Introduction
This list of items is comprised of what's generally considered meta. Items are ordered by our personal ranking, with the best option for each element listed first. (Outliers being compression items, that are ordered by element)
Filters
Fire
Akriloth's Command
A shield that offers a 42.1% chance of Controlling the monster upon blocking, highly potent for Vampire Builds, but very good in general.
Location: 50,000 Z-Token Package (Champion of Akriloth)
Info-Subs: Link
(Cozy) Farzhad Mogloo
The best option for any player barring maybe Akriloth's Command, offering you the ability to reduce incoming Fire damage by ~35.7% at the cost of 196 SP per turn.
Location (Original): Valencia -> Golden Giftboxes -> Rare Shop Rare
Location (Cozy): Frostval 2016 Portal Painting -> Save the Sweaters!
Info-Subs (Original): Link
Info-Subs (Cozy): Link
Dreamweaver's Contempt
Works similar to the above Farzhad Mogloo shields except that the effect can only be used once per battle instead of a toggle. That being said, you can clicking on the shield costs 385 SP (at lv150) and can only be used once per battle, doing this provides 1) Regens 132 MP for 3 turns, 2) ~35.714% less Fire damage taken for 3 turns (shows as x0.642857 Fire damage taken in the status panel). This is overall the best option for most builds, baring the above Mogloo shields.
Location: Frostval 2020 Portal Painting -> Delivery War
Info-Subs: N/A
Snuggle Hearts
A Fire shield that gives +20 Burn potence, meaning that your chance of inflicting Burn on the monster is increased by +20%. This is the best choice for Neko users because of Neko's Burn skill.
Location: Snugglefest
Info-Subs: Link
Heart's Defender
Usually comes back every year around February. If you have this shield then it's a very solid option. Whenever you block an attack, you heal a chunk of SP, similar Horo-Show Void Vindicator except that the entire effect is focused on SP healing.
Location: 12000 Z-Tokens package
Info-Subs: Link
Shield of Agony's Blood
A great non-rare option for those who don't want to spend any real money. While you do take slightly more damage when hit than you would with a normal fire shield, the monster also loses 10 BTH.
Location: Rip in the Sky -> Adder's Forge
Info-Subs: Link
Grakma Hide Shield
Reduces every hit you take by 7 damage points. Good for players that like to go on the extremely defensive side, especially if you have very low Fire resist.
Location: Travel Map -> Sail East -> Mt. Thrall -> Hollow' s Garage -> I'm here to kick some demon tail!
Info-Subs: Link
Updated Info-Subs: Link
Water
Celtic Wheel
The best option not just for mages and hybrids, but even warriors and rangers too. By clicking on the shield, you gain 50 INT at the cost of 34 SP every turn. It's a given that mages can make use of this by powering up their spells, but the 50 INT boost also, when combined with an INT misc (ex: Irt of Osiris), gives warriors and rangers enough MP to cast utility spells, such as Moonwalker's Grace (which boosts the player's DEX by 86 for 3 turns), once.
Location: Warlic's Shop -> Mastercraft Sets -> Celtic Set (Inis Fáil path: Left-Up, Left-Up, Right-Up)
Info-Subs: Link
Doray
Water clone of Father Time listed in the Ice section. Keep in mind that both of these shields share a counter and thus both cannot be used in the same battle.
Location: Battle Monsters -> Doray -> Attack with water to fill its MP bar, causing it to explode.
Info-Subs: Link
Logos
One of the best shields to use for a blocking build. The MC is funneled into a toggle which provides +15 MRM (blocking) at the cost of 98 SP (at lv 150) every turn. This makes it effectively the highest MRM shield in the game at crazy 29/29/32 MRM. However, due to dodge builds lacking in damage throughput, these builds may prefer using shields like Divine Yata Mirror or Cutting Edge Guard.
Location: Valencia -> Golden Giftboxes -> Rare Shop Rare
Info-Subs: Link
Kindred Spirits' Devotion
An excellent shield when used with the Kindred armor and/or pet. Clicking on the shield lets you heal your MP or SP by a solid amount, for 40 charges each. These options do not cost a turn.
