Shield Bash vs Power Bash

[someonenoone11]

My melee character's strategy is Shield Charge to perma stun them and kill them with my sword. But there are a few creatures that can not be flung into the air with Shield Charge, like Mammoths and Dragons, so against these guys I have to use Shield Bash or Power Bash to perma stun them.

 

Which one is better?

Power Bash takes more Stamina, but does more damage (I don't really notice it though, even with the 5x dam perk)

Shield Bash takes less Stamina, but I heard it can fail to stagger (Please confirm this)

Edited December 1, 2011 by someonenoone11

[Tarrax]

From my own experience, I use Shield Bash as part of my regular melee cycle and save Power Bash for only very tough and/or very hard hitting enemies. I find that giving any regular enemy a tap with Shield Bash not only acts as an interrupt, but also creates a very short opening in their defenses (more for Mages), so I alternate between Shield Bash and Sword Attack in regular fights. I save Power Bash for big hitters, e.g. Dragons, Giants, elite melee combatants, etc. On these guys, Shield Bash seems almost useless anyway, unless it's used during one of their Power Attacks.

 

I've always found either attack will Stagger an enemy, if used while they're performing a Power Attack. This is why I stick with using Shield Bash as my Power Attack interrupt, even after I acquired the Quick Reflexes Perk. Besides, once Staggered I follow up with my stationary Sword Power Attack, which seems to always do way more damage than I've ever seen from the 5x Power Bash Shield Damage (and also has a chance to either land a Crit or simply behead them). Much better usage of Stamina IMHO. :biggrin: