The shield frame is required for the Hardened Steel Shield at lvl 52, however the frame is only unlocked at lvl 60 with the Starmetal Shield. This makes the Hardened Steel Shield uncraftable from lvl 52->60 or untill a shield frame is found in game.
Hi, the new place for CEE bug reports is helpshift, so that the devs can see them more quickly. Contact Us — Conan Exiles Help Center I think this one seems worth reporting as a bug - it’s not exactly, more like a weird decsion that probably wasn’t thought about, but what else can we report it as?
You can loot a star metal shield from Forgotten Tribe or Accursed, perhaps a hardened steel sheild from Nordheimers or Black Corsairs, and throw them into a dismantling bench.