Location: Warlic's Shop -> Mastercraft Sets -> Kindred Set
Info-Subs: Link
Wind
Haunted Dragonlord's Will
Standard shield that focuses on Magic defense. MC compresses a quick-cast skill which applies a barrier status worth 75% melee at the cost of 95% melee (or 372 SP at lv 150). This skill can be used an unlimited times per turn, to balance this the skill's SP cost increases by +25% after each use, i.e. the first use costs 95% melee, the second costs 120% melee, the third costs 145% melee, etc. However, the cost increasing mechanic resets on your next turn.
FSB Info: When used with the Haunted Dragonlord Armour and any of the Haunted Dragonlord weapons, the healing provided by the weapons is tripled.
Location: Battleon -> Warlic's Shop -> Mastercraft Sets -> Haunted Dragonlorn Set -> Search The Keep -> Inner Keep
Info-Subs: Link
Accordion Shield
-26% wind shield that gives 20 status potency for control making it the best Wind shield for Vamp and Love Potion users.
Location: Guardian Giftboxes 2015 Rare
Info-Subs: Link
Mistral's Grace
The best non-rare Wind shield, tied with Fujin no Shukufuku. A -26% shield that grants a +10% resistance to statuses that has a chance to cause you to miss your turn.
Location: Mage Shop -> Mastercraft Sets -> Frostgale Set (Part 3)
Info-Subs: Link
Fujin no Shukufuku
The best non-rare Wind shield, tied with Mistral's Grace. Clicking on the shield will grant you +50 DEX at the cost of 34 SP every turn.
Location: Warlic's Shop -> Mastercraft Sets -> Fujin Set
Info-Subs: Link
Ice
Pies
A Beastmaster's best friend as the shield's MC pays for a stat drive which provides +50 CHA at the cost of 34 SP per turn. As a note, pure builds using boosters may find some use for this shield as omni-elemental booster pets/guests (Poelala, Dunamis, Thernda) get half of their scaling from CHA (assuming that QuadForce isn't being used).
Location: Warlic's Shop -> Mastercraft Sets -> Dessert Set
Info-Subs: Link
Father Time
MC provides compression of a skill that is effectively the same as the Purple Rain except that you have to wait until your next turn and the shield must be equipped when your turn ends.
Location: Limited Time Shop (around Father's Day)
Info-Subs: Link
Defender of Frostval Past
Ice shield usable as utility shield. By clicking on the shield, you get a 1-round MRM boost of about +18 MRM. It is a quickcast effect, and you keep it even if you change shields.
Location: Guardian Giftboxes 2018 Rare
Info-Subs: Link
Horo-Show Void Vindicator
Blocking an enemy attack deals a small amount of Harm damage and heals a chunk of SP. As an additional note keep in mind that this shield only provides -25 Ice Resistance compared to the typical -26 Ice Resistance. However, the shield does have slightly higher MRM defenses compared to the other Ice shields listed here.
Location: Twilly -> Anniversary Events -> The Dragon of Time -> BONUS
Info-Subs: Link
Cryo Chrono Shield
When you block an attack, there's a chance to paralyze the monster for 1 turn. Pair it with items that lower the enemy's BTH or increase your MRM for more frequent paralyze attempts.
Location: Guardian Shop
Info-Subs: Link
Earth
Chieftain's IronThorn
The strongest offensive Earth shield for Fully-Offensive Warriors/Rangers and potentially Hybrids, the shield has a drive similar to those of Celtic Wheel/Pies/Fujin no Shukufuku, but gives 50 STR at the cost of 34 SP per turn at the top level. Worth noting, this shield used to give *1.5 damage on your non-spell-based attacks, so some references to the shield may mention this effect, which has since been changed to the STR drive.
Location: Rip in the Sky -> Adder's Forge
Info-Subs: Link
Golem Guard
The best defensive Earth shield, offering a toggle to reduce incoming damage by -10.714% at the cost of 59 SP per turn at the highest level.
