I had beaten this game with plenty of builds but had never touched a bulky big shield ones. Since the shields don't allow you to attack while covered like elden ring.

The runes give them different effects too, so I don't know which one is the best.

What are the best shields and their ashes of war currently?

Hello everyone. Below I've posted my findings for the different shields in the game. I'm listing the best shields in the different defensive categories such as guard boost, magic negation, fire negation, holy negation, and lightning negation. I'm not listing physical because there are way too many shields that block 100% physical. I'll Also break them up into Small, Medium, and Large shields. Keep in mind all shields have the barricade ash of war and are maxed out at +25. Also keep in mind that for guard boost you get the highest out of standard affinity for all the shields. Heavy, keen, and quality reduce your guard boost.

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Small Shields:

Side note, none of the small shields have 100% physical damage negation, the best one for that is the Iron round shield at 80%

Best guard boost:

The highest guard boost for the small shields is 54 and that is shared with the below small shields.

Smoldering shield, Ice Crest Shield, iron round shield, and guilded iron round shield

Best magic resist:

The undisputed champion for best magic resistance for small shields is the Ice crest shield with magic affinity at 71.2 magic damage negation

Best fire resist:

Side note: Fire and Flame art affinity makes no difference with damage negation

Man-Serpent's Shield with the fire affinity takes the crown at 60.0 fire damage negation

Best Lightning Resist:

Spiralhorn Shield takes it at 48.7 lightning resistance with the Lightning Affinity

Best Holy Resist:

Gilded Iron shield is the king of holy resist for small shields at 63.7 Holy damage Negation with the Sacred Affinity

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Medium Shields:

Guard Boost:

The best medium shield for guard boost is the Brass Shield at 69 guard boost, followed up by the Banished knights shield at 68. I'm only mentioning this because the guard boost is very close.

Magic Resist:

Undisputed champ of magic resist is the Silver Mirror Shield that you can obtain in the consecrated snowfield (if the name is wrong its the part of the snow area where you can get to the haligtree) at an absolutely impressive 89.0 Magic damage negation

Side note 1: Carian Knight Shield (the one you get from king of parries moongrum) is the 2nd best for magic resist at 88.7 damage negation with the Magic Affinity.

Side note 2: If you want a shield thats got close to the same magic damage negation as the Carian Knight Shield. Get the Albinauric Shield with the magic affinity. Its got 82.5 magic damage negation and no int requirement (the other shield does) and its got a higher guard boost, might be a better option.

Fire Resist:

The Brass shield makes another appearance at an impressive 73.7 fire damage negation with the Fire Affinity.

Lightning Resist:

None of us should be surprised considering where you get this one from. The Beastman's Jar-Shield takes the cake at 75.0 lightning resistance with the Lightning Affinity.

Side note: If you want a shield that unironically has really good lightning negation after you get the wetstone that give you lightning affinity, the Marred Wooden shield has 62.5 lightning negation. You can get the Marred wooden shield along the same path you take thats the "Safe" path into stormveil. Its on the dead body right after the first grace you see thats past the bird.

Holy Resist:

The Sun Realm Shield takes it at 70.0 Holy damage negation with the sacred affinity

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Large Shields:

Guard Boost:

We all know its the Fingerprint Stoneshield you get after you beat mohg the omen in the sewers in lendeyll at 86 guard boost.

Side Note 1: A really good one to get really early in the game after you beat margit is the Manor Towershield, its really easy to get right before godricks arena, look on youtube to find where to get it, it can be a bit tricky. It comes in at 75 guard boost maxed at 25.

Side Note 2: Another nice one you can get that has 82 guard boost (but requires 44 strength) is the Visage Shield that you can snag in caleid.

Magic Resist:

The undisputed king for magic damage negation is once again the Fingerprint Stone Shield at a solid 96.2 magic damage negation with the Magic Affinity

Side note: Two really good option are the Eclipse Crest Greatshield with the magic affinity at 90.0 magic damage negation and the Manor Towershield at 82.5 magic negation with the magic affinity.

Fire Resist:

My reaction to this was quite literally "EXCUSE ME WHAT?!" The winner for this category is no joke, the Fingerprint Stoneshield at 100.0 FIRE DAMAGE NEGATION with the fire affinity. It also comes in at a 90.0 damage negation with LIGHTNING with the fire affinity as well (thought i'd just mention that too). I have attached a picture just in case y'all dont believe me. Fingerprint sillyness

Side note 1: Ok no joke, the manor tower shield is coming in AGAIN as a solid pick for fire damage negation as well with a solid 82.5. I keep mentioning this because of how EARLY you can get this shield.

Side note 2: Another extremely good shield that doesnt require 40+ strength for fire damage negation is the Redmane Greatshield at 87.5 fire damage negation with the fire affinity.

Lightning Resist:

Dear god why is it the fingerprint shield again... Yes the fingerprint shield won yet again at 98.7 Lightning resistance with the lightning affinity.

Side note: I just feel obligated to tell y'all about a few good ones earlier than fingerprint. Golden greatshield at 71.2 lightning resist with lightning affinity, Manor tower shield at 63.7 lightning resist with lightning affiniy, the Dragon Tower shield is another good option at 68.7 lightning damage negation with lightning affinity, and an even EARLIER shield that you can get before manor tower shield is the Gilded greatshield with a lightning damage negation of 67.5 with the lightning affinity.

Holy resist:

Don't worry, its not the fingerprint shield this time. The Haligtree crest greatshield takes this at a solid 98.7 holy damage negation with the Sacred Affinity.

Side note 1: Yes...you can get the fingerprint stoneshield earlier than the haligtree crest greatshield and yes it is at a 93.7 holy damage negation with sacred affinity.

Side note 2: Another solid option is the Golden Greatshield at 85.0 holy damage negation with the sacred affinity and the crossed tree towershield that you can buy from a merchant that is near goldmask is at 82.5 holy damage negation with the sacred affinity.

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Alright I'm done. These are the findings i've made with the shields. Hope this serves you all well. Good luck!

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Edit1: Formatting

What are the best shields for combat to use as a main weapon? Preferably melee, I want to bonk some baddies with a big ol’ shield.

I want to do a shield-only run of Elden Ring, to live my fantasy of being a paladin dual-wielding shields and bludgeoning my enemies. Don’t ask, I’m fine.

I'm just going for defense, if you have any suggestions please let me know

don't actually know if it is the best, but the description says it 'provides the best resistance against physical attacks among the great shields'. ok... but the numbers say its worthless. am i missing something?

skysteel shield - 20% chance of +80 defence. +4 encumbrance

buckler - 20% chance of 100% reduction. +1 encumbrance

is there any reason to use shields over (better) bucklers?