Top 5 shields for parrying in Elden Ring and where to find them

Parrying is one of the biggest and most crucial mechanics available to players in Elden Ring and one that can help you defeat certain bosses, rather easily. By using just one parry, a player can stun a boss and land a powerful critical chance on them. While the idea sounds brilliant, not only does parrying require skill, but it also requires certain shields to pull off within the game.

There are certain shields in the game that have the skill 'parry' to them, and even then, there are a few amongst them that make pulling off this mechanic easier in Elden Ring.

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Best shields for parrying in Elden Ring

One key thing to note when using a shield to parry in Elden Ring is, that a lighter shield is less punishing than a heavier one. This is because if players miss a parry, then the recovery time that they have is much more lenient with a lighter shield than a medium-weight shield. Obviously, heavy shields do not have the option to parry.

Without further ado, here are the best 5 shields for parrying in Elden Ring that players will need:

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1) Red Thorn Roundshield

The Red Thorn Roundshield is one of the best shields for parrying (Image via FromSoftware)

The first shield on this list will be the starting weapon for the Samurai class, the Red Thorn Roundshield. This is a decent enough shield that has 58 physical guard and varying amounts of magic guard.

The shield can also be infused with Ashes of War and thus can be further strengthened to provide additional benefits.

Location: Bought from Nomadic Merchant in Weeping Peninsula, a starting shield for Samurai class.

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2) Buckler

Buckler is also a decent shield that players can use for parrying. It is a light shield that scales quite well off strength and dexterity.The weapon has average physical blocking, therefore it will not work well when guarding attacks. Therefore, the sole purpose of this is just to land parries.

Apart from that, the weapon has a special skill called "Buckler Parry". When used, it breaks the enemy’s stance instantly. Apart from that, it is faster than a regular parry.

Location: Bought from Gatekeeper Gostoc at Stormveil Castle, a starting shield for the Bandit class.

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3) Gilded Iron Shield

The Gilded Iron Shield has one of the best weight numbers amongst parrying shields (Image via Gamer Guides/Youtube)

Gilden Iron Shield is one of the few light shields that has really good physical damage guard. The weapon provides 69 damage blocking along with decent blocking from magic and incantations.

The weapon's weight is 3.0 which is also the optimal number for a shield designed for parrying.

Location: Found on a corpse at the Church of Pilgrimage in Weeping Peninsula.

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4) Scripture Wooden Shield

The Scripture Wooden Shield is a decent light shield to consider (Image via FromSoftware)

This is another decent shield that players can use for parrying purposes. The shield is quite weak and cannot block any form of attack. However, its 1.5 weight allows it to be one of the fastest parrying shields out there.

Location: This shield is the starting item for the Astrologer class.

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5) Spiralhorn Shield

The Spiralhorn Shield lacks guard but works very well for parry purposes (Image via EternityInGaming/Youtube)

The final shield on this list will be the Spiralhorn shield. This is another lightweight shield with a weight number of 2.0. The shield scales off strength and dexterity and is one of the best in the game for parrying.

Location: Found in the Maloseum Compound.

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These were the Top 5 shields for parrying in Elden Ring that players will ever need.