Elden Ring: Shadow of the Erdtree has a lot of options available to the player in terms of new weapons and gear but one particular weapon/shield type, the Dueling Shields, can seemingly steamroll most bosses including the dreaded final boss of the DLC. Players have discovered that all you need is enough stamina to essentially bash your way to victory.
As reported by Games Radar, the Carian Thrusting Shield is the ideal option for this steamroll tactic in Shadow of the Erdtree. The weapon can be found in Shadow Keep just past the Storehouse site of grace on a table near a Fire Knight. Once fully upgraded to +25, the shield can be used to essentially block any and all incoming attacks while dealing at least 1,200 damage in retaliation. The trade-off is that you’ll need high stamina so putting a lot of points into Endurance makes this tactic nearly full-proof.
You still receive elemental and AoE damage but in terms of blocking physical strikes, the Carian Thrusting Shield can withstand basically anything you throw at it – including the final boss. One player named Scott Jund showcased how simply blocking and bashing with the shield can overcome a lot of challenges:
The new Dueling Shield weapons pretty much invalidate every fight in Elden Ring if you build it correctly. Its basically shield poking on crack because its the damage of a two handed weapon that also benefits from the Two-Handed Sword Talisman pic.twitter.com/ibQgjNlEg9
— Scott Jund (@ScottJund) June 27, 2024
Another player, pirochainbanzai, solo’d Rellana, one of the toughest fights in the DLC, by just blocking with the shield:
【ナーフ不可避】
DLCで追加された刺突盾、特定動作中はスタミナ無消費でガードできてしまうため盾チクしているだけで一方的にボスをタコ殴りできると話題に#ELDENRING #エルデンリングDLC pic.twitter.com/P762ebarS7— ぴろちゃん (@pirochanbanzai) June 27, 2024
There are two dueling shields in the game: the Carian Thrusting Shield and a spiked shield that can deal damage while defending. However, the Carian Thrusting Shield seems to be the most effective of the two due to its incredibly high defence and attack, especially when imbued with magic. Of course, players have pointed out that a nerf is inevitable and From Software will likely patch it out or rebalance the weapon soon.
Elden Ring: Shadow of the Erdtree is now available on PS4, PS5, Xbox One, Xbox Series X/S and PC. Make sure you catch up with all of our DLC news and guides right here.
Source: Games Radar