Breath of the Wild Best Shields: All 33, Stats and Locations

The Ancient Shield and the Royal Guard's Shield both block at 70 guard. Ride either one down a rocky slope, though, and the Royal Guard's Shield loses durability fifteen times as fast: the shield data Zelda Wiki reproduces from the game gives it a surfing-wear multiplier of 3.0 against the Ancient Shield's 0.2. It also starts with 14 durability to the Ancient Shield's 32. Neither of those wear numbers appears anywhere in Breath of the Wild's menus.

The game has 33 shields: the 32 Hyrule Compendium entries that Zelda Wiki numbers 350 to 381, and the Hero's Shield, which only an amiibo drops and the Compendium never lists. This is all of them, with guard, durability, material and where each one comes from, plus the three hidden stats that decide which shield is best for which job: surfing speed, surfing wear and Guardian-beam deflection.

Five numbers behind every shield

Every shield page on Zelda Wiki carries a parameter block lifted from the game's data, and the wiki's template documents what each field does. Five of them matter:

• GuardPower. The guard number the menu shows. Per the parameter notes, it lowers the durability a blocked hit costs, and a block always costs at least one point.
• Life. Durability, the shield's total budget of wear.
• SurfingFriction. A multiplier on the speed you lose while shield surfing. 1.0 is standard; lower keeps more speed.
• RideBreakRatio. A multiplier on the durability you lose while surfing. 1.0 is standard; 3.0 is triple the wear.
• MirrorLevel. Which Guardian beams the shield deflects: 0 for none, 1 for Guardian Scout beams, 2 for all of them.

For most shields, durability drains from the two sources Zelda Wiki's Durability page lists: being struck by an enemy attack, and surfing on rough terrain. Surfing on snow or sand costs nothing at all. The exceptions, the Lynel shields and the Ancient Shield's automatic deflection, come up below. How the counter works on weapons is in the weapon durability guide; this post is the shield side.

All 33 shields in one table

Sorted by guard. Guard, durability and material are from Zelda Wiki's list of Breath of the Wild shields, checked against the parameter block on each shield's own page, and the sources column comes from those pages.

The Rusty Shield's real value is what it turns into: a Rock Octorok swallows it and spits back a Traveler's, Soldier's, Knight's or Royal Shield, which the weapon durability guide prices out. The "Disputed" row is explained in the material section further down.

Guard and durability are two different leaderboards

Re-sort that table by durability and the order changes completely:

The Royal Guard's Shield, second on guard, has 14 durability, two fewer than a Soldier's Shield. The Dragonbone Boko Shield blocks at 25 on 8 durability. Guard decides how much each blocked hit costs; durability is how much there is to spend.

The Hylian Shield's 800 is in a different league from everything else: almost nine times the Hero's Shield's 90 and more than thirteen times the Daybreaker's 60.

The Hero's Shield in second place is easy to miss. It has no Compendium entry, and its only source is the 30th Anniversary Zelda (The Wind Waker) amiibo. It sits in that figure's rare-chest table at 10%, and only once a Divine Beast is freed. With the 20% rare-chest chance Zelda Wiki's amiibo page gives, that is roughly a 2% shot per scan before the pity rule the amiibo guide explains. Zelda Wiki's Weapon Bonus page calls it amiibo-exclusive and notes it can never roll Shield Guard Up.

What a bonus can add

Outside amiibo chests, which run their own odds, a shield that takes a Weapon Bonus rolls one of two, at 50/50: Shield Guard Up or Durability Up, in a white or a stronger yellow tier. The tier mechanics are in the durability guide. What matters here is the ceiling, because the ranges are set per shield. These are the yellow-tier maximums from each shield's parameter block, and a shield gets one or the other, never both:

The Ancient Shield is a shop item and the Daybreaker is unique equipment, and Zelda Wiki's Weapon Bonus page lists both among the items that never receive one. The Silver Shield is the odd row: its yellow guard range of +15 to +26 can more than double its base 18.

The Hylian Shield, and the 3,000-rupee spare

The Hylian Shield waits in a chest in the Lockup Back Room inside Hyrule Castle, guarded by a Stalnox; the Calamity Ganon guide walks the route in. Zelda Wiki calls it the strongest and most durable shield in the game, and the table agrees on both counts.

