What do you guys think the shield spell will be like? How will it shield you? Personally, I'd like 3 variations of it. The first would be like shield in oblivion, and increase your armour rating. The second could be cast and create a brief barrier, as though you were holding an actual shield and blocked with it. The third will work like the second variation, except against magic.

What do you guys think?

Yeah I agree. I've wanted a "blocking" shield spell. I also want to have the option for the typical shield spell to be sustained.

Well with the different cast method attached to destruction spells, perhaps shield will work in all three ways mentioned.

Like it, but why do you need two different shields for magic and weapons? Can't one shield work for both?

Well, mainly there's a difference because often magic and physical damage are separate in TES, treated as different damage types. It also helps with roleplaying, if you're specializing in combat casting, then you'd use the physical shield, if you're specializing in duels/wizardry then you'd use the magic shield.

However now that I think about it, any caster would probably just switch between shield types depending on how they're getting attacked, so having them separate would become pointless.

Just makes me think of the resist normal weapons and resist magicka spell effects.
Its not really useless, but it may be redundant.

I also think there should be a sustained version that is similar to putting a little half bubble in front of your character. After taking a certain amount of damage it would shatter hwoever you will not be able to do anything with it up. The main strategy in a magic duel is to bubble before impact of an enemies spell. Release your bubble, attack yourself and have to recast it before your attacked. The limit on how much damage it can take before shattering would be for balacing issue in melee. So that way in a magical duel or agaisnt an archer you have some sort of defense as a mage but if a warrior comes up and starts waling on your sheild it will eventuaklly crack and burst.

Jar-Jar like the Gunga shield. Jar-Jar hopes shield spell is like that!