Updated November 10, 2026. Applies to Valheim 1.0, patch 1.0.21. Shield stats and recipes come from the community Valheim Wiki shield list and its blocking and parry page. Patch quotes come from Iron Gate's own notes on Steam and valheim.com. The "biggest hit" tables are our own calculation from the wiki's blocking formula.
Valheim has 19 craftable shields in 1.0, split into three types that play very differently. A thread on r/valheim yesterday asked the question most players eventually ask: do tower shields have any use at all, when "the buckler seems superior in every way"?
The short version is that both camps are right, in different fights. This guide gives you the full stat table, the math behind block and parry, and a clear pick for every biome.
Quick answer: There are 3 shield types. Bucklers have a 2.5x parry bonus and the weakest block, round shields have a 1.5x parry bonus and middling block, and tower shields can't parry at all but have the highest block armor and knockback. The best parry shield in the game is the Nord Buckler (100 block armor at quality 3, 250 when parried). The best pure blocker is the Nord Greatshield (170 block armor, 160 block force). If you can time parries, take a buckler. If you can't, or you fight groups, take a tower shield. Since the Call to Arms update, a perfect block costs no stamina and gives 5 adrenaline.
What are the three shield types in Valheim?
Every shield in Valheim is a round shield, a buckler or a tower shield. The type decides how the shield parries, and the parry rule matters more than the raw block number on the tooltip.
| Type | Parry bonus | Block armor | Block force | Movement speed | Can parry? |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Buckler | 2.5x | Lowest | 30 to 60 | -5% | Yes |
| Round shield | 1.5x | Middle | 20 to 70 | -5%, Shield of Roots 0% | Yes |
| Tower shield | None | Highest | 100 to 160 | -10% | No |
Block armor is how much damage the shield soaks before anything reaches you. Block force is the knockback you deal to a melee attacker when you block. Parry bonus multiplies block armor when you block at the last moment. The wiki notes the tower shield's -10% movement penalty also makes each dodge roll cost more stamina, by the same 10%.
Your offhand weapon doesn't matter here. When you carry a shield, its block armor, block force and parry bonus replace those of the one-handed weapon in your other hand.
What are the stats of every Valheim shield?
These are the stats for all 19 craftable shields, at quality 1 and quality 3. Each quality level adds 6 block armor to every shield.
| Shield | Type | Block armor Q1/Q3 | Block force | Parry armor at Q3 | Crafted at |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Wood Shield | Round | 6 / 18 | 20 / 30 | 27 | Workbench 1 |
| Banded Shield | Round | 42 / 54 | 40 / 50 | 81 | Forge 2 |
| Shield of Roots | Round | 48 / 60 | 40 / 50 | 90 | Workbench 2 |
| Silver Shield | Round | 60 / 72 | 40 / 50 | 108 | Forge 3 |
| Black Metal Shield | Round | 78 / 90 | 50 / 60 | 135 | Forge 3 |
| Carapace Shield | Round | 96 / 108 | 60 / 70 | 162 | Black Forge 1 |
| Flametal Shield | Round | 114 / 126 | 50 / 60 | 189 | Black Forge 3 |
| Nord Shield | Round | 132 / 144 | 50 / 60 | 216 | Frost Foundry 4 |
| Bronze Buckler | Buckler | 16 / 28 | 30 | 70 | Forge 1 |
| Iron Buckler | Buckler | 28 / 40 | 30 | 100 | Forge 2 |
| Carapace Buckler | Buckler | 78 / 90 | 50 / 60 | 225 | Black Forge 1 |
| Nord Buckler | Buckler | 88 / 100 | 30 | 250 | Frost Foundry 4 |
| Wood Tower Shield | Tower | 10 / 22 | 100 / 110 | none | Workbench 1 |
| Bone Tower Shield | Tower | 32 / 44 | 100 / 110 | none | Workbench 3 |
| Iron Tower Shield | Tower | 52 / 64 | 100 / 110 | none | Forge 2 |
| Serpent Scale Shield | Tower | 60 / 72 | 100 / 110 | none | Forge 3 |
| Black Metal Tower Shield | Tower | 104 / 116 | 150 / 160 | none | Forge 3 |
| Flametal Tower Shield | Tower | 140 / 152 | 150 / 160 | none | Black Forge 3 |
| Nord Greatshield | Tower | 158 / 170 | 150 / 160 | none | Frost Foundry 4 |
"Parry armor at Q3" is block armor multiplied by the parry bonus. It's the number that actually stops the hit when your timing is right.
