Shield

Basics
Shields are items that can be equipped in your character's left hand (sometimes called the "offhand") to increase to your armor level (AL).


 * The AL bonus is added to the armor "baseline", this means the bonus protects all body parts alike: Head, Torso, Legs and Arms.


 * The maximum AL bonus for a shield is +16.


 * Note that the protection from a shield is directional, this means the AL bonus is only taken into account if a foe is attacking you from the front! If you're under attack from the side or from behind the shield bonus is void!


 * Generally all professions can equip shields, but most shields have requirements for a minumum rank in the Warrior's Tactics or Strength attribute.


 * Some Warrior skills can only be performed when equiped with a shield, for example Shield Bash.

Upgrades
There are currently no upgrade components for shields that can be salvaged or equipped.

However, some shields come with magical modifiers:


 * Armor +0...8 vs. certain type of foe (Charr, Dwarves, Giants, ...)
 * Armor +0...8 vs. certain type of damage (elemental, physical, ...)
 * Health +0...30
 * Health +0...45 while enchanted / hexed / in a stance.
 * Received damage -1...3 while enchanted / hexed / in a stance.
 * Received damage -1...3 (Chance: 1...10%).
 * +1 on certain attribute (10...20% chance while using skills).
 * Quick recovery from certain condition (bleeding, blind, crippled, ...)

As mentioned above, these modifiers can not be salvaged.

Shield Types
The following types of Shields can be found in Guild Wars:


 * Aegis
 * Crude Shield
 * Cathan Targe
 * Defender
 * Eternal Shield
 * Magmas Shield
 * Ornate Buckler
 * Re-enforced Buckler
 * Round Shield
 * Shadow Shield
 * Shield of the Wing
 * Skull Shield
 * Skeleton Shield
 * Stone Summit Shield
 * Summit Warlord Shield
 * Tall Shield
 * Tower Shield
 * Wooden Buckler

See also Category:Shields.

''Note that - unlike 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 AL +12 is just as good as an Eternal Shield with AL +12. That said, certain shield types are more likely to come with higher AL, for example a Shield of the Wing is usually AL +8 or higher and will require Tactics and an Eternal Shield is almost always AL +15 or 16 and will require Strength.''