Shields could be fun.

It would be interesting if you could look up while using the shield and allow others to use your shield as a platform for accessing higher areas or peering over walls.

As for shield design

Caldari: A projected shield similar to this but flatter. While on back, the shield would be projected from the back but when actively held, the user would extend their left palm forward. The shield would then shrink into the back and grow in front of the hand.

Amarr: Big physical shield with a shield overlay reminiscent of Scutum shields used by the Romans. Coloring would be silver for the physical part while the shield overlay would be golden.

Shields are a staple in warfare, from when we used them to block swords to when we use them to block shrapnel. Plus they look DAMN cool. What say we add a new set of racial Light weapons?

The shield will have a certain amount of HP and a certain movement penalty, dependent on the race. Gallente shields will have heavy armor, Caldari will use hard-light-looking arrays that have high shields, all that good stuff. They will also be effective while on your back, very visible. This will prevent Scouts from one-shotting you by surprise if they don't take care to avoid the shield, but all you have to combat them is a sidearm. As it is a Light weapon, this will also allow Commandoes to have something to compensate for their low HP total while still making the commando himself highly squishy.

Each race will have a differing racial skill as well as augmenting your melee power, as you are bashing with a shield and not slapping with your gun-butt. It won't be much as we don't want to outmode pure melee weapons, but still enough to dissuade CQC with a shield-bearer. The only way to repair a shield will be from devices that repair Armor, such as Repair Tools and Triage Hives. This will count as an armor wave on the hive, prevent you from getting ammo until your shield is at maximum. Your armor will be repaired before the shield's will. On the advent of the shield's destruction, the shield will enter triage mode via an overheat seize-like animation and be unavailable for a certain length of time, Amarr being the longest and Minmatar being the shortest.

Caldari: Hard-Light shield. Focus on Shield HP.
Gallente: Multi-Polymer shield. Focus on Armor HP.
Minmatar: Makeshift shield (could use a better name). Repairs its armor overtime, but has the least HP of any shield. Lowest movement penalty due to the light weight.
Amarr: Heavy shield (could also use a better name). Heftiest shield with the most HP, but also the highest movement penalty.

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As for the rest, I'd like input from the best. Please put in your critique of things above the line separate from those above it.

Ideas:
Be able to use Sidearm and Shield in tandem.
Caldari skillset.
Caldari Shield (2x)- Increases Shield's Shield regeneration by 5% per level.
Caldari Shield Proficiency (5x)- Increases Shield's Shield HP by 1% per level.
Caldari Shield Cohesian (3x)- Increases Shield's Shield resistances by 1% per level.
Caldari Shield Handling (3x)- Decreases movement penalty by 2% per level.

The shield will have a certain amount of HP and a certain movement penalty, dependent on the race. Gallente shields will have heavy armor, Caldari will use hard-light-looking arrays that have high shields, all that good stuff. They will also be effective while on your back, very visible. This will prevent Scouts from one-shotting you by surprise if they don't take care to avoid the shield, but all you have to combat them is a sidearm. As it is a Light weapon, this will also allow Commandoes to have something to compensate for their low HP total while still making the commando himself highly squishy.