Look at the bucklers in that column. A quality 3 Carapace Buckler parries with 225 armor, more than the Flametal Shield from a whole biome later. The Nord Buckler parries with 250, the highest parry value in the game, and higher than any tower shield's plain block. That's the case for bucklers in one line.
Two shields have a special effect. The Serpent Scale Shield is resistant to Pierce damage while blocking. The Shield of Roots is the only shield with no movement penalty, and it cuts your attack stamina cost by 10%.
How does blocking work in Valheim?
Blocking is a short chain of checks. Knowing them tells you exactly why a block failed. Per the Valheim Wiki:
- The hit is reduced by the shield's block armor first.
- You pay up to 10 stamina, scaled by how much of the hit got through.
- If the damage that got through fills your stagger bar, the block fails and you're staggered. If you run out of stamina, the block also fails, but you aren't staggered.
- If the block holds, what's left is reduced again by the armor you're wearing.
Your stagger bar is 40% of your maximum health. That's the hidden reason food matters so much for shield players: a 250-health character can absorb a much bigger hit on the shield than a 150-health one with the same gear.
Only Slash, Pierce, Blunt and Lightning damage fill the stagger bar. Fire, Frost, Poison and Spirit damage are still reduced by block armor, but they never stagger you through a block. A successful block also stops status effects like poison from landing.
The Blocking skill raises your block armor by 0.5% per level, up to +50% at level 100. Per the wiki, you gain 0.5 XP per blocked attack and 1 XP per parry, even when the block or parry fails, so how often you get hit matters more than which shield you hold.
How does parrying work, and is it worth learning?
A parry is a block pressed less than 0.25 seconds before the hit lands. You'll see a red flash and hear a loud clang. Three things change on a parry:
- Your block armor is multiplied by the shield's parry bonus (2.5x for bucklers, 1.5x for round shields).
- It costs no stamina.
- Most enemies are staggered, and a staggered enemy takes double damage until it recovers.
The free stamina is a Call to Arms change. Iron Gate's patch 0.221.4 notes put it plainly:
"Perfect Block no longer cost stamina"
A perfect block also feeds the adrenaline bar that powers your trinkets. Patch 0.221.10 evened the reward out across shields: "Carapace Buckler now provides 5 adrenaline instead of 10 on perfect block, just like other shields."
Parrying has one big limit. Bosses don't get staggered by it. The wiki lists Bonemass, Moder, The Elder, Yagluth, The Queen, Fader, Kall Fimbulbringer and the Gammeltroll as immune to parry stagger. A parry still blocks the hit for free against them, but you don't get the double-damage window.
If holding the block button is uncomfortable, patch 1.0.14 "Added accessibility setting to be able to toggle blocking".
What's the biggest hit each shield can stop?
Most shield guides stop at the tooltip. The wiki gives a formula for the largest hit you can block or parry without being staggered. It depends on your max health and the shield's block armor, times the parry bonus when you parry. We ran it for every quality 3 shield at Blocking skill 0 and two health levels: 150 health, a typical mid-game food setup, and 250 health, a late-game one. The table assumes an empty stagger bar and no resistances or buffs, so the Serpent Scale Shield's Pierce resistance isn't included. Values are rounded, so treat them as approximate.
