There are 3 weapons categories for all classes. The Shield Trooper is limited to the shield, the flamethrower and the minigun. Each weapon has its own niche and these are further defined by their subclass weapons in the store.
To get a grasp of the full potential of the Shield Trooper the most important part is understanding what each weapon does and what their attacking patterns are. And how you can use these together effectively.

Every shield has the same attacking pattern. And different attacks in a combo all have their advantages and disadvantages. First off im going over the different attacks that the shield can do, and afterwards I'm going to explain which shield is most useful in a certain situations.

The attacks

(LM= Left mouse click RM= Right mouse click)
Most of the STs shield attacks have a long ending animation. Be very careful when you use which attack. If you use the wrong attack, it might cost you a lot of hp. Avoid using the block attack,

NEW: In video format, its pretty bad but i know some people like some animations to make things clearer (basic attacks + special attacks + combos) http://youtu.be/F2nI96lAfiQ
EDIT: will make a new comprehensive video.

Basic attacks - These do not break block!
One thing to keep in mind is that you can't melee attack downed player.

- basic attack --{ LM } DMG ratio: 1 - This is your basic attack and like its name what it does is basic. It staggers your opponent for a short while and deals moderate damage.

- Basic knockback --{ LM>LM } DMG ratio: 1,4 - The second attack in the basic attack chain pushes your opponent back. This staggers them (and knocks down when done near a wall) and creates distance between you and your foe.

- Flip --{ RM } DMG ratio: 1 - This attack flips the opponent up in the air. This leaves them vulnerable for the flamethrower. More about this in the Combo Section.

- Stagger Flip --{ LM>RM } DMG ratio: 1 + 1 - This attack first staggers the opponent and then knocks them up. This is a variation that can be used for more damage.

- Shift Attack --{ Block + LM } DMG ratio: 1,4 - This attack knocks the opponent down leaving them on the ground vulnerable for ranged attacks. Avoid using this attack. Release block and use LM>LM or LM>RM instead.

- Shift Flip --{ Block + RM } DMG ratio: 1 - This attack knocks the opponent up in the air similar to the flip attack (RM). Good for combo'ing.

- Dash attack --{ ASD dash + LM } DMG ratio: 1 - these attacks are performed during a dash and function the same as the LM attack

- Knockdown --{ W dash + LM } DMG ratio: 1 - This attack knocks down/away the enemy leaving them vulnerable on the ground for ranged attacks.

- Jump Attack --{ Jump + LM } DMG ratio: 1 - Useful to combo into a stunlock, explained in the combo section

Special attacks - these attacks break block

- Running attack --{ Run +( jump )+ melee } DMG ratio 1,4 - This has gotten a huge buff last patch and is now one of his best moves. Both versions of this attack (jump/running) now break block, and when not blocking bounces the target into the air.

- R attack/Seismic Smash ♥♥♥♥ now, avoid using it. Only good use for it is to cancel taunt.

- Rising attack --{press main attack button when knocked down} DMG ratio 2,0 - Attack possible after being knocked down. Deals high damage and goes through block. However its animation is very long so if you miss you are going to get punished.

Blocking - what you can and can't block

Blocking nullifies the damage in the cone you are facing, certain shields provide less cover to the feet (red legion) and this makes it sometimes your feet can be hit.
What can't be blocked:

General : Attacks from the back, Rising attack
Ivan : Q, E and R ability - {LM-LM-LM-{LM}} 4th melee hit {LM-{RM}} 2nd melee hit,
Max : Q, E and R ability, running attack
Elena : Q and R ability - 3rd melee hit- sometimes nades at feed or head - Dependant on the shield and the way you're facing and moving.
Rose: Q, E and R ability. She can also hit you from below or use AoE behind you. Finishing melee hit.
Wayne: Q, E? and R ability. His flip also makes max cry
Rena: Q, E and R ability. 5th melee hit (the stabby one)


There are currently four Shield Subclasses and each of these weapons fulfills a different niche.

Each shield has five properties

Melee damage
Crit Rate
Ranged defense - reduces the amount of ranged damage taken *even while holding the other weapons!*
Melee defense - reduces the amount of melee damage taken *even while holding the other weapons!*
Defense ranged - increases the size of the shield / the area that it blocks


Suppression Shield
Very low crit, decent defense, good base dmg
Good overall shield, stick with this one until you have at least all gears lvl 3. Buying a new shield has no-where near as much impact as gears or a flamethrower/mini-gun.



Legion Shield - DON'T USE THIS ONE
Might be worth it if you play gladiator a lot, but then again, why use max in gladiator? You can easily hit feet with this shield, and offers almost no extra effective HP.



