i kinda figured out how to do this with weapons, but now I need to make a shield invisible so it looks like I'm blocking swords n shit with my bare hands. my method did not work with any shields. can some1 help me out?
I am assuming the way you did that for weapons is to select an item template that didn't have any visuals (like "_DFD_Zombie_A" for example). You can do the same thing for shields. There's no templates that exist for shields that already have this, but you can make the shield use a template for a base item it doesn't belong to: for example, you can give it the item template for a weapon that has no icon, like the "_DFD_Zombie_A" that I mentioned earlier.
_DFD_Zombie_A:
28e00823-2ba4-43bb-be10-e4d6d89e179f
Modify your existing shield and give it this item template (paste this text directly into the item template text field), and it should become invisible in-game but still act like a shield. Be warned that these items are not meant to be used by players and they seem to disappear when being un-equipped for some reason.
Edit: It appears that the item will stay if you choose an appropriate base item. Therefore it would be best to choose a valid base item (e.g., "Handcrafted Sword") and give it the above item template. Do this for the shield as well. Then you will be able to wield the sword/shield and have no model for them. Also, since you will not be finding any new weapons/shields of this type, I would suggest adding many of them to your inventory at the start of the game with various different item levels (so that they can be swapped in after reaching the appropriate level). Otherwise you will never have any item upgrades. Make it every other level (or every 3rd level, etc) for a greater challenge.