Currently, the most useless build in the game is the 1 hand + shield. I think that shields need to be way more valuable to even consider playing this way.
I suggest giving shields both physical and magical armour at the same time (I'm anxious about writing that because it might be in the game and I just haven't seen it) because it would help them be more useful. A one handed melee person with a shield can run over fire because they know that they can take some damage, and be ok and these characters need to be able to move around the battlefield. On the other hand, a one handed mage sometimes needs the physical protection.
The only other suggestion would be to significantly increase the shield armour. I'm thinking double/triple etc.
