Update 3/17: Barricade Shield has been nerfed in Elden Ring patch 1.03. It now has a five-second duration and costs 12 FP, making it more difficult to maintain 100 Guard Boost for extended periods using the setup that is outlined below.
For many players, shields in Elden Ring are only to be used for blocking, and these fans may wonder if it is worth spending their hard-earned Runes and Smithing Stones to strengthen these armaments. Indeed, while it is obvious that upgrading a shield improves its offensive capabilities, some players may be unclear about how their defensive properties are altered. This guide will shine some light on this matter and help fans decide if they should upgrade their shields in Elden Ring.
Elden Ring: Should You Upgrade Shields
To put things simply, shields are absolutely worth upgrading even if an Elden Ring player never plans to use them offensively. This is because shields gain points of Guard Boost through strengthening them, though that stat does not increase by a full point every upgrade. For the uninitiated, Guard Boost determines how much stamina is expended when an attack is blocked, with that stamina expenditure going to zero when the stat hits 100.
For those shield-users that are looking to reach 100 Guard Boost with minimal investment, the Brass Shield is the best option. That is because this powerful Elden Ring shield can be equipped with just 16 strength, and it comes with a base Guard Boost of 56. That stat can be increased to 65 by upgrading the Brass Shield to +18, and players can get the additional 35 points that they need to reach 100 Guard Boost by using the Barricade Shield skill.
To assemble this setup, fans should make their way to the South Raya Lucaria Gate Site of Grace at the southeast corner of Elden Ring's Academy of Raya Lucaria. There are several Raya Lucaria Soldiers just southeast of this Site of Grace, and those that are carrying a Brass Shield have a small chance to drop the item. With a Brass Shield in hand, players must simply defeat Bloodhound Knight Darriwil in Limgrave's Forlon Hound Evergaol to obtain Ash of War: Barricade Shield and then attach the skill to the armament at any Site of Grace.
Notably, Barricade Shield has a 15-second duration, which means that players may need to use it several times to maintain 100 Guard Boost for the entirety of a boss fight in Elden Ring. This should not prove to be very difficult, though, as Barricade Shield costs just 8 FP per activation. That said, if the FP requirement makes it hard for a player to get multiple Barricade Shields off in a lengthier battle, they can always drink a Flask of Cerulean Tears.
Elden Ring is available now for PC, PlayStation 4 and 5, and Xbox One and Series X|S.