900 Hours In: Elden Ring Best Shields & How To Get

Here are my best shields in Elden Ring for builds of every type.

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December 24, 2023

Elden Ring has a wide variety of arsenal ranging from some of the best weapons, spells, and incantations to small, medium, and large-sized shields that lowly tarnished can equip. Even if you’re wearing a low-resistance armor set, a shield will pretty much do the trick to save up your breath, all the while shielding yourself from incoming attacks. With that said, today, I present to you the best shields in the Elden Ring.

Why Trust Us: Daniyal Malik has spent over 900 hours in Elden Ring, which makes him a trusted source for information regarding the best shields.

Key Takeaways

The main purpose of shields In Elden Ring is to guard you from enemy attacks. They can be additionally used for bashing, parrying, and even attacking.
There are three types of shields: small, medium, and large. Their ability to deflect attacks depends on their size.

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My Top Picks For Best Elden Ring Shields

Here are the Best Elden Ring Shields that I suggest, all compared to each other:

Shield Name	Best For	Physical	Magical	Fire	Light	Holy	Boost
Iron Shield	The Highest Physical Guard In Small Shields	71.0	38.0	38.0	16.0	38.0	40.0
Rift Shield	The Best Starter Small Shield For Focus	71.0	38.0	38.0	16.0	38.0	40.0
Man Serpent Shield	The Lightest No-Skill Small Shield	65.0	30.0	45.0	15.0	30.0	32.0
Blue-White Wooden Shield	The Greatest Defense-To-Weight Ratio In Small Shields	63.0	42.0	33.0	19.0	38.0	35.0
Perfumers Shield	The Best Small Shield For Parrying And Immunity	61.0	33.0	33.0	14.0	33.0	30.0
Great Turtle Shield	The Best Stamina-Regen Shield In Elden Ring	100.0	44.0	39.0	43.0	46.0	48.0
Scorpion Kite Shield	The Best Light-Weight Medium Shield For Parry	100.0	45.0	46.0	33.0	50.0	47.0
Carian Knight Shield	The Best Early Shield For Magic Defense	100.0	58.0	28.0	19.0	54.0	47.0
Shield Of The Guilty	The Highest Bloodloss In Small Shields	62.0	35.0	35.0	30.0	35.0	29.0
Black Leather Shield	The Most Visually Stunning Medium Shield	79.0	45.0	31.0	46.0	47.0	37.0

1. Iron Shield

The Highest Physical Guard In Small Shields.

Stat	Physical	Magic	Fire	Light	Holy	Crit	Boost
Attack	74	0	0	0	0	100	0
Guard	80	42	42	18	42	0	41

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The Iron Shield in Elden Ring scales with Strength and offers solid protection without impeding mobility. It requires a minimum Strength of 8, can be buffed with Ashes of War, and is accessible through the Bloody Wolf Class or from the Nomadic Merchant in the Coastal Cave’s southeast side for 900 Runes.

Is a starter item, so very easy to obtain.
Blank skill slot allows the usage of any skill, like parry.

Offers very little protective effect, especially against lightning.
You can find parry-specific small shields later in the game.

2. Rift Shield

The Best Starter Small Shield For Focus.

Stat	Physical	Magic	Fire	Light	Holy	Crit	Boost
Attack	70	0	0	0	0	100	0
Guard	76	33	37	18	37	0	38

The Rift Shield, though small compared to others, excels in parrying due to its strength scaling. Being a player who prefers timely parries over blocking, I’ve frequently used this shield. Ideal for agile builds, it enhances traversal and style in fights.

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Designed with a sinister rift appearance, it boosts focus and intimidates foes. Featuring the parry skill, you can infuse it with magic or Ashes of War for a combat advantage.

To acquire it, select the prisoner class, or buy it for 1800 Runes from the Nomadic Merchant in Liurnia of the Lakes if you chose a different class.

Easy to obtain as it’s a starting equipment.
Has a very low weight requirement and provides a passive Focus buff.

Has a very low guard boost value (38).
Is outclassed by other small shields in terms of defensive stats.

3. Man Serpent Shield

The Lightest No-Skill Small Shield.

Stat	Physical	Magic	Fire	Light	Holy	Crit	Boost
Attack	70	0	0	0	0	100	0
Guard	75	35	48	18	33	0	39

The Man Serpent Shield is lightweight and scales with strength, requiring a minimum strength of 8. It suits agile playstyles and offers good fire resistance due to being tempered in lava.

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This round copper dome shield, once carried by Mount Gelmir’s man-serpents, lacks unique skills and I prefer it for a swifter approach. You can improve it with Ashes of War and bolster it with magic or consumables if needed.

