Elden Ring: 6 Best Medium Shields [750+ Hours Experience]

Here's my list of the best medium shields in Elden Ring, known for solid defense, manageable weight & enhancement with Ashes of War.

Some of the best Shields in Elden Ring under the Medium-sized category offer a good balance between weight and defense. They’re not as heavy as large shields but still, provide solid protection. While they can’t parry as well as small shields, they have a decent guard and can be improved with Ashes of War. This boosts their ability to reduce damage and improve their special skills. Depending on your style of play and your needs in different fights, you can choose the best medium shield for you.

Key Takeaways
  • Elden Ring offers 27 different medium shields to choose from.
  • Medium Shields in Elden Ring offer substantial protection and are lighter in weight compared to other types of shields.
  • While not as strong at parrying as Small Shields, Medium Shields can be significantly improved using the best Ashes of War in Elden Ring.
  • Ashes of War enhance the ability of these shields to reduce damage while guarding, as well as their respective abilities.
  • Some Medium Shields can block 100% physical damage, making them highly effective in combat situations.
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My Picks For The Best Medium-Sized Shields In Elden Ring

Shields are vital defensive equipment and the medium shields are the best of both worlds when it comes to having the strengths and weaknesses of Small & Large sized shields.

Here is an overview of all the best medium shields in Elden Ring showcased alongside the physical and elemental defensive stats:

Serial NumberMedium Shield NameBest ForPhysical GuardMagical GuardFire GuardLightning GuardHoly GuardBoost Guard
1Brass ShieldThe Highest Guard Boost In Medium Shields1005559395456
2Great Turtle ShellThe Best Stamina-Regen Shield In Elden Ring874439434649
3Inverted Hawk HeaterThe Best Defense-To-Weight Ratio In Medium Shields1004949344950
4Blue Gold Kite ShieldThe Best Early-Game Medium Shield1004753354553
5Carian Knight’s ShieldThe Best Early-Game Shield For Magic Defense.1007128195449
6Banished Knight’s ShieldThe Best Looking Medium Shield1004957314855

1. Brass Shield

The Highest Guard Boost In Medium Shields.
Brass Shield
Attack StatsGuard Stats
Phy 84Phy 100
Mag 0Mag 55
Fire 0Fire 59
Ligt 0Ligt 39
Holy 0Holy 54
Crit 100Boost 56
  • Why I Chose This: The Brass Shield provides substantial guard boost and all-type defenses making it the Best Medium Shield in Elden Ring.
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The Brass Shield stands out as the premier shield choice in Elden Ring, especially for medium shields. Its stylish Heater design complements various armor sets and I’ve used it pretty frequently.

The shield not only provides highest guard boost but is also efficient in using against every single enemy in the game due to its exceptionally high defenses. The only drawback is its low drop rate and high weight. Ashes of War can further enhance its capabilities through upgrades.

If you are having trouble farming this shield, you can always go for Jellyfish Shield which is easy to obtain and provides almost the same result.

  • Excellent guard boost and can use parry skills like Golden parry.
  • Best all-around defenses in medium shields.
  • Small efficiency problems due to higher weight.
  • Needs tedious farming and has extremely low drop rate.

2. Great Turtle Shell

The Best Stamina-Regen Shield In Elden Ring.
Great Turtle Shell
AttackGuard
Phy 81Phy 87
Mag 0Mag 44
Fire 0Fire 39
Ligt 0Ligt 43
Holy 0Holy 46
Crit 100Boost 49
ScalingStr D
RequiresStr 14
  • Why I Chose This: The Great Turtle Shell is the best shield for low End biulds due to its passive stamina-regen while also bieng good defensively.
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The Great Turtle Shell, a medium shield resembling a tortoise shell, offers high protection with low weight that makes it easily slotable in low Endurance builds. Additionally, my reason for recommending it is the nice stamina regen passive, which remains active even after dual wielding the right/left armament.

Through the use of Ashes of War, you can enhance the Great Turtle Shell’s capabilities. It also possesses the Barricade Shield special ability, which significantly improves its blocking effectiveness for a brief duration.

  • Helpful in guarding strong blows with innate skill Barricade Shield.
  • Regenerates stamina passively even when two-handing weapon.
  • The stamina regen though valuable, is low in quantity.
  • Comparatively low Physical defenses.

3. Inverted Hawk Heater

The Best Defense-To-Weight Ratio In Medium Shields.
Inverted Hawk Heater
AttackGuard
Phy 77Phy 100
Mag 0Mag 49
Fire 0Fire 49
Ligt 0Ligt 34
Holy 0Holy 49
Crit 100Boost 50
  • Why I Chose This: Inverted Hawk Heater Shield provides the most balanced negations for it’s wieght making it a worthy pick.
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The Inverted Hawk Heater shield is considered the best-looking medium shield in Elden Ring, featuring a striking red and black design. This shield provides high defenses with considerably low weight, efficient throughout many mid-to-late game scenarios where a shield with high elemental as well as physical negations is necessary. 

With a Guard Boost slightly higher than the Turtle Shell, it excels in defense. The Inverted Black Hawk shield offers the Parry Weapon Ability and can be upgraded using Ashes of War. It pairs well with armor featuring red accents. If your strategy relies on parrying, I’d say this is the top choice for a medium shield in Elden Ring.

  • The parry skill provided can be changed.
  • Substantial defenses and guard boost for its weight.
  • Outclassed by Brass shield overall except the weight.
  • No passive boost and lower Lightning dmg reduction.

