Okay so the title is a bit weird, but hear me out. If you are geared with a sword-shield, playing on your secondary set you’re losing out on 25% of the stats from weapons you’d normally have.
In my case, a life staff gives 21 focus. The sword gives 7 focus 3 con… The shield also gives 7 focus 3 con. It seems like nothing is wrong here, however, the stats from the shield are only applied IF you are running with the shield active.
I can see why Amazon went for this design choice, if the shield always gives stats, everyone would run around with a shield on their back as a sort of stat stick, even if they aren’t playing with the sword… But it does mean that when I’m running with life staff, I’m missing out on 7 focus and 3 con. If i really want to adhere to the stat-stick mentality, I would be better off equipping ANY other weapon as my secondary, just so I can get the extra focus at all times.
And on a side note, con on a shield seems like a wasted stat. You’re only getting your max HP while in your shield. With the extra max HP your potions will be stronger and yada-yada, but you’d have to be wearing your shield to benefit off it. – With that in mind, it seems much better to just run a str shield to increase your sword’s capability (or foc/int if you’re running gems)