Improved Critical: Bludgeon --> shields???

[SealedInSong]

"Developmatic immunity" is hilarious and should definitely be a future quest.

I've been trying to figure out whom in my cast of characters should TR into a pure vanguard with full ****** tactics, and it appears it doesn't matter what imp. crit feat or mainhand weapon I use.

That's both a relief but also very silly that someone couldn't spec making some kind of crazy shield-only focus character. That's exactly the type of flavor that I really enjoy.

I bet it's as Festus said, and that shields were coded as some kind of separate entity just like handwraps, and thus it would take more time for them to make the system make sense than to just leave it confusing and broken as is.

That said, if they did go out of their way to make imp crit bludgeon work with shields, I don't think it would be any more pigeon-holing than any other type of synergy. People would still want to make vanguards and shield characters that use slashing or piercing weapons, and they'd just have to suck it up and except a worse crit range with their shield or invest the way anyone else has to when they want to use a different weapon system.

[Eth]

Neither is there a single Build in DDO where:
-Mauls, Greatclubs, Warhammers, Battle Axes, Heavy Maces, Morningstars, Short Swords, Light Hammers, Light Maces, Shortbows, Great X-Bows, Hvy X-Bows, Light X-Bows, Light Repeater X-Bows, Daggers, Kukris, Kamas or Sickles are the top choice either!

Actually there is if you check out my 15ranger/4pally/1fighter build, which does use warhammers.
But it's very niche and only is the best choice in epics in legendary dreadnaught, since rangers don't get any critical profile enhancements, so pulverizer is a choice to make up for it and puts warhammers on par with khopesh for that build (actually ahead when the build was created, since I used Mornhs back then), without needing to invest into a feat.

I agree though the weapon classes you listed could use more love (except shortswords, there are plenty builds around using those and daggers, which are great for assasins).

[redoubt]

That said, if they did go out of their way to make imp crit bludgeon work with shields, I don't think it would be any more pigeon-holing than any other type of synergy. People would still want to make vanguards and shield characters that use slashing or piercing weapons, and they'd just have to suck it up and except a worse crit range with their shield or invest the way anyone else has to when they want to use a different weapon system.

Actually, I figured out that it didn't work when I had BOTH imp crit: slash and imp crit: bludgeon. (I was going to keep both, I was willing to pay the feat cost, but it just didn't/doesn't work.)