Each level has their own justifications, strengths, and weaknesses.
And for this ranking we’ll be looking into the smallest of the three.
These little dudes are best for characters who can’t carry too great a load, or for characters who just like to parry, as small shields really fit well for both.
5. Effigy Shield
One of the many running themes with the notorious baddies of Lordran is the use of lightning.
Folk like Ornstein and Smough, Titanite Demons, and the infamous Bell Gargoyles all use the stuff as often as an Estus Flask.
There will be lots of times when your poor Chosen Undead will have to face up against the force of electricity.
Thankfully, there are a fair few ways to help mitigate zap damage – with one of the better solutions being the Effigy Shield.
This small shield boasts the highest lightning resistance of all shields.
And despite its size, this Giger-inspired protective can handle cosmic wrath like no other, leaving you to keep pursuing victory.
How to Obtain: Found in the Tomb of the Giants, close to the second bonfire.
4. Crystal Ring Shield
The assumption when you look at a shield is “oh, that thing’s main purpose is to protect me”
And usually you’d be right.
But on occasion, there comes along a shield that does more than what’s typically asked of its kind.
The Crystal Ring Shield is one such overachiever.
Besides deflecting the majority physical damage thrown at it, this shield is also the best in the game for tanking magical attacks.
At a full +5 power, this bad boy can stand up to even the scariest miracles and sorceries that both PVP and PVE have to offer, leaving your Chosen Undead hero to continue the fight.
And even better, despite having ‘crystal’ in the name, this thing can totally be repaired and has no chance of shattering.
The name is just there to make it sound cool – rather, cooler.
How to Obtain: Feed the soul of the Moonlight Butterfly to a +10 shield.
3. Buckler
If you’re using a small shield, then the odds are good that you’re either rolling a magic-focused character, or somebody built with dexterity in mind.
That’s just what these kinds of shields are used for, generally.
When selecting a protective as one of these builds, oftentimes choosing something simpler is better – and the Buckler is a great example of this.
This little round fella may not reduce the damage of direct hits as well as its bigger brothers.
But it makes parrying much easier thanks to its extended animation.
And even better: it’s light.
So you won’t have to worry about equipment weight here.
Plus it’s super easy to get, purchasable in the Undead Burg for a measly 800 souls.
How to Obtain: Drops from Balder Knights in the Undead Parish.
2. Warrior’s Round Shield
Yes, when discussing magic resistance on shields, the Crystal Ring Shield does have better overall stats. That is true.
However, the CRS is a pain to get – requiring a +10 normal shield and a late-game boss soul.
Sometimes picking second-best is optimal, especially when that runner-up is so much easier to obtain and use.
The Warrior’s Round Shield can be purchased less than an hour into the game from the Undead Merchant in the Undead Burg. And you can get it for a meager sum, too.
From there, it can slowly be built up to have the second-best magic resist in the game.
It’s a much easier alternative – and can even be a stop-gap between the two.
Either way, the Warrior’s Round Shield is a great protective piece of gear for any attacks that come your way.
How to Obtain: Purchased from the Undead Merchant in the Undead Burg.
1. Target Shield
If the Buckler went dormant and evolved, it would turn into the Target Shield.
In every way that the Buckler is good at parrying and basic deflection, the Target Shield is better.
It has more reduction, the Thief class starts with it, and best of all it’s made out of metal, which means that it is naturally better at deflecting stuff.
Things like minor arrows and weak attacks will bounce right off this guy.
And parrying?
It has an extra-long animation (like the Buckler) that keeps the parry window open for a few more precious frames.
If you’re running a dex character, or just want to parry attacks, then you’d be hard-pressed to do any better than the Target Shield.
How to Obtain: Starting shield for the Thief class and can be found in the Undead Burg.
Brian knows more about RPGs than he does world history. Combine with his love of writing and you get somebody who can, and will, go on forever about every nuance of every game he's played.
