Elden Ring’s recently released Shadow of the Erdtree DLC introduced a new weapon class—dueling shields. While some players relish the challenge of mastering spells or colossal weapons, these spiked shields offer a far simpler approach.
Out of the two dueling shields available in Elden Ring right now, the stronger pick is the Carian Thrusting Shield found in the Shadow Keep. The shield has been championing a new kind of playstyle where players can dish out damage while ensuring near-perfect defense. This can be done by two-handing the shield, holding down the block button, and spamming the light attack button. A video post on X (formerly Twitter) on June 28 by YouTuber Scott Jund shows the playstyle in action, where he hilariously demonstrates beating an enemy by holding the block button and whacking the attack button onto his forehead.
We visibly see Scott Jund using the Carian Thrusting Shield along with the Scholar’s Shield Sorcery. This, paired with the Two-Handed Sword Talisman that he mentions using in the post, improves the shield’s guard and attack capabilities. To use the shield effectively, it’s best to upgrade it to around +25 using smithing stones and then leveling up endurance as the R1 light attack eats up a good chunk of stamina. Additionally, it’s possible to take some chip damage while blocking attacks, so make sure to tie in some health regeneration Crystal Tears into the flask of Wondrous Physick.
You can find the Carian Thrusting Shield in Shadow Keep, (one of the legacy dungeons) near the north side of the Scadu Atlus. After finding the first Site of Grace within, players will have to take a left and head up a staircase, followed by another set of wooden stairs where a Fire Knight spawns peering at a couple of suspended statues. After beating the Fire Knight, you can find the shield on the other side of the suspended beast statue after crossing a narrow stone walkway.
While the shield undeniably gets results, the core issue seems to lie in the fact that it’s probably bugged since blocking using a shield usually drains out the player’s stamina, but it doesn’t seem to do so for the Carian Thrusting Shield. The shield now offers players a powerful tool to breeze through the game and the various challenges the new Shadow of the Erdtree DLC is known for.