Location: Archery Shop -> Quests -> Monster Hunt
Info-Subs: Link
Macka-Lot Buckler
This shield is the best defensive option for Beastmaster builds. The damage you take is reduced based on your CHA stat, to a maximum of -7.14%.
Location: Grenwog -> Double O' Dozen
Info-Subs: Link
Morningstar Bulwark
Deal damage when you block an attack based on the percentage of attacks you blocked, and heal the same amount.
Location: Warlic's Shop -> Mastercraft Sets -> Morningstar Set
Info-Subs: Link
Energy
Mystic Father Time
Clone of Father Time listed in the Ice section. Keep in mind that shields with this effect share a counter and thus cannot be used in the same battle
Location: Limited Time Shop (around New Year's Day)
Info-Subs (Basic Stats): Link
Info-Subs (Rewind Mechanic Specifics): Link
Umazen Aspis
This shield offers -26% resistance to Energy for the level 150 variant as well as +20 Paralysis Potency (+20% chance to win the save roll when opponent tries to resist Paralysis) making it the best available Energy shield for Fully-Offensive builds, and straight out the top option for Beastmaster builds who have Mogdin.
Location: Yulgar's Inn -> Lounge -> Sage Uldor -> Burning Solstice -> Umazen Uprising: Part 1
Info-Subs: Link
Thunder Lord's Crest
This shield allows you to recover a small amount of SP when the opponent is Burned, providing great synergy with Neko armors' ability to make your pets & guests Burn the opponent.
Location: Frostval 2019 Portal Painting -> Gift Delivery!
Info-Subs: Link
Pixel Guard
Standard Energy shield that has an 8% chance to inflict a 1-turn -32 BtH Blind on the opponent each turn.
Location: Guardian Giftboxes 2014 Rare
Info-Subs: Link
Light
Strawberry Shieldcake
An extremely versatile shield that can find a place in most builds. Each turn it gains a charge (up to 112 maximum) which you can spend on any of its 6 quick-cast abilities. Each ability lasts 1 round, and you can only use them once per round. Additionally, you can skip your player turn (Bake!) to gain 20 extra charges (21 total for the turn). The abilities are as follows:
- Reduce damage taken from attacks by a flat amount (51 damage reduction at lv 150, costs 5 charges)
- Reduce damage taken from Light attacks by 17.9% (costs 5 charges)
- Imbue your weapon attacks to deal Light damage instead (costs 10 charges)
- Give a significant boost to your CHA (160 CHA at level 150, costs 10 charges)
- Gain 50% Lucky Strike rate (costs 10 charges)
- Gain celerity (extra turn for you, your pet, guest and misc, costs 28 charges)
Fully offensive builds can use the hypercritical (gain 50% LS rate) and celerity abilities to strengthen their nukes, while beastmaster characters can make use of the Bake! ability to maintain the CHA boost and either both defensive abilities, or give hypercritical to their pets, at the cost of their own turn, meaning this can be paired with weapons like Foam Finger or Fresh Asteraceae to boost your pets/guests, without suffering their damage penalties.
Location: 7,500 Z-Token Package
Info-Subs: Link
Radiant Aegis
Click on the shield to reduce incoming light damage for the remainder of the turn by 25% (25.73% at the top level) at the cost of SP. This effect can be used twice per turn granting up to 50% (51.46%) reduction in damage.
Location: Rare Item Hunt Rare
Info-Subs: Link
Lorian Shield
A rather interesting shield that can toggle +9 MRM and -10.714% damage taken. While these effects are incredibly powerful, they lose half of their potency when you're at 75% of your max HP and lose all of their potency when you're at <= 50% of your max HP. Because of the set-bonus with the Master's Blade sword, this can be very useful for blocking builds.
FSB Info: When used together with the Master's Blade sword (on the Melee Weapons page), the effects of the weapon are doubled.
Location: Guardian Giftboxes 2020 Rare
Chaser Bracer
Can inflict Blind on your enemy when you block.
Location: Frostval 2017 Portal Painting - > Part 2
Info-Subs: Link
Sol Defender
Similar to the Macka-Lot Buckler except that Sol Defender reduces damage by -5.71% rather than -7.14%.
