food. You're also acting as if people are going to use the offhand slot as a place to keep unused items. Instead of throwing a fit because some people know how shields work, try playing something other than Creative or Peaceful mode

[@tissuepaper9962]

@@Ritt3086 "shields do not take up that much of your screen", meanwhile you use the resource pack that makes the shield smaller in all your videos. Cope and seethe.

[@Ritt3086]

@@tissuepaper9962 Bro, I use a premade pack that has low shield in it. I can fight without low shield, I only use the pack for the potion changes, low fire and a few other things. I fail to see you giving me free views as a valid argument for you being blind. If shields blocking up about 10% of your screen when you hold them out is such a big issue, use low shield. Using a texture pack isn't an issue. All you have proven is that you're too lazy to hold out a shield, too blind to see the 90% of FOV that a shield doesn't block, and that you give me free views to prove how clueless you are about the argument that you started

[@Ritt3086]

I actually just looked right now, I only have two videos in which I have a smaller shield active on

[@PJOZeus]

As much as shields are a necessity, its shit that they’re a necessity, especially against ranged opponents like skeletons or crossbow pigmin Also in places like woodland mansion, sucks they can be disabled by an axe, with several fast high damage axe wielders rushing you The game has never been good for combat, and adding more dangerous mobs is call and all, but there’s very little talent to it, its just a gear check, that’s not fun, and for that reason I’d say the shield is a downgrade to the game Even skeletons used to be better having to strafe - it was poor how often you’d take a mandatory shot if not dancing around a tree, but they were still more fun to fight than currently Agree with Etho though - a whole ‘nother slot for utility, especially for builders, and they mandate its filling by something else