I'm having this swapping issue other people are reporting and i think i have an idea as to why.

I think it's something to do with the dual wield mod. I've got a bunch of people using dual SMGs and having a sword or the like as a sidearm (sidearm mod of course).
Two of my people are brawlers though, so i've picked out a melee weapon each and told them both to equip shields (forbidden them in the "Anything" outfit for everyone else).
First person runs to get a shield "Orange". Picks up a Scutum. I draft her to see if she gets it out - she doesn't, only her sword.
Tell her to drop it. She automatically finds an Aspis to pickup. Draft her again, not equipped.
I undraft her and she runs over to the Scutum again and begins her loop of picking them both up - even though i force the Aspis and prioritise a job elsewhere, she eventually runs back and continues the loop.
She did previously have two swords, but she got wrecked by gunfire before she could achieve anything and nearly died of blood loss, hence the switch.
I've used the mod before and had no problems. But it's something to do with pawns having dual wielded at some point.
Also, she did grab a shield belt before this (one of the bubble shields) and was stuffing the Scutum and Aspis in her inventory.

I'm also running a ton of mods, but the only one i know i didn't have when it was working was dual wield.
Perhaps something to do with the three mods all running together mucks them up somehow. Dual wield and sidearms works fine as the melee weapon is pulled out and the original mainhand weapon stowed, while keeping the offhand out (which is generally fine).
Although, as i'm writing this i can recall having a pawn who was attacked in melee (who had two guns) and dropped them to pull out a shield and sword. So perhaps it's to do with the options in the mod on when a pawn will drop their weapons.

I have the same bug (using Simple Sidearms with this mod and having my pawns enter an infinite loop of picking up a shield then swapping with another one over and over).

However when I swap them to their melee weapon it works just fine ...
so... maybe its related to how the shield is put away while in "ranged combat mode" that makes the pawn forget it had one, pick up a new one, drop the old one, forget it had one, pick up a new one ... etc ad infinitum ...

just a thought.

EDIT: the pawns with one-handed weapons were fine. its only the ones using a rifle that bugged out for me. the one with an SMG worked just fine...

Any idea how to fix this?
I am running Simple Sidearms and have the same bug, the pawns keep equipping shields in a loop thats really frustrating.

Fix it? nope.

But there is a work-around.
a) do not use shields for anyone using a two-handed weapon
b) permit shields only for ppl with one-handed weapons only (most melee weapons, pistols, smgs)

basically you'll end up with
> melee pawns (shields+melee weapon (blunt) +melee sidearm (sharp) + shield belt)
> short range pawns (shields +pistol/smg +melee sidearm +optionally: smoke pop belt)
> riflemen (no shield +two-handed firearm +any sidearm)
or something along those lines


Note: I use apparel policies to permit/deny shields and the Outfitter mod to have my pawns pick the best gear automagically.

As long as the weapon they've got equipped is one handed it seems to work fine. If you're having issues switch out the weapons they've got to be one handed. I know some of the medieval times swords are two handed when they seem like they would be one handed for example.

it is still annoying that my riflemen (shotguns, bolt-action rifles, ...) have to get a separate policy for apparel that does not include shields or they get stuck with an infinite loop ... -.-'

Especially since I want them to swap to shield+gladius for melee but put both of those away while using their rifles ...

if i have 2 Riot shield,sometime my people will wear one and change other one and change this one...Never stop until it collapses

plz fix it

the only way I found to get around the bug is to make a apparel policy that forbids shields for those ppl that use a two-handed weapon...

not fixed yet?

Has anyone notice this bug on the female pawns? Do find it a bit odd

Let me explain this bug a bit.

When the shield is picked up it checks whether the pawn is currently wielding a one-handed or a two-handed weapon. Should they wield a two-handed one, then the shield is flagged for getting replaced rather than refused to be picked up. Which then has the pawn move to another nearby shield, pick that one up, notice they are still wielding a two-handed weapon, then move to the nearest shield - the one they just dropped - to replace it, check again and ... loop at infinity.

or something along those lines.

Shields are not meant to be used with two-handed weapons and bug out when one attempts to do so anyways.

Hence the best option I found so far is to set up separate apparel policies for those that are meant to use one-handed weapons (permitting shields) and those that are meant to use two-handed weapons (forbidding shields). Then assign those as needed.

I have the same problem.

Originally posted by Raszul:

Let me explain this bug a bit.

When the shield is picked up it checks whether the pawn is currently wielding a one-handed or a two-handed weapon. Should they wield a two-handed one, then the shield is flagged for getting replaced rather than refused to be picked up. Which then has the pawn move to another nearby shield, pick that one up, notice they are still wielding a two-handed weapon, then move to the nearest shield - the one they just dropped - to replace it, check again and ... loop at infinity.

or something along those lines.

Shields are not meant to be used with two-handed weapons and bug out when one attempts to do so anyways.

Hence the best option I found so far is to set up separate apparel policies for those that are meant to use one-handed weapons (permitting shields) and those that are meant to use two-handed weapons (forbidding shields). Then assign those as needed.

I have multiple weapons mod (I think thats how its called) and its still happening.

The mod allows you to have multiple weapons on your pawn. I also have the dual weapons mod which allows them to hold 2 weapons at a time. Its still happening even tho the colonist has a place.

So the constant switching shields is still going on?