Unlike the Skyward Sword version, Zelda Wiki notes, it can break. Once you have found it in the castle, Granté in Tarrey Town sells a replacement for 3,000 rupees, but only while you do not already own one, and Zelda Wiki notes the bought copy comes with no chance of a Weapon Bonus. So the castle copy is the only one that can roll that 144-guard or 1,160-durability ceiling. The Tarrey Town guide covers building the town that puts Granté there.

Two cautions. It is metal, so it attracts lightning in a thunderstorm. And for surfing, its friction and wear are both the standard 1.0. Russ of the Shield Breakers tells you every shield surfer covets it for its durability, and durability is the whole of its surfing advantage.

Three shields surf faster than the rest

Across all 33 parameter blocks, only three shields have a surfing friction below 1.0, and only six change the surfing wear:

The Radiant Shield sheds speed at a tenth of the standard rate, the lowest friction of any shield. The Ancient Shield is almost as quick and wears at a fifth of the normal rate on rough ground. The Royal Guard's Shield is the one to keep off rough ground entirely.

Terrain decides whether wear matters at all. Per Zelda Wiki's Shield Surfing entry, snow and sand cost no durability, rocky ground like Death Mountain drains it rapidly, and surfing in rain both reduces the damage and adds speed. On snow and sand, friction is the only number that counts, which makes the Radiant Shield the pick. On rock, the Ancient Shield's 0.2 wear is the one to trust. The combat tips cover where to surf.

Selmie, the retired surfer Zelda Wiki calls the Duchess of Downhill, has opinions that the numbers only half back up. Zelda Wiki's Royal Shield page records her calling it the best surfing shield she has seen, yet its friction and wear are the standard 1.0. Her verdict on the Royal Guard's Shield, which the same wiki says she calls flimsy and worthless to serious surfers, is exactly what its 3.0 wear says. The game files also hold an unused yellow bonus, Shield Surf Up, that would have multiplied a shield's friction by 0.2.

Which shields stop a Guardian beam

Any shield can send a Guardian's laser back with a Perfect Guard: Zelda Wiki's Perfect Guard entry says it works with every shield and names Guardian beams among the projectiles it deflects. Daruk's Training Journal even records Link doing it once with a pot lid. The MirrorLevel stat is about the shields that do it for you.

• Ancient Shield, MirrorLevel 2. It deflects Guardian lasers without a Perfect Guard. Zelda Wiki's Ancient Shield page adds the catch: unlike a Perfect Guard, the automatic deflection costs durability, and the shield only has 32. You can still time a Perfect Guard with it manually.
• Guardian Shield, Guardian Shield+ and Guardian Shield++, MirrorLevel 1. The parameter notes define level 1 as Guardian Scout deflection, and the Guardian Shield and Guardian Shield++ descriptions say they can deflect a Guardian Scout's beam.
• The other 29 shields, MirrorLevel 0. Perfect Guard timing or nothing.

How much a returned laser does is covered in the Guardian guide: 500 damage to a Guardian Stalker, and an outright kill on a Decayed Guardian.

The Ancient Shield costs 1,000 rupees, 10 Ancient Gears, 15 Ancient Springs and a Giant Ancient Core from Cherry, once "Robbie's Research" is done. Add the 0.15 friction and 0.2 wear from the surfing table and it is the only shield that both deflects every Guardian beam and surfs at low friction. Its weak point is the 32 durability.

Lynel shields hit back, and pay for it

The three Lynel shields slash when you deflect, thanks to their banded edges. They are also the only shields Zelda Wiki's Durability page says lose durability on a parry:

Twenty-one damage per parry is a nice bonus. But in a parry-heavy fight, any non-Lynel shield parries without losing durability, and the Savage Lynel Shield has only 20 points to spend. The fights themselves are in the Lynel guide.

Selmie pays in shields, Russ sells them

Shields mostly come off enemies and out of chests, but two shield surfers deal in them directly.

Selmie runs a shield-surfing course from Selmie's Spot, a cabin on the north side of the Hebra East Summit. The area is a freezing climate that wants two levels of Cold Resistance. Each run costs 20 rupees. Finish her Beginner Course in under 45 seconds and she opens the Advanced Course, which pays a shield for your time. She will not start a run if your shield pouch is full.

