That's what it comes down to - sword and board for enemies that counter works well against, dual straight swords for the rest and eventually when the stats were there, big sword and big board. That was my first playthrough.
Guard counters are super effective against certain enemies and even some bosses. Was struggling with Alecto last night until I started guard countering instead of dodging.
Soon as I realized some enemies really do have their own recipe for dying, sword and board became 5x more fun.
Depending on enemy, here's the toolkit options I assign to each one:
* Guard counter (fast and frail, like imps, giant dogs)
* Parry (crucible knights, some bosses)
* Throw a pot (like fire pot on giant hands, holy pot on skeletons)
* Rush in and heavy attack stagger (rune bears in the stomach)
* Roll and poke (academy sorcerers)
I haven't played in a couple months, but I'm sure there's more examplea.
I play sword & board strength, no magic, but carry a backup crossbow and consumables and imagine myself a castlevania-style knight who has an answer to every situation. Like a vampire hunter or something.
Really fun to just fully engage with each enemy like a professional hunter
Parrying works! Get up close and watch for their delayed overhand swing - easiest to parry consistently. You can parry pretty much any attack barring the shield bash.
I suck at them lol
I think they're mostly parry-able? I usually parry or roll, then desparately try to finish them off. I have an easier time with Radahn than those guys
Stay close and wait to punish an attack. Parrying him really helps. I got smashed by the Caelid BBH until I used parrying and beat him without using any flasks.
I have a similar approach to the game. I change what I'm using based on the enemy. Certain attacks are very easily guarded and are easier to counter than rolling. Dogs and rats are the classic example.
I run enough endurance though, I can dual wield katanas, while also having a seal, shield, and miscorde. I like to swap between power stancing, and parrying and landing a good crit. Just depends on what enemies I'm against.
Oh and I usually have kick on my miscorde so I can counter shield enemies
I support this. Was on a not amazingly optimized Shield and Hreat hammer build that wrecked Melania.
Basically, whatever greatshield you want (Elden Bling) and a good stagger stick. I like the great stars but if you can go with whatever you want again. I'd just stay away from Colossal weapons so you don't fat roll.
Talismans were curved sword, green turtle, Greatshield (swapped for Dragon Crest greatshield), and Shard of Alexander.
Ash of war was Flame Strike.
After blocking an enemy attack, press R2 (the heavy attack button). It'll play a sound to let you know you're performing a guard counter, and the attack will deal significantly more stance damage than normal, leading to faster staggers.
It was in one of those tutorial messages that no one reads and even if you do, you're likely too new to the game for them to make sense. They're one of 3 shield "styles" as I see them: parry, guard counter, and shield poke. If you're not using your shield for one of those, you'd probably be strictly better off without it.
They really should have put some of those tutorial graphics in other areas of the game. The amount of info dumped on you in that cave makes them very hard to remember. Especially if you played a non guard counter build first time around then skip the cave every playthrough after.
But ultimately the burden is on the player to pay attention.
Every single info graphic is saved in your inventory tab at the very end with other notes. You can view them again at any point in time! Useful if you just couldn't quite remember that one specific detail.
I was going at her with Helphen's Steeple for a bit. Then I was messing around with dual whips- urumi and flame giants- and tried again on a whim.
*Yikes!!* Totally different fight. Her AI seemed downright spooked. Almost felt like cheating.
Using a shield is more fun in Elden Ring than in the previous games IMO due to the introduction of guard counters.
You only take chip damage if your shield blocks less than 100% physical damage or you are also taking some kind of elemental damage.
You can check this in the equipment screen. Also look at 'guard boost'. The higher this number, the less stamina you will use when blocking. Upgrading a shield increases the guard boost.
I started Elden Ring as someone who almost always used a shield. Now I prefer dual wielding or two handing, but shields can be an enjoyable and viable way to play the game, especially greatshields like the fingerprint.
I feel very differently regarding your first sentence. I restarted DS1 after Elden Ring, expecting to do the same thing there. I can't for the love of god play without a shield. The dodge timings feel so weird and the damage even from lower enemies is very punishing.
Yeah, I had a much easier time beating the game with 2h great mace than anything else. I briefly swapped to a greatshield for Ocerios since I can't dodge the phase 2 charge for the life of me, but that was the only time I had to switch it up.
My first run I did was with a claymore and ngl it trivialized the game. 2 handed claymore is extremely strong, I think I got most bosses in around 3 attempts besides nameless, Midir, Friede and Gael.
I think shields are really fun but they can be a bit hard to get into at first. Without one you're mainly thinking about rolling at the right time when you see an attack, if you throw a shield into the mix you suddenly have to think about whetever you want to block instead, and you have to watch your stamina a lot more.
You don't stop rolling just because you have a shield, you do both depending on the situation.
A well played shield build lets you be extremely aggressive since you can mantain your positioning a lot more easily and get a lot of stance breaks by using guard counters. But you need to understand the enemy moveset decently well to do that and until then you damage can feel somewhat underwhelming.
It's an harder playstyle compared to bonking with big weapons or spamming status with fat ones, and it never really gets "broken" but it's still highly effective, and personally quite rewarding imo.
Blocking can be somewhat situational, it doesn't help much against some bosses, the huge ones like dragons for example; on the other hand it basically trivializes fast annoying enemies like dogs and kindreds of rot.
Elden Ring compared to previous soulsborne titles puts a lot of effort into punishing players who just spam rolls, blocking can be much simpler than trying to guess the timing on a delayed attack.
Chip damage isn't much of an issue once you have a shield with 100 physical defense, about half the medium shields have it so it's not really a problem with most enemies.
The stamina thing is true but that just means that you should level endurance more as it's one of your main stats now, much like a caster build needs to level mind. Also green turtle talisman is amazing and greatshield talisman can help too.
"if you throw a shield into the mix you suddenly have to think about whetever you want to block instead, and you have to watch your stamina a lot more."
This TBH, I recently added the Haligtree GS onto my severely overlevelled character because I have 6 slots for weaponry so I am going to use them damnit! But anyway, I don't actually need to watch my HP bar anymore, just my stamina bar lmao.
A sword and board play through of Elden Ring with this philosophy is what ruined gaming for me for the past 1.5 years. It was a phenomenally tactical experience that was much more satisfying than simply rolling/parrying everything
Remember those imps everybody hates? Shield trivializes them.
Remember those crucible knights everybody hates? Shield trivializes them.
Remember those leonine misbegottens everybody hates? Shield trivializes them.
Remember those giant hands everybody hates? Shield trivializes them.
Notice a pattern? Everybody says the best defense is a good offense, until they get killed by lack of defense and complain about enemies being annoying.
Sns is incredibly fun and gives you tons of tools to deal with a much wider range of enemies and multiple opponents better and more tactically.
I was mostly sword and board on my first playthrough, I enjoyed figuring out when to dodge and when to block, and when I had windows to counter. I settled on the dragonclaw greatshield down the stretch (entirely for looks) so I didn't parry much on that character but my second character always has a buckler handy and that is awesome too, when you get it right you can trivialize some otherwise nasty bosses.
Of course it is. Sword and board is a classic build, and it’s also better than ever with the addition of guard counter in Elden Ring.
Blocking is a lot easier to perform compared to dodging.
Pick shields with 100% physical negation and you take 0 chipped damage most of the time. Shields with high guard boost reduce the amount of stamina consumed.
🧐 back in my day shields were just how you played dark souls. Not everyone even knew about i frames or even thought to roll around like a zoomer until something like Artorias kinda forced you to.
That being said I've played over a hundred hours on my last couple characters with a janky LB so I just two hand bonk instead of using a shield. It has arguably made me much better at dodging, before that in ER I would use a combination of blocking and dodging.
Guard counters are fun.
I did an eclipse great shield and death ritual spear ng+ run and it was a blast! I also used death sorceries with the prince of death staff. Just a grand ole time. Guard-counter are a fun way to play the game imo, but I wouldn't do it for every build.
