How important is angling your shield?

[JayWon]

How "competitive" am I? Well I don't plan on winning APEX or anything; I'm quite satisfied playing with my friends, For Glory (65%) and For Fun with my sister. I played thousands of matches and never have I onced thought to myself, "Damn it! If I'd only angled my shield better I would have not gotten hit!" I don't know if I'm not aware of all the times I've gotten hit because I didn't angle my shield but I have never thought of investing my time in being sensitive to angling my shield until recently I have seen players like Zero do it all the time in tournament matches floating around YouTube.

Any words/information on angling your shield I might not be aware of? Thanks in advance!

 

[Raijinken]

It's mostly useful against a repeated projectile (say, a Fox who is spamming lasers), since for most players, it isn't really a second-nature action to tilt your shield in response to regular melee-range attacks.

It's one of the finer control methods that can help a bit if it's mastered, but I would say it's far less important than most other methods of attack or defence.

 

[False]

As your shield diminishes you're more prone to getting "poked", which means to be stabbed in an area where your shield is not covering your hurtbox. To prevent this, you would angle your shield in a position where you might anticipate your opponent's attack to hit.

 

[GSM_Dren]

If you do not plan on playing competitively in tournaments and are content with playing FG and friends, then it is definitely not too important to learn to angle the shield. While it is a minor change to your defense game, it does help if it is mastered like you see when Zero or other pros play. Angling of the shield takes plenty of practice to get optimal coverage. Don't sweat if you don't use it!