You ARE right. Shields are bad in some levels, especially when they're easy to get. BUT! If you made them take coins (Like say..40) then it adds exitement. Now, so far I've just repeated what msot people are saying, but alot shorter. BUT now for my idea. You make a level. Then you make a coin warp, and add coins around your level. Then you make the coin warp take you into a tube, when then makes you hit a ceiling spring (Thats floating in the air) and has a shield a few tiles below, which is ontop of a warp (Because of gravity). Then this will make you pay 40 (Or whatever) coins to get 15 (I think) seconds of shield. Because the spring forces you to buttstomp the shield, which I'm pretty sure gives you 15, or 25 seconds. That can cut down ALOT of the cheapness. Now that is the way you use a shield! There are probably some other ways too, but I think this would work the BEST! So if someone put this into DW, or Battle1, then it wouldn't be so terrible! (For duels, MAYBE!) Now I have said what should have been said, and I'm surprised most experienced level makers haven't said this already, and oh look. I'm getting carriedaway and writing a big thing! So I'll stop now......