Body Bunker - USE THIS ONE
Medium crit, best defense, average base damage
Very good for defensive purposes.The blocking area is the biggest of all the shields and it has the best defensive modifiers. The Tesla version of this shield is the best on in the game.


Lion Face - MAYBE USE THIS ONE
Good crit, medium defense, medium base damage
This is the best shield for gladiator, but i still feel that the body bunker is better in TE and TDM, because of its defensive prowess.

The minigun is the all-range weapon for the Shield trooper. It has a wind up time which makes using it in close combat pretty hard. Especially after switching weapons. But there is a trick to avoid all this, you can instantly shoot after flipping! You can flip already downed targets for a quick switch to the minigun. Another good tactic is to move while already winding up the mini-gun.

The weapon's spread gets huge after firing it for a second so it loses its long/mid-range capability's when you fire it continuously. So practice using dash canceling, this makes you more accurate and more evasive. Up close it out damages the flamethrower when you hit all your bullets, it has the highest dps of all weapons in-game.

Characteristics
- Wind up time
- High DPS (most in the game i think)
- Big spread/bloom when firing continuously
- REAL Super Armor when firing - almost nothing will knock this baby down.
- (all miniguns have roughly the same DPS, pick the one which you find most comfortable using.)

The vulcan

Same story as The incinerator. It is the worst of the bunch.

The (Silver) Rolling Thunder

Best allround minigun IMO. High RoF makes it reliable. Has good range, and just the right amount of bloom/spread when you are dash cancelling.

The (Custom) Gatling Gun

This one does huge chip damage but is inaccurate and has a low RoF. It has the ability to penetrate multiple targets. I find that after firing 2/3 shots it comes down to luck more so than aim so I don't really like this one.

The (Desert Camo) Undertaker

It really is just in between the rolling thunder and the gattling gun. It has medium RoF, pretty reliable, good overall and a tat higher dps (negligible).

Flamethrower

The Flamethrower lost its place as max's best buddy. The minigun is now his prized posession. Flame now does 50% reduced damage vs downed and flying characters. And has no "real" super-armor like the minigun.

The only time the flamethrower is useful is when finishing off low targets (trash combuster low switch time + no real need to aim + burn), or when you are holding down a tight area where range is not really needed (mansion stairs to basement, houses in marketplace, stairs in hightown etc.) or when helping out teammates for a quick kill (when a person is getting stun-locked and you don't have time/can't flip/switch to mini or windup your minigun.)

Characteristics
- Low range (basicly your 2nd melee weapon)
- Afterburn (damage over time after hitting enemies (first depletes AP then HP)
- Can't headshot (you can only crit when archenemy is active)
- Good damage (which doesn't require as much aim as the rifles)
- Super Armor when firing (normal melee attacks don't stagger you), most special attacks still can however.

There are currently 4 flamethrower subclasses and they all differ quite a bit.
For actual statistics look here:
https://docs.google.com/spreadsheets/d/10hlYPRQDPYIxn4nZO3DCt60tiEkjq7LYzbedve1D91U/

The Incinerator - DEFAULT

Only use this weapon if you are low on money or are saving up. It is mediocre in every way and almost every other flamethrower is better.

The (Blast) Inquisitor - USE IF STACKING PIERCING

This is the most bursty flamethrower. It has only 4 afterburn damage, but this is compensated by its high base damage and high piercing. There is some cheese surrounding this weapon where you run 24% piercing gears and you will have 69% piercing. Increasing its already high DPS substantially. If you run 2man squads with rena/max the rena can juggle and max will flame the person to death before they have a chance to come out.

The (Golden) Apocalypse Fire - DON'T USE

This weapon is bad now, the afterburn now does armor damage instead of HP, and that was the only thing that makes this weapon somewhat good.

The (Custom) Trash Combuster - USE AS A FINISHER/AS CLOSE SUPPORT

This is a bit of a weird one. It does quite a lot of damage 2nd highest after The inquisitor and it has a bigger capacity at 100 charges. Its tool-tip states that it switches quicker which makes it useful when you finish off opponents.

This is the aspect where most Maxes fail. People think that max is slow. But when im playing TE, I'm almost always the first to reach the open area in mansion.
New max players often dash around without using block. They are not using the walls and are not using the melee combo to down players when moving around.
Most people say maxes are slow, but when you use the walls properly you can catch up to everyone.

What i just said is exactly what you MUST do. When moving around the map to re-position yourself (enemy chasing you) USE THE WALLS learn to run on the walls, jump off and dash back on. Switch between walls to make aiming at you even harder. This is very confusing for the enemy and aiming at your fat ass will be way harder.