Location: Travel Map -> Sail East -> Sail South -> Haven -> Visit Katshiro -> Neko Gear
Info-Subs: Link
Emancipator's Radiance
It increases your chances of inflicting Blind by 20% (i.e., 20 Blind Potency). At the moment for anyone who incorporates any sort of Blind into their build (Beastmasters use Pets / Guests, and FO Warriors / Rangers use Zabura's Hammer or Zakiya's Spear respectively) this is the top option.
Location: Yulgar's Inn -> Lounge -> Sage Uldor -> Burning Solstice -> Umazen Uprising: Part 2
Info-Subs: [TBD]
Darkness
Eclipsed Dragonlord's Will
Darkness clone of the Haunted Dragonlorn's Will listed in the Wind section.
FSB Info: When used with any of the Eclipsed Dragonlord weapons, the healing provided by the weapons is doubled.
Location: Battleon -> Warlic's Shop -> Mastercraft Sets -> Haunted Dragonlorn Set -> Search The Keep -> Obsidian Roots
Info-Subs: Link
Eclipse Shield / Lunar Eclipse Shield
These are both great shields, and there's no difference between them other than their names and appearances. They have a built-in skill, which can blind the monster.
Location: Limited-Time Shop, for up to 24 hours after a solar/lunar eclipse
Info-Subs: Link
Info-Subs (Lunar): Link
ShadowWalker's Shield of Time
The ShadowWalker shield is absolutely phenomenal, both on its own and as part of the set. It has a bleed effect, which is inflicted whenever you block an attack. This effect can stack perpetually, and can be extremely potent over prolonged fights.
Location: Buy Heromart Calendar 2017 "Year of Adventure" -> Redeem code in Master Account
Info-Subs: Link
Terror Totem
On its own, this shield is nothing special. However, if you have any or multiple ways to easily apply the fear status to enemies, you can click the shield to consume their fear status and heal your HP (amount scales with the power and duration of the fear consumed). Naturally, this combines well with Terror Raiment's "FEAR" skill and the the "Snarl" skill from the Werewolf subrace armors. However, keep in mind that this shield is becoming increasingly less valuable as more and more bosses have the Freedom status and thus cannot be inflicted with Fear.
Location: Travel Map -> Terror Set
Info-Subs: Link
Eternal Twilight's Regalia
If you don't have any of the shields above, Twilight's Regalia is your best option. Every turn, there is a 23.4% chance of lowering the BTH of the monster's attack by 13.
Location: Travel Map -> Travel South -> Alnaphar -> Twilight Set
Info-Subs: Link
Lantern of Souls
Darkness clone of Palette Protector. When used with the full Reaper of Souls set, you gain +30% damage at the cost of 30 HP per turn. Because the base effect of this shield is rather weak, it should only be used if you plan on using Reaper of Souls aswell.
Location: Death's Domain -> Retrieve 100 hourglasses
Info-Subs: Link
Compression
Hydro Blaze Shield (Fire/Water)
Toggles between Fire and Water. Nothing notable otherwise.
Location: 2500 Z-Token Package
Info-Subs: Link
Fireworks Buckler (Fire/Light)
This shield returns every 4th of July, and is a fantastic option for those who need compression. It protects against Fire and Light, and you can switch between the two by clicking on the shield.
Location: Limited-Time Shop (Around July 4th)
Info-Subs: Link
Cerberus Ward (Fire/Darkness)
Cerberus Ward is a decent compression shield that defends against Fire and Darkness, and switches between the two when clicked.
Location: Travel Map -> Sail East -> Mt Thrall -> Underworld -> Part 1
Info-Subs: Link
Bac-ler (Water/Earth)
Toggles between Water and Earth. While technically the modes have a secondary resist to Fire and Dark respectively, these are pretty weak.
Location: Yulgar's Inn -> Talk To Hans -> Cysero Returns Again!
Info-Subs: Link
Sinmaw's Guile (Water/Energy)
Toggles between Water and Energy. Nothing otherwise.
