There are a lot of shields inDark Souls 3, and different shields have different uses. There is no best shield, but rather the perfect Shield for a given situation. You’ll want to consider stability, damage absorption, the requirement for use (usually Strength), the weight of the shield (and overall encumbrance level), and other unique bonuses. These are all factors that come into play when choosing the perfect shield for any given scenario.
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While there are some shields that are objectively bad, most of them are specifically designed to protect you in certain areas or specific bosses and enemies. This list will take into consideration all these factors and provide you with some of the best shields that you can find in the game. Here is our list of the best Dark Souls 3 shields ranked by overall usefulness, flexibility, and power.
Dark Souls 3
10Spider Shield
While Spider Shield isn’t the best in any sense, it will offer a reliable and stable defense early in the game. It is dropped by the Brigand on the path toward Cathedral of the Deep, which is relatively early in the game.
Overall, the 10 Strength requirement doesn’t force you to scale that attribute, so if you’re a class that doesn’t need Strength but can use a shield, Spider Shield fills that role in one part of the game.
9Golden Wing Crest Shield
The Golden Wing Crest Shield has a very special place in Dark Souls 3. While it has a mediocre block, stability, and overall protection, it offers a unique skill — Spell Parry — that deflects enemy projectile spells.
It works the same way you would parry an attack but will require more finesse as some spells travel very quickly. While it can be tricky to learn Spell Parry, once you master it, it can be really fun just deflecting back powerful spells at your enemies.
8Greatshield Of Glory
While it’s not an ideal choice of Greatshields, the Greatshield Of Glory has its uses. First off, the biggest advantage of this shield is that it’s dropped in the Profaned Capital, which can be found relatively early in the game.
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The second advantage is that it has very respectable magic resistance and excellent stability. The most useful area to have this shield would be the Grand Archives, since there are NPCs that castpowerful Sorceries.
7Target Shield
The Target Shield doesn’t have any distinct qualities compared to other Small Shields, but the one thing it has going for it is that you can get it really early in the game. On top of that, it is the starting shield for the Thief class, and you can get easier Parries early in the game.
The most notable instances where you would actually use this shield are against the types of enemies that you can parry. These are usually Knights with swords, spears, or other similar weaponry.
6Dragonslayer Greatshield
Dragonslayer Greatshield has a lot of good things going for it. It has excellent stability, good overall defense, and the most notable advantage; huge amounts of lightning absorption. Do note that you will get the Dragonslayer Greatshield only later in the game.
That said, this shield can be extremely useful when fighting bosses like the Nameless King, because they usually rely on lighting damage output. With this shield, you can pretty much reduce their damage output to 0, and almost make the fight trivial. Watch out for that encumbrance, though, as this shield has a whopping 26 weight.
5Spirit Tree Crest Shield
So, we mentioned the Lighting Damage resistance, but what if you need to have a Medium Shield and don’t have enough Strength to actually carry a Greatshield? That’s where Spirit Tree Crest Shield comes in.
Like other Crest Shield types, it has its “specialty” in the form of Lighting Absorption. This is a huge factor because one of the most important things in a lot of areas and against a number of enemies is to have that lightning resistance.
4Yhorm’s Greatshield
Yhorm’s Greatshield is unique because it has one distinct feature that separates it from the rest of the shields, and that is the passive +15 Poise bonus you get while wearing it. This is a huge advantage because you may actually have a lot of Poise with low armor.
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It’s important to keep in mind that poise has diminishing returns, so it’s best to equip lighter armor to have the best weight-to-poise ratio possible. The overall protection on this shield is decent, but the true strength lies in the +15 Poise bonus.
3Grass Crest Shield
Probably the most popular shield since you don’t have to actually wear it to reap the benefits it gives. The stamina regeneration that this shield passively provides is a crucial component in a number of builds that are not even shield-focused.
While it is mediocre in blocking and resistance, the fact that you may put it on your back and have the passive bonus is the biggest reason why this shield is a very popular choice among players. Pairing the passive bonus withconsumables that regenerate staminawill go a long way in every fight.
2Black Knight Shield
Overall, the Black Knight Shield has the best overall stats-to-weight ratio. The shield just has too good of stability and resistance for a medium shield. Furthermore, it can be farmed early in the game. The first Black Knight you encounter in the Farron Keep Perimeter has a chance to drop it.
The only downside with this shield is that it has low Lighting Resistance, so it won’t be optimal in fighting bosses like the Nameless King and NPCs like the Silver Knights. Nonetheless, this can easily be overlooked, but it is excellent in every other aspect.
1Havel’s Greatshield
While the Black Knight Shield offers an excellent balance, the fact is that a lot of damage can still get through in boss fights. Havel’s Greatshield is, simply put, the strongest shield in the game. It has a huge amount of stability and physical/elemental damage reduction.
Upgrading this shield to +5 can make someextremely tough boss fightslike Nameless King and Slave Knight Gael almost trivial since it blocks around 90-100% damage from them. Furthermore, it can break the stance of a lot of powerful NPC knights that can put up a rough fight. This all makes Havel’s Greatshield very versatile and one of the best shields in the game.
