Highlights

  • Some Elden Ring players think the Dueling Shield is overpowered.
  • Its ability to synergize with a wide array of Talismans and negate damage while charging attacks has so far proven capable of trivializing even the game's strongest foes.
  • The Dueling Shield is so effective at trading blows with everyone from bosses to invaders that some players suspect it's bugged and will be nerfed in the future. In the meantime, Reapers are a good way to counter it in PvP.

Some Elden Ring players think the newly added Dueling Shield is extremely overpowered. There is already ample evidence of the DLC weapon trivializing many bosses and even Elden Ring PvP fights.

Shadow of the Erdtree introduced 103 new weapons to FromSoftware's 2022 Soulsborne game. Only two of those additions were shields, arriving in the form of the Dueling Shield and Carian Thrusting Shield. Much like those monikers imply, both were designed to offer a balanced mixture of defensive and offensive functions.

Elden Ring Shadow of the Erdtree Tarnished on Torrent in Verdigris set full of arrows
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But the Dueling Shield may have ended up being a bit too good at its job. That's according to some vocal Elden Ring fans who have recently taken to social media to articulate a number of reasons for why this DLC weapon can be considered overpowered. One such argument was put forward by Twitch streamer Scott Jund, who pointed out how the Dueling Shield synergizes with a wide variety of Talismans, including the immensely useful Two-Handed Sword Talisman that, contrary to its name, boosts the damage of all two-handed weapons. At the same time, its slightly lower Guard stats can be counteracted with something like the Pearl Shield Talisman for higher damage negation while guarding.

Elden Ring: SOTE's Dueling Shield May Be Bugged to Players' Benefit

The ability to dish out huge damage and the option of guarding against enemy attacks are both individually excellent traits that make the Dueling Shield a tempting proposition for players. But what really makes this weapon stand out is that the Tarnished is usually able to simultaneously benefit from both of those qualities, as many of the shield's attacking animations actually also count as blocks, even though they don't look like them. One of them is the windup animation of the charged heavy attack, which essentially allows the player to trade blows with even the hardest Elden Ring enemies and sustain little to no damage, depending on their setup, for as long as they have enough stamina.

This ability is so powerful that one Elden Ring streamer recently managed to beat the final DLC boss with a saxophone, all thanks to a fully upgraded Dueling Shield. Elaborating on his achievement, content creator DrDecomposing said he only attempted the fight a dozen times. Being able to negate damage in exchange for stamina while charging up powerful attacks was the main reason why he managed to emerge triumphant. Some fans have subsequently speculated that the shield is bugged, and that FromSoftware didn't intend for it to be so effective at trading blows with the most powerful enemies that the game has to offer.

The Dueling Shield has also caused some frustrations among the PvP crowd since the DLC's release, with many players finding it difficult to handle. However, Reapers still appear to be an effective counter to it, not least because of their innate ability to deal 50% Pierce damage through all shields.