Elden Ring BEST Parry Shields: Locations & Stats

Learn about the best parry shield options in Elden Ring as per my experience, which you can use to easily riposte with and perform a critical attack on your foes.

By Daniyal Sultan Malik

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January 11, 2024

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Parry shields in Elden Ring are ideal pairing for aggressive players with quick reflexes who want to counter foes at any opening. It’s one of my most favorite mechanics. Unlike most other in-game shields, parry shields offer a much stronger chance to parry and riposte enemies, but at the cost of weaker Guard protection. However, since Elden Ring allows you to apply Ashes of War on different weapons, you can make your parry shield by combining a light or medium shield with a parry-oriented Ash of War.

Key Takeaways

Parry shields in Elden Ring primarily focus on allowing successful parrying and a following riposte attack.
While there’s no specific “parry shield” type, I generally opt for the 16 in-game Small shields to be my parry shields.
Fortunately, since Elden Ring allows you to equip parry-focused Ashes of War on most shields, there are virtually endless possibilities for a parry shield.
The benefit of parry shields is the ease they provide to perform critical attacks via a riposte, knocking off a substantial chunk of enemy HP.
However, the major drawback is its limited use since you can only utilize parry shields against weak enemies, NPC bosses, and other players during PvP.

Author’s Note: I’ve spent over 750 hours in Elden Ring, so you can trust my views when it comes to the best parry shields.

Best Parry Shields And Ashes Of War In Elden Ring

Here’s a quick breakdown of my picks for the best parry shields and their respective Ashes of War that you can get in Elden Ring:

RANK	SHIELD NAME	ASH OF WAR	BEST FOR	ATTRIBUTE SCALING	ATTRIBUTE REQUIREMENTS
1	Inverted Hawk Heater Shield	Golden Parry	The Best Long-Ranged Parry	Str: D \| Fai: D	Str: 10
2	Carian Knight's Magic Shield	Carian Retaliation	The Best Combo For Magic Parry	Str: E \| Int: C	Str: 10 \| Int: 15 \| Dex: 10
3	Buckler	Buckler Parry	The Largest Parry Window In Elden Ring	Str: E \| Dex: D	Str: 8 \| Dex: 13
4	Heater Shield	Storm Wall	The Largest Parry Window In Elden Ring	Str: C	Str: 10
5	Albinauric Shield	Thops' Barrier	The Best Early-Game Parry Skill	Str: E \| Int: D	Str: 11

1. Golden Parry + Inverted Hawk Heater Shield

The Best Long-Ranged Parry.

Although an Ash of War can turn regular small and medium shields into parry shields,

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the Golden Parry is easily the top choice for parrying all sorts of attacks. It’s got little to no startup time and a generous amount of parry frames, making it suitable for veterans and newcomers alike. What I specifically like about it is the extended range it provides for a parry.

Golden Parry elden ring — Inverted Hawk Heater Shield + Golden Parry (Image Source: eXputer)

Here’s the procedure for getting the Golden Parry in the Altus Plateau:

Follow the road directly northeast from the Outer Wall Phantom Tree Site of Grace.

Outer Wall altus plateau — The Outer Wall Phantom Tree Site of Grace (Image Source: eXputer)

Once you reach the second phantom tree, turn east again and proceed straight.

phantom tree — The second Phantom Tree (Image Credit Copyright: eXputer)

On a terrace to the left side of the road, there will be a White Scarab you can either hunt or shoot down to obtain the Golden Parry Ash of War.

white scarab altus elden ring — White Scarab location near the Outer Wall (Screenshot Grab: eXputer)

Great range and low FP cost.
Best parry frames and easy to memorize.

Faith-oriented Ash of War and mostly suited to Faith builds.
Lowers Physical Guarded Damage Negation.

Important: I recommend using the Inverted Hawk Heater Shield thanks to its low weight and high resistance. However, you can use any shield with 100.0 Physical Guarded Damage Negation alongside the Golden Parry.

2. Carian Retaliation + Carian Knight’s Magic Shield

The Best Combo For Magic Parry.

Although the Carian Knight’s Shield isn’t a parry shield by itself,

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it has the potential to become undoubtedly the best parry shield thanks to its optimal pairing with the Carian Retaliation Ash of War. It’s got the best parrying frame data in Elden Ring, and with the Magic Shield, it can become even more lethal.

Carian Retaliation elden ring — Carian Knight’s Magic Shield + Carian Retaliation (Screenshot Grab: eXputer)

You can find the Carian Retaliation Ash of War from Liurnia using the steps below:

Starting from the Royal Moongazing Grounds Site of Grace located in northwestern Liurnia, head outside Caria Manor using the exit door to reach the Three Sisters.

three sisters location liurnia — The Three Sisters near the Royal Moongazing Grounds (Screenshot by eXputer)

Follow the road on your left and stay close to the Manor’s wall to avoid the dragon scouring the area.
Eventually, you’ll spot a crest on your left, from which you can drop down to one of the Manor’s rooftops.

rooftop elden ring — Caria Manor’s rooftop (Image Source: eXputer)

From the rooftop, continue dropping down to lower levels using the wooden planks until you see an opening on one of the platforms.

opening slit — Opening on the Manor’s rooftop (Screenshot taken by eXputer)

Drop down from this opening and interact with Pidia on your left to access his shop, after which you can purchase the Carian Retaliation for 3000 Runes.

pidia elden ring — Pidia, the merchant (Image Credit Copyright: eXputer)

Can convert magic atks into glintblades for offense.
Provides the best active parry frames in the game.

