With the evolution of the 1.9+ combat system, I’ve been looking into the statistical viability of shields in high-stakes SMP environments. While a shield offers a 100% damage reduction for most projectiles and melee hits, the five-second cooldown after an axe disable seems to be a massive liability against skilled sword-trackers. In your experience with modern versions (1.18-1.21), is it more efficient to prioritize raw DPS with sword crits and crystal placement, or is the defensive security of a shield still the gold standard for survival during unscripted encounters? I'm curious to hear thoughts on how the meta shifts when dealing with height advantages and wind charge mechanics