Summary
- Shields are crucial in Elden Ring for defense and offense, rewarding strategic gameplay and protecting the Tarnished in battles.
- Unique Ash of War abilities accompany shields, providing special attacks that deal damage and create opportunities for players.
- Different shields like the Golden Lion, Smithscript, Shield of Night, and Verdigris Greatshield offer various strengths and playstyles.
FromSoftware's particular brand of grueling third-person RPG has always placed an emphasis on strategic combat, where patience is encouraged and learning the enemy's patterns is rewarded. An essential part of this formula is the use of shields either for general protection by blocking attacks, or pulling off a parry to put the opponent in a vulnerable state.
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Throughout the Souls series and its off-shoots - except for Bloodborne, which actually makes fun of defensive players - blocking and countering are a vital part of the hero's toolkit and a viable way to bring down bosses. Elden Ring carries on this tradition, and the Shadow of the Erdtree DLC adds even more ways for the Tarnished to protect themselves - as well as few surprising ways to dish out damage at the same time.
5 Golden Lion Shield
Good Defenses With A Unique Ash Of War
- Upgrades to +10 and requires 12 Strength.
- Obtained from Redmane Freyja at the Shadow Keep.
Gladiators of the Lands Between rejoice, your build is now complete courtesy of the Golden Lion Shield. With its intricate design and subtle color, this medium shield certainly looks intimidating, making it the perfect complement for Tarnished who want to show off. And its stats aren't bad either - 100 physical absorption is always welcome, while elemental defensive properties all hover around the 41 to 49 mark. A respectable spread, though its weight of 5.5 might tip some players over the 70% weight threshold.
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Where this elaborate slab of protective metal differs though is its unique Ash of War, Roaring Bash. The Tarnished lets out a defiant bellow and charges forth, dealing damage while defending at the same time and staggering enemies in a wide arc. It's an impressive way to let opponents know what they're in for. The Golden Lion Shield can be obtained from Redmane Freyja at the Shadow Keep as a reward for delivering Ansbach's letter.
4 Smithscript Shield
Launch At Enemies to Deal Damage At Range
- Upgrades to +25 and requires 10 Strength, 15 Dexterity, and 11 Intelligence and Faith.
- Found in Taylew's Ruined Forge.
Capping off the new subcategory of magical throwing weapons, the Smithscript Shield offers a defensive option with the same utility as its pointier and smashier counterparts. As a small shield, its protective stats aren't anything to get excited about, with a maximum of just 74 physical absorption. But the real fun begins when players use the Ash of War, Discus Hurl, and immediately become the Land of Shadow's answer to Captain America by throwing it at anything dumb enough to get in the way.
It deals a respectable amount of damage, and is a great way to catch an opponent off guard. And since it only needs 10 Strength, 15 Dexterity, and 11 Intelligence and Faith, it's something most builds can keep in their back pocket. The Tarnished can find the Smithscript Shield north of the Ancient Ruins Base at Taylew's Ruined Forge.
3 Shield of Night
Returns Ranged Attacks As Magic Damage
- Upgrades to +10 and requires 8 Strength and 15 Dexterity.
- Found in Bonny Gaol.
If the Tarnished finds themselves really resonating with the Land of Shadows, they might find the Shield of Night the perfect piece of kit. It's a small shield with a paltry 55 physical absorption, but cunning players won't see that as a disadvantage. That's because its high magical absorption of 70 coupled with its unique Ash of War make this shield a surprisingly effective foil to ranged attacks of all varieties.
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Revenge of the Night absorbs projectiles and returns a devastating blast that scales with the Dexterity stat. It works in the same way as a regular Guard Counter, but deals immediate magic damage at range. And since it only requires 8 Strength and 15 Dexterity to wield, it's a tool almost every player can add to their arsenal. The Shield of Night can be found on the top level of the Bonny Gaol.
2 Verdigris Greatshield
Boasts The Highest Guard Boost And A Magical Charge Attack
- Upgrades to +10 and requires 49 Strength.
- Obtained by defeating Moore as an invader at the Church of the Crusade.
For those Herculean Tarnished looking for a real shield, look no further than this monstrous slab of metal. Like all greatshields, the Verdigris Greatshield boasts high defensive stats across the board - which is perfect for weathering all types of incoming damage. The trade-off, however, is its high Strength requirement of 49, as well as its tremendous weight of 28.
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On the plus side, it also has the highest Guard Boost of any shield in the entire game when it's fully upgraded, meaning it consumes less stamina per hit while blocking. And it just so happens to be 1 point lighter than the Fingerprint Shield, which has been a staple of beefy builds since the launch of the base game. The Verdigris Greatshield has a unique Ash of War too in Moore's Charge. This bash attack ends in a magically-imbued shove that knocks back enemies. The Verdigris Greatshield is a reward for defeating the NPC invader Moore at the Church of the Crusade in Scadu Altus.
1 Thrusting Shields
Attack And Defend At The Same Time
- Both shields upgrade to +25 and can be infused or buffed.
- Both can be found in the Shadow Keep Legacy Dungeon.
A brand-new weapon category for Elden Ring introduced with Shadow of the Erdtree, thrusting shields are the ultimate combination of offense and defense. The Dueling Shield and the Carian Thrusting Shield make up the entire category alone, and offer the Tarnished a unique way to deal damage while staying safe from harm. The downside is that this tactic demolishes stamina very quickly, so a high Endurance build is recommended to make the most of their unique play-style.
For the purposes of infusions and buffing, the 2 thrusting shields are considered weapons by the game. That means players can slap whatever elemental damage they like on them, including status effects like bleed, poison and frostbite for some nasty build potential. Both the Dueling Shield and the Carian Thrusting Shield can be found in the Shadow Keep Legacy Dungeon.
- Released
- June 21, 2024
- ESRB
- M For Mature 17+ Due To Blood and Gore, Language, Suggestive Themes, Violence
- Base Game
- Elden Ring
- Developer(s)
- FromSoftware
- Publisher(s)
- Bandai Namco Entertainment, FromSoftware
- Multiplayer
- Online Co-Op, Online Multiplayer
- Engine
- Proprietary
WHERE TO PLAY
Shadow of the Erdtree is the first and only DLC expansion for FromSoftware's groundbreaking Elden Ring. It takes players to a whole new region, the Land of Shadow, where a new story awaits the Tarnished.
- Platform(s)
- PC, PS4, PS5, Xbox One, Xbox Series X, Xbox Series S
