Top 21 Elden Ring Best Shields & How To Get

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.

My Top Picks For Best Elden Ring Shields 

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

1. Iron Shield 

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.

2. Rift Shield

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.

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.

3. Man Serpent Shield

4. Blue-White Wooden Shield

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.

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.

5. Perfumers Shield

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.

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.

6. Great Turtle Shell

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.

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.

7. Scorpion Kite Shield

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.

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.

8. Carian Knight Shield

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.

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.

9. Shield Of The Guilty

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.

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.

10. Black Leather Shield

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.

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.

11. Silver Mirror Shield

The Silver Mirror Shield is a stunning piece, resembling a sacred dewdrop and inspired by the rumor of Loretta’s Albinauric origins. Crafted from radiant silver and adorned with Loretta’s amber candle, it provides both physical and magic damage resistance.

This medium-sized shield demands experienced Elden Ring players, requiring Strength, Dexterity, and Intelligence investment which, I think, can be helpful once you reach higher levels. Weighing 3.5 units, it maintains maneuverability while offering balanced protection.

Though lacking special skills or Ashes of War infusion, it excels in battle. You can find it as a treasure in the northern Consecrated Grounds, inside the Apostate Derelict destroyed church. There, you’ll discover the exquisite Silver Mirror Shield.

12. Inverted Hawk Heater Shield

The Inverted Hawk Heater Shield is a medium-sized shield offering excellent protection without hindering movement. I found it to be pretty effective against all types of enemies, be it bosses or common mobs, and bears the emblem of slave patrollers in the Eternal City.

Its signature ability is parrying, allowing you to counter and deflect incoming attacks, particularly useful against bosses and tough enemies. The shield can also be infused with Ashes of War.

To find it,you have to travel to the Siofra River and head southwest of the Siofra River Bank site, climbing a hill to encounter three enemies. Defeat or bypass them to discover a corpse containing the Inverted Hawk Heater Shield.

13. Brass Shield

The Brass Shield boasts a polished royal finish with a peacock engraving on the front. It’s larger for a medium shield and requires a strength of 16, which I consider to be a good choice for tank-focused players. It offers a solid guard rating of 56 but limits movement due to its weight.

While it lacks notable skills, you can enhance the shield with Ashes of War or buffs. It’s typically dropped by Godrick, the Grafted’s soldiers, or Raya Lucaria Soldiers, but the drop rate is low at 0.8%, requiring extensive farming. Locations for farming include the Gate front site of Grace and near the Raya Lucaria Academy.

14. Erdtree Great Shield

The Erdtree Great Shield, forged in gold by the Tree Sentinels, scales with both strength and faith. While it offers exceptional protection against bosses and tough foes, it significantly reduces mobility. Its special skill, Golden Retaliation, allows you to dispel sorceries and incantations. To obtain it, defeat the Tree Sentinel Duo near the Phantom Tree Grace in Altus Plateau.

15. Dragon Claw Shield

The Dragon Claw Shield, crafted from an ancient dragon’s claw, is imbued with lightning and offers substantial damage but reduces mobility. It features a powerful shield bash that can push back or stagger foes. To obtain it, you must defeat the Draconic Tree Sentinel in the Capital Outskirts.

The Dragon Claw features a shield bash which you can charge up to ram foes. This may either shove them back or even stagger them. Take advantage of the opening and hack your enemies down. You can also imbue it with the Ashes of War or even buff it with Magic and consumables.

16. Visage Shield

Yeah, the visage shield is pretty grotesque and gross, but it packs a solid punch despite being a protective shield, and is among the best shields in Elden Ring when it comes to raw damage. The shield is made with bronze and depicts the face of a fire giant. Several tongues are spewing out of its mouth. The shield has an instructional function and reminds enemies of the horrors of facing against a fire giant.

The grotesque Visage Shield, is exceptionally heavy at 24 units but offers substantial attack power and protection. Its special skill, Tongues of Wire, allows it to spray fire while walking, which, I think is pretty convenient. To obtain it, defeat the guarding Mad Pumpkin Heads in an underground area east of the Caelem Ruins.The Shield can be beefed up further using the Ashes of War, with magic and consumables.

17. One-Eyed Shield

The One-Eyed Shield, a typical great shield, requires significant strength to wield due to its weight of 20 units. It slows you down but offers exceptional protection. Adorned with a stone build and carvings of a cyclops god, it possesses the unique skill “Flame Spit,” allowing it to launch fireballs for both defense and offense. Enhance it with the Ashes of War, sombering stones, or magic and consumables. To obtain it, defeat Chief Guardian Arghanthy on the mountaintop of giants.

You need to make sure that your strength is up to par with the weight needs of the shield, which alone weighs 20 units. Considering the hefty weight, it considerably slows you down, making it more difficult to traverse. But I believe robustness and protection make it excellent for users who want to go with a heavy build.

18. JellyFish Shield

The JellyFish Shield is among the best shields, offering protection against holy, light, magic, fire attacks, and even resistance to boost attacks. To wield it effectively, you need both strength and dexterity. Despite lore stating it doesn’t protect against piercing attacks, it surprisingly offers 100% physical protection.

The shield features the Contagious Fury skill, granting a 20% damage buff for 30 seconds, removed when switching to a two-handed weapon. Find it at the foot of the four belfries near a dead body, guarded by four jellyfish in the Lands Between. Defeat them to claim the Jellyfish Shield.

