It's a bit hard to grasp from his posts, but Moonblaze actually means shields aren't that bad if they are hard to get.

Imagine a ctf level. It has a fire shield which you can get by collecting 40 coins. This can add excitement, as everyone is trying to collect the coins, as getting the shield could help you with your victory a lot. It's not like everyone is running around in shields then, screaming "I AM INVINCABLEE!!!!!!!!!@#(?!#&(!@!!!!!".

When shields are placed well they might just add something to the gameplay instead.