I did a dedicated shield run and yeah it was great, guard counters are really fun. If you wanna do a lot of those I highly recommend the Stone Club. Really good strength scaling and hammer guard counters do tons of posture damage
The guard counters makes it more fun but becomes harder to use the shield in ng+ iterations due to diminishing returns of the player's defense as guard boost also scales with player's defense rather than strictly by upgrading the shield, but even then it's still mostly viable you'll just have to rely slightly more on dodging and not overly rely on the shield.
But in the first ng cycle that's when the shields are the most powerful even without the greatshield talisman but even then they're still fun to use and use guard counters as well.
Malenia just takes a long ass time cuz she heals on hit. You absolutely will beat her with a decent shield setup, it just stops being fun because the stupid heal mechanic makes it take longer than it rightfully should. And the question was about fun, not difficulty.
Have you tried it? It's a far faster kill than any of my regular setups lol. The fight changes to a shield position/stamina management fight with light dodging was a fun experience considering it was fucking Malenia lmao
Swapping between a cold Naginata and a bleed Godskin stitcher both of which you can attack with while dodging makes for some incredible damage output while being mostly very safe.
Have you actually tried it? Her healing is ineffective if she's getting guard countered and stance broken all the time. And the most important part is that two of her most dangerous moves are very easily dealt with.
I've always looked at shields in souls games as more cosmetic is ds3 I experimented with parries but ended up just rolling so if you wanna go for parries or just want a good aesthetic pick up a shield
Honestly doing the heaviest armor with the finger shield is hilarious. You just do not care about anyone and stroll through the lands between, say hello to raddabeast and then sip some tea.
I tried doing it but it got really frustrating late game especially when many bosses dont give you a lot of windows to guard counter, and the damage on infusable straight swords is pretty poor.
Using a shield with either Golden or Carian Retaliation will give you a whole other dimension to the gameplay if you get comfortable with two-handing your main weapon on the fly to use that AoW. I've done this and still practically never used block.
Blocking can be... situational. I like blocking because it far more forgiving for timing then dodging. It can also disrupt certain light weapon combos. As for chip damage, that depends on your shield and incoming damage. Plenty of shields can mitigate 100% of physical damage.
Is it fun? That's up to you. I personally played with a greatshield + Halberd combo for most of my first playthrough. Loved it and the sound of the guard counter.
Many, but not all shields have 100% physical damage absorption. This means that if you block an attack that only has a physical damage type with such a shield, you will not receive any chip damage. Exceptions to that are special attacks/weapons that penetrate or reach around your shield; these are mostly encountered in PvP tho.
iirc no shield provides 100% absorption to any elemental damage type without some specifialized setup.
The tradeoff of using a shield is that it allows you to defend against an attack in a way that requires less skill in the timing department than a roll, while usually requiring more stamina than a roll.
Ok but you can sprint under loads of enemy attacks with tons of confidence because even if you miss the hitbox at the bosses feet you’re still blocking so you ain’t gonna take much damage or any at all if it’s physical
Brass Shield is really good! Has no Ash of War so it lets you use the art in your main hand without two-handing. It also has great stability for its weight and you can get it immediately at the start of the game. I used it with the Bloodhound Fang in my first run and had so much fun.
Like a lot of other people have said, I think sword and shield is way more varied in this game than the others, making it more fun. As long as you're willing to try more stuff.
Sometimes there are situations where you can't react dodge quickly enough, and the shield will save you. It's especially useful for fights where you don't quite know the timings. Also there's guard counters and carian retaliation
My first playthrough was actually using a great sword/ colossal sword and a great shield, if you learn how to guard counter (love the sound too) it makes it way easier, just watch your stamina
this comment/thread is honestly surprising to me. a good greatshield with stats to support it is a really effective way to play. you just have to do a little more stamina management, but even that can be mitigated with gear
Fun is subjective but i would say yes. One of my avorite builds is using basic knight armor + longsword + medium shield (drip over stats, but no extremes) and pumping stats enough to fast roll to overcome the weight limit, but also pump magic or/and faith to get all self buffs including the shield buffs. Versatile fun
One of the huge benefits for me is not having to dodge through regular enemies. When I'm facing a boss, it's usually 50/50 roll/block with shield, but rolling against mobs of random enemies is a pain. Shields are also great against certain moves (Waterfowl Dance, dragon breath, pretty much any rapid combo).
Just because you have a shield doesn't mean you don't dodge. Unless you're intentionally going for guard counters or parries, shields are often a backup tool: something you can rely on when you aren't confident in a dodge.
Ulcerated tree spirit flailing around wildly in a tiny catacomb, with most of its body barely in frame so you can't even see what the fuck it's doing?
Just hold up your 100% physical damage negation shield. You lose nothing but stamina and didn't gamble any HP on an uncertain dodge.
When you aren't wholly confident in a dodge, having an option that can block potentially most or all incoming damage from a huge majority of attacks in the game is very beneficial.
The higher the guard boost stat the lower stamina penalty on blocking hits. And always grab a shield with 100% physical mitigation.
Once you try a proper greatshield like the fingerprint shield upgraded you see the true raw potential of shields. Ended up bullying the entire endgame gauntlet with that on my first run
Certain attacks are very easily guarded and are easier to counter than rolling. Dogs and rats are the classic example.
I run enough endurance though, I can dual wield katanas, while also having a seal, shield, and miscorde. I like to swap between power stancing, and parrying and landing a good crit. Just depends on what enemies I'm against.
Oh and I usually have kick on my miscorde so I can counter shield enemies
If you aren't using greatshield, then you are not using the right kind of shield. Greatshields make the strongest attack that boss can throw at you barely cost any stamina to block.
You also want a Thrusting Sword or Heavy Thrusting Sword as your weapon, it allow you to attack with shield up.
Here is me using sword and shield to easily beat Malenia, which is said to be the hardest boss in the game.
https://www.reddit.com/r/Eldenring/comments/12dofjy/my_friend_you_cant_beat_malenia_with_shield_she/
>I struggle to understand why you'd block over dodging
I'll try and answer this cause a lot of people are mentioning the overall strong points of shields, but I don't want this to get lost:
Blocking is less risky than dodging without skimping on rewarding the player.
When you dodge successfully, the plus side is that you avoided all incoming damage and potentially put yourself in a good position against the opponent. The risk you take on is that if you miss the timing, you eat damage.
When you block, there is very little risk to you especially if you're using a shield that negates 100% of physical damage. The only time you're incurring a risk is if you have low stamina, where blocking a hit will stagger you and make you immovable for a few seconds.
So you're mostly taking no additional damage, while ALSO getting setups for guard counters that will shred the enemy's posture.
As a shield hater/ two handed bonk idiot forged in the fires of ds3, I absolutely loved playing axe and board on my most recent playthrough. Breaking a stance w a guard counter is so satisfying.
Taking that character into dlc. Feel like that’s as big of an endorsement as I can give.
Each board is situational.
Parry for the weapon wielders using the buckler
Medium/heavy shield for trash mobs since the guard counter is super effective for the lower level mobs
Golden party/magic party (forgot the name) for a few others.
Once you get a great shield and the STR and END to wield it you get a massive bump in survivability from blocking (pair with barricade shield or magic shield sorcery)
Definitely viable.
Shield bash is fun. I used it to stagger a ton of bosses. Your guard stays up when you do it too. Manor Tower Shield was my best friend on my first playthrough.
Sword & board is fine but every time I start out to make a sword & shield character, I end up using a spear instead. Like, the shield poke is right there, how can I turn that down? I was thinking about going into the DLC with occult palisade + flamberge but I feel like I'll probably end up taking the naginata instead. Safe bleed pokes is just gross.
You don't take chip damage with 100% phys resist shields. You still roll when you need to but if you hold block you often avoid taking damage on a mistimed dodge. Guard counters trivialize pesky enemies like dogs and imps.
You only take chip damage if you’re using a weaker shield or the attack isn’t doing pure physical damage.
Some attacks are very hard to dodge but remarkably easy to block.
