Final Fantasy 6 is a notable game within the series for making equipment useful in multiple ways - sometimes your best loadout is not simply the piece of equipment with the highest numbers attached. The Paladin Shield is no exception, as it allows you to learn a powerful spell.
Acquiring the Paladin Shield, however, is something of a trial. You'll need to go through the long and arduous process of uncursing the Cursed Shield. And you have to find the shield in the first place! It's worth the effort, though - and here's how to go about it.
How To Get The Cursed Shield
The Cursed Shield is the piece of equipment that you will eventually turn into the Paladin Shield. Unfortunately, its stats are pretty awful. Overall, it will decrease the user’s Strength, Magic, Stamina, and Speed by a whole seven points and give them a weakness to every element. If that wasn’t enough, it’ll auto-inflict a bunch of negative status ailments on the user. Cursed is the right name.
If you equip a Ribbon, all the negative status effects from the Cursed Shield will be nullified apart from Doom.
To find the Cursed Shield, you’ll have to head to Narshe in the World of Ruin. Head to Narshe with Locke in your party and you’ll be able to unlock the doors there. In a building behind the Relic Shop, a bedbound man will give you the shield.
How To Turn The Cursed Shield Into The Paladin Shield
To turn the Cursed Shield into the Paladin Shield, you’ll need to go through the incredibly arduous journey of fighting a whole 256 battles with the shield equipped. This is a long-term goal for sure, but the reward is worth it.
In previous versions of the game, equipping the Cursed Shield to Gogo did not count towards turning it into the Paladin Shield. Until we can confirm otherwise in the Pixel Remaster, it’s best to use any other character other than Umaro, who cannot equip it anyway.
The Paladin Shield is a fantastic piece of equipment with high rates of Evasion and Magic Evasion. In addition, it’ll let the user absorb Fire, Ice, Lightning, and Holy damage, as well as make them immune to Water, Wind, Earth, and Poison damage.
The thing that makes the Paladin Shield so worth the effort, however, is the fact that it teaches the Ultima spell. It teaches the spell slowly, at a rate of 1x, but if you decide to turn Ragnarok into a sword instead of keeping it as an Esper, it’s the only way to access the spell on any character other than Terra.