To obtain it, you’ll need to farm Man-Serpents near Volcano Manor’s starting point, as it’s a relatively rare drop.

If you don’t have access to Man Serpent Shield, I suggest using the Guilded Iron Shield. It has slightly higher physical defense, parry skill, and higher holy damage absorption.

Modifiable Ashes of War provides customizability.
Provides ample protection against fire-type damage.

Guard boost value is pretty low (39).
Difficult to obtain as it needs to be farmed.

4. Blue-White Wooden Shield

The Greatest Defense-To-Weight Ratio In Small Shields.

Stat	Physical	Magic	Fire	Light	Holy	Crit	Boost
Attack	72	0	0	0	0	100	0
Guard	73	45	35	22	52	0	39

The Blue-White Wooden Shield has a regal appearance with blue accents and is a small, lightweight shield requiring decent strength. Its manageable size is useful for agile classes with limited inventory space. I frequently used it in my first playthrough, and recommend new players to do so, too. Reinforced with metal, it’s user-friendly for beginners but offers less damage mitigation than metal shields.

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You can easily find it scattered around buildings on the way to Raya Lucaria Academy.

In place of Blue-White Wooden Shield, you can also use Ice Crest Shield. It has similar strength requirement but slightly higher physical resistance and guard boost at the cost of 1 additional weight.

Can be affixed with useful skills like Shield Bash or Parry.
Easily equippable in any build thanks to low Str Requirement.

Has comparatively weaker defensive stats.
No passive stat-boosting skill.

5. Perfumers Shield

The Best Small Shield For Parrying And Immunity.

Stat	Physical	Magic	Fire	Light	Holy	Crit	Boost
Attack	67	0	0	0	0	100	0
Guard	66	35	35	16	35	0	37

The Perfumer’s Shield in Elden Ring boasts a stunning appearance with its golden shimmer and royal engravings. It requires some strength but is designed with lightweight materials, allowing you to wield it effectively even if you are low on strength. Originally used by Leyndell perfumers during their military service, it prioritizes agility over defense.

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In my playthrough, I opted to use it as I like to parry frequently. Thus, I believe it’s ideal for fast-moving and agile character classes.

Has almost negligible weight requirement (1.5).
Provides a passive boost to Immunity.

Extremely low physical reduction (66).
Very low drop rate; can only be farmed.

6. Great Turtle Shell

The Best Stamina-Regen Shield In Elden Ring.

Stat	Physical	Magic	Fire	Light	Holy	Crit	Boost
Attack	81	0	0	0	0	100	0
Guard	87	44	39	43	46	0	49

The Great Turtle Shell resembles a turtle’s back and demands significant strength to wield in Elden Ring. I found that it provides excellent balance between protection and weight, making it effective against swift, high-damage foes. However, it’s not as lightweight as a small shield, which hinders parrying.

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To find the Great Turtle Shell, you have to navigate through the Weeping Peninsula from the Castle Morne Rampart Site of Grace. Head east from the Spirit spring using the Torrent to reach the tower section of the ramparts. You’ll discover the shield on a corpse atop the tower.

The passive stamina regen works even when two-handing weapon.
Innate skill Barricade Shield can be useful against strong blows.

Has low physical reduction for a medium shield.
The stamina regen is valuable, but low in quantity.

7. Scorpion Kite Shield

The Best Light-Weight Medium Shield For Parry.

Stat	Physical	Magic	Fire	Light	Holy	Crit	Boost
Attack	78	0	0	0	0	100	0
Guard	100	45	46	33	50	0	52

The Scorpion Kite Shield displays a golden Scorpion symbol, intimidating foes. It’s larger than a typical small shield, requiring additional strength.

This shield balances weight and defense well, but it hampers mobility. It excels at reducing damage and blocking attacks. Known for its sturdiness, the metal shield features a yellow scorpion on its front, inspiring fear in enemies. It includes the parry skill for deflecting and staggering foes, which I found to be pretty helpful. You can enhance this sheild with Ashes of War, magic, or consumables.

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To acquire the Scorpion Kite Shield, you should visit the Nomadic Merchant, who sells it for 2000 runes near the Forest-Spanning Greatbridge ruins. Invest your runes wisely to fortify your Elden Ring build with one of the best shields available.

Has a full physical defense and solid guard boost (52).
Low weight requirement and customizable skill.

Obtained in a mid-game area, by which you have other options.
Has comparatively lower light dmg reduction and no passive.

8. Carian Knight Shield

The Best Early Shield For Magic Defense.

