Whether swinging a sword or an axe, the Vikings were renowned, not just for their ferocity with edged weapons, but their defensive tactics as well. The cornerstone of that defense was their ability to protect themselves with shields.
To reflect this in the tactical turn-based combat environment of Expeditions: Viking, shields have their own skill progression. Leveling a character's shield skill will increase a character's shield block chance against enemy attacks (when holding a shield) and unlocks three unique abilities a player can use during combat.
Brace - at Rank 1, Brace uses an attack action to quick repair a shield to mint condition. While this does forego an attack for the bracing character this round, A fully repaired shield can go a long way toward keeping your front line fighters alive.
Defend - is an Attack Action that applies the Defending status effect to the user making the shield impervious to all damage until the start of the player's next turn. Highly valuable for characters who are being focused by the enemy forces.
Shield Bash - Pushes the target 1 hex away and applies the Knocked Down status effect. Characters that are knocked down are unable to act or block and have a base Damage Reduction of 0% and recovering from this costs 2 moves. Because not everything one does with a shield is defensive.