| Shield (Q3) | Block, 150 HP | Parry, 150 HP | Block, 250 HP | Parry, 250 HP |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| Wood Shield | 78 | 87 | 118 | 127 |
| Wood Tower Shield | 82 | none | 122 | none |
| Bronze Buckler | 88 | 130 | 128 | 170 |
| Iron Buckler | 100 | 155 | 140 | 200 |
| Bone Tower Shield | 104 | none | 144 | none |
| Banded Shield | 114 | 139 | 154 | 181 |
| Shield of Roots | 120 | 147 | 160 | 190 |
| Iron Tower Shield | 124 | none | 164 | none |
| Silver Shield | 131 | 161 | 172 | 208 |
| Serpent Scale Shield | 131 | none | 172 | none |
| Black Metal Shield | 147 | 180 | 190 | 232 |
| Carapace Buckler | 147 | 232 | 190 | 300 |
| Carapace Shield | 161 | 197 | 208 | 255 |
| Black Metal Tower Shield | 167 | none | 215 | none |
| Flametal Shield | 174 | 213 | 224 | 275 |
| Nord Buckler | 155 | 245 | 200 | 316 |
| Nord Shield | 186 | 228 | 240 | 294 |
| Flametal Tower Shield | 191 | none | 247 | none |
| Nord Greatshield | 202 | none | 261 | none |
Numbers are raw physical damage per hit before your worn armor. Blocking skill 50 adds roughly 4% to 12% to each figure, more on the stronger shields.
Three things stand out:
- A parried Carapace Buckler stops a bigger hit than a blocked Nord Greatshield at the same health (232 vs 202 at 150 health). Good parry timing beats the best tower shield in the game.
- Health matters as much as the shield. Going from 150 to 250 health adds 40 to 70 points to every line. Eat for health before you upgrade the shield.
- Timing cuts both ways. Raise a buckler too early and hold it, and you get its weak normal block. Raise it too late and the hit lands before the shield is up. A tower shield held up early has no timing to miss.
Bucklers vs tower shields: which should you use?
Back to the r/valheim question. The poster had "heard the serpent shield is good for dealing with the queen" but thought bucklers won everywhere else. The numbers say it depends on what you're fighting.
Take a buckler if:
- You fight one enemy at a time and can read its swing, such as Trolls, Lox or a single Fuling Berserker.
- You want the stagger window for double damage on normal enemies.
- You want adrenaline for your trinkets from perfect blocks.
Take a tower shield if:
- You fight groups. You can't parry three Fulings at once, but a 160 block force shoves them back.
- You want steady blocking against bosses. Parry stagger doesn't work on them, so a buckler loses its double-damage window. It still parries for free if your timing holds, but a tower shield blocks big hits without any timing at all.
- You fight Pierce-heavy enemies or arrows. The Serpent Scale Shield's Pierce resistance is why players reach for it there.
- Your timing isn't there yet, or you play with lag on a busy server.
Take a round shield if you want a bit of both. The Black Metal Shield and Flametal Shield parry at 1.5x while still blocking far better than a buckler on a miss.
Pair a tower shield with the Bonemass Forsaken Power and blocking becomes almost free. Since Call to Arms, his power gives "100% reduced block stamina usage, 5 stamina on return per block". Our Bonemass guide covers how to get it.
What's the best shield for each biome?
| Biome | Parry pick | Block pick | Notes |
|---|---|---|---|
| Meadows | Wood Shield | Wood Tower Shield | Both at Workbench 1 |
| Black Forest | Bronze Buckler | Bone Tower Shield | Bone tower needs 3 Skeleton Trophies |
| Swamp | Iron Buckler | Iron Tower Shield | Shield of Roots if you find a Writhan |
| Mountain | Silver Shield | Serpent Scale Shield | Serpent Scale needs 8 Serpent Scales |
| Plains | Black Metal Shield | Black Metal Tower Shield | Both need Chain |
| Mistlands | Carapace Buckler | Black Metal Tower Shield | Parry armor jumps from 100 to 225 over the Iron Buckler |
| Ashlands | Carapace Buckler or Flametal Shield | Flametal Tower Shield | Buckler still out-parries the Flametal Shield |
| Deep North | Nord Buckler | Nord Greatshield | Needs moulds, Bloodgold and Liquid Frost |
The Shield of Roots needs its own note. It's crafted at a level 2 Workbench from 10 Finewood and 1 Writhan Roots, and reaching quality 3 takes 7 roots in total. Writhan Roots drop only from the Writhan, a rare Swamp creature with 400 health at 0 stars. It spawns alone, and only 2,000 to 8,000 meters from the world center. It's a lovely shield for melee builds, but you may finish the Swamp before you see one.
