I don't know if you all knew this but you could swap offhands during a duel... Get the best of both worlds
This is true but usually by the time u switch weapons and switch back u waste time personally i like to use a fast weapon use shatter then switch to a ymir hammer to use double attack and rupture but by switchig weapons i usually waste 1-3 secs.
I'm a fast swapper. It takes some practice but when you get it right, you can be shield walling with an axe out haha
When you swap a lot, you miss a lot of the action since you'll be in your inventory waiting for a swap at times. If I explained, you'd get lost in the middle lol. In the end, you'll take 75% of the original damage you would have taken. And if you're against another warrior with shatter, you can bash after shattered and then time a shield wall. I've done it many times with axe swap in between the two skills and then again after shield wall.
I'm not your average warrior. I come up with and test a lot of things including strategies. You can take my word for what I said and apply it to your own duels and improve. You may not get it right the first few times but if you do, you'll quickly see what I mean.