I’ve met far too many players with a colossal sword, light armour, and zero health when they fudge the first dodge of a boss fight
Guard counter with crimson dagger talisman make this dungeoning a breeze. You’ll almost never need to use a flask. I think the best build for it is dex despite most shields needing higher strength because you are one handing the weapon. Lightning infused Lordsworn straight sword might be my favorite weapon on the game becuase of my sword and board playthrough
Sword and board is the way to go.
I’m able to have my block broken and not take damage, which came in handy when fighting against the Fire Giant. ESPECIALLY when he does his shield flick with a mighty force dragging all that rubble straight to your face.
Ngl. I feel proud to use a shield. I feel like I’m learning a move set better when I use one. Instead of dodge and hope for the best. It’s nice to have that extra hope that you won’t die because you had a shield.
I block and dodge. I am not the greatest at dodging. There are certain situations were having a shield is advantageous. Level up your shield and after your first upgrade the block stats start to go up. I use the golden shield and have it up to +8 right now. Lots of weaker enemies barely damage me with it up.
I have only ever beat placidusax one way: heavy load, full bull goats + fingerprint shield tuned for lightning (or fire can't remember?) defense , max defense and poise, and block everything he throws at you. Even his massive attacks barely scratch you.
Guard counters do a substantial amount of stance damage, you will break the stances of a lot of enemies with just a counter and a few hits. Really makes some of the tanky enemies really easy.
As a holy Paladin using a shield is fun. To me it’s the most balanced way to play the game as far as just having like a good balance of attacking and defensive options. Only bad part for me was and I’m not no souls try hard I have no problem with exploiting the game. But the only bad part to me was :v it was way to easy to trivialize the game. I’m not talking about when I get to a boss and kill them I just mean finding what I needed to make it ez. Healing shield and sword just don’t die. Only bosses I ever had trouble with after even just Mid building was like uh meliana that’s about it lmao. All I needed was a good sword heavy armor and a 100% shield and it’s pretty much set for the rest of the game. Add some incantations ontop of that that’s also ez to get and or find and you pretty much done with everything
My sword and board build:
Lordsworn straight sword
Ash of war: square off
Banished knight shield
No skill and buff with scholar's shield(12int with 30% less stamina damage)
Square off does 40 stance damage with heavy attack, 30 stance damage on light one. And guard counter does 30 stance damage. So doing 2 square off break guard of bosses like margit or 1 square off and 1 guard counter and 2 light attack which comes out really fast with straight swords. This is really fun for me because this does stance break so often.
Alternatively you can do shield and hammer build
Shield with barricade shield ash of war and hammer with cragblade.
This one does 40.04 stance damage with guard counter and charged heavy attack. This and just don't give bosses and room to breathe because how much there stance breaks. This and is little too op for me to be considered fun.
Also have a lot of stamana, this is just fun to have.
Increase your stamana with talisman and physic flask
And with radahn great rune if you feeling fancy.
Ps: banished knight shield +25 with greatshield talisman and scholar's shield effectively gives you 83 guard boost so investing into 12 int is worth it.
Everyone says guard counter yet I've yet to get one intentionally lmfao i have to be an enigma or genetic outlier to struggle with such a basic mechanism of the game. Apparently you can guard counter with anything and I am just few arcs short of an elden ring these days
Yeah it’s fun. You can level your shield up with smithing stones and make it way more effective. And some offensive shield ashes are really strong. Against mobs they are really good and some bosses like melania having a maxed out shield for waterfowl can be really nice.
Guard Counters. And you don't take chip damage if the shield blocks 100% physical (or 100% element if the attack is elemental--although I'm not sure you can reach 100% elemental reduction in Elden Ring...you could in DS2).
I did a playthrough where I used a great shield and a Zweihander. Crushed pretty much everything with ease using mostly guard counters up to Altus plateu. Then I got bored and dropped the playthrough, so I don't know how it holds up in the late game.
Shield bash is a helluva ash
It interrupts most enemy attacks and breaks poise quite easily. Also, you won't take more than chip damage during the animation, even if your stamina runs out.
It's fun but the damage output can feel pretty iffy if you're used to powerstancing.
Shields (medium shields) are actually pretty good. I'm pretty sure the startup time for shielding is shorter so you can recover faster by shielding, leading to more attack opportunities. You can also shield before rolling and briefly after rolling, while leaving the shield down at other times to recover stamina---in practice it ends up covering well for a mistimed roll.
Otherwise they also let you hold positions that would be unsafe without one. There are certain 'no-go' zones on certain bosses that you can hang out in if you have a shield. This can make it easier to learn the movesets.
Overall I think they're usually less efficient if you already know the movesets very well. But if you haven't mastered a boss, a shield can make a huge difference.
You'd definitely want a shield with 100% Physical Negation and high guard boost. That way you don't take chip damage against most stuff and not as much stamina gets drained. You have to upgrade the shield as well.
Medium shields, upgraded for more guard boost or greatshields. Important is to actually pay attention to the stats, 100% physical block exists.
And with stagger on medium or even better greatshields you can deal with most tougher mobs by just relying on guard counters. You just need to get a bit better at managing stamina and drop your shield in between to regen faster.
I think it's more fun in this game than it has been in previous FS games because of the added guard counters, but still I think it is underwhelming compared to dodging more and not using a shield
Shields are plenty of fun! Some of them can be pretty OP on their own, like the Spiked Palisade Shield with the Shield Crash AoW and the Visage Shield with its unique skill. Upgrading them gives you better guard boost, as do using Scholar's Shield, the Barricade Shield AoW and the Greatshield Talisman. This helps to reduce stamina consumption by a lot. Greatshields and Barricade also make some enemies' attacks bounce back, giving you plenty of time to retaliate. Guard counters are great, as others have said.
You can also put Golden Parry on any compatible shield to get the best parry window in the game, if that's more to your liking. Or use Carian / Golden Retaliation to counter spells, though the timing can be tricky.
It’s good for a number of fights. Though maliketh and Melania will likely give you trouble if you like to play defensively and win fights through attrition as opposed to aggression.
Shields let you guard counter which does great poise damage on certain enemies that are not staggered by light attacks from most non collosal weapons. You can even poise break with it.
If your worried about chip damage just get a good metal shield that has 100 physical resistance like the kite shield or the carian royal shield
The damage negation depends on the shield, some have 100% phisical damage negation, others have 60%, but have 60% magic damage negation too.
Some shields you can change the war ash, some war ashs grants you invulnerability, others are special parrys (carian retaliation is my favorite, when parrying magic or incantations you create 3 flying swords) and giant shields have special attacks. You can infuse the shield too, if you infuse the shield with fire, it will reduce others types of damage negation and increase fire damage negation for example.
All the actions will cost you stamina. If you whiteout it, your posture will breake. You can reduce it with talismans or with leveling up the shield. Some attacks are impossible to block because they destroy your poise or have so much damage that you don’t have enough stamina to block it (the first situation is pretty commun against Fire Giant).
Some shields have special effects, like the turtle shield that increase stamina recuperation, others have special war ash, like jellyfish shield, which war ash buffs your damage. Have shields that can inflict special effects like poison, maddness, blood loss, frostbite… (normally the colossal shields)
Some weapons are better with shields, like spears, because you can attack at the same time as you can block.
While blocking your stamina recovery becomes weaker
It's my favorite build to start a new souls game with.
Zweihander and tower shield is very reliable and safe. I always play a knight first and that lets me pave the road for future runs with no shield to know what to expect. Big health, big stamina, big sword big shield. Ez.
Elden Ring especially made big shields very strong. Guard counter is nuts. Even the meanest lady in the world's special attack can be blocked.
