Valheim: Ranking Every Shield in the Game

Shields are a necessity in Valheim, allowing you to block attacks to save HP, or parry and return the favor with high damage.

Even as you reach the later stages of the game, and have acquired a huge base with plenty of resources, some mobs still prove difficult to deal with.

Trolls, Surtlings, Greydwarf Brutes, and Fulings can all hit you hard, so having a trusty shield to hand is important.

Learning to parry is absolutely crucial here. To fend off hard-hitting attackers or survive a gank from a dozen enemies, a good shield is needed.

With so many variants available, you’ll need to know which ones to look out for.

In general, normal shields are better than tower shields, as their movement speed penalties are way too high & they cannot parry.

Note: stats are shown as they’re fully upgraded. Upgrade material numbers are the amount to reach the full upgrade.

How does parrying work in Valheim?

To parry, block an incoming attack, right before it lands.

You’ll hear a bashing sound, the enemy will be knocked back for a moment and takes double damage.

Parry force determines the knockback time, a shield with higher parry force will leave their enemies vulnerable for longer.

What does block power mean in Valheim?

Block power simply reduces incoming damage by a flat amount.

Let us say a Draugr will hit you for 63 damage, a shield with 40 block power will reduce that to 23, which your armor will then deal with.

Sounds like a lot of block power but you can be staggered, so parrying is far more effective than simply blocking!

9. Wood Tower Shield

Weight: 4

Block Power: 45

Movement Penalty: -20%

Parry Force: N/A

Crafting:

10 x Wood
4 x Leather Scraps

Upgrade Materials:

25 x Wood
15 x Leather Scraps

Great block power for how early you can get it, the Wood Tower Shield is a decent option for exploring Burial Chambers for Surtling Cores.

You’ll even be able to block Rancid Remains, but the inability to parry will make the fight last a while, so high stamina food is needed.

8. Wood Shield

Weight: 4

Block Power: 30

Movement Penalty: -5%

Parry Force: 20

Crafting:

10 x Wood
4 x Leather Scraps
4 x Resin

Upgrade Materials:

25 x Wood
10 x Resin
10 x Leather Scraps

Being able to parry makes the wood shield superior to its tower variant.

As you’re starting to fight stronger Greyling mobs, as well as skeletons and trolls, you really need that parry bonus, as well as faster movement speed.

This shield will serve you well until you manage to acquire a lot of bronze!

7. Bronze Buckler

Weight: 3

Block Power: 55

Movement Penalty: -5%

Parry Force: 30

Crafting:

10 x Bronze
4 x Wood

Upgrade Materials:

25 x Bronze
7 x Wood

Currently the lightest shield in the game, the bronze buckler is a cheap and reliable option for the early to mid-stages of your character’s playthrough.

Great block power, low weight, and a small movement penalty mean it can hold its own in the Black Forest and Swamps.

Weirdly, the bronze buckler has a higher parry modifier, so enemies who are staggered by this shield take even more damage!

6. Banded Shield

Weight: 5

Block Power: 70

Movement Penalty: -5%

Parry Force: 50

Crafting:

10 x Fine Wood
8 x Iron

Upgrade Materials:

40 x Fine Wood
20 x Iron

Costing very little iron and supplying a strong block power and parry force, the banded shield is an excellent choice against swamp monsters.

You don’t just visit the swamp for iron, you go to get entrails, bloodbags, and guck, too.

Having a lightweight option to parry, dodge and battle your way through mobs is essential.

5. Iron Tower Shield

Weight: 5

Block Power: 85

Movement Penalty: -20%

Parry Force: N/A

Crafting:

15 x Fine Wood
10 x Iron

Upgrade Materials:

45 x Fine Wood
25 x Iron

Perhaps the only level of progression that sees the tower variant best the normal one, you’ll be using this shield to explore Mountains, and maybe even Plains.

Exploring the mountain makes stamina hard to keep track of properly, as you are constantly sprinting and jumping.

So when it comes to a fight in a mountain, movement speed isn’t too big of an issue.

Surviving is far more important, being able to block almost full damage from wolves is essential, as they can easily chase you down if you don’t have a strong shield.

If you do need the movement speed back, simply press the R key to put the shield on your back!

4. Silver Shield

Weight: 5

Block Power: 85

Movement Penalty: -5%

Parry Force: 50

Crafting:

10 x Fine Wood
8 x Silver

Upgrade Materials:

40 x Fine Wood
20 x Silver

Very cheap shield, you can craft and fully upgrade it from a single silver ore vein.

Finding silver is nigh on impossible without the wishbone, obtained by defeating Bonemass.

Once you get it, it’ll be possible to block damage from almost every mob you encounter for the rest of the game.

Definitely one of the best shields and also has the properties of a great aesthetic item to decorate your homestead.

3. Black Metal Tower Shield

Weight: 5

Block Power: 115

Movement Penalty: -20%

Parry Force: N/A

Crafting:

15 x Fine Wood
10 x Black Metal
7 x Chain

Upgrade Materials:

50 x Fine Wood
24 x Black Metal
13 x Chain

By far the most expensive shield in the game, coming with the highest block power available.

The Black Metal Tower Shield is the only shield to fully block a 0-star Fuling attack, making it a good option if you’re really struggling against them.

In the end, though, it suffers from being a tower shield, as you really need the parry bonus when you get to the plains.