Here is a little clip showing you how i move with my minigun out. This gun is supposed to slow you down tremendously. But with proper wall movement and dashing you are still pretty fast.

http://youtu.be/zlaHgyWblbU

When running directly at players (besides Gunslingers, they nade your feet), I advise you to run with your shield guard up (you do this by dashing and holding w and shift). This way people can't hit from the font and you can open with a knockdown from either the running attack or the dash melee hit, and combo it into the minigun/flame.

The 3rd way to move around is by combining the Dash>melee with jumping. When you Jump > Dash> Melee your attack gets reset as soon as you reach the ground so you can dash right after. Chaining it would look something like this:

Jump > Dash > Melee (reach the ground) > Dash > Repeat

You can do this in all directions which can throw your opponent off guard. and when you do the forward dash attack and you hit the enemy they even get knocked down for an easy kill.

The underlined and italic ones are the most important to master IMO.

Q --{press Q when full Z} This is a very valuable asset in your toolkit as max. You can block damage with your shield to get full Z and hit them with an unexpected Q. You can also combo it out of a running attack or a normal stagger. !Does not hit downed players!

E --{press E when having atleast 2 bars of Z} Situational ability. Often times you can use it to catch players who run into a room. You can also incorporate it into a lot of combos since it hits grounded targets (50% damage reduction) (often bugs out when the targets get up)

Parry (tap left and right mouse after being hit by melee) is unlocked at level 3 and is the only counter versus most stunlocks. It costs 1 bar of Z so managing your Z is very important

Super Armor when firing either the mini-gun or the flamethrower you can't be staggered by normal melee hits. However other classed have skills and abilities that can stop this. To give an example the running attack from Shield Trooper or a bullet from the sniper rifle. The minigun has even better superamor and even sniper shots don't faze him.

Dash cancelling --{while holding minigun: hold RM(to spin the barrel)>Shoot>Dash>Shoot>Dash>Shoot>etc.}- this is one of the most essential max techniques. It allows you to quickly gain cover, be evasive and you will still be pumping out damage. A lot of new maxes get picked off way to easily when they fire their minigun. This avoids that.

The Quickswitch --{ RM>Change weapon ( You must hit an enemy for this to work. } This is something maiet implemented which not all people know. After you hit a flip you change weapons almost instantly. You also have 0 windup on the minigun. This is his bread and butter.

Just like i explained in the movement section.
Movement --{Jump>Dash>Melee>dash>repeat} is the most basic combo.
or --{Jump>Dash>Melee>repeat} this is slower but has less vulnerable moments.

After a while i started messing around with this combo and i found out a number of things were possible.

The stunlock --{ LM> Jump> LM > Repeat } They can't get out if you do this properly if you do it from the front they can counter with parry.

Knockdown dash chain --{ Jump > Dash > LM > repeat } Useful for what i call angling for knockdowns. Because your animation resets as soon as you do the LM its easy to chain and catch opponents.

Flip switch --{Jump >Side Dash >LM>(LM)> RM > Switch } This is a follow-up on the combo above. After the flip switch to either flame or the minigun to deal massive damage. This often is a 1hit kill (minigun + good aim) if the enemy doesn't have Z to air recover.

THE PAIN TRAIN --{run with shield(doubt tap W and hold it)>(jump)>melee>flip>switch} Same thing as the Flip switch, but this time you use the defensiveness characteristics of your shield instead of your evasiveness. Also deals like 60% damage if you aim properly.

Slash shot --{Jump >Side Dash > LM> Switch>Shoot } This only works with the custom trash combuster. Its a very mobile move, if you angle it correctly you can hit through block and quickly change to the flamethrower to finish the job.


Double air hit --{hold block during the entire combo> Jump and melee at the exact same time> melee again as quickly as possible > follow up however you want.} in this combo as soon as you press the 2nd melee hit you start blocking (when you land) which cancels the animation. Because of this you can follow it up with whatever you want

Block bypass --{jump > dash backwards > melee} because the game thinks you hit the back of the target it ignores the enemy block. (this is heavily dependent on the camera angle of the guy blocking but it works 90% of the time) Really useful tool to have.

Seismic cancel --{ when holding a gun > switch to melee > block > r} This cancels the weapon pulling animation and the seismic smash delay. If you do this you can use the melee R ability instantly even when holding a mini-gun or flamethrower

Juggles
KR juggle --{run>attack>flip>sidedash-attack>flip>sidedash-attack>etc.} Fun to pull off in a 1v1 situation does a ton of damage, and they probably have never seen a max juggle before. If you mess up the combo try to get a final ground flip into mini-gun to finish the target. (Don't try to juggle too often, you leave yourself very exposed)

NA juggle --{run>attack>flip>jump>sidedash attack>jump>other sidedash attack> etc.} The juggle that originated from SA juggle (but he uses lightstep), the korean juggle seems to deal damage quicker. Use this one for style points.