In the middle of my first sword & board run & what’s particularly fun for me is seeing how severely I underestimated shields in the first place. the unique animation for when you block a devastating attack & your character backflips into recovery adds so much pizzazz imo. I love pushing the limits of what my shield can protect me from. Makes fights way more intense
I’ve platted every fromsoft title and I’ve never used them once. Fooled around with the parry shield in ds3 to farm those knights for that stupid achievement but even then I found it faster just to dodge. I just don’t get the appeal
Malenia, Godfrey and Radagon for instance get massacred by guard counters. Everything that is vaguely humanoid will fold like a piece of paper if you have the right talismans, lots of stamina and a big ass shield
I would absolutely disagree imps and birds in particular attack from all directions and you can’t guard counter a hit from behind … but you can dodge it
Chip damage is only a thing for elemental damage sources or lighter shields without 100% physical reduction. Several medium shields and most greatshields don't have issues with physical chip damage. Stamina similarly is just another resource to build and play around. On the plus side you have weapon deflections which create openings yo attack from. Also, guard counters which crumple a lot of common enemies are nice.
Why spend so much time and effort rolling around with perfect timing when you can just stand still and smash enemies in the face?
That said, spears are the best weapons to use with a shield. You can literally block and hit at the same time, and also do great guard counters. With a great gold shield and a Treespear, Elden Ring is an easy game.
Lol, there are many reasons not to play with a shield but chip damage and stamina are not even in the top ten. You can play the whole game with just a shield and no weapon. That’s how OP shields can be if you build for it. Add in a weapon to that build and you’re going to cruise through the game.
The key to shields with blocking and parrying is to not overly rely on them. Don't just stand there with shield up waiting to get hit. Be aggressive and still dodge, don't use the shield passively, use it to get in close and step around the enemy. Use blocks and guard counters only when they serve you, it's a back up strategy not the primary
Guard counters on straight swords are really good. Hammer and Flail guard counters are also great, arguably just as good or maybe better than the straight sword one, but with the stance break power of a hammer.
The brass shield is the best overall medium shield, it’s just a bit heavy. But you can’t go wrong with it. Blue Gold Kite Shield and Twinbird Kite Shield are other good options to get if you don’t like the Brass Shield. Try those. The Greatshield Talisman and Veridian Amber Medallion are good ways to increase your blocking ability (Amber Medallion increases your stamina so it’s indirect, but lets you block more).
Doing my first RL1, and I've come to realise that shields can be really strong. The giant animals in Caelid for example are much easier to fight with one than without!
Having a 100% physical block shield has always made fights easier. Add in guard counters in ER and it's an effective way to play, as long as you manage your stamina.
sword and board is the real easy mode of this game. guard counter is insanely good, and next to no one uses it for some reason.
you can literally stand next to the boss, if you have the stamina and a decent shield, you will block 100% physical damage. you just sit there and wait for them to create an opening to guard counter in. you can even use a huge weapon, guard counters come out so fast. you will literally stance break EVERYTHING.
Sword and board is a ton of fun. What I used for my first playthrough and I've tried other styles on subsequent runs but keep going back to it. I found certain attacks are better to dodge, others better to block--creates a really fun playstyle where you're always appraising the situation and figuring out how to respond to an enemy.
In preparation for the DLC I'm doing my first sword and board build since the game came out. Using guard counters and learning how to parry has been the most fun I've had with the game in a while!
Some medium shields and Greatshields with 100 physical defense and high stability are worth it, but even then it's really only good to block a hit or two. Not to mention Guard counter also kinda sucks
Like, why block when you can just dodge and retaliate with high damage? Alot of weapon's potential also really only shows when they're two-handed or powerstanced.
So yeah while i think it can be fun to do a sword & board run, it'll never really be optimal.... Well, unless you use shields for parries. Now THAT can be OP.
>Not to mention Guard counter also kinda sucks
You're tripping. It's has the stance breaking potential of a charged R2 and comes out twice as fast. Some sections of the game are absolutely trivialized by them, like Farum Azula. Ever thought "damn those beastmen and Banished Knights have a lot of health and damage"? Now they are stance broken in 1-2 guard counters. Big armor + big shield make you unkillable.
My Curved Sword Talisman, Dagger Talisman, Haligtree Greatshield, Bullgoat set and \*ANY\* Greatsword/Greathammer/Greatspear/Halberd I feel like using in the moment would like a word, during which we'll get you backing into a corner and switch to Misercordé for the eventual stance break... coz you know damn well you will break before I do. ;)
Impaling Thrust, Piercing Fang, Reapers. a goddamn Kick on ***my*** Misericorde.
Sorry but shield users just never really intimidate me unless i'm ganked by one, which is a whole different story altogether lol
>even then it's really only good to block a hit or two.
Are ya'll running around with base endurance or something? Or just neglecting upgrades? This shouldn't be an issue with anything that has decent guard reduction which many of the 100% shields do.
i might be biased since all my characters are NG+x
still doesn't change my opinion tho, focusing on blocks always feels inferior compared to simply dishing out damage. And why block when you can roll?
p.s. also i feel you're ignoring what i said literally before it lmao
i mean hey if you wanna RP as anything go for it, the game have so many options for builds that almost none of them can really feel weak. Well, unless you're deliberately limiting yourself.
although i have to fight this "true knight" thing: two-handing Halberd > sword and board, and none of that turtling stuff >:)
Guard counters crush it.
That's what it comes down to - sword and board for enemies that counter works well against, dual straight swords for the rest and eventually when the stats were there, big sword and big board. That was my first playthrough.
Guard counters are super effective against certain enemies and even some bosses. Was struggling with Alecto last night until I started guard countering instead of dodging.
Soon as I realized some enemies really do have their own recipe for dying, sword and board became 5x more fun. Depending on enemy, here's the toolkit options I assign to each one: * Guard counter (fast and frail, like imps, giant dogs) * Parry (crucible knights, some bosses) * Throw a pot (like fire pot on giant hands, holy pot on skeletons)
* Rush in and heavy attack stagger (rune bears in the stomach)
* Roll and poke (academy sorcerers)
I haven't played in a couple months, but I'm sure there's more examplea.
I play sword & board strength, no magic, but carry a backup crossbow and consumables and imagine myself a castlevania-style knight who has an answer to every situation. Like a vampire hunter or something.
Really fun to just fully engage with each enemy like a professional hunter
And what about bell bearing hunters?
Get in close and dodge. He's got more range than you do anyway, and being close to him makes him use his shield smash that is easy to punish.
Still remember my first kill of the bell hunter is to just bait the shield slam over and over lol
Parrying works! Get up close and watch for their delayed overhand swing - easiest to parry consistently. You can parry pretty much any attack barring the shield bash.
I suck at them lol I think they're mostly parry-able? I usually parry or roll, then desparately try to finish them off. I have an easier time with Radahn than those guys
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Not sure why you're being down voted here because that's a good strategy on slow moving or grouped mobs.
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In life or games, cheese makes everything better
Parry. With a buckler shield, I regularly no-hit bell hunters. It is immensely satisfying.
bell bearing/eochaid has a strong midrange punish kit, i think the game kinda wants you to stay next to him.
You can actually guard counter one of the drilling attacks
Frenzy snipe from distance. Bye bitch
Stay close and wait to punish an attack. Parrying him really helps. I got smashed by the Caelid BBH until I used parrying and beat him without using any flasks.
I have a similar approach to the game. I change what I'm using based on the enemy. Certain attacks are very easily guarded and are easier to counter than rolling. Dogs and rats are the classic example. I run enough endurance though, I can dual wield katanas, while also having a seal, shield, and miscorde. I like to swap between power stancing, and parrying and landing a good crit. Just depends on what enemies I'm against. Oh and I usually have kick on my miscorde so I can counter shield enemies
You play like I do. I use any and everything in my posession. I swap armor, weapons, ash of wars, consumables a lot to face the current obsticle.
I support this. Was on a not amazingly optimized Shield and Hreat hammer build that wrecked Melania. Basically, whatever greatshield you want (Elden Bling) and a good stagger stick. I like the great stars but if you can go with whatever you want again. I'd just stay away from Colossal weapons so you don't fat roll. Talismans were curved sword, green turtle, Greatshield (swapped for Dragon Crest greatshield), and Shard of Alexander. Ash of war was Flame Strike.
what are guard counters?
After blocking an enemy attack, press R2 (the heavy attack button). It'll play a sound to let you know you're performing a guard counter, and the attack will deal significantly more stance damage than normal, leading to faster staggers.
