i used a shield also.
it gived me alot of extra stas including +100 vitality +6 strenght +40 pretecting fire etc..
and with 5 cherm slots you kan upgrade your character alot more.
but it takes longer to slain your enemies . and if you dont use magic but just hit your sword, you probably have already an verry strong charakter.
but you will need fewer potions with a schiel...
