Shieldwalls is like chocolate, when its done right, everyone likes it. (At least, everyone who deserves to live.) There are many misconseptions about it, however. 1. People think its extremely complex and takes loads of teamwork. It doesn't. It just requires shields, swords, and spears. Second misconseption is that it doesn't work. When its done properly, the only thing that can stop it is some extremely powerful bosses, or a lot of cav. Third misconseption, the shieldsmen don't get kills. I usually am a shieldsman, and yes, they get a LOT of kills, as long as they have the right weapons.

The basic outline of a shieldwall is swordsmen/onehanded axemen with shields forming a line that blocks off a pathway. That pathway can be a bridge, a ladder, a road, a walkway, a gate, stairs, even a roof. However, shieldwalls won't work everywhere. First off, you need a map that has what I call chokepoints. They are streets, corners, gates, doorways, something that has 2 walls on either side that the players stand in between. Second, you need a place that can't be flanked around. Though the AI can be pretty dumb, it has its moments, and a shieldwall will quickly turn into a massacre if the bots make it behind them, because people get stabbed in the back, surrounded, and have nowhere to run. They will be brutally murdered. So make sure the place where you are shieldwalling(if its a word) is some sort of dead end. Sure, you won't have anywhere to flank or run if the wall breaks, but do the wall correctly, and that really won't happen.

Shieldsmen- These guys are the wall, they use their shields and(preferrably) heavy armor to stop the bots in their tracks. These guys are completely stationary, and Cannot fall back unless the wall is breached. If they retreat, then the wall is broken, and all their fellow shieldsmen will most likely die or be heavily wounded. These guys are probably the most crucial part of a shieldwall. They would probably want high damage, short, fast weapons. The reason you want short weapons is because long weapons get caught on your teammates behind you, and they will not swing. You also want a good shield, not one of those "one use 120 hitpoint shields" but one that has at least 500 hitpoints. If your shield breaks, you are pretty much 90% screwed.

Spearmen-These guys sit right behind the shieldsmen. They have long spears that attack fast and deal a lot of damage. They stab above/between the shieldsmen, and usually do most of the killing. I would suggest they have their "ally health bars" turned on, because they need to be ready to take the place of a shieldsman if he is about to die. Spearmen, if the wall is breached, try to contain and control the gap, don't just run and leave the shieldsmen. Most shieldsmen can't see the breach before they are already surrounded, and frankly, you are a serious jerk if you don't even try to save the shieldsmen. They are sacraficing many of their potential kills for the team, and allow you to get more kills. The least you could do in return is stop them from being killed. You would probably want a fast, high damage spear, not too short because then you can't reach them past your teammates, but also not too long, because you need to be close to the action to be able to adapt and support the shieldsmen. You also want to have a shield and a sword, because you might have to quickly become a shieldsman.

The ranged people- The ranged people are actually an extremely important part of a shieldwall. They usually want to be somewhere the enemy can't reach(without going through the shieldwall) and they also want to be either to the side or in front of the shieldwall. By doing this, they can shoot the enemy in the back, while they are attacking the shieldwall. They are similar to the spears, except they shoot the enemies BEFORE they reach the shieldwall, and also double as a plan B. If the shieldwall breaks, its up to these guys to try to cover the retreating teammates, and allow them to form another shieldwall.(I have had maps where the infantry have formed 4 or more shieldwalls, when one breaks everyone just runs and creates another.) Really it doesn't matter what you use, most guns that come with good shields probably don't shoot to well, so I would suggest a bow or crossbow that deals high damage.

The 2handed weapon- Many people might think "hey, thats not part of a shieldwall." However, 2handed weapons are extremely useful. Their fast swing rate and devastating damage make them very useful for if the wall breaks, and also, they can take a similar part to the spearmen, by slashing over the shieldsmen. These guys usually only want to do swinging attacks, especially up attacks, because they usually deal way more damage, and up attacks almost always hit directly on the head, which can kill many enemies in one hit. My personal favorite here is one of the long, twohanded axes. Their damage is just plain brutal, with some dealing even 60+ damage, they will 1 hit weaker enemies and take at most 3 hits to kill some stronger enemies. These guys are the windex of my big fat ♥♥♥♥♥ wedding, they will help cover people if the wall breaks, they will help kill things, they will hold the flanks, they can even take the place of a shieldsman if their armor is good enough and their weapon swings fast enough.

Shieldwalls, when used correctly, are probably the easiest way to win. 10 people can survive till wave 30 if they properly use a shieldwall. The trick is to trust in your teammates, and not betray your teammates trust. The instant that one part of the shieldwall lets another part of it down, then the shieldwall will never be as effective, because everyone will be paranoid. The shieldsmen will have to stop fighting in order to make sure that the wall is still holding if last round the spearmen just abandoned the shieldsmen to die after the wall broke. The spearmen will have to stand back away from the wall if last round the shieldsmen got massacred. In general, shieldwalls require a lot of trust. They don't require hours of planning, you just need to realize, am I going to be a shieldsman, a spearman, a ranged guy, a 2handed weapon, and then be that. The shieldsmen are supporting everyone else, so everyone else should try and support the shieldsmen. As long as it is done properly, and in a good location, it takes 45 giant trolls, or the persian horsemen who take 20 2handed axes to the face to die, or sauron, or the devs, or some kind of exploding thing, or a bunch of mammoths to kill the shieldwall. In general, it is devastating against infantry and most bots, however I will admit, if the "challenge wave" is cav or giant trolls, then definitely be ready to retreat.