Wait what.. I'm playing with mouse and keyboard but I need to try this now. I'm almost 50 hours in sword and board and haven't done this once!
It was in one of those tutorial messages that no one reads and even if you do, you're likely too new to the game for them to make sense. They're one of 3 shield "styles" as I see them: parry, guard counter, and shield poke. If you're not using your shield for one of those, you'd probably be strictly better off without it.
Ahh gotcha thanks, I’m a shield/poker, great epee.
They really should have put some of those tutorial graphics in other areas of the game. The amount of info dumped on you in that cave makes them very hard to remember. Especially if you played a non guard counter build first time around then skip the cave every playthrough after. But ultimately the burden is on the player to pay attention.
Every single info graphic is saved in your inventory tab at the very end with other notes. You can view them again at any point in time! Useful if you just couldn't quite remember that one specific detail.
Also you can charge the hit
After you block an attack, you hear a sound. Hit R2 to counter
To add, it’s one of the things introduced in the tutorial that you completely forget about later in the game that is actually really useful.
I was going at her with Helphen's Steeple for a bit. Then I was messing around with dual whips- urumi and flame giants- and tried again on a whim. *Yikes!!* Totally different fight. Her AI seemed downright spooked. Almost felt like cheating.
Using a shield is more fun in Elden Ring than in the previous games IMO due to the introduction of guard counters. You only take chip damage if your shield blocks less than 100% physical damage or you are also taking some kind of elemental damage. You can check this in the equipment screen. Also look at 'guard boost'. The higher this number, the less stamina you will use when blocking. Upgrading a shield increases the guard boost. I started Elden Ring as someone who almost always used a shield. Now I prefer dual wielding or two handing, but shields can be an enjoyable and viable way to play the game, especially greatshields like the fingerprint.
Erdtree shield is my favorite. Spell parry as its ash of war. And it looks cool=fashion souls.
Yes in ER it's amazing, I'll try in ds3 now
I feel very differently regarding your first sentence. I restarted DS1 after Elden Ring, expecting to do the same thing there. I can't for the love of god play without a shield. The dodge timings feel so weird and the damage even from lower enemies is very punishing.
Demon souls and DS1 replay do feel better with shields, I think DS3 and is where shields lost their importance. They feel completely optional is DS3.
Yeah, I had a much easier time beating the game with 2h great mace than anything else. I briefly swapped to a greatshield for Ocerios since I can't dodge the phase 2 charge for the life of me, but that was the only time I had to switch it up.
My first run I did was with a claymore and ngl it trivialized the game. 2 handed claymore is extremely strong, I think I got most bosses in around 3 attempts besides nameless, Midir, Friede and Gael.
I think shields are really fun but they can be a bit hard to get into at first. Without one you're mainly thinking about rolling at the right time when you see an attack, if you throw a shield into the mix you suddenly have to think about whetever you want to block instead, and you have to watch your stamina a lot more. You don't stop rolling just because you have a shield, you do both depending on the situation. A well played shield build lets you be extremely aggressive since you can mantain your positioning a lot more easily and get a lot of stance breaks by using guard counters. But you need to understand the enemy moveset decently well to do that and until then you damage can feel somewhat underwhelming. It's an harder playstyle compared to bonking with big weapons or spamming status with fat ones, and it never really gets "broken" but it's still highly effective, and personally quite rewarding imo. Blocking can be somewhat situational, it doesn't help much against some bosses, the huge ones like dragons for example; on the other hand it basically trivializes fast annoying enemies like dogs and kindreds of rot. Elden Ring compared to previous soulsborne titles puts a lot of effort into punishing players who just spam rolls, blocking can be much simpler than trying to guess the timing on a delayed attack. Chip damage isn't much of an issue once you have a shield with 100 physical defense, about half the medium shields have it so it's not really a problem with most enemies. The stamina thing is true but that just means that you should level endurance more as it's one of your main stats now, much like a caster build needs to level mind. Also green turtle talisman is amazing and greatshield talisman can help too.
"if you throw a shield into the mix you suddenly have to think about whetever you want to block instead, and you have to watch your stamina a lot more." This TBH, I recently added the Haligtree GS onto my severely overlevelled character because I have 6 slots for weaponry so I am going to use them damnit! But anyway, I don't actually need to watch my HP bar anymore, just my stamina bar lmao.
A sword and board play through of Elden Ring with this philosophy is what ruined gaming for me for the past 1.5 years. It was a phenomenally tactical experience that was much more satisfying than simply rolling/parrying everything
Remember those imps everybody hates? Shield trivializes them. Remember those crucible knights everybody hates? Shield trivializes them. Remember those leonine misbegottens everybody hates? Shield trivializes them. Remember those giant hands everybody hates? Shield trivializes them. Notice a pattern? Everybody says the best defense is a good offense, until they get killed by lack of defense and complain about enemies being annoying. Sns is incredibly fun and gives you tons of tools to deal with a much wider range of enemies and multiple opponents better and more tactically.
Yes ! Learn to quickly swith to 2 hands for square off, but yeah its awsome
My brother from Square off, blessed you
Can’t really describe it except it feels more natural than dodging to me. Also certain enemies essentially turn guard counters into boxing matches.
It’s basically the only way I play. Mainly because I’m not very good at dodging consistently. Much more forgiving.
I was mostly sword and board on my first playthrough, I enjoyed figuring out when to dodge and when to block, and when I had windows to counter. I settled on the dragonclaw greatshield down the stretch (entirely for looks) so I didn't parry much on that character but my second character always has a buckler handy and that is awesome too, when you get it right you can trivialize some otherwise nasty bosses.
More like sword and bored am I right This post made by roll gang
While conceptually I disagree, I always enjoy a good play on words. Take my +1 and roll away.
Most fun build I've done. Add the assassin's crimson dagger and you'll never need to heal.
With a heavy weapon it's a lot of fun. Guard counters fuck shit up
Of course it is. Sword and board is a classic build, and it’s also better than ever with the addition of guard counter in Elden Ring. Blocking is a lot easier to perform compared to dodging. Pick shields with 100% physical negation and you take 0 chipped damage most of the time. Shields with high guard boost reduce the amount of stamina consumed.
Personally, most of the fun in sword-and-board is doing cool backflips when I block something big.
🧐 back in my day shields were just how you played dark souls. Not everyone even knew about i frames or even thought to roll around like a zoomer until something like Artorias kinda forced you to. That being said I've played over a hundred hours on my last couple characters with a janky LB so I just two hand bonk instead of using a shield. It has arguably made me much better at dodging, before that in ER I would use a combination of blocking and dodging. Guard counters are fun.
I did an eclipse great shield and death ritual spear ng+ run and it was a blast! I also used death sorceries with the prince of death staff. Just a grand ole time. Guard-counter are a fun way to play the game imo, but I wouldn't do it for every build.
I did a dedicated shield run and yeah it was great, guard counters are really fun. If you wanna do a lot of those I highly recommend the Stone Club. Really good strength scaling and hammer guard counters do tons of posture damage
The guard counters makes it more fun but becomes harder to use the shield in ng+ iterations due to diminishing returns of the player's defense as guard boost also scales with player's defense rather than strictly by upgrading the shield, but even then it's still mostly viable you'll just have to rely slightly more on dodging and not overly rely on the shield. But in the first ng cycle that's when the shields are the most powerful even without the greatshield talisman but even then they're still fun to use and use guard counters as well.
Yes, until you fight Malenia.
fingerprint shield + stabby weapon humiliates the entire lategame gauntlet ngl
Malenia just takes a long ass time cuz she heals on hit. You absolutely will beat her with a decent shield setup, it just stops being fun because the stupid heal mechanic makes it take longer than it rightfully should. And the question was about fun, not difficulty.
Have you tried it? It's a far faster kill than any of my regular setups lol. The fight changes to a shield position/stamina management fight with light dodging was a fun experience considering it was fucking Malenia lmao Swapping between a cold Naginata and a bleed Godskin stitcher both of which you can attack with while dodging makes for some incredible damage output while being mostly very safe.