For the armor to wear behind your shield, see our Valheim armor tier list. For the one-handed weapon to pair it with, see the weapon tier list.
How do you craft the Nord shields in the Deep North?
The three Nord shields arrived with 1.0. The 1.0 launch notes list them as "Shield: Nord Buckler", "Shield: Nord Shield" and "Shield: Nord Greatshield", next to the Shield of Roots. Like the rest of the Nord gear, they take three steps:
- Find the mould. Moulds for all three come from the Winding Tunnels, Memorial Sites and Mörkhalla.
- Make the cast at a level 4 Black Forge. Nord Buckler: 10 Bloodgold, 10 Timberwood and its mould. Nord Shield: 15 Bloodgold, 10 Timberwood and its mould. Nord Greatshield: 20 Bloodgold, 20 Timberwood and its mould.
- Harden the cast at a level 4 Frost Foundry with 5 Liquid Frost.
All three start at 400 durability and reach 500 at quality 3, upgraded at the Black Forge. Upgrading to quality 3 costs another 15 Bloodgold and 15 Timberwood for the buckler, 24 and 15 for the round shield, and 30 and 30 for the Greatshield.
Bloodgold is the bottleneck. Our Deep North best gear guide covers how to farm it and which Nord pieces to make first.
Can you upgrade shields past quality 3?
Not at a crafting station. Every shield tops out at quality 3. The one way past it is the Forge of Potential in the Mountain, which uses a matching Protection Idol: Iron Protection Idol for the Banded Shield, Iron Buckler, Iron Tower Shield and Shield of Roots, Black Marble Protection Idol for both Carapace shields, Bloodgold Protection Idol for the Nord line, and so on. It's a gamble, with a real chance of losing the item. Read our Forge of Potential guide before you risk a Carapace Buckler on it.
FAQ
What is the best shield in Valheim? For parrying, the Nord Buckler: 100 block armor at quality 3 and 250 when you parry, the highest parry value in the game. For pure blocking, the Nord Greatshield, with 170 block armor and 160 block force. Before the Deep North, the Carapace Buckler from the Mistlands is the best value, parrying at 225.
Are tower shields worth it in Valheim? Yes, in the right fights. Tower shields can't parry, but they block the most damage and push enemies back hardest. They're the easier choice against groups you can't time parries on, and against bosses, which can't be parry-staggered, if you'd rather block than time every hit.
Is a buckler better than a round shield? For parrying, yes. A buckler multiplies its block armor by 2.5 on a parry, against 1.5 for a round shield. A round shield blocks better when you miss the parry, so it's more forgiving.
Does parrying cost stamina in Valheim? No. A perfect block has cost no stamina since the Call to Arms update, patch 0.221.4. A normal block costs up to 10 stamina, depending on how much damage gets through.
Why does my shield block fail? Either the damage that got through filled your stagger bar, which is 40% of your max health, or you ran out of stamina. Eat more health food, level your Blocking skill, or use a shield with more block armor.
Can you parry bosses in Valheim? You can parry their attacks to block the hit for free, but most bosses can't be staggered by a parry. The wiki lists Bonemass, Moder, The Elder, Yagluth, The Queen, Fader, Kall Fimbulbringer and the Gammeltroll as immune.
More Valheim guides
Building a melee kit? These guides cover the rest of your loadout.
