Shield

Basics
Shields are items that can be equipped in a character's left hand (sometimes called the "offhand") to increase his or her armor. This Armor is applied regardless of hit location or direction the character is facing. The maximum base Armor for a shield is 16.

Any profession can equip shields, but most shields have requirements for a minimum rank in the warrior's Tactics or Strength or the paragon's Motivation or Command attributes ranging from 0 to 13. Without meeting that requirement, the Armor used is half of the normal Armor value. While shields with the maximum Armor have been observed with requirements as low as 7, green shields, collector shields and crafted shields with the maximum Armor always have an attribute requirement of 9. Shields with a requirement of 0 and armor as high as 10 are available as loot.

The skills Shield Stance and Shield Bash depend on a shield being equipped to trigger their effects (although they can be activated without wielding a shield).

Modifiers
There are four main types of modifiers for shields: damage reduction, health bonuses, Armor bonuses, and +1 attribute. A shield may have up to two modifiers. There are no upgrade components for shields; nor may shield modifiers be salvaged. The available shield modifiers are listed in full in a separate article.

Damage reduction
Shields may have a received physical damage -x modifer. These always have specific preconditions, such as being enchanted. A shield can have up to -2 (while in a stance), -2 (while enchanted), -3 (while hexed), or -5 (Chance: up to 20%). There can be a maximum of two damage reduction modifiers, always with different conditions. However, Received damage -x (Chance: xx%) cannot be paired with any of the others.

Health
Shields may have a health +x modifier. These modifiers can be conditional, like the damage reduction modifiers, or unconditional. The maximum values are +45 (while in a Stance), +45 (while enchanted), +60 (while hexed), or +30 unconditional. There can be a maximum of one health modifier.

Armor
All shields (assuming maximum stats) will give 8 Armor to characters that do not meet the attribute requirement. Shields may also have conditional Armor bonuses. The maximum such bonus is +10 against a specific damage type or monster type. A shield may have at most one Armor modifier.

+1 attribute
Shields may have a +1 attribute modifier. It has up to a 20% chance while using skills. The possible attributes that can have a +1 modifier on shields are most attributes of casters, Tactics, and Strength. A shield may have at most one +1 attribute modifier.

Warrior Shield types
The following types of Warrior shields can be found in Guild Wars: {|
 * - valign=top
 * colspan=3 |

Core

 * Shields that can be tied to either attribute
 * Wooden Buckler1
 * Gloom Shield
 * Shields that require Strength
 * Aegis
 * Defender
 * Eternal Shield
 * PvP Tower Shield
 * Shadow Shield
 * Shields that require Tactics
 * PvP Shield (Tactics)
 * Reinforced Buckler
 * Round Shield
 * Tall Shield
 * Shield of the Wing
 * Skeleton Shield




 * valign ="top" |

Prophecies

 * Shields that require Strength:
 * Magmas Shield
 * Tower Shield


 * Shields that require Tactics:
 * Bulwark of Balthazar
 * Crude Shield
 * Crimson Carapace Shield
 * Ornate Buckler
 * Skull Shield
 * Summit Warlord Shield
 * Stone Summit Shield


 * Non-Attribute (0 requirement) shields:
 * Peppermint Shield
 * Gingerbread Shield


 * Collector-exclusive Shields
 * Strength
 * Emboldened Carapace Shield
 * Tactics
 * Crimson Carapace Shield
 * Stalwart Carapace Shield
 * Runic Shield


 * Unique Shields
 * Strength
 * Tanzit's Defender
 * Thorgall's Shield
 * Victo's Bulwark
 * Tactics
 * Malinon's Shield
 * Grognar's Defender


 * Promotional Shields
 * Tactics
 * Bronze Guardian
 * Canthan Targe
 * Serrated Shield
 * Unknown Requirement
 * Hog's Gluttony
 * valign ="top" |

Factions

 * Shields that can be tied to either attribute
 * Amber Aegis
 * Bladed Shield
 * Bronze Shield
 * Celestial Shield
 * Diamond Aegis
 * Echovald Shield
 * Emblazoned Defender
 * Embossed Aegis
 * Exalted Aegis
 * Gothic Defender
 * Guardian of the Hunt
 * Iridescent Aegis
 * Kappa Shield
 * Ornate Shield
 * Plagueborn Shield
 * Zodiac Shield
 * Shields that require Strength:
 * Outcast Shield
 * Shields that require Tactics:
 * Spiked Targe
 * Unique Shields
 * Variable
 * Exalted Aegis
 * Strength
 * Arrahhsh's Aegis
 * Merki's Gaze
 * Reefclaw's Refuge
 * Strongroot's Shelter
 * Tactics
 * Baubao's Shell
 * Geoffer's Bulwark
 * Jacqui's Aegis
 * Sunreach's Shield
 * Tarnen's Shield
 * valign ="top" |

Nightfall

 * Variable attribute
 * Lotus Shield
 * Strength
 * Shield of the Lion
 * Kournan Defender
 * Sun and Moon Shield
 * Istani Shield
 * Tactics
 * Adamantine Shield
 * Sharktooth Shield
 * Woven Shield
 * Sea Purse Shield
 * Unique Shields
 * Longtooth's Shield
 * Forgotten Shield
 * }
 * 1) Wooden Bucklers with a Strength requirement are only available from Canthan Collectors, all other Wooden Bucklers have Tactics requirements.

See also Category:Shields.

Note: unlike weapons such as Bows - the shield type has no influence on the stats of the shield, apart from the required attribute. Which visual appearance you prefer is merely a matter of taste: a Crude Shield with Armor +12 is just as good as an Eternal Shield with Armor +12. That said, certain shield types are more likely to come with higher AL; for example, a Shield of the Wing is usually Armor +8 or higher and will require Tactics, and Eternal Shields nearly always have Armor +15 or 16 and require Strength.

Paragon shield types
Paragons also use shields. They have the same maximum armor value and bonuses as Warrior PvP shields, and can be tied to the Command and Motivation attributes.

{|
 * - valign=top

Nightfall Campaign

 * Shields that can be linked to either Paragon attribute
 * Aureate Aegis
 * Eagle Defender (unverified post-release)
 * Goldleaf Defender
 * Reinforced Defender
 * Vabbian Bastion
 * Vabbian Defender
 * Vabbian Tower Shield
 * Shields that require Command
 * Heraldic Shield
 * PvP Shield (Command) (Heraldic Shield skin)
 * Scarabshell Aegis
 * Shields that require Motivation
 * Copperleaf Shield
 * Daedal Shield
 * PvP Shield (Motivation) (Daedal Shield skin)
 * Suntouched Shield
 * Tribal Shield
 * }

Related Skills
These skills require shields to trigger:
 * Shield Bash, Shield Stance