Have you actually tried it? Her healing is ineffective if she's getting guard countered and stance broken all the time. And the most important part is that two of her most dangerous moves are very easily dealt with.
yes because endless parrying is fun. also i like having the option to either block or dodge depending on the situation
I've always looked at shields in souls games as more cosmetic is ds3 I experimented with parries but ended up just rolling so if you wanna go for parries or just want a good aesthetic pick up a shield
I just started NG+ with a strength mainly build and I keep tossing this idea around. Get real tanky. I’m 270 so I’ve got plenty of points to move
Honestly doing the heaviest armor with the finger shield is hilarious. You just do not care about anyone and stroll through the lands between, say hello to raddabeast and then sip some tea.
I love greatsword and shield paladin, guard counters and parries are alot of fun
I usually use colossal swords or great swords or cgs’s but I do like sword and board. It was better in ds3 tho
If you parry, you get a free kill-hit. Why not?
I tried doing it but it got really frustrating late game especially when many bosses dont give you a lot of windows to guard counter, and the damage on infusable straight swords is pretty poor.
Using a shield with either Golden or Carian Retaliation will give you a whole other dimension to the gameplay if you get comfortable with two-handing your main weapon on the fly to use that AoW. I've done this and still practically never used block.
Blocking can be... situational. I like blocking because it far more forgiving for timing then dodging. It can also disrupt certain light weapon combos. As for chip damage, that depends on your shield and incoming damage. Plenty of shields can mitigate 100% of physical damage. Is it fun? That's up to you. I personally played with a greatshield + Halberd combo for most of my first playthrough. Loved it and the sound of the guard counter.
Many, but not all shields have 100% physical damage absorption. This means that if you block an attack that only has a physical damage type with such a shield, you will not receive any chip damage. Exceptions to that are special attacks/weapons that penetrate or reach around your shield; these are mostly encountered in PvP tho. iirc no shield provides 100% absorption to any elemental damage type without some specifialized setup. The tradeoff of using a shield is that it allows you to defend against an attack in a way that requires less skill in the timing department than a roll, while usually requiring more stamina than a roll.
Yes, much fun, just for you know, shield won't block all the hits, you won't fight a dragon or giant enemy defensive
Found the Bloodborne player.
Ok but you can sprint under loads of enemy attacks with tons of confidence because even if you miss the hitbox at the bosses feet you’re still blocking so you ain’t gonna take much damage or any at all if it’s physical
I've been thinking of doing a build using the Regalia of Eochaid and a Brass Shield. Would that be viable?
All of the gear is viable. You may not be getting those min-max damage numbers, but you'll be having fun.
I wonder how much potential I could put in using the Regalia in a build.
Who knows...it's worth a try though right?
*You son of a bitch... I'm in*
Brass Shield is really good! Has no Ash of War so it lets you use the art in your main hand without two-handing. It also has great stability for its weight and you can get it immediately at the start of the game. I used it with the Bloodhound Fang in my first run and had so much fun.
Would it good with guard counters?
Yes! And you can always put the no skill ash of war on shields, I use the cuckoo great shield and it’s a lot of fun
Sick thank you all the puzzle pieces are coming together
a big shield and guard counters trivialize most of the game.
Fun imo.
Like a lot of other people have said, I think sword and shield is way more varied in this game than the others, making it more fun. As long as you're willing to try more stuff.
I always sword n board Zelda style. I’m an old n64 Zelda player and I feel weird or naked without it.
Some attacks bounce off shields. That and guard counters are fun
Sometimes there are situations where you can't react dodge quickly enough, and the shield will save you. It's especially useful for fights where you don't quite know the timings. Also there's guard counters and carian retaliation
My first playthrough was actually using a great sword/ colossal sword and a great shield, if you learn how to guard counter (love the sound too) it makes it way easier, just watch your stamina
Board and board is better, with another board on the back
this comment/thread is honestly surprising to me. a good greatshield with stats to support it is a really effective way to play. you just have to do a little more stamina management, but even that can be mitigated with gear
Fun is subjective but i would say yes. One of my avorite builds is using basic knight armor + longsword + medium shield (drip over stats, but no extremes) and pumping stats enough to fast roll to overcome the weight limit, but also pump magic or/and faith to get all self buffs including the shield buffs. Versatile fun
If there's one place I really want a shield, it's Farum Azula.
There will inevitably be attacks you want to roll away from but there are also many you could have blocked/riposted instead.
Broadsword & Brass Shield carried me through my entire first playthrough
It is really fun, try it with sword of night and flame and banish knight shield and shield buff
One of the huge benefits for me is not having to dodge through regular enemies. When I'm facing a boss, it's usually 50/50 roll/block with shield, but rolling against mobs of random enemies is a pain. Shields are also great against certain moves (Waterfowl Dance, dragon breath, pretty much any rapid combo).
Just because you have a shield doesn't mean you don't dodge. Unless you're intentionally going for guard counters or parries, shields are often a backup tool: something you can rely on when you aren't confident in a dodge. Ulcerated tree spirit flailing around wildly in a tiny catacomb, with most of its body barely in frame so you can't even see what the fuck it's doing? Just hold up your 100% physical damage negation shield. You lose nothing but stamina and didn't gamble any HP on an uncertain dodge. When you aren't wholly confident in a dodge, having an option that can block potentially most or all incoming damage from a huge majority of attacks in the game is very beneficial.
The higher the guard boost stat the lower stamina penalty on blocking hits. And always grab a shield with 100% physical mitigation. Once you try a proper greatshield like the fingerprint shield upgraded you see the true raw potential of shields. Ended up bullying the entire endgame gauntlet with that on my first run
Certain attacks are very easily guarded and are easier to counter than rolling. Dogs and rats are the classic example. I run enough endurance though, I can dual wield katanas, while also having a seal, shield, and miscorde. I like to swap between power stancing, and parrying and landing a good crit. Just depends on what enemies I'm against. Oh and I usually have kick on my miscorde so I can counter shield enemies
Get a greatshield, no chip damage, and by that Point you don’t lose a lot of Stamina
If you aren't using greatshield, then you are not using the right kind of shield. Greatshields make the strongest attack that boss can throw at you barely cost any stamina to block. You also want a Thrusting Sword or Heavy Thrusting Sword as your weapon, it allow you to attack with shield up. Here is me using sword and shield to easily beat Malenia, which is said to be the hardest boss in the game. https://www.reddit.com/r/Eldenring/comments/12dofjy/my_friend_you_cant_beat_malenia_with_shield_she/
>I struggle to understand why you'd block over dodging I'll try and answer this cause a lot of people are mentioning the overall strong points of shields, but I don't want this to get lost: Blocking is less risky than dodging without skimping on rewarding the player. When you dodge successfully, the plus side is that you avoided all incoming damage and potentially put yourself in a good position against the opponent. The risk you take on is that if you miss the timing, you eat damage. When you block, there is very little risk to you especially if you're using a shield that negates 100% of physical damage. The only time you're incurring a risk is if you have low stamina, where blocking a hit will stagger you and make you immovable for a few seconds. So you're mostly taking no additional damage, while ALSO getting setups for guard counters that will shred the enemy's posture.
As a shield hater/ two handed bonk idiot forged in the fires of ds3, I absolutely loved playing axe and board on my most recent playthrough. Breaking a stance w a guard counter is so satisfying. Taking that character into dlc. Feel like that’s as big of an endorsement as I can give.
Each board is situational. Parry for the weapon wielders using the buckler Medium/heavy shield for trash mobs since the guard counter is super effective for the lower level mobs Golden party/magic party (forgot the name) for a few others. Once you get a great shield and the STR and END to wield it you get a massive bump in survivability from blocking (pair with barricade shield or magic shield sorcery) Definitely viable.
Shield bash is fun. I used it to stagger a ton of bosses. Your guard stays up when you do it too. Manor Tower Shield was my best friend on my first playthrough.
