Highlights

• Shields like the Caduceus Kite Shield and Balder Shield offer high stability and defense for optimal protection in battles.
• The Buckler and Target Shield are great for players who prefer agile movesets and precise parrying in combat situations.
• Shields like the Havel's Greatshield and Greatshield of Artorias provide top-tier protection against various damage types in Dark Souls.

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 great defense is essential because not everything that is in the game works in favor of the player.

There are plenty of great shields that players can use in Dark Souls. In fact, using a good shield is downright necessary if players want to avoid damage and parry attacks with finesse. A poor shield won't absorb enough damage and will leave players wide open for a counterattack if they try to block too many blows without a proper strategy in mind.

Updated on March 1, 2024 by Ritwik Mitra: Dark Souls is one of the greatest action RPGs ever made. The slow-paced combat system of this title almost mandates the use of a shield to absorb damage from enemy blows and hit back when the time is right. This makes it important to check out the best shields that players can equip to make the Chosen Undead as effective as possible in combat. With a good shield, even the strongest attacks can be tanked as long as players have the stamina to spare, and as such, more shields have been added to this list to give Dark Souls players a comprehensive guide on how to maximize their defenses.

20 Buckler

Where To Find: Purchase From The Undead Merchant For 800 Souls/Rare Drop From Balder Knight With Rapier

Small shields may not have the highest defense, but most players don't equip this shield for that reason. Instead, these shields are useful to parry attacks, opening up enemies for a counterattack that can absolutely decimate their health.

The Buckler is one such shield that players can wield in battle to gain an edge over their enemies. It's a simple shield that doesn't boast the highest damage absorption, but whipping out parries with this beauty is infinitely satisfying.

19 Caduceus Kite Shield

Where To Find: Purchase From Andre Of Astora For 1000 Souls/Rare Drop From Swordsman Undead Crystal Soldier

Shields that completely absorb damage are a must-have in battle. In this case, all players risk losing after protecting themselves is stamina, letting them tank a particularly heavy blow before slashing their opponent to smithereens with a wealth of powerful attacks.

The Caduceus Kite Shield is a great candidate in this regard, with its Stability being pretty admirable as well. If players have to deal with enemies who deal fire damage, then this shield should help out too.

18 Wooden Shield

Where To Find: Near The First Bonfire In The Undead Burg

Dark Souls can be pretty brutal in the early going when players don't know what they're doing. Without a proper shield, it can be downright impossible to deal with the many tough enemies in the game that can absolutely decimate players who aren't ready to deal with these tough-as-nails enemies who can take out enemies in a few shots.

As a result, it becomes important to get effective equipment early on that can take out most enemies without too many problems. The Wooden Shield is a pretty decent item to have in this context, giving ample defenses and letting players blaze through the early stages of the game without too many problems.

17 Large Leather Shield

Where To Find: Starting Equipment For Hunters, Purchaseable From Andre Of Astora, And A Rare Drop From The Phalanx

Players who start out as a Hunter will be able to use the powerful Large Leather Shield, a piece of equipment that is pretty similar to the Wooden Shield in many ways. As a result, it's a great shield for beginners to use if they're having problems with the many tough enemies in these games.

Sure, the Large Leather Shield may not be enough to tackle some of the tougher enemies in the game... but most players won't worry too much about that. The equipment that players will find by this point will be more than enough to replace this shield by the time players encounter the many heavy hitters present in this game.

16 Bloodshield

Where To Find: In The Painted World Of Ariamis, Near The Bridge With The Undead Dragon

The Bloodshield is definitely one of the coolest-looking shields in the entire game, with this particular piece of equipment allowing players to raise their resistances to Bleed, Poison, and Curse by quite a significant extent. As a result, players don't have to worry too much about being afflicted by these statuses... although a conservative approach is still recommended against enemies who can deal with these status effects.

Players who use weapons like the Lifehunt Scythe will be well-serviced by the Bloodshield, since players will be able to make the most of its resistances and not worry too much about any self-inflicted status effects. It's far from the best shield in the game if players talk about pure damage absorption, but brings many other benefits to the table that make it worth using in its own right.

15 Balder Shield

Where To Find: A Rare Drop From The Balder Knight/Purchase From The Crestfallen Merchant For 4000 Souls

The Balder Shield is a great medium shield that players can use if they don't want to overburden their equip load by too much. The fact that this shield has extremely high stability is also a huge bonus.

It also has good resistance to both lightning and fire, although the magic resistance is pretty weak in comparison. Regardless, this one drawback doesn't hold the Balder's Shield back from being one of the better equips in the game.

14 Tower Kite Shield

Where To Find: Starter Equipment For Knight/Purchasable From Andre Of Astora For 1000 Souls

The Tower Kite Shield is another medium shield that deserves a mention for how effective it is in combat. The best part about this powerful shield is that it can be acquired early on and can last with a player right up till the end of the game!

The fact that the Knight class starts out with this shield makes it even better for players who don't want to spend their time scavenging around for a worthwhile shield. The Tower Kite Shield is a great piece of equipment that players can rely on with little to no issues.