Location: 50000 Z-Token Package (Champion of Sinmaw)
Info-Subs: Link
Gemini (Wind/Earth)
Clicking on it will swap it between Earth and Wind, and this makes it especially useful since, unlike other compression options such as Cerberus Ward, it doesn't overlap with the Darkness shields listed.
Location: Void Takeover: Gemini. See here.
Info-Subs: Link
Miregale (Wind/Earth)
Essentially a clone of the Gemini shield with shuffled MRM.
Location: Valencia -> Golden Giftboxes -> Rare Shop Rare
Info-Subs: Link
Wartorn Heirloom Shield (Wind/Darkness)
A compression shield of Wind and Darkness. Unfortunately has trigger against Rider enemies, making you suffer from a slight downtrigger most of the time.
Location: Yulgar's Inn -> Lounge -> Sage Uldor -> Burning Solstice -> Burning Solstice Part IV
Info-Subs: Link
Elightus Guard (Earth/Energy)
Toggles between Earth and Energy. Nothing otherwise.
Location: 12000 Z-Token Package (Elightus)
Info-Subs: Link
Darkovian Bulwark (Earth/Darkness)
This is a great option for those who need compression, as it resists against both Earth and Darkness, and you can switch between the two by clicking on the shield. However, it has a downtrigger and overlaps with the better Darkness options listed below. When fighting Werewolves or Vampires, all of your combat defences are increased by 9.
Location: Valencia -> Golden Giftboxes -> Rare Shop
Info-Subs: Link
Daylight Savings Time (Light/Darkness)
This is a compression option that resists against both Light and Darkness separately, but like Darkovian Bulwark, it has a downtrigger and overlaps with some of the better options listed in the darkness section below.
Location: Travel Map -> Sail East -> Travel South -> Ultimon's Fortress -> Part 2
Info-Subs: Link
Dual Element
Pumpkin Shield (Fire/Water)
Decreases Fire by -21% and Water by -20%, otherwise completely unremarkable.
Location: Mogloween -> Mogloween Quests -> Pumpkin Golems or Mogloween Portal Painting -> 2006: Jack Pumpkinface!
Info-Subs: Link
Fate's Betrayal (Fire/Light)
Decreases Fire and Light resist by -21%, and also reduces incoming damage by -7.143%. While this sounds like a lot, if the enemy does 250 damage it reduces it by around 18 points, and you also take 50 damage each time you block an attack.
Location: Archery Shop -> Quests -> Truphma Saga -> When Powers Collide
Info-Subs: Link
Demon Wraith Prison (Fire/Darkness)
Decreases Fire and Darkness resist by -21%, otherwise completely unremarkable.
Location: Warlic's Advanced Magic Shop
Info-Subs: Link
Magnetic Safeguard (Water/Earth)
Decreases Water and Earth resist by -21%, and against armored or metallic enemies it reduces their accuracy by -6 BtH.
Location: Travel Map -> Sail East -> Travel South -> Seekrat -> 6: The Terrible 12 War
Info-Subs: Link
Sunken Ship Wheel (Water/Darkness)
Identical to Fate's Betrayal, but reduces Water and Darkness instead.
Location: Talk Like a Pirate Day -> Treasure Hunt
Info-Subs: Link
Shield of Sands (Earth/Wind)
Decreases Earth and Wind resist by -21%, otherwise completely unremarkable.
Location: Archery Shop -> Quests -> Truphma Saga -> 5: Artistic Ruins
Info-Subs: Link
Sackleberry Safeguard (Earth/Light)
Decreases Earth and Light resist by -20%, and has a Mastercraft of increasing your blocking chance by +6.
Location: Frogzard Hunter Shop
Info-Subs: Link
Monster Talon (Earth/Darkness)
Decreases Earth and Darkness resists by -21%, otherwise completely unremarkable.
Location: Guardian Shop
Info-Subs: Link
Luminous Shield (Light/Darkness)
Decreases your Light and Darkness resists by -21%, while also triggering against Shadow monsters to increase your blocking chance by +6, making it generally better than the Paladin Guard against them, while also making Gogg farming slightly easier.
Location: Travel Map -> Sail East -> Travel South -> Seekrat -> 9: Breaking Point
Info-Subs: Link