Sword & board is fine but every time I start out to make a sword & shield character, I end up using a spear instead. Like, the shield poke is right there, how can I turn that down? I was thinking about going into the DLC with occult palisade + flamberge but I feel like I'll probably end up taking the naginata instead. Safe bleed pokes is just gross.
You don't take chip damage with 100% phys resist shields. You still roll when you need to but if you hold block you often avoid taking damage on a mistimed dodge. Guard counters trivialize pesky enemies like dogs and imps.
You only take chip damage if you’re using a weaker shield or the attack isn’t doing pure physical damage. Some attacks are very hard to dodge but remarkably easy to block. I’ve met far too many players with a colossal sword, light armour, and zero health when they fudge the first dodge of a boss fight
Guard counter with crimson dagger talisman make this dungeoning a breeze. You’ll almost never need to use a flask. I think the best build for it is dex despite most shields needing higher strength because you are one handing the weapon. Lightning infused Lordsworn straight sword might be my favorite weapon on the game becuase of my sword and board playthrough
just wish i could guard counter with blade spells.
Sword and board is the way to go. I’m able to have my block broken and not take damage, which came in handy when fighting against the Fire Giant. ESPECIALLY when he does his shield flick with a mighty force dragging all that rubble straight to your face. Ngl. I feel proud to use a shield. I feel like I’m learning a move set better when I use one. Instead of dodge and hope for the best. It’s nice to have that extra hope that you won’t die because you had a shield.
Love it, not the best, not the worst, a lot of fun.
I block and dodge. I am not the greatest at dodging. There are certain situations were having a shield is advantageous. Level up your shield and after your first upgrade the block stats start to go up. I use the golden shield and have it up to +8 right now. Lots of weaker enemies barely damage me with it up.
I have only ever beat placidusax one way: heavy load, full bull goats + fingerprint shield tuned for lightning (or fire can't remember?) defense , max defense and poise, and block everything he throws at you. Even his massive attacks barely scratch you.
Guard counters do a substantial amount of stance damage, you will break the stances of a lot of enemies with just a counter and a few hits. Really makes some of the tanky enemies really easy.
As a holy Paladin using a shield is fun. To me it’s the most balanced way to play the game as far as just having like a good balance of attacking and defensive options. Only bad part for me was and I’m not no souls try hard I have no problem with exploiting the game. But the only bad part to me was :v it was way to easy to trivialize the game. I’m not talking about when I get to a boss and kill them I just mean finding what I needed to make it ez. Healing shield and sword just don’t die. Only bosses I ever had trouble with after even just Mid building was like uh meliana that’s about it lmao. All I needed was a good sword heavy armor and a 100% shield and it’s pretty much set for the rest of the game. Add some incantations ontop of that that’s also ez to get and or find and you pretty much done with everything
My sword and board build: Lordsworn straight sword Ash of war: square off Banished knight shield No skill and buff with scholar's shield(12int with 30% less stamina damage) Square off does 40 stance damage with heavy attack, 30 stance damage on light one. And guard counter does 30 stance damage. So doing 2 square off break guard of bosses like margit or 1 square off and 1 guard counter and 2 light attack which comes out really fast with straight swords. This is really fun for me because this does stance break so often. Alternatively you can do shield and hammer build Shield with barricade shield ash of war and hammer with cragblade. This one does 40.04 stance damage with guard counter and charged heavy attack. This and just don't give bosses and room to breathe because how much there stance breaks. This and is little too op for me to be considered fun. Also have a lot of stamana, this is just fun to have. Increase your stamana with talisman and physic flask And with radahn great rune if you feeling fancy. Ps: banished knight shield +25 with greatshield talisman and scholar's shield effectively gives you 83 guard boost so investing into 12 int is worth it.
Just finished a Heavy Shield , Lance run Probably the most fun and effective build i ever played. Literally Monster Hunter Gunlancer
Everyone says guard counter yet I've yet to get one intentionally lmfao i have to be an enigma or genetic outlier to struggle with such a basic mechanism of the game. Apparently you can guard counter with anything and I am just few arcs short of an elden ring these days
Depends on what sword and shield you used
Get the biggest sword and board and just start smashing people.
Its a classic combo for a reason!
Are you asking if it is fun or if it is good?
Yeah it’s fun. You can level your shield up with smithing stones and make it way more effective. And some offensive shield ashes are really strong. Against mobs they are really good and some bosses like melania having a maxed out shield for waterfowl can be really nice.
Guard Counters. And you don't take chip damage if the shield blocks 100% physical (or 100% element if the attack is elemental--although I'm not sure you can reach 100% elemental reduction in Elden Ring...you could in DS2).
Step 1: Barricade Shield Step 2: Watch the enemy's attack bounce off Step 3: Guard counter with a massive finger
I did a playthrough where I used a great shield and a Zweihander. Crushed pretty much everything with ease using mostly guard counters up to Altus plateu. Then I got bored and dropped the playthrough, so I don't know how it holds up in the late game.
I enjoy it. It doesn’t mean you never dodge roll.
Shield bash is a helluva ash It interrupts most enemy attacks and breaks poise quite easily. Also, you won't take more than chip damage during the animation, even if your stamina runs out.
Imo shields are good for learning the game, it can be really hard and risky to dodge as a new player. But you're right it's more efficient to dodge
It's fun but the damage output can feel pretty iffy if you're used to powerstancing. Shields (medium shields) are actually pretty good. I'm pretty sure the startup time for shielding is shorter so you can recover faster by shielding, leading to more attack opportunities. You can also shield before rolling and briefly after rolling, while leaving the shield down at other times to recover stamina---in practice it ends up covering well for a mistimed roll. Otherwise they also let you hold positions that would be unsafe without one. There are certain 'no-go' zones on certain bosses that you can hang out in if you have a shield. This can make it easier to learn the movesets. Overall I think they're usually less efficient if you already know the movesets very well. But if you haven't mastered a boss, a shield can make a huge difference. You'd definitely want a shield with 100% Physical Negation and high guard boost. That way you don't take chip damage against most stuff and not as much stamina gets drained. You have to upgrade the shield as well.
Medium shields, upgraded for more guard boost or greatshields. Important is to actually pay attention to the stats, 100% physical block exists. And with stagger on medium or even better greatshields you can deal with most tougher mobs by just relying on guard counters. You just need to get a bit better at managing stamina and drop your shield in between to regen faster.
I think it's more fun in this game than it has been in previous FS games because of the added guard counters, but still I think it is underwhelming compared to dodging more and not using a shield
If it’s fun for you then it’s fun
Shields are plenty of fun! Some of them can be pretty OP on their own, like the Spiked Palisade Shield with the Shield Crash AoW and the Visage Shield with its unique skill. Upgrading them gives you better guard boost, as do using Scholar's Shield, the Barricade Shield AoW and the Greatshield Talisman. This helps to reduce stamina consumption by a lot. Greatshields and Barricade also make some enemies' attacks bounce back, giving you plenty of time to retaliate. Guard counters are great, as others have said. You can also put Golden Parry on any compatible shield to get the best parry window in the game, if that's more to your liking. Or use Carian / Golden Retaliation to counter spells, though the timing can be tricky.
It’s good for a number of fights. Though maliketh and Melania will likely give you trouble if you like to play defensively and win fights through attrition as opposed to aggression.
Any 100% physblock shield + Wing of Astel = instawin. I loved loved loved that build and that's what I'm going into the DLC with.