Here is a small video to show what max is capable off:

I'd recommend building HP for people starting out. The reason why is because if you don't have any hp, you are useless. You can't replenish it reguarly like AP, and it is the core defense that you have. Most weapons deal 20/30% damage to hp and 80/70% damage to AP. When you regularly pickup AP packs you'll stay alive for a long long time.

The 2nd option is piercing. I still have a lot of testing to do regarding this.

Here are my 2 standard load-outs. (The best for either situation IMO)
This is the tank/rush MAX.
6x lvl5 HP gears + Silver rolling thunder + Camo body bunker + Trash combuster

This is the piercing/not fully tested support MAX
6x +5 Piercing gears + Desert camo undertaker + Camo body bunker + Blast Inquisitor

So when is which better? Here are 3 common situations. (WARNING BASIC MATHS AHEAD! TL;DR below!)
If an Ivan teammate with piercing gears hits an enemy Ivan he often ends up with 20 hp and 65 ap (115*0.69=HPdmg).

Time to kill: 20 HP 65 AP

TANK:
17.2 DPH
20 piercing
14.28 BPS
3.44 HP DPH
13.76 AP DPH
-------------------
6 hits to kill, or 0.41s - target left with 0 HP and 0 AP - DEAD

PIERCE:
21 DPH
25+24(gears) piercing
11.76 BPS
10.29 HP DPH
10.71 AP DPH
------------------
2 hits to kill, or 0.17s - target is left with 0hp and 44 AP - DEAD

Conclusion: The piercing setup is superior in terms of damage here.

TTK: 100HP/100AP with combo
run attack>flip>mini-gun
1.4>1.0>DPS
(1.4+1.0)*28.5= 68.4 damage
10 piercing on shield means:
6.84 HP DMG
61.5 AP DMG

Before shooting:
93HP/39AP

TANK:
246 DPS 20 piercing
TTK:
0.54s

PIERCE:
247 DPS 49 piercing
TTK:
0.53s

conclusion: Both have the same TTK so having more HP is beneficial.

60hp/70ap in tight corridor (just picked up AP packs after being shot by an AR/SMG)
TANK:
160 DPS 35 piercing
TTK:
0.81s (probably a bit lower since I didn't calculate the afterburn)

PIERCE:
180 DPS 69 piercing
TTK:
0.48s (damage increased by +20DPS from blast inquisitor and 24% piercing from gears also helped a lot)

conclusion: The blast inquisitor deals kills 70% quicker!

For people newer to max I'd recommend running the TANK load out. For competitive play,
I HAVE NO IDEA YET.

If you have good team mates to rely on, you can pickup kills more easily (while partially staying out of harms way) with the piercing setup. But you will be more vulnerable in close quarters as a result.

But if you like to be the tanky, get into their face kinda guy, the piercing wont make much of a difference because your shield eats ~70 of their AP while you setup your CQC minigun combo.
So the extra HP becomes very valuable.

Going in for melee is often a very risky choice vs good teams so thats why I'm still not sure.
It comes down to:
Playing a more defensive shield trooper who focuses on defending his teammates and chipping/finishing enemies (Piercing would be more valuable here)
Or playing more of a rusher/chaser type of shield-trooper who sets up easy kills for his teammates but will often get hurt in the process. (Tank is superior here)

These are pretty old, the same tactics can still be applied, but make more use of your mini-gun these days. I'll try to get some more footage.

1vs playlist ST v SA/ST/GS
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=ee4kOS1zRvI&list=PLEvmVrKIXyn43tb8NmFc2Xpwv_Djcw78c

Random TDM
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=57tZA-_GMjg&list=PLEvmVrKIXyn4IBl86uUrWL1VJoED6z_l5&index=1

VS SA
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=ee4kOS1zRvI&list=PLEvmVrKIXyn43tb8NmFc2Xpwv_Djcw78c&index=1
VS ST
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=5aHPJYVt0Kk&list=PLEvmVrKIXyn43tb8NmFc2Xpwv_Djcw78c
VS GS
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=tp8hOybe3fA

Final words:
Thanks everyone for taking your time reading this and i hope you learned something. I kept it pretty basic but I think a lot of new shield troopers could still learn a thing or two from this.

Shoutout to the other good Shield Troopers that have helped me understand the class:
Thothmes
Tarrende
Wings
Jusagi
and my clan Aura

Please leave comments to discuss anything about the class. If you find something I said is incorrect or if you find spelling mistakes/grammar feel free to comment as well. I'm non-native so my grammar/spelling probably won't look that pretty. If you feel like something is missing please also comment.

I made this in a hurry because some other guy was already claiming my guide as his so i decided to post it here.

GL and HF in GunZ2 guys!
~MarcGosu