I've been trying to enjoy pvp for a long time first i thought it was an skill issue which could be half the problem but when i'm against tanky classes with grabs and lots of protection i can't do anything. if i want to stun them and do some damage i can't due to them having a shield, if i want to tank the damage and deal some to  them i die instantly or i get thrown or grabbed and die. if i even get grabbed once i'm dead no matter what and all of this is in aos so no gear difference. if you look at the ranks now, you won't find  lot of dk maybe one or two and i don't know why this class is being ignored it needs a buff to be playable. i atleast should be able to get in do my fast burst high damage and kill one of three then get out but unless they're a class without a lot of protection an damage and hp i can't do anything.

Why are you trying to tank damage on a DRK though...? Which shield classes are you specifically having trouble with? All of them? A specific one? Why and what are they doing specifically that is giving you so much trouble? I guarantee you there is a way to exploit each one. Given that it is harder or easier depending on the class and who you are fighting. PA, for better or worse, has made a pretty diverse set of classes. Though they may fill similar goals, the way they go about it is slightly different. Unfortunately this makes it difficult to balance but also means you can't just use the same cookie cutter strategy against all of them. Some classes might prefer you play aggro cause they have an easier time punishing you then catching and vice versa.

Valk and Warrior combo string have a whole segment that is just FG. Shut it down by blinking behind them...

Succ Nova's tend to turtle quite a bit but they have pretty poor chase potential.

Awk Guardian have wide animations and a number of iframes, however they are not at all fast...

Pretty sure any of those classes are decently exposed if they go aggro. You can't just approach each class with the same strategy...it really sounds like you are just throwing skills at them without any regard. 

What are you looking for? An obvious button to press that somehow negates their mitigation? More damage to faceroll these classes and negate their main form of defense?? 

Would it then be fair if these classes had a skill that disabled your iframes instead? Cause that is the equivalent here. They sit in block, you rotate iframes. This is two sides of the same coin. 

I think there is a wider issue in general, rather than what you're describing.

DK (mostly awakening) in aos is honestly in a better spot than previously, since there is a lot of damage in aos now, DK is one of those that benefits a lot from this.

The real issue is in uncapped content, DK is heavily reliant on at least 2 other specific team members to perform at the most basic level, she is incapable of making meaningful plays by herself, you just have to get used to this fact and play around your team more.

First of all is a class capable of distributing out ccs, the current issue with DK is that she sucks at ccing people with a pair of hands and eyes, she needs someone to put people on floor for her, to which she shines the best, throwing out the burst damage and applying pressure.

The second is a shai, but this is a universal truth, she is not a healthy class in the game, it is a mandatory pick needed for any and all group content.

As for shield classes, they are not your top priority targets anyways, they are someone elses problem, just kill their friends instead :D

so you're saying that there are no balancing problems with dk? then why there are only two or three dks in top 100 aos ranks in eu? and the top 100 is filed with berserkers,drakanias and novas? yes you're right dk might be able to get past their defenses for a second but the damage isn't high enough to do anything after you hit them the'll just heal it off. about the obvious botton you mentioned, beserker has his spinning he spins to the ends of the world and you can't cc him. i understand where you're coming from and i might be bad at the game but there are several reasons showing that dk is suffering a lot and can only do well when matching up with squishy calsses.

yes i agree with you i play succ and it's the same i always see classes like ninja,sage,guardian,sorceress .etc do so much when they're the only class alive but whenever me or another dk is the only one left all we could do is deal a little damage,run,get cced and die but when we get good teammates with a lot of cc then that glass cannon damage comes in but other than that you can't do much with dk other than chip off a little bit of hp. and regarding your last phrase, so many games i've been faced with something like a guardian, nova, berserker in the same team and when this happens all i can do is give up.