19. Dragon Tower Shield

The Dragon Tower Shield is historically associated with ancient dragons who used it for powerful damage negation. Although it’s a heavy shield, it compensates with exceptional light damage negation and boost attack capabilities. I found it to be ideal for heavy builds focused on precise timing in guarding and attacking, it’s one of Elden Ring’s best heavy protection shields.

To find the Dragon Tower Shield, visit the crumbling ruins of Farum Azula. Near stationary dragons, move right to find a ledge to drop down from. Proceed to lower levels by navigating ledges next to a pillar. Inside a chest atop a ladder, you’ll discover the shield. Be prepared to face a knight when obtaining it, and ensure your stats meet the requirements for wielding it effectively.

Since this is a very late-game shield, you can utilize Manor Towershield in the meantime. It has almost equivalent stats to the Dragon Towershield.

20. Golden Great Shield

The Golden Great Shield, as its name implies, is a substantial great shield designed primarily for damage protection rather than parrying attacks. To wield this Elden Ring shield effectively, you’ll need significant strength, around 34 points.

While the shield itself lacks specific skills, it can inherit the skills of the wielded armament in the other hand. However, using this shield significantly reduces mobility. Enhance its power by infusing it with the Ashes of War and further boosting it with magic and consumables. Overall, it’s an excellent choice if you are seeking robust protection.

To obtain the Golden Great Shield, hunt down the dragon cult knights, humanoid enemies frequently found in Lirunia of The Lakes, south of the Artist’s shack, or within the Wyndham Catacombs.

21. Redmane Greatshield

The Redmane Great Shield primarily relies on your strength stats, so it’s essential to invest in strength points to wield it effectively. This shield ranks among the best for providing unparalleled protection against enemy attacks, even from formidable bosses. It excels in guarding and damage absorption but sacrifices the parrying advantages of lighter shields.

To maximize its potential, infuse the shield with the Ashes of War and buff it with magic and consumables. You can obtain the Redmane Great Shield by defeating Redmane Knights in the lands of Caelid. Upon victory, claim the shield from the corpses of your fallen foes, adding one of the best shields to your inventory.

Types of Shields in Elden Ring

There are three kinds of shields that you will find in the Elden Ring. Shields can be small, medium, or great, depending on their stats, physical damage reduction, and weight. 

Following are all the Shields arranged according to their type.

Small Shields

These Shields typically weigh very little and have low durability. They won’t protect you from most of the attacks, especially the fatal kind. If you prefer parrying instead of blocking the attacks, these shields are a good option for you.

Following are the small shields.

• Rickety Shield
• Riveted Wooden Shield
• Blue White Wooden Shield 
• Scripture Wooden Shield
• Red Thorn Round shield
• Pillory Shield
• Buckler 
• Iron Round Shield
• Gilded Iron Shield
• Man Serpent’s Shield
• Ice Crest Shield
• Rift Shield
• Perfumer’s Shield
• Shield of Guilty
• Spiralhorn Shield
• Smouldering Shield
• Coil Shield

Medium Shields

These shields are more stable and have a higher physical damage reduction capacity. But their weight is greater than the small shields, making them difficult to equip and use in combat.

Following are all the Medium Shields. 

• Hawk Crest Wooden Shield
• Horse Crest Wooden Shield 
• Candletree Wooden Shield 
• Flame Crest Wooden Shield
• Maren Wooden Shield 
• Sun Realm Shield
• Round Shield
• Large Leather Shield
• Black Leather Shield
• Marred Leather Shield
• Heater Shield
• Blue Crest Shield 
• Red Crest Heater Shield 
• Beast Crest Heater Shield 
• Inverted Hawk Heater Shield 
• Eclipse Crest Heater Shield
• Kite Shield 
• Blue Gold Kite Shield
• Scorpion Kite Shield 
• Twin bird Kite Shield 
• Brass Shield
• Banished Knight’s Shield
• Albinauric Shield
• Beastman’s Jar Shield
• Carian Knight’s Shield
• Silver MirrorShield
• Great Turtle Shield

Great Shields

These shields have the highest durability and stability and will greatly help you in your fights with the toughest bosses in the game. However, their only con is that they weigh a lot, so dodging while these shields are equipped can be hard.

Following are all the Greatshields available in Elden Ring 

• Wooden Greatshield 
• Lordsworn’s Shield
• Briar Greatshield
• Spiked Palisade Shield 
• Icon Shield
• Golden Beast Crest Shield 
• Manor Towershield
• Crossed Tree Towershield
• Inverted Hawk Towershield
• Dragon Towershield
• Distinguished Greatshield 
• Gilded Greatshield 
• Cuckoo Greatshield 
• Redmane Greatshield 
• Golden Greatshield 
• Halligtree Crest Greatshield 
• Crucible Hornshield
• Dragonclaw Shield
• Fingerprint Stone shield 
• Eclipse Crest Greatshield 
• Ant’s Skull Plate
• Erdtree Greatshield 
• Jellyfish Shield
• Visage Shield
• One-eyed Shield

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.

When it came to parrying, small shields like Buckler and Red Thorn Roundshield become matchless. Similarly, when I wanted something with a little more damage plus protection combo, Visage Shield and One-Eyed Shield were my go-to options. I suggest you experiment with all the options available for you, and decide which one suits your builds the best.

That is pretty much it for the best shields in Elden Ring, ranging from small, easy maneuver shields with parrying capabilities to great shields that soak up enemy damage. I hope you enjoyed the guide and make the most of your journey with the shields you find along the way. If you’re looking for some keepsakes to enhance your experience, I’ve got you covered.

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.