That table is Fandom's Zelda wiki. Zelda Wiki's version matches it except that it starts the Knight's Shield window at 1:45 and lists nothing for 1:30 to 1:45. Zelda Wiki's Kite Shield page adds that the Kite Shield comes off her wall once. After that, the same time pays 20 rupees instead. If you are chasing the Royal Shield, the friction table says to make the attempt on a Radiant or Ancient Shield.

Russ, of the two-man Shield Breakers gang on Trilby Plain, sells three shields: a Wooden Shield for 30, a Soldier's Shield for 100 and a Knight's Shield for 300. Buy the Knight's Shield and he passes on the rumour of a Hylian Shield in Hyrule Castle.

Carrying room is the limit on all of this. Link starts with four shield slots, and Hestu expands that to 20; the Korok seed guide has the price of each one.

Wood, metal or Ancient

What a shield is made of decides where it turns on you. From the composition column of Zelda Wiki's shield list and the properties on each page:

The list's own note adds that an electrical hit, such as a Shock Arrow, makes Link drop a metal shield. The Soldier's Shield is the one to watch: despite its appearance, its description says the core is wood, so it can catch fire.

The Shield of the Mind's Eye is the one shield the wikis cannot agree on. Zelda Wiki's shield list calls it wood. Its own Zelda Wiki page lists it as non-flammable and magnetic, which is metal behaviour. Fandom's page carries the same metal properties in its infobox and calls it wood in the text. With the sources split, do not bet on it either way in a storm or in the Eldin heat.

The four shields worth a slot

On the numbers above:

1. Hylian Shield, for blocking. 90 guard and 800 durability, with a 144 or 1,160 ceiling on the castle copy. Keep it off rocky slopes, and swap it out when the sky turns.
2. Ancient Shield, for Guardians and rough ground. It deflects Guardian lasers on its own, surfs at 0.15 friction with a fifth of the normal wear, and ignores fire and lightning. The 32 durability means it is a tool, not your everyday shield.
3. Radiant Shield, for snow and sand. The lowest friction in the game, on the two surfaces that cost no durability. It is metal, so not in a storm.
4. Daybreaker, as the backup. 48 guard, 60 durability, half the normal surfing wear, and Buliara in Gerudo Town rebuilds it for a Diamond, five Flint and a Gerudo Shield if it breaks. Riju gives it to you after Vah Naboris, from the stone chests behind her throne.

The Royal Guard's Shield does not make the list: 14 durability and triple surfing wear. Its best use is Parcy at Riverside Stable. Show her one during the side quest "The Royal Guard's Gear" and she pays a Gold Rupee; after that she trades a topaz, ruby or sapphire for each Royal Guard's Shield you bring her. The best bows guide runs the same comparison for the other half of the loadout. If you are playing the sequel, the Tears of the Kingdom shield guide covers its 33 shields and fuse system.

More Hyrule breakdowns are on the Breath of the Wild coverage hub, and the rest of our coverage is on the Mythras blog.

Quick Action Checklist

• Take the Hylian Shield from the Lockup in Hyrule Castle (90 guard, 800 durability). A replacement from Granté in Tarrey Town costs 3,000 rupees and never carries a bonus.
• Read guard and durability as separate stats. The Royal Guard's Shield has 70 guard and only 14 durability.
• Surf on snow and sand, which cost no durability. Rocky ground drains a shield fast, and rain cuts the wear.
• Use the Radiant Shield (0.1 friction) for speed on snow and sand, and the Ancient Shield (0.15 friction, 0.2 wear) on rough ground.
• Keep the Royal Guard's Shield off rough ground. Its surfing wear is triple the standard rate.
• Build an Ancient Shield at Cherry's for 1,000 rupees, 10 Ancient Gears, 15 Ancient Springs and a Giant Ancient Core. It deflects Guardian lasers without a Perfect Guard, but each automatic deflection costs durability.
• Perfect Guard freely with any shield except the three Lynel shields, the only ones that lose durability on a parry.
• Pay Selmie 20 rupees a run at Selmie's Spot on the Hebra East Summit, with two levels of Cold Resistance. Under 1:30 on the Advanced Course wins a Royal Shield.
• Buy a Knight's Shield from Russ on Trilby Plain for 300 rupees if you need guard early.
• Keep metal shields away from storms and wooden ones away from fire and the Eldin heat. Ancient shields are safe in both.
• Trade spare Royal Guard's Shields to Parcy at Riverside Stable for gems once her quest is done.