4. Blue Gold Kite Shield

The Best Early-Game Medium Shield.
Blue Gold Kite Shield
AttackGuard
Phy 80Phy 100
Mag 0Mag 47
Fire 0Fire 53
Ligt 0Ligt 35
Holy 0Holy 45
Crit 100Boost 53
  • Why I Chose This: Blue Gold Kite Shield remains your best defensive shield throughout early game if you can afford it’s wieght.
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The Blue Gold Kite Shield, resembling a heater shield despite its name, suits Aired Tree Knight-type characters in Elden Ring. You can get your hands on it pretty early and it stays relevant throughout early-game. This shield can be infused with Ash of War to increase its efficiency. With its parry skill, low weight and good defenses, I believe it’s an ideal medium-sized shield.

With the same parry skill, slightly low weight, and better Holy defense, you can opt for the Scorpion Kite Shield.

  • Pretty light-weight and can be acquired fairly early.
  • Great weight-to-defenses and guard boost ratio.
  • Has comparatively lower Lightning defenses.
  • Slightly higher weight than other medium shields.

5. Carian Knight’s Shield

The Best Early-Game Shield For Magic Defense.
Carian Knight’s Shield
AttackGuard
Phy 63Phy 100
Mag63Mag 71
Fire 0Fire 28
Ligt 0Ligt 19
Holy 0Holy 54
Crit 100Boost 49
  • Why I Chose This: Carian Knight’s Shield is your ideal option for magic-defense and can be obtain earlier in the game.
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The Carian Knight’s Shield is one of Elden Ring’s finest-looking and most effective Medium Shields. It provides efficient protection against Physical and Magic attacks. Along with a high Guard Boost, effective Damage Negations, and conserving stamina when blocking, I consider it the best magic-defense option in early-game.

The shield can be obtained by defeating The Carian Knight at Raya Lucaria Academy. You can further improve it using Ashes of War, which I suggest you do, particularly to enhance its Guard Boost.

  • At maximum level, provides a high upgrade to guard boost (~61).
  • Fairly good Physical and Magic dmg protection.
  • Has very low Lightning dmg negation (19).
  • Carian Knight is difficult to beat at beginner level.

6. Banished Knight’s Shield

The Best Looking Medium Shield.
Banished Knight’s Shield
AttackGuard
Phy 81Phy 100
Mag 0Mag 49
Fire 0Fire 57
Ligt 0Ligt 31
Holy 0Holy 48
Crit 100Boost 55
  • Why I Chose This: Banished Knight Shield has the second best defenses in medium shields, is lighter than Brass Shield and is pretty good looking.
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Banished Knight is just another piece of gear and one of the best medium shield in Elden Ring. Plus, I think the shield looks really cool and suits with a lot of armor, hence, appearance-wise definitely an excellent-looking shield. It is impressive not only for the looks but also boasts high defenses all-around. But, comes with the demerit of high weight. 

Moreover, it has a high Guard Boost which either starts off with no skill or the Parry skill and can be upgraded using Ashes of War, so either way you can put whatever you want on it and make it the shield that suits your playstyle the best.

  • Grants good Physical and Fire defenses.
  • Second highest guard boost in medium shields (68).
  • Low Lightning and Holy defenses.
  • Obtained after farming certain enemies.

Alternative Shields

Here are some other best medium shields in Elden Ring that I did not include in the guide because of personal preferences, but they are worth mentioning.

  • Spiralhorn Shield: A good shield if you are looking to deal blood loss to an enemy while having decent defense.
  • Inverted Hawk-Heater Shield: Useful shield if you are looking for dodging and blocking with low strength requirement.
  • Blue-Gold Kite Shield: This shield is good for reducing the damage taken, and it is easier to acquire.

What Are Medium Shields In Elden Ring?

Medium Shields are a type of shield that offers guards from substantial damage and are relatively lighter in weight as compared to other types of shields. Although they are weaker at parrying than Small Shields, most of these Medium Shields can be modified with Ashes of War, which enhances their ability to reduce damage while guarding and their respective abilities.

My Experience On Using Medium Shields

Many veterans frown upon the use of shields, but even with my experience in Elden Ring, I like keeping a shield around, just in case. Medium shields have always been my go-to shields because they do not weigh too much and offer ample protection.

hammad ijaz elden ring save slot
My Elden Ring playtime on Steam (Steam ID: Future_Bird)

I’ve personally ended one of my playthroughs of Elden Ring with the Carian Knight’s Shield, as it is one of my favorite shields due to it barely weighing anything and offering 100% protection against physical damage and fantastic protection against Magic and Holy damage.

By now, I believe that my guide has given you ample information regarding Elden Ring’s Medium Shields in terms of their Blocking Stat, Compatibility with Ashes of War, and weight, so you can decide the best Elden Ring Medium Shield according to your needs.

In conclusion, medium shields in Elden Ring are a great choice for their balance of weight and protection. They are strong and can be improved with Ashes of War. These shields can help you in many battles, even blocking all physical damage in some cases. The best shield for you depends on your play style and the fights you face. So, picking the right medium shield can really help you succeed in the Elden Ring.

While you’re at it, I highly suggest that you go through Elden Ring: BEST Dual-Wield Weapons, BEST Prisoner Build, BEST Curved Swords, and How To Play Elden Ring GeoGuessr guides and learn more about the game.

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Hammad Ijaz is a Guides Writer on eXputer who is into various gaming genres. He has this pure passion for enjoying games and then reflecting that passion back into his writing. Along with a gaming experience of 10+ years, he also has many years of writing experience. Hammad further solidifies his status as a true gamer by showcasing hundreds of hours of game time on Warframe, Witcher 3, and Elden Ring. Feel free to explore his extensive gaming library on Steam.

Experience: 3+ Years || Education: Bachelors in Computer Sciences.

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