13 Target Shield

Where To Find: Initial Equipment For Thief/On A Body Just Before The Capra Demon/A Rare Drop From Undead Assassin

Some players won't find it all that engaging to block and tank attacks in the game. Instead, they prefer to adopt a more agile moveset, dodging and parrying to take out most of the enemies in the game.

This is where the Target Shield ends up being one of the best weapons to suit such a play style. While the stats of this shield might not be the best, most players love using this shield because it increases the parry window and makes it easier to counter enemies with a well-timed deflection!

12 Hollow Soldier Shield

Where To Find: A Rare Drop From Undead Soldiers Wielding A Sword

There was a time when the Hollow Soldier Shield was easily one of the best pieces of equipment that players could use in the game. However, FromSoftware themselves realized how broken this shield was and nerfed it in a patch.

Regardless, the Hollow Soldier Shield is still worth using in the game... if players manage to acquire it, that is. After all, this shield is an extremely rare drop and requires quite a bit of grinding before players can get their hands on this brilliant weapon.

11 Dragon Crest Shield

Where To Find: Under A Sleeping Zombie Dragon In The Valley Of The Drakes

Fire is an element that is used quite frequently in Dark Souls, especially in the fight against Quelaag, and in the entirety of the Demon Ruins. If players have the Master Key, then the Dragon Crest Shield will be perfect for them.

The high fire resistance of this shield makes it perfect for low-level players who manage to snag it in the Valley of Drakes. Without the Master Key, the Dragon Crest Shield is obtained much later on, which might negate its usefulness for many players.

10 Grass Crest Shield

Where To Find: At The Bottom Of Darkroot Garden.

Most players who prefer dodging consider the Grass Crest Shield as one of the best shields in Dark Souls. This is mainly due to the massive bonus it provides to one's stamina regeneration.

The best part about the Grass Crest Shield is that this bonus to stamina regeneration remains even when the shield is on a player's back! So, it's easy to see why so many players absolutely adore this powerful piece of equipment.

9 Eagle Shield

Where To Find: The Upper Part Of Blighttown

Most people consider the greatshields in Dark Souls to be extremely bulky and hard to use without the appropriate stats. However, there's one greatshield in the game that bucks this trend — the Eagle Shield.

This is easily one of the best greatshields in the game, mainly due to its low stat requirements and manageable weight. Characters with low Strength or Endurance can still use this powerful shield to great effect!

8 Heater Shield

Where To Find: Starting Item For The Warrior/Purchase From The Undead Merchant

The Heater Shield is easily one of the best shields in Dark Souls, and not just because it negates 100% of all incoming damage. It's got more to do with the light weight of this shield.

In fact, the Heater Shield is the lightest shield in the game, with 100% damage reduction. This, coupled with its fast parry speed, makes it one of the most efficient shields in the entire game.

7 Greatshield Of Artorias

Where To Find: Ascend A +10 Shield With The Soul Of Sif

This shield is one that takes quite a lot of time and resources to acquire, though it is worth it. To obtain this greatshield, a player needs to gather the Soul of Sif, a +10 shield, and 5000 souls before speaking with the master blacksmith Andre of Astora. Once the Greatshield of Artorias is in the player's hands, there is no longer any need to fear status effects, for this divine armament grants the player 100% build-up reduction from bleed, poison, toxic, and even cursing.

On top of this, the Greatshield of Artorias has total damage reduction against physical attacks and greatly defends from fiery varieties at 80% blockage. Combined with its massive stability of 88, the material manifestation of Sif's spirit can protect someone better than the loyal wolf who guarded Knight Artorias.

6 Black Iron Greatshield

Where To Find: On A Corpse In The Grand Painting Hall Of Anor Londo

This immensely heavy slab of iron weighs in at 16 units, making it a hefty defensive armament to use. However, for dragon and demon-slaying, there is nothing better. With the best fire damage reduction of almost any shield in the game, this wall of dark metal prevents 90% of incoming flames in addition to completely protecting its user from physical damage.

The Black Iron Greatshield also has great status build-up reductions for everything except curses, along with a stability of 71. The shield bash also hurts foes more than some might expect and can provide a bit of breathing room if too many enemies are crowding the player.

5 Silver Knight Shield

Where To Find: A Rare Drop From Silver Knights

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 Silver Knight 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.

4 Black Knight Shield

Where To Find: Rare Drop From The Black Knight

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-sized shield that will deflect almost every 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 a 5% chance of dropping from a black knight.

3 Spider Shield

Where To Find: Starting Equipment For The Bandit/In The Valley Of Drakes/Above The Giant Rat In The Depths

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. The Spider Shield 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 a starting item for the Bandit class.

2 Crest Shield

Where To Find: Dropped By Oscar Of Astora

Here's a medium-sized shield that is as good as a large-sized one in size and works as smoothly as a small-sized one. The 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 80%, making the players almost bulletproof against magic. The upgrades of this shield make it stand apart and are totally worth it.

1 Havel's Greatshield

Where To Find: In A Chest Behind An Illusionary Wall In Anor Londo

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 slab of thick stone 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.