One of the great things about FromSoftware’s Dark Souls franchise is they provide players with the freedom to approach encounters in their own preferred ways. Shields are naturally not as exciting as weapons, especially since their importance is reduced in the later Dark Souls games. For some, the proper way to play Dark Souls III is to not use a shield at all; however, that is not due to a lack of options.
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Including the DLC, Dark Souls III has over 60 shields, which are generally split into three categories: Small, standard, and great. Each shield comes with a Weapon Art, some have auxiliary effects, and it is generally wise to swap out shields depending on the enemy or boss fight. Most importantly, while most shields are serviceable, the best of the bunch render the lesser items obsolete. What are the best shields in Dark Souls III?
10 Llewellyn Shield
Small shields are not particularly viable in Dark Souls III, but they have their uses in the early game and benefit from having extremely low weight. Out of the bunch, the Llewellyn Shield is the best, even if it is not quite as good as the version in Dark Souls II.
The Llewellyn Shield has the “Parry” Weapon Art, which allows attacks to be deflected and a critical hit to be inflicted. It can also be infused with Gems to provide a defensive boost against Magic attacks, an area this shield is already superior to most of its similarly-sized brethren.
9 Yhorm’s Greatshield
Greatshields are an acquired taste. They not only require high stats to use but they also limit a player’s movability. That said, tank builds will find a lot to love in these massive defensive walls. Yhorm’s Greatshield’s best asset is that it increases Poise by 15, permitting more hits to be taken before the player staggers. Unfortunately, Poise is somewhat unpredictable and difficult to track, so this benefit has a ceiling.
Yhorm’s Greatshield is an all-around solid option for those seeking a Greatshield, as it provides above-average resistance to magic and elemental attacks while naturally having 100% resistance to physical hits.
8 Stone Parma
If a player decides to use a shield, they are most likely to gravitate towards mid-level ones. Typically, they provide good protection while also not requiring absurdly high stats to use. The Stone Parma is found relatively early in the campaign, as it is located in Farron Keep, and has solid but unspectacular stats.
What really allows the Stone Parma to shine is that it can be infused, unlike some of the better mid-level shields. When fully maxed out, it has a respectable stability stat of 63, which determines the stamina that is consumed when an attack is blocked.
7 Wolf Knight’s Greatshield
The Wolf Knight’s Greatshield is a contender for the best of its bracket, and that comes down to a few different factors. It requires a strength stat of 30 to be wielded, which is relatively low for a greatshield that is actually decent.
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Furthermore, the Wolf Knight’s Greatshield is not only one of the lightest greatshields in the game but it is also one of a select few to come with the “Weapon Skill” Weapon Art. This permits the main weapon’s skill attack to be used without the shield having to be put away. It also provides a resistance boost to status effects.
6 Dragon Crest Shield
While all of the Weapon Arts have their uses, “Parry” is the most desirable. Once a player comes to grips with the timing required to execute parries, it can be an absolutely devastating tool to have at one’s disposal. The small shields would be almost completely pointless if it were not for the fact most of them have the “Parry” skill.
All of the Crest shields are worth using, but the Dragon Crest Shield has an edge due to possessing the highest fire resistance in the base game. While The Ringed City DLC would take this crown away from the Dragon Crest Shield, it is still a superior all-around option than the Dragonhead Shield.
5 Shield Of Want
Located at Smouldering Lake, the Shield Of Want is not only a cool artifact due to its connection to Dark Souls II‘s King Vendrick but it also boosts collected souls by 20%. While this feature is not quite as appealing during the endgame or subsequent playthroughs, it can be very useful during an initial run.
However, the Shield of Want’s usefulness does not start and end with its auxiliary ability. It counters a fairly high strength requirement of 18 to equip with low weight, decent stability, and above-average damage reduction to most attack types besides fire.
4 Ethereal Oak Shield
Dark Souls III‘s DLC packages introduced five new shields. The Giant Door Shield standouts as one of the better (and most ridiculous) greatshields in the entire game, while both Dragonhead variants should get the job done. However, out of all the DLC shields, the Ethereal Oak Shield is the best.
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The Ethereal Oak Shield is perfect for most scenarios, offering more than acceptable resistance to magic, lightning, and dark attacks. Its stability of 50 could be better and it should be swapped out against a fire boss; however, these shortcomings are made acceptable due to its auxiliary skill that regenerates health.
3 Greatshield Of Glory
In truth, the best shield in Dark Souls III is situational. For tank characters with a propensity for magic, the Greatshield of Glory is unbeatable. This all comes down to the fact that it has the highest stability in the game, including the two DLC packages. Now, this does come at a cost, as the Greatshield of Glory slows down stamina regeneration by 20%, making it the only shield in Dark Souls III with a negative auxiliary effect.
However, this is rendered moot by casting Magic Shield, which increases stability by 18. Therefore, once the Greatshield of Glory is upgraded twice, this spell increases the shield’s stability to 100. Consequently, blocking stops reducing stamina.
2 Lothric Knight Shield
The Lothric Knight Shield is nearly perfect. It is a mid-level shield that has the “Parry” skill, can be obtained relatively early from the Lothric Knights at the High Wall of Lothric, and has an impressive stability rating of 66 when fully upgraded. It is also highly resistant to lightning attacks, making it an ideal weapon against bosses like Dragonslayer Armour and Nameless King.
The Lothric Knight Shield can also be infused. This is not an especially vital feature for shields, but infusing a Blessed or Simple Gem would provide some HP or FP regeneration respectively.
1 Black Knight Shield
The Black Knight Shield has stats befitting of a greatshield at the cost of a mid-level one. Once fully upgraded, it has a stability rating of 69. This is not only the highest of all the standard shields but it is only a few points short of the Wolf Knight’s Greatshield and the Lothric Knight Greatshield. Unlike the latter two, the Black Knight Shield can be equipped with 18 strength and only adds 7.5 to the player’s equipment load.
While it does not have “Parry,” the Black Knight Shield does not need to be put away for the main weapon’s skill to be used. Lastly, it has amazing resistance to fire attacks while being acceptable in every other area. This is the type of shield that does not need to be replaced.
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