You might be tempted to use a shield if you are new to Elden Ring. Yes, they don’t allow you to get the two-handed damage out of your weapon, but it does give you another way to defend yourself against enemy attacks. One mechanic you have probably noticed is that you can upgrade your shields.
If you do use a shield, it is worth upgrading as much as possible. Depending on the shield, it might give you some serious bonuses and help increase your poise. There are many reasons to upgrade your shield, especially if you have a shield with a special skill built into it.
There are a ton of shields in the game, ranging from light, medium, or heavy classes. You can also get shields that give you attack bonuses when you use them. It depends on your build, and the weight of your armor will determine which one you want to use.
1. It gives you more defense
Defense is the most important stat you need to watch in the game. If you have low defense, with every hit you take, you will have less poise and take a ton of extra damage. If you are naked and die in 2 hits, if you have a fully upgraded shield, you will most likely die in about 4-5 hits, depending on the enemy you are fighting.
There is even a shield in the game that is a gravestone. It is the most overpowered shield in the game and is worth every upgrade. The more you upgrade a shield, the more defense the shield will get. This will greatly help, especially if you are close to beating the game. The endgame bosses aren’t easy, so you will need all the defense you can get.
2. It helps with shield skills
Shield skills are pretty good if you can find the right shields. You can place Ash of War on specific shields, but if you find something like the Jellyfish Shield, it will give you some good boosts. The Jellyfish Shield will boost your attack if you use it and keep the shield in your left hand. There are also a ton of shields that will shoot projectiles as well.
Every shield you get, you should look at it and see what it does. Some shields give you more defense against elements. All the information is there in the game, so if you didn’t know that a specific shield that you had did something amazing, you aren’t reading and experimenting enough. Make sure you know what all the gear you get do so you know for future builds.
3. It will take less stamina to block
Stamina is the most important thing you must watch out for when you are in a fight. If you aren’t careful, you will run out, and it won’t allow you to dodge. You will then need to tank the hit, and it could be deadly if you can’t recover fast enough. The plus to upgrading a shield is that it will use less stamina when you block it.
Obviously, the heavier the shield, the less stamina it will take from every block. This gives you time to counterattack, and if you are using a thrusting weapon, you don’t need to stop blocking. You will be an unstoppable force if you build your character correctly and upgrade all your equipment, including your shield.
4. It helps with increasing poise
Poise is the number of hits you can take before you can’t do anything about an oncoming attack. When you can riposte an enemy or a boss, this is the state you will be in. It goes along with defense in that your Poise matters with all the equipment you have equipped. The heavier the shield, the more Poise you will have.
The more you upgrade it, the more Poise it will give you. Shields are by far the most helpful thing if you are struggling with taking a lot of hits from enemies. It is very useful if you have a heavy build because you can’t back away fast enough. Ensure your build is optimized perfectly for how you want it to be.
5. It is good for PVP
PVP is the hardest thing you can do in the game because you never know who you will face. You could go up against a bunch of Magic users, or you could go up against a single sword user. It is hit or misses on who you will be fighting, but one thing is for sure, you will need a shield if you are newer to it.
Yes, some weapons can go through shields, but it is extremely important, especially if you go up against elemental weapons like Bleed. An upgraded shield is necessary to block all hard-hitting attacks. Remember that you only get a certain number of Flasks and will be in big trouble once you run out.
An upgraded shield will help you use fewer Flasks, so if you are playing PVP, take a good shield. You could also take a Parry shield with you and Parry them into oblivion. If you know how to Parry, you won’t have too much trouble with them.