Originally posted by dimmyzor:

Originally posted by D I V I T Y:

Which type is better? tower or the small ones? and why?

Up until Hearth&Home, I was using Bucklers and never Tower versions... However, buckler parry multiplier got nurfed and I am not able to full parry Star Goblins as I used to... Oh and I almost forgot, now Tower shield makes a knockback/stagger effect and way more resillient block bar(new) compared to bucklers...Therefore, switched to blackmetal Tower shield, which I lose the tremendous advantage of parry, but I can't parry efficiently anymore anyway, so now I am using regular block and the roll/dodge action more, playing like Prince of Persia/Witcher style, keep rolling rolling rolling.. generally they killed the buckler style for me..

You can parry fine plains monsters with blackmetal shield and good block skill ( 135+ damage )

I love parrying so much that I doubt I'll ever use a tower shield again. Not really a fan of the bronze buckler though, and I'm glad iron tier offers a light shield that isn't a buckler. The silver shield is my favourite, especially since I can paint it black and white.

Parry + knife (or mace when needed) = annihilation

Well, I'm going to go with the serpent shield... Not because it's the best but maybe it's one of the easiest to get early game.

You can get one with a finewood bow and a karve maybe even a raft. Lure a sea serpent to shore, jump off the boat and be quick and kill it. (I had to build a couple of ladders up to dive deep enough to get all the scales.)

Idk what it does late game because I haven't killed Bonemass yet with it, but neither a Draugar or troll or wolf can beat it. And the knockback makes fighting mobs a breeze and funny too. If you can get them by a cliff...

Originally posted by jjones_50:

Ones that can parry.

This. It's not as difficult to parry here as in DS or Sekiro, so why wouldn't you.

Ones that can parry.

I'm sure the answer will be bucklers if they ever exist beyond iron tier.

Black Metal Shield

If you know how to parry :
Wood shield > bronze buckler > iron buckler > silver shield > blackmetal shield

If you dony know how to parry and just want to block and being slow :
Wooden tower shield > bone tower shield > serpent shield > blackmetal tower shield

Parrying is very powerful. All non-tower shields have a parry bonus (x1.5 for most shields but there are a couple with more). This bonus applies not just to your follow-up damage but also the amount of damage you can block. So the bronze buckler with it's x2.5 parry bonus can easily carry you through the swamp if you're good at parrying, and you'll enjoy a lot of bonus damage too. Past the bronze stage shields start having lower parry bonuses which might tempt you to not upgrade. HOWEVER, these stronger shields usually have a large number in their block force stat. Block force affects how long enemies remain stunned on a successful parry. So while you might have a lower damage multiplier on the black metal shield than on a bronze buckler, the black metal shield will stun for longer allowing you to make more follow-up attacks. Also, stunning enemies for longer can help with crowd control. Sometimes it's better to leave a stunned enemy and fall back to thin out the minions before re-engaging the tank.

Originally posted by D I V I T Y:

Which type is better? tower or the small ones? and why?

Up until Hearth&Home, I was using Bucklers and never Tower versions... However, buckler parry multiplier got nurfed and I am not able to full parry Star Goblins as I used to... Oh and I almost forgot, now Tower shield makes a knockback/stagger effect and way more resillient block bar(new) compared to bucklers...Therefore, switched to blackmetal Tower shield, which I lose the tremendous advantage of parry, but I can't parry efficiently anymore anyway, so now I am using regular block and the roll/dodge action more, playing like Prince of Persia/Witcher style, keep rolling rolling rolling.. generally they killed the buckler style for me..

I don't like tower shields cause of how they slow you. Can't really take advantage when there is an opening. I am in iron age. So i have 3 choices. Small with 2.5 parry bonus, banded with 1.5 parry bonus and tower with no parry. Am using banded as it gives a parry bonus still and blocks more damage.

It depends on your playstyle mostly. Smaller shields are great for parry reliant builds, tower shields tend to tank more damage. So if you prefer to parry and get the parry bonus by following up with an attack, you want a small one. If you prefer to stand there and face tank the damage until an opening presents itself (or can't quite time parrys correctly), tower shield might be the better option for you. Overall it can also be situational. I barely use shields at all yet I got a serpent scale shield around the iron age because I had to cross a plains to reach the main swamp I was farming and didn't feel inclined to repeatedly die to deathsquitos for being in the wrong place too early.

like requiemsRose states. Small shields for parrying and tower shields for tanking.
fyi tower shields are heavy and will make you move slower so if you plan on using them get use to equiping them to fight and unequiping them to run.

Originally posted by RequiemsRose:

It depends on your playstyle mostly. Smaller shields are great for parry reliant builds, tower shields tend to tank more damage. So if you prefer to parry and get the parry bonus by following up with an attack, you want a small one. If you prefer to stand there and face tank the damage until an opening presents itself (or can't quite time parrys correctly), tower shield might be the better option for you. Overall it can also be situational. I barely use shields at all yet I got a serpent scale shield around the iron age because I had to cross a plains to reach the main swamp I was farming and didn't feel inclined to repeatedly die to deathsquitos for being in the wrong place too early.

What about blocking bigger mobs like abominations or bosses? can they even get parried and do they take bonus dmg then?

Originally posted by D I V I T Y:

Originally posted by RequiemsRose:

It depends on your playstyle mostly. Smaller shields are great for parry reliant builds, tower shields tend to tank more damage. So if you prefer to parry and get the parry bonus by following up with an attack, you want a small one. If you prefer to stand there and face tank the damage until an opening presents itself (or can't quite time parrys correctly), tower shield might be the better option for you. Overall it can also be situational. I barely use shields at all yet I got a serpent scale shield around the iron age because I had to cross a plains to reach the main swamp I was farming and didn't feel inclined to repeatedly die to deathsquitos for being in the wrong place too early.

What about blocking bigger mobs like abominations or bosses? can they even get parried and do they take bonus dmg then?

Your shield has to be up for the task, as does your current health. You aren't blocking or parrying a troll with a wooden buckler at base 25 health, but it's totally possible to parry a troll with a better buckler and more health. If the bigger mob can overpower your shield and/or your current HP then you won't fight very effectively. The bigger/badder the mob, the better chance they have of overpowering your attempt to block or parry them. Some critters become super easy to beat with parrying, like greydwarf brutes for example (love parrying those with just my axe then beating them up), other critters recover so quickly that parrying is basically pointless. Like for Deer Jesus (the first boss I can never spell the name of correctly) I brought a tower shield to tank his thunder as I recklessly stabbed his flank with a spear, worked wonderfully. Still others, you might not want to even get in melee range in the first place so you might prefer slinking around somewhere safer while you take pot shots with your bow (totally not how I deal with The Elder, not at all )