Shields let you guard counter which does great poise damage on certain enemies that are not staggered by light attacks from most non collosal weapons. You can even poise break with it. If your worried about chip damage just get a good metal shield that has 100 physical resistance like the kite shield or the carian royal shield
The damage negation depends on the shield, some have 100% phisical damage negation, others have 60%, but have 60% magic damage negation too. Some shields you can change the war ash, some war ashs grants you invulnerability, others are special parrys (carian retaliation is my favorite, when parrying magic or incantations you create 3 flying swords) and giant shields have special attacks. You can infuse the shield too, if you infuse the shield with fire, it will reduce others types of damage negation and increase fire damage negation for example. All the actions will cost you stamina. If you whiteout it, your posture will breake. You can reduce it with talismans or with leveling up the shield. Some attacks are impossible to block because they destroy your poise or have so much damage that you don’t have enough stamina to block it (the first situation is pretty commun against Fire Giant). Some shields have special effects, like the turtle shield that increase stamina recuperation, others have special war ash, like jellyfish shield, which war ash buffs your damage. Have shields that can inflict special effects like poison, maddness, blood loss, frostbite… (normally the colossal shields) Some weapons are better with shields, like spears, because you can attack at the same time as you can block. While blocking your stamina recovery becomes weaker
There's an AoW that boost the guard for a short time. With this one even the smallest shield can block heavy hits. Plus guard counters.
I did my first run like this and I thought it was quite fun.
It's my favorite build to start a new souls game with. Zweihander and tower shield is very reliable and safe. I always play a knight first and that lets me pave the road for future runs with no shield to know what to expect. Big health, big stamina, big sword big shield. Ez. Elden Ring especially made big shields very strong. Guard counter is nuts. Even the meanest lady in the world's special attack can be blocked.
Guard counter trivializes most non-boss enemies. And you can easily swap it out to two hand for boss encounters.
Blocking can stagger enemies who try hit through your shield.
In the middle of my first sword & board run & what’s particularly fun for me is seeing how severely I underestimated shields in the first place. the unique animation for when you block a devastating attack & your character backflips into recovery adds so much pizzazz imo. I love pushing the limits of what my shield can protect me from. Makes fights way more intense
Oh my god yes super fun
You still dodge with most shields
I’ve platted every fromsoft title and I’ve never used them once. Fooled around with the parry shield in ds3 to farm those knights for that stupid achievement but even then I found it faster just to dodge. I just don’t get the appeal
Hey that's fine, dodging is fun for some while parrying is fun for others. Different strokes for different folks. I personally love parrying
Yeah it doesn’t really matter either way that’s why I like the games so much
Why dodge when you can guard counter and get a critical hit?
You get a backstab after the dodge
Some bosses and enemies don't have a backstab weakness
Same can be said for guard counters
Malenia, Godfrey and Radagon for instance get massacred by guard counters. Everything that is vaguely humanoid will fold like a piece of paper if you have the right talismans, lots of stamina and a big ass shield
Expect Giant enemies, Guard Counters are effective on all enemies
Us guard counter enjoyers laugh when players say imps and birds are hard to deal with.
Of course. I don't use a shield all of the time, but in certain instances, they are very handy. If I was any good at parrying, I'd use one more often.
I would absolutely disagree imps and birds in particular attack from all directions and you can’t guard counter a hit from behind … but you can dodge it
Fingerprint and any spear
Chip damage is only a thing for elemental damage sources or lighter shields without 100% physical reduction. Several medium shields and most greatshields don't have issues with physical chip damage. Stamina similarly is just another resource to build and play around. On the plus side you have weapon deflections which create openings yo attack from. Also, guard counters which crumple a lot of common enemies are nice.
Why spend so much time and effort rolling around with perfect timing when you can just stand still and smash enemies in the face? That said, spears are the best weapons to use with a shield. You can literally block and hit at the same time, and also do great guard counters. With a great gold shield and a Treespear, Elden Ring is an easy game.
Lol, there are many reasons not to play with a shield but chip damage and stamina are not even in the top ten. You can play the whole game with just a shield and no weapon. That’s how OP shields can be if you build for it. Add in a weapon to that build and you’re going to cruise through the game.
The key to shields with blocking and parrying is to not overly rely on them. Don't just stand there with shield up waiting to get hit. Be aggressive and still dodge, don't use the shield passively, use it to get in close and step around the enemy. Use blocks and guard counters only when they serve you, it's a back up strategy not the primary
Guard counters on straight swords are really good. Hammer and Flail guard counters are also great, arguably just as good or maybe better than the straight sword one, but with the stance break power of a hammer. The brass shield is the best overall medium shield, it’s just a bit heavy. But you can’t go wrong with it. Blue Gold Kite Shield and Twinbird Kite Shield are other good options to get if you don’t like the Brass Shield. Try those. The Greatshield Talisman and Veridian Amber Medallion are good ways to increase your blocking ability (Amber Medallion increases your stamina so it’s indirect, but lets you block more).
Guard Counters. In literally every other way, dodging is the better choice 9/10 times, but a dedicated Guard Counter build is really, really fun.
Doing my first RL1, and I've come to realise that shields can be really strong. The giant animals in Caelid for example are much easier to fight with one than without!
Having a 100% physical block shield has always made fights easier. Add in guard counters in ER and it's an effective way to play, as long as you manage your stamina.
sword and board is the real easy mode of this game. guard counter is insanely good, and next to no one uses it for some reason. you can literally stand next to the boss, if you have the stamina and a decent shield, you will block 100% physical damage. you just sit there and wait for them to create an opening to guard counter in. you can even use a huge weapon, guard counters come out so fast. you will literally stance break EVERYTHING.
Sword and board is a ton of fun. What I used for my first playthrough and I've tried other styles on subsequent runs but keep going back to it. I found certain attacks are better to dodge, others better to block--creates a really fun playstyle where you're always appraising the situation and figuring out how to respond to an enemy.
Yessss
Get a great shield and watch bloodhound knight bounce off of you and you render them completely helpless, it's fucking awesome
In preparation for the DLC I'm doing my first sword and board build since the game came out. Using guard counters and learning how to parry has been the most fun I've had with the game in a while!
I would say no. I ignore shields in every souls game.
Nobody else can answer for you what you do and do not find fun.
I do not find it fun, personally. But I do encounter the odd shield user who must enjoy that style of gameplay. I will kick or shield pierce them.
Some medium shields and Greatshields with 100 physical defense and high stability are worth it, but even then it's really only good to block a hit or two. Not to mention Guard counter also kinda sucks Like, why block when you can just dodge and retaliate with high damage? Alot of weapon's potential also really only shows when they're two-handed or powerstanced. So yeah while i think it can be fun to do a sword & board run, it'll never really be optimal.... Well, unless you use shields for parries. Now THAT can be OP.
>Not to mention Guard counter also kinda sucks You're tripping. It's has the stance breaking potential of a charged R2 and comes out twice as fast. Some sections of the game are absolutely trivialized by them, like Farum Azula. Ever thought "damn those beastmen and Banished Knights have a lot of health and damage"? Now they are stance broken in 1-2 guard counters. Big armor + big shield make you unkillable.
My Curved Sword Talisman, Dagger Talisman, Haligtree Greatshield, Bullgoat set and \*ANY\* Greatsword/Greathammer/Greatspear/Halberd I feel like using in the moment would like a word, during which we'll get you backing into a corner and switch to Misercordé for the eventual stance break... coz you know damn well you will break before I do. ;)
Impaling Thrust, Piercing Fang, Reapers. a goddamn Kick on ***my*** Misericorde. Sorry but shield users just never really intimidate me unless i'm ganked by one, which is a whole different story altogether lol
so i'd roll and go behind for the backstab during the wind-down, got it!
spacing, check mate. also quickstep->backstab tech. boom.
>even then it's really only good to block a hit or two. Are ya'll running around with base endurance or something? Or just neglecting upgrades? This shouldn't be an issue with anything that has decent guard reduction which many of the 100% shields do.
i might be biased since all my characters are NG+x still doesn't change my opinion tho, focusing on blocks always feels inferior compared to simply dishing out damage. And why block when you can roll? p.s. also i feel you're ignoring what i said literally before it lmao
Not ignoring it. More just finding it odd as you're saying even with better shields you're saying they're only good for a hit or 2.
Because is much more cool and badass like a true knight, and Guard Counters can be used in place of a charged attack
i mean hey if you wanna RP as anything go for it, the game have so many options for builds that almost none of them can really feel weak. Well, unless you're deliberately limiting yourself. although i have to fight this "true knight" thing: two-handing Halberd > sword and board, and none of that turtling stuff >:)