[Zero Niner]

I'm in Act V and took the neutral path.
When I fight Order swordsman I often find I cannot hit them probably because of the shield they carry. It's not a big deal but I find it very annoying to swing away and not being able to hit them.
In the end I Igni'd them to death.
How should one fight against such soldiers? Is there any way or style I can use to bypass the shield, or make them drop it?

[Owen Bishop]

Forget Group style when combating these for a start. Normally the Strong style is perfectly capable of handling knights, unless you're surrounded by them and getting hit constantly.
Drop a bomb or two to even the odds up - Samum is particularly useful in knocking out the tougher opponents first.  Beyond that, I'd look at your skill trees.  You may be lacking in your swordwork - especially if you've invested in Igni enough to do your dirty work for you (and your level is not high enough to have other skills).  Lets face it, you aren't much of a Wolf-clan witcher if you can't even wield a butter-knife fluidly.  Igni is truly a second-nature combat skill, not a primary one.
You can try Aarding them too.  That may make them drop weapons (and perhaps shields) if you're lucky.

PS: Please add the [Act V] prefix on the front of your thread's subject title.

[Zero Niner]

Thanks for the tips. I admit I've not used bombs very much as the sword & signs are normally more than enough for me to overcome enemies and monsters.
I've actually invested most in character skills (str, stamina, etc) then sword skills and finally selected signs (Igni, Aard, and the protective shield thingy) in that order. All my sword skills are at least level 4; group style for silver & steel at 5. I plan to  bring them all up to 5 eventually as I level up.

[Petra_Silie]

Fighting style "Strong steel" has "dislodge shield" on level 4. The small axe has the critical effect "dislogde shield" as well but you can't apply the witcher fighting styles on this weapon.
"blinding" may be useful as well (available through dex and fast steel and Zerrikanian Sun), it interrupts the opponent's action and they are susceptible to your attacks.

Of course fire and all stun/knockdown effects are useful as well

Fighting style "Fast steel" has "disarm" on level 4, Aard has "disarm" as well… though I don't think it solves your problem.

[Zero Niner]

Thanks for your reply. It's not really a problem, more of a nuisance. I'll put in some talents into these areas at my next level up.