God of War Ragnarok takes the core gameplay mechanics of its prequel and builds upon it beautifully. Kratos gets new skills, armor, and weapon options in this new entry. Unlike the original trilogy, however, reckless abandon and fully offensive playstyles are sure to be fatal. The game is quite challenging - especially if you crank up the difficulty - and a good defense is essential.

Luckily, Kratos also comes equipped with a shield to protect himself in this game as well. But this time, there are five shields, each with its own unique characteristics. While it's ultimately up to personal preference and the way you prefer to play the game, there are some key things to consider. Here is a ranking of all five shields in God of War Ragnarok.

Updated on January 23rd, 2024, by Doruk Kaptan: God of War Ragnarok has firmly solidified itself as a modern classic. Sure, there are some fair criticisms of the game, but the amazing story beats, great combat, and incredible worldbuilding warrant such fame.

The game has even received sizable post-release support from the developers. A New Game Plus mode was added, and most recently, God of War Valhalla was added as a free expansion. This adds a whole new game mode more akin to a roguelike and immensely increases the replay value. Definitely give it a shot if you haven't booted the game in a long time.

5 Shatter Star Shield

The Shatter Star Shield is described as being fit for mobility and charging up. That is accurate, as you move the fastest while blocking with this shield out of all. The shield bash for this one is also quite fast, as Kratos punches a shockwave through it. When you're blocking with it, it will gather up kinetic energy, giving more stun power to your bash. Unfortunately, that's about all there is to Shatter Star.

The mobility bonus is quite nice, but it feels redundant. A shield in Ragnarok gives you protection and offers some counter-offensive measures. It's a shame that there are other shields that do both of those things way better than the Shatter Star. Shatter Star's movement speed is also rarely impactful, as you'll regularly be swarmed by annoying enemies anyway. The Shatter Shield is available for purchase in the shop.

While the worst shield by far, due to how niche its usage is, it's important for completionists. It has the added bonus stat for Runic, which is appreciated but not enough to make this shield worth using.

If mobility is your priority, well-timed dodge rolls are more than enough to substitute for this shield.

4 Onslaught Shield

A similar shield to the Shatter Star is the Onslaught Shield. This shield gives mobility to Kratos in the form of its shield bash. When you double-tap L1, you will charge toward enemies to perform a shield bash, during which you will parry any attacks coming your way automatically.

What keeps this shield from being higher on this ranking is the way the game operates. You're more likely to be swarmed by enemies as opposed to being shot by ranged units. Ranged enemies are rarely as deadly as several enemies surrounding you. As such, the Onslaught Shield falls short in most encounters.

You can buy this shield from Brok and Sindri after the Garm boss fight.

3 Guardian Shield

The Guardian Shield is the "default" shield given to Kratos at the beginning of the first game. The shield will be broken due to a less-than-friendly encounter with Thor but will be fixed shortly after by Brok. This is a shield of balance, not focusing entirely on tanking any hit or parrying with low durability. It doesn't provide any additional stat buffs like other shields, which isn't great, but it does not hold the Guardian Shield back.

You can double-tap L1 to break an enemy's guard, and the Guardian Shield does so quite quickly, which is always useful. There are two options with this shield after parrying: a shield punch and a ground pound. Both stun enemies and usually break their attack combos, which can mean the difference between life and death. It appears that when it comes to shields in God of War Ragnarok, going for the classic is not bad at all.

2 Stone Wall Shield

The Stone Wall Shield is likely the best option for newer players until they get used to parry timings. It is also an excellent shield for higher-difficulty playthroughs. Normally, there are four types of attacks that the monsters can use against you. Regular attacks are always blockable, yellow attacks are supposed to be parried or will break your defense for a short time, red attacks are non-blockable and require dodging, and blue attacks require a shield bash to stun and interrupt.

Stone Wall Shield sets itself apart by being able to absorb two yellow attacks in quick succession before Kratos is stunned. One thing to keep in mind is that the Stone Wall Shield stores damage in four bars, either filled with four regular attacks or two yellow attacks, and will be stunnable when it's at max capacity, so try to unleash it every chance you get. You can get this shield from Brok and Sindri for Hacksilver.

The Stone Wall Shield doesn't grant any counter-offense. So you could find yourself a bit passive with this one.

1 Dauntless Shield

On the flip side is the risky Dauntless Shield. This shield is the exact opposite of the Stone Wall, giving players more offensive options. Normally, when you parry a yellow attack, you have to press R1 or R2 to perform a counter-stun attack with your shield. With the Dauntless Shield, that's entirely automatic, so you can focus on your next moves without worrying about a parry attack. This also allows faster and more parries in succession, which is amazing against swarms or fast enemies.

Do not get attached to a single build for Valhalla mode, as each run and encounter requires a different approach.

The shield truly encapsulates a high-risk, high-reward mentality. When you parry an attack normally, it glows yellow and does decent stun damage, but if you manage to perform a "last-second parry" with it, it'll glow red and deal substantially more stun to enemies. The Dauntless Shield almost feels like a weapon more than a shield, dishing out tons of stun meter if you manage to perfect your parry timing. The Dauntless Shield is available for purchase at the blacksmith shop and provides a buff to Cooldown as a side benefit.