Dark Souls: The 5 Best Shields In The Game (& 5 Worst)
Dark Souls is a game that is considered to be very challenging by many gamers. The reason for that is the game's lack of spoon-fed hints and clues as well as traps and hardcore enemies. What makes it even more challenging is the combat system, which forces players to upgrade their weapons, shields, and armor continually. This is why starting with a great defense is essential, because not everything that is in the game works in favor of the player.
There are plenty of good-looking shields in the game that are completely obsolete in their usefulness. But some great ones are genuinely helpful. Let's take a look at the best and worst of shields.
10 Cracked Round Shield (Worst)
Being honest, the cracked round shield doesn't look that bad. But in the world of Dark Souls, it seems hard to matter. This is one of the most terrible shields in the game. The thing is small, made of light wood, and its name directly has the word "cracked" in it. So this means, it is basically a small round shield that is practically damaged. This is the original equipment for the pyromancer. It is one of the shields that is dropped by many hollow warriors with shields. An intact round shield would always be better than this.
9 Silver Knight Shield (Best)
Now, this is an example of a good shield that looks good and works even better. Holding this piece of beauty looks like holding a world championship title in hand and feels like that as well. The shield is impressive from the overall stats to the size ratio. Every block will feel like a perfect execution. Players will get this shield as a rare drop from silver knights in Anor Londo. This shield has the highest stability of all medium shields once it is fully upgraded.
8 East-West Shield (Worst)
Why do people use an ax to cut down trees? The reason is pretty simple. An ax is sharp metal, and wood is comparatively soft. This is why wood is probably not the best material to deflect a metal weapon. The East-West Shield is made of just that. It's a wooden shield that will definitely provide some defense but not nearly close to a good shield. This one can be improved and reinforced with a titanite, but that would be a pure waste too, as even after the upgrades, it is pretty bad during combat.
7 Black Knight Shield (Best)
If the silver knight shield looks like the world championship title, this one looks like a heavyweight title. Anyone will feel like a champ using the black knight shield in Dark Souls. This is a medium-large sized shield, that will deflect almost every parry able attack with utmost precision.
The handling and stability in this one are pretty good as well. The most significant benefit of this shield is that it has the highest fire resistance in Dark Souls. But it is a little rare, as it only has only a 5% chance of dropping from a black knight.
6 Plank Shield (Worst)
We've established that wood is in no way an excellent material to deflect metal-based weapons. Yet again, there is another wooden shield. This time it is a plank of wood. On the plus side, this shield has its own story, that someone has crafted it from a broken piece of plank just to survive in the harsh world of Dark Souls. But on a usability scale, this shield is pure garbage. This is one of the original items for the deprived class, which says a lot about why anyone shouldn't use this.
5 Spider Shield (Best)
The visual on this shield looks like something Miles Morales would wear on his Spider-Man costume. It's red-black, and quite frankly pretty slick looking. But it doesn't just look cool. It is genuinely one of the best shields in Dark Souls. Especially for areas like Blighttown, where poison resistance is a must. This has impressive handling; it is not too large and works for almost every enemy in the game. The upgrades for this shield are pretty widespread as well. The most significant thing is that it comes as an original item for the Bandit class.
4 Small Leather Shield (Worst)
To anyone who understands wood isn't the best thing to parry metal. How does a small shield made of leather react in the same situation? The answer is pretty apparent. It will be much worse than a wooden shield. This little nugget can be purchased for only 600 souls from the undead merchant.
But it is better to avoid it entirely if possible. This thing is small and has a faster parry. None of this will help in the long run, as it isn't that special.
3 Crest Shield (Best)
Here's a medium-sized shield that is as good as a large-sized one in size and works as smooth as a small-sized one. Crest shield is brilliant in almost every way, and probably the most useful shield in the game. This is the shield of Oscar, Knight of Astora. The best part of this shield is its magic reduction, which goes up to eighty percent—making the players literally bulletproof against magic. The upgrades of this shield make it stand apart, and are totally worth it.
2 Dark Hand (Worst)
Now the dark hand isn't a visual shield, but it can be used as a shield. It is a rare item that is dropped by Darkwraith Knights. But as cool as it might seem in hands, it is the reverse in its functionality. The dark hand, when equipped in the right hand, can be used as a weapon, but in the left hand, it is a shield and a very poor one at that. The worst part is the stability of the shield produced by the dark hand. What's even worse is that Frampt gives one soul in return for this, which shows its actual value.
1 Havel's Greatshield (Best)
This is the granddaddy of all the shields. Havel's Greatshield is a legendary shield owned by Havel. This is one of the most prominent shields in the game and can practically defend against the most massive attacks in the game. Functionality apart, this shield looks very cool. It is a full metal shield chained up and incredibly bulky. The only downside to this shield is that it is a bit heavy. But if one can handle that, this is probably the most overpowered shield in the game.
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