Rather than turning each confrontation into a game of medieval rock em’ sock em’ robots, it really does pay to time your attacks and execute them swiftly since in many cases, you can end a fight before it even begins. So, to make sure you don’t get caught on the hop and smashed into a fine red paste, you should always make sure that you have a spare shield strapped to your back, just so you can easily swap to it whenever your current one gives up the ghost. Half expecting to see the words ‘IKEA’ scrawled on the inside, they simply don’t last very long in the face of sword slashes, mace bludgeonings and arrow shaftings (that last one sounded better in my head). It certainly beats soaking them up with your shield which after just a few arrows, can be destroyed leaving you more than a little sad, and a whole lot vulnerable. The best way to deal with these fiends is to slowly charge toward them, and as they are about to let loose a shaft, quickly strafe to avoid it and just repeat that tactic until you get within melee range where the thrashing begins. Standing at range and picking off folk with their prissy little short-bows, these goons can be a right pain in the behind as they can inflict damage upon you whilst you’re off staving in the skull of some poor unfortunate. Of all the various types of foe that can appear in the arena, the archer can be the most infuriating.

Mount and blade lances