Elden Ring is the latest entry into the Soulsborne genre of games by developer FromSoftware. It takes their award-winning game design and combat systems and drops them into a refreshing open-world experience people are spending hundreds of hours in.
The game lets you play how you like, and using a shield and sword is a pretty common combat style most players lean into. Knowing which are the best shields in Elden Ring and where to find them can make the challenging experience of overcoming the difficulties of Elden Ring much more approachable.
Updated February 26, 2023, by Branden Lizardi: The number of different items, weapons, and armor available in Elden Ring continues to be one of the more impressive selections in all of the action RPG genre, and that includes shields! With balance changes, new meta strategies, and time for the community to really mull over the possibilities, some items are proving to be better and more worthwhile than expected. We've updated this list to better reflect that, ensuring that you know all of the best shield options.
11 Spiralhorn Shield
The Spiralhorn Shield might just be one of the more impressive-looking shields. With its jutting and sharp edges, protruding horns, and smaller size, it really is quite a sight when first encountered. This small shield is great for those with a strength and dexterity build, or for those hoping to increase those stats during playtime.
Despite being a small shield, it can provide the extra benefit of adding blood loss to an enemy if used to attack. The combination of offensive and defensive capabilities makes the Spiralhorn Shield a worthwhile one to seek out. It can be found at the Liurnia of the Lakes location and can be looted from a corpse.
10 Banished Knight's Shield
The Banished Knight's Shield is a medium shield that can be found (as you might imagine) from a Banished Knight. Taking this shield won't be an easy feat, but it's well worth it. This shield is fantastic for pure strength builds and will work nicely with a sturdy and robust sword.
While the Banished Knight's Shield might not be as outwardly appealing as some of the others in the game, its distinct checkerboard style and engravings still make it look unique. Plus, it can withstand damage efficiently with some good blocks and well-timed pushbacks. Be sure to enhance this shield to really make it a powerhouse in your arsenal.
9 Kite Shield
When comparing the Kite Shield to others in its class, it simply falls short based on being slightly heavier, requiring a bit more strength in a build, and not being acquirable until you reach the merchant in Lirunia of the Lakes. This is shortly after defeating Godrick, the Grafted, toward the end of your journey in Stormveil Castle.
It's a staple of FromSoftware Souls-like games and serves as a comfort item for fans of the developer who want something dependable and that they trust in a world full of untrustworthy.
8 Inverted Hawk-Heater Shield
If you happen to find yourself heading down a large elevator in East Limgrave and descending to the Siofra River, don't immediately fast-travel away. If you navigate up the left side of the hill, past a bunch of crystallized miners, you'll come across a corpse with an item, serving as an ambush spot.
The risk is worth it as the item in question is the Inverted Hawk-Heater Shield. It's great for both parrying and blocking and only needs ten strength to wield properly. It serves as the jack-of-all-trades, master-of-none type of shield in Elden Ring.
7 Blue-Gold Kite Shield
Among the various shields on this list that may require some game progression or nifty searching to find, the Blue-Gold Kite Shield is one of the easiest to acquire. A merchant located just south of the Minor Erdtree in East Limgrave will sell it to you for 1,000 runes.
It's a larger shield that limits nimbleness but is solid at reducing damage in the early game. Parry is the active skill it comes with, which is self-explanatory. Access plays a big part in an item's usefulness, and though the Blue-Gold Kite shield is rather standard in a lot of ways, it happens to be an easy get for most players.
6 Erdtree Greatshield
Most people reading this list would argue that the Erdtree Greatshield should be much higher on the list, especially considering its active skill called Golden Retaliation has been exploited by the Elden Ring community to great effect. Stats-wise, it's hard to deny the Erdtree Greatshield's place as arguably the best shield in the game, but its acquisition is rather hard and not accessible to everyone.
It requires you to defeat a pair of Tree Sentinels located in the Altus Plateau. If you happened to try your luck fighting the Tree Sentinel patrolling the opening area of the game, then you understand just how challenging of a mission it is to obtain this shield.
5 Carian Knight's Shield
The Carian Knight's Shield is a medium shield that drops after defeating Moongrum, The Carian Knight inside the Raya Lucaria Academy. Elden Ring is a game that allows you to play how you like, and those who enjoy blocking with a shield know how scary stamina management can get. Each attack blocked absorbs some of your stamina.
Shields have a stat called Guard Boost that limits stamina consumption in this scenario. The Carian Knight's Shield, especially when upgraded, is hard to match. Unlike many other shields, this one only requires ten strength and ten dexterity to wield, so even magic builds can make the most of it.
4 Jellyfish Shield
When a shield in Elden Ring has its own unique active skill, it immediately gives it value. The Jellyfish Shield is the best shield to have the skill called Contagious Fury which raises the wielder's attack power for a certain amount of time.
In terms of the acquisition, you will simply need to head north of the Foot of the Four Belfries site of grace until they happen upon four jellyfish enemies. Located at their center is a dead body with an item pickup that happens to be this very shield. Appearance-wise, it's unlike any other shield in Elden Ring.
3 Brass Shield
If you were to look up where the Brass Shield drops, you'd be happy to know it's available in three locations. Despite that, it is still super rare with a reported drop chance of just 0.8 percent. In order to farm for the drop, it's best to either kill Godrick Soldiers carrying the shield or the Raya Lucaria soldiers found just outside of the Raya Lucaria Academy.
The Brass Shield has nothing special going for it; it's just a solid all-around medium shield choice for the early to mid-game. It also doesn't hurt that it is entirely gold and works in most fashion-souls equipment loadouts.
2 Great Turtle Shield
Is there anything more majestic than the many turtles that wander throughout the Lands Between? You too can become one of them with the Great Turtle Shield. Fortunately, this medium shield doesn't require any turtles to come to harm to be acquired; it's found atop a tower south of Oridys's Rise. While it doesn't have complete physical blocking capabilities, it provides one very important bonus effect: Stamina regeneration.
The shield, when equipped, will provide a boost in your stamina regeneration rate, similar to that of the turtle neck jerky consumable. Best of all, this effect will still be applied when placed on your back while two handing a weapon. This means that that Ninja Turtle character builds are both fun and functional.
1 Beast Crest Heater Shield
Consider to be the best shield in all of early-game Elden Ring, the Beast Crest Heater Shield can be found near the entrance to the Deathtouched Catacombs located at the northernmost part of Limgrave, just southeast of the closed cliffside Colosseum. It's in a chest protected by a few low-level enemies and a Beast Crest Heater Knight.
It only weighs 3.5, which will aid in keeping a light or medium load, and only requires ten strength, which you'll likely have from the beginning of the game, depending on which class you choose. Add Ashes of War to it, and you have something that will be by your side for a good portion of your adventure.