Terraria: Frozen Shield vs. Hero Shield (What’s Better?)

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The Frozen Shield is usually the better pick if deciding between the Frozen Shield and the Hero Shield. It’s generally viewed as one of the best shields in the game alongside the Ankh Shield. This is because of its damage-reducing passive effects.

The Frozen Shield puts a shell around you when your life drops below 50%. This shell reduces damage taken by 25%.

Meanwhile, the Hero Shield makes enemies have a higher chance to target you.

 

Comparison & Stats Breakdown

 

Frozen Shield Stats

 
A player equipped with the Frozen Shield / Terraria
A player equipped with the Frozen Shield
 
Frozen Shield Details
Defense 6
Tooltip 1 Grants immunity to knockback
Tooltip 2 Absorbs 25% of damage done to players on your team when above 25% life
Tooltip 3 Puts a shell around the owner when below 50% life that reduces damage by 25%
 

Hero Shield Stats

 
A player equipped with the Hero Shield / Terraria
A player equipped with the Hero Shield
 
Hero Shield Details
Defense 10
Tooltip 1 Grants immunity to knockback
Tooltip 2 Absorbs 25% of damage done to players on your team when above 25% life
Tooltip 3 Enemies are more likely to target you

Note: The Hero Shield is the best shield if you’re solely looking at the defense stat. It has the highest defense among all the shields.

 

Frozen vs. Hero Shield Passive Effects

The two shields share the same first passive since most shields grant knockback immunity.

They also both inherit the passive from the Paladin’s Shield as their second passive.

However, their third passives are clearly different. The Frozen Shield’s passive comes from the Frozen Turtle Shell accessory’s effect, while the Hero Shield’s passive comes from the Flesh Knuckle accessory’s effect.

When the Frozen Shield effect is active, it will display a small blue ball that flies around your character. This lets you know that you will take reduced damage.

 
Arrow showing what the ball looks like / Terraria
Arrow showing what the ball looks like
 

The Hero Shield has no visual effect, but you’ll likely notice an increased number of enemies coming towards you. This is due to the aggro increase it gives you.

 
Enemies swarming the player with a Hero Shield in the Underworld / Terraria
Enemies swarming the player with a Hero Shield in the Underworld
 

Shield Use Cases

It’s difficult to compare the two shields since they serve two different roles.

The Frozen Shield is best when you’re playing solo since the buff is directly beneficial to you.

The Hero Shield is best when you’re playing in co-op with others, since it allows you to fulfill a tank role if you choose to.

 

What About the Ankh Shield?

Before the 1.4 update, the Ankh Shield was widely considered the best shield in the game. Does this still hold up?

Let’s compare it with the others.

 
A player equipped with the Ankh Shield / Terraria
A player equipped with the Ankh Shield
 
Ankh Shield Details
Defense 4
Tooltip 1 Grants immunity to knockback and fire blocks
Tooltip 2 Grants immunity to most debuffs

This may seem underwhelming at first, but the enemies of Terraria constantly place debuffs on you. This shield provides immunity to:

  • Bleeding
  • Silenced
  • Broken Armor
  • Slow
  • Burning
  • Weak
  • Confused
  • Chilled
  • Cursed
  • Darkness
  • Poisoned

If you’re unable to have both equipped, the Ankh Shield is generally better for exploration and ordinary fighting. This way, you won’t be caught off guard by a sudden debuff and die.

When preparing to fight a boss, the Frozen Shield is arguably better.

You’ll likely be under 50% life for a significant part of the fight, so the reduced damage passive will be in effect.

 
Reduced damage in boss fight against the Eater of Worlds / Terraria
Reduced damage in boss fight against the Eater of Worlds
 

What’s Easier To Make?

Both shields can be crafted at a Tinkerer’s Workshop.

Given the drop-rates highlighted below, the Hero Shield appears to be the easiest to acquire. However, it’s still best to grind for the shield that will benefit you the most.

 

Getting the Frozen Shield

The Frozen Shield requires a Paladin’s Shield and a Frozen Turtle Shell to craft.

The Paladin’s Shield has a 9.33% chance to drop from the Paladin enemy in Classic mode, and a 13.56% chance in Expert/Master mode. They spawn in the Dungeon after Plantera has been defeated once.

 
A Paladin in the Dungeon / Terraria
A Paladin in the Dungeon / Image source
 

The Frozen Turtle Shield has a 1% chance to drop from the Ice Tortoise enemy in all modes. They spawn in the Cavern layer of the Snow biome in Hardmode.

 
An Ice Tortoise in the Ice biome / Terraria
An Ice Tortoise in the Ice biome
 

Getting the Hero Shield

The Hero Shield requires a Paladin’s Shield and Flesh Knuckles to craft.

The Flesh Knuckles have a 20% chance to drop from the Crimson Mimic enemy in all modes. Mimics begin to spawn underground once Hardmode begins, but they are pretty rare.

You’ll find Crimson Mimics specifically in the Crimson Underground. You can also manually spawn one by using a Key of Night.

 
A Crimson Mimic spawned with a Key of Night / Terraria
A Crimson Mimic spawned with a Key of Night
 

The Key of Night will spawn a Crimson Mimic if placed inside an empty chest in a Crimson world. You can craft one with 15 Soul of Night at a Work Bench.

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Samuel Morelos

Samuel is an avid gamer with a passion for engaging gameplay and captivating storytelling. From Terraria to Escape From Tarkov, you can find him enjoying just about any game genre. When he's not playing games, you'll seldom find him lying around. If there's no studying to do, he's probably video editing or writing a novel.