Summary
The best offense is a good defense. The saying is a cliché for a reason and inElden Ringit can be true if players wield theright shieldagainst the right enemies. Shields inElden Ringprovide a percentage of negation to damage of different types. Some of them also have passive effects that can make or break interesting builds across all areas of the game.
However, there are a number of shields that are not up to the task of defending the players. These examples are shields that are the least effective, which players should avoid going out of their way to obtain.
1Perfumer’s Shield
Small Shield With Parry Skill
The Perfumer’s Shield has a low chance of dropping from the enemies around thePerfumer’s GrottoSite of Grace. Players may have to farm these enemies with repeated run-throughs of the area to collect the shield and when it is claimed it can be underwhelming, to say the least.
With a low percentage of negation for every type of damage, and a painfully low Lightning damage negation - owing to the shield being made of metal. It gives a passive bonus to the immunity stat, but given how low the increase is and how rarely that stat is tested it doesn’t make up for the painful slog of acquiring the shield.
2Pillory Shield
Small Shield With No Skill
The Pillory Shield is the heaviest small shield in the entire game. This means players will beslower when rolling and moving, and will have to dedicate valuable skill points to increase their carrying capacity if they want to offset this. The shield has relatively low damage negation despite its weight, other than holy and light damage. Even these resistances can be easily bested by other shields.
If players do increase their weight limit to wield the Pillory Shield, they would be better suited to choose a larger shield type to get more resistances and a greater guard boost. Finding the shield is a waste of resources, as it requires using two Stonesword Keys to access the item in theGaol Cave.
3Hawk Crest Wooden Shield
Medium Shield With Parry Skill
The shields that most players will gravitate toward will have powerful passive attacks, but the Hawk Crest Wooden Shield has nothing going for it other than its poor damage reduction stats. Another wooden shield, it has an unfortunate Fire reduction percentage that puts it below most other medium shields.
If this shield had a strong passive, or at least one area of defense that it mastered, it may be worth collecting but as it stands, players will have to spenda Stonesword Keyin Stormveil Castle outside of the Grafted Scion fight to get it. This makes it an easy shield to pass up, and something that no savvy player will be using in the late game.
4Shield Of The Guilty
Small Shield With Shield Bash Skill
The Shield of the Guilty has two very powerful passive effects that, on a better shield, would be outstandingly effective. The shield has some of the lowest damage negation numbers of all of the shields. While it is small, the low resistance to Magic, Fire, and Lightning sets it below the other shields in this category.
The passives, an increase in focus, anda small increase in bleedwhen shield bashing are helpful but not enough to make it worth collecting. Players will have to search in the cellar of the Demi-Human Ruins in the Weeping Peninsula and the shield is well-hidden, making it frustratingly underwhelming when fans eventually get their hands on the protection.
5Lordsworn’s Shield
Greatshield With Shield Bash Skill
Most of the Greatshields in the game deliver either exceptional amounts of damage negation, or a passive that makes the shield a worthy use of such an unwieldy armament. The Lordsworn’s Shield, though, has relatively low defenses against all special damage types, especially its confusingly low 44% Fire negation.
When pitted against other Greatshields, it would benefit from a passive effect, or from a 100% Physical negation, which someother Greatshields utilize beautifully. The absence of the bonuses that would make the shield worthwhile makes it an easy tool to skip, particularly due to the prospect of having to farm Godrick Soldiers across the map to acquire the questionable defense.
6Man-Serpent’s Shield
A rare drop from the Man-Serpents who wield them inVolcano Manor, the Man-Serpent’s Shield might need to be farmed if players want to ever acquire it. Despite its low drop chance, the shield is very middling when compared with other small shields in almost every way.
The metal shield suffers from a poor Lightning damage negation stat andisn’t particularly effective against Holy damage either. With no unique abilities or passives that would make it a feasible choice when compared to other shields other than a slightly above average Fire damage negation stat, the shield is not worth the often tedious farming experience.
