In the description it say you'll have a % chance to perform a shield bash and cause extra damage to an opponent. I have it on level 2, but I don't think I've seen it cause any extra damage after several hours of gameplay. Can anyone confirm that it actually works?

Since most of the more powerful weapons are two-handed . . I don't use a shield directly. I wanted to give it 24 hrs in case someone who does use it wanted to respond.

The Shield Expertise is a "passive" skill so it is in use always. There is no animation or text, AFAIK, that tells you that you just bashed an opponent. All of the damage is calculated in the background based on your weapon, skills, level armor etc etc.

If you bash . . . the opponent would receive an increased damage number (the red numbers displayed when attacking an opponent). It would actually slow combat down if the game told you every calculation during combat, as it is, it simply displays the damage done by each blow during combat. Shield Expertise is a skill I never use as I invest in other skills I feel are more useful to my character build. There are so many ways to build your character in DD with each build being unique.

As I said above, I use two-handed weapons. You can't use the shield when you use two-handed weapons although you can equip a shield (must equip the shield before equipping the two-handed weapon). There is supposed to be some armor protection gained by equipping a shield while using a two-handed weapon. My understanding is the shield is worn on the back which gives you some protection from blows from behind.

In addition to keeping a shield equipped, I look for better shields and upgrade often. You have to un-equip your two-handed weapon to get access to the shield. I especially look for shields with 5 charm slots since charms help your character in many ways. Basically I use the shield for charms and any protection gained from having it on my back.

Attached is an image of my "Way of the Warrior" skills for my warrior which is in the Wastelands at level 27. The red dashes indicate where I have put points. It would look very different if my primary weapon was a bow or if I was a mage. As you can see I failed to put any points in Shield Expertise but invested heavily in the skills under "Path of the Warrior's Lore" which seemed to help my character greatly.

Hope this helps . . . . =)

He is right - it works but there is no separate animation or sound...it's just a chance to add extra damage to your attack if you're wearing a shield.

Two handed weapons can be quite powerful, but they are slower. I have high regard for one handed weapon + shield. The Dragon Shield plus Nobleman's Sword or Sword of the Gods, for example, can be a powerful setup. As there are no magic staves or wands for mages, this is also an excellent way to go for magic users.