Stat	Physical	Magic	Fire	Light	Holy	Crit	Boost
Attack	63	63	0	0	0	100	0
Guard	100	71	28	19	54	0	49

Now, Carian Knight shield picks up the ante as it needs not only strength but requires you to have a decent amount of Intelligence and Dexterity under your belt as well. I believe that it offers great protection despite its weight and makes tanking up damage a breeze. On the subject of Int/Dex, read my Dex Build.

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If you want to acquire this beautiful piece of craftsmanship that offers great protection, then you can loot it from the Carian Knight, Moongrum over at Raya Lucaria Academy. But, you have to be prepared in advance to defeat him.

In case you don’t have it, I suggest opting for the Blue-Gold Kite Shield. Although lower magic defence, it has higher guard boost, overall defences, and doesn’t require three stats.

Provides substantial physical and magic dmg reduction.
Gets a high upgrade to guard boost at maximum level (~61).

Carian Knight is a pretty tough nut to crack for beginners.
Has very low lightning dmg negation (19).

9. Shield Of The Guilty

The Highest Bloodloss In Small Shields.

Stat	Physical	Magic	Fire	Light	Holy	Crit	Boost
Attack	75	0	0	0	0	100	0
Guard	68	36	36	31	37	0	33

The Shield of the Guilty features a thorned design with a veiled maiden on the front, symbolizing a maiden’s transformation blinded by the Briars of Sin before rebirth in Elden Ring.

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Despite its light weight, it causes a passive blood loss buildup of 50, which, I believe, is pretty handy. Its signature skill, shield bash, allows you to prepare, ram into foes while guarding, and potentially stagger or push weaker enemies. The shield can be enhanced with Ashes of War, magic, or consumables.

To obtain it, you need to visit the cellar in the Demi-Human forest ruins on the Weeping Peninsula, just before the main building with the Demi-Human Queen mini-boss. You can access the cellar by climbing a wall to reach the stairs.

Provides a passive boost to Focus.
The Shield Bash skill pairs well with its Bleed buildup.

Has very low defensive stats.
Inflicting bleed with a weapon is generally easier than a shield.

10. Black Leather Shield

The Most Visually Stunning Medium Shield.

Stat	Physical	Magic	Fire	Light	Holy	Crit	Boost
Attack	75	0	0	0	0	100	0
Guard	88	45	31	46	47	0	44

The Black Leather Shield, wrapped in black leather with a gold rivet pole star design, which, I found to be pretty attractive and sturdy as well. It’s medium-sized but on the larger side, ideal for blocking and parrying, requiring a strength of 10 to wield. It can offer you excellent protection against fire, damage, light, and holy attacks.

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To obtain the Black Leather Shield, you have to visit Caria Manor. Locate a balcony above the Manor Lower Level Bonfire, accessible by dropping down the cliffs on the southwestern side in the Three Sisters sub-area. There, you’ll meet Pidia, a Carian Servant, who possesses the shield.

If you can afford a little more weight, I suggest going for the Kite Shield. It has higher overall defenses and guard boost, and similar stat requirement.

Has extremely low weight for a medium shield.
Provides a useful passive status resistance like Frostbite when blocking.

Doesn’t have a 100 physical dmg reduction despite being a medium shield.
Caria Manor is a later area, and you might have better alternatives by then.

Other Honorable Mentions

There are several excellent options for the Best Shields in Elden Ring that I did not include in my top 21 list because of different reasons.

Beast Crest Heater Shield: Undoubtedly one of the greatest shields, but it has no set location; you need to farm it.
Marred Leather Shield: A shield that has a high base attack but no skill.
Blue-Gold Kite Shield: Despite reducing damage in the early game, Its limited nimbleness makes it a weaker option than the others.
Fingerprint Stone Shield: A good choice, but it typically consumes more stamina when blocking attacks. High stamina consumption can leave you vulnerable.

My Take On The Best Shields In Elden Ring

After having spent hours upon hours in Elden Ring, trying the many shields it has to offer in a variety of builds, what I came to understand is that there isn’t one best shield, but multiple choices can become the best option depending on the situation.

Generally, I preferred the medium shields, specifically the Brass Shield and the Carian Knight Shield, for their all-around utility and weight-to-protection ratio. I suggest you experiment with all the options available, and decide which suits your builds the best.

There are also tons of armors you can come across in the Lands Between. I’ve got you covered with the best Elden Ring Armors that will boost your stats to a whole other level. If you want to mix things up a bit more, check out my guide on Incantations vs sorceries to find out which spells suit you best.