Decreases the Phy dmg reduction of the shield.
High FP cost and only applicable on small and medium shields.

3. Buckler

The Largest Parry Window In Elden Ring.

For parrying enthusiasts like me, the Buckler is undoubtedly the strongest choice for a parrying Small Shield in Elden Ring.

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Thanks to its unique Ash of War, Buckler Parry, this shield has the largest parry window out of any in-game small shield. As such, I believe it’s the ideal addition for lightweight builds.

buckler elden ring — The Buckler Shield (Image Credits: eXputer)

Important: For heavier builds, I would suggest only using the Buckler as a starting point for learning how to parry.

Here’s the procedure for getting the Buckler during the early-game phase in Elden Ring:

Starting from the Stormveil Main Gate Site of Grace, head through the doorway next to the gate to meet Gostoc.

Gostoc elden ring — Meeting Gostoc in Stormveil (Image Credit Copyright: eXputer)

Exhaust his dialogue, then select the “No, I’ll use the main gate” dialogue option to access Stormveil Castle.
After accessing the Castle, proceed through it and defeat Godrick the Grafted at the end.
Rest at the Godrick the Grafted Site of Grace, and Gostoc will spawn near you, after which you can talk to him to access his shop and purchase the Buckler for 1500 Runes.

gostoc — Gostoc in Godrick’s arena (Image Credit Copyright: eXputer)

The skill Buckler parry is unique only to this shield.
Very light-weight and the largest parry window.

Has very low Phy dmg reduction, not suitable for blocking.
Weak frame recovery after an attack.

4. The Storm Wall + Heater Shield

The Best Early-Game Parry Skill.

The Storm Wall is likely one of the first parry-based Ash of War you’ll find in Elden Ring.

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Fortunately, its stats make it a noteworthy addition, and since it’s the earliest Ash of War you get, you can upgrade it to its maximum potential the quickest as well.

Storm Wall elden ring — Heater Shield + The Storm Wall (Image Captured by eXputer)

Here’s how you can get the Storm Wall in Limgrave:

Start from the Stormhill Shack Site of Grace in Stormhill and progress northwest, following the road up till the start of the broken bridge.

Broken bridge near Stormhill Shack (Screenshot Grab: eXputer)

At the far end of the bridge, continue following the segment straight ahead until you spot a White Scarab.
You’ll receive the Storm Wall Ash of War upon killing the scarab.

scarab — White Scarab near the bridge (Screenshot taken by eXputer)

Low FP cost, viable for early-game builds.
Decent overall parry recovery times.

Weak startup and active parry frames.
Is easily outclassed by other parry skills.

5. Thops’ Barrier + Albinauric Shield

The Best Skill For Magic Defense.

Like the Storm Wall, Thops’ Barrier is another great parry-focused Ash of War that you can find in Elden Ring’s early-game phase.

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However, the major difference of this specific skill is its incredible Magic and Holy resistance, which comes in handy against tougher Faith and Intelligence bosses and hostile NPCs.

thops shield — Albinauric Shield + Thops’ Barrier (Image Captured by eXputer)

While you can use any reliable Medium shield with Thops’ Barrier, I generally use and prefer the Albinauric Shield since it gives me a significantly higher Magic resistance in Magic-based areas like the underground cities of Nokron and Nokstella.

Here’s the optimal route to getting Thops’ Barrier in Liurnia of the Lakes:

Starting from the Revenger’s Shack Site of Grace, head east towards the lake and reach the small island just before the debris.

revenger's shack elden ring — Island near Revenger’s Shack Site of Grace (Screenshot Grab: eXputer)

Here, you need to kill the White Scarab sitting atop the island, after which you’ll receive the Thops’ Barrier Ash of War.

scarab location liurnia — White Scarab on the island (Screenshot by eXputer)

Raises Magic and Holy dmg negation, has no FP cost.
Good animation recovery like other Ashes of war.

Lowers Physical damage negation.
Weaker startup and active parry frames.

My Experience With Parry Shields

hours waterjuice — My Elden Ring hours on Steam

While parry shields encourage an aggressive play style and are considered lethal during PvP, I would advise sticking with a Medium or Heavy shield with the Parry Ash of War applied to them in Elden Ring. Personally, I used small shields throughout the mid-game phase of my first playthrough to learn to parry. Once I got good at countering opponents with minimal parry windows, I applied the Parry Ash of War to my medium shield and started using that for the rest of my playthrough.

elden rinng profiles waterjuice — My Elden Ring save slots on Steam.

That initial 75-hour experience was much more efficient since I could effectively block opponents to learn their attack patterns and then start parrying after understanding their moveset. As such, I would consider this the optimal approach since you’ll achieve a perfect balance between an offensive and defensive playstyle. You can use the Buckler for your learning phase and then transition into a decent Medium shield like the Twinbird Kite or Brass Shield.

That wraps up my guide on the best parry shield and ash of war options in Elden Ring, covering their pros and cons, strategies, and locations. As seen, every parry shield has its preferred build and playstyle, and their Ashes of War usually determine how good they are. For more insight, here’s a spreadsheet you can use to extract noteworthy frame data regarding these items.

Pair up your favorite shield with some of the best Remembrance Weapons in Elden Ring to truly make an overpowered build, courtesy of Huzaifa Durrani. If you prefer using incantations, eXputer’s talented writer Irfan Ansari has a detailed guide on the Frenzied Burst. And if you’re strictly looking to dominate the online arena, be sure to check out the best PvP Weapons in Elden Ring.