Shield (2024)

A shield is a protective item wielded in the off-hand slot. A shield adds substantial bonuses to armour and to life points when wielded, and unlocks the use of some Defence abilities. Most shields carry a Defence level requirement to wield. Players who wield shields for extra endurance are commonly referred to as tanks.

History[]

For most of RuneScape's history, shields had largely been reserved for the melee class. Shields generally gave melee and Ranged defensive bonuses, making them most suitable for melee users, though rangers sometimes used shields with one-handed Ranged weapons. Mages had few options when it came to shield use, as most shields gave substantial penalties to Magic accuracy. Rangers and mages alike tended to wield books in the off-hand, if not wielding a two-handed weapon, for their accuracy and Prayer bonuses. Traditionally, shields were made with the Smithing skill, or received as monster drops.

Gradually, a more diverse selection of shields began to enter the game. The dragonfire shield, released on 18 June 2007, provided a viable defensive option for players of all classes, with its high defensive bonuses and reasonably low offensive bonuses for non-meleers. The release of Summer's End on 15 September 2008 also saw the release of the spirit shields, two of which, the arcane spirit shield and spectral spirit shield, provided high bonuses to Magic offence and Magic defence, respectively. Additionally, new high-level shields for each class were added with the release of Dungeoneering on 12 April 2010.

Many new shields were added to the game with the Evolution of Combat on 20 November 2012, particularly low- and mid-level shields for rangers and mages. Additionally, the update made shield usage more attractive by increasing the effectiveness of a shield, as well as adding powerful abilities that require them.

Usage[]

The use of a shield has a more profound effect on a player's combat ability. Compared to a head-slot item of equal level, a shield adds the same amount of armour and more life points. Shields also allow for the usage of the strongest Defence abilities. Between a shield's extra armour, life point bonuses, and these abilities, players who choose to wield shields are significantly more capable of dealing with enemies' powerful attacks. Shield usage can be very helpful for players who are attempting to battle enemies with a much higher combat level.

Players who wield shields cannot use two-handed or off-hand weapons, both of which carry an extra 50% bonus to damage versus wielding a single one-handed weapon. Additionally, abilities that require a two-handed weapon or off-hand weapon cannot be used. This generally means that players must choose whether to focus on offence with a two-handed weapon or dual-wielded weapons, or focus on defence with a shield. Ideally, players should focus on offence while carrying the shield in their inventory, ready to equip and use when called for.

In a group bossing team, one player may serve as the tank by wielding a shield and using Provoke or activating Incite, which will draw the boss's attention to them. The shield makes it much easier for the tank to survive the boss's focus, and the remaining team members can attack the boss more freely. A similar strategy may be employed in PvP where Provoke decreases the target's damage against other players.

List of notable shields[]

For a comprehensive list of all shields in the game, see Category:Shields.

Melee[]

Each type of metal in RuneScape, from bronze to dragon, has a square shield and a kiteshield. Square shields give slightly lower armour bonuses than kiteshields, but have the same life point bonuses. Square shields tend to be slightly less expensive than kiteshields. Both square shields and kiteshields, with the exception of the dragon sq shield and dragon kiteshield, can be made through the Smithing skill. In the interest of brevity, only kiteshields are listed below.

Icon	Name	P2P?	Skill requirements			Notes
	Bronze kiteshield		1	30	0
	Anti-dragon shield		1	30	0	Provides strong protection versus dragonfire attacks.
	Iron kiteshield		10	40	0
	Steel kiteshield		20	63	0
	Black kiteshield		25	76	0
	White kiteshield		25	76	0	+1 Prayer bonus. Requires completion of Wanted! in order to wield.
	Mithril kiteshield		30	90	0
	Adamant kiteshield		40	125	0
	Spirit shield		40 55	125	0	+1 prayer bonus. Requires completion of Summer's End.
	Adamant spikeshield		45	137	0	Obtained from Fist of Guthix. Degrades.
	Adamant berserker shield		45	146	0
	Rune kiteshield		50	170	0
	Rune spikeshield		55	185	0	Obtained from Fist of Guthix. Degrades.
	Rune berserker shield		55	196	0
	Granite shield		55 55	196	0
	Dragon kiteshield		60	226	0
	Toktz-ket-xil		60	226	0
	Third-age kiteshield		65	259	0	Obtained extremely rarely from Treasure Trails.
	Crystal shield		70 50	297	35	Requires completion of Roving Elves. Degrades.
	Bandos warshield		70	297	35	+1 prayer bonus.
	Blessed spirit shield		70 60	297	35	+3 prayer bonus. Requires completion of Summer's End.
	Dragonfire shield		70	297	35	Provides protection from dragonfire as an anti-dragon shield. Must first be charged with dragonfire attacks in order to reach its highest armour bonus.
	Divine spirit shield		75 75	338	0	+3 prayer bonus. Absorbs 30% of incoming damage in exchange for draining 6% of the original hit in prayer points. Requires completion of Summer's End. This is currently the strongest non-degrading melee shield available.
	Chaotic kiteshield		80 80	384	385	Obtained from the rewards trader at Daemonheim. Degrades.
	Attuned crystal shield		80 50	384	385	Requires 90 to make with Crystal Singing. Requires completion of Plague's End. Degrades.
	Linza's shield		80	384	385	Degrades.
	Malevolent kiteshield		90	491	735	This is currently the highest tier Melee shield available. Degrades.

Ranged[]

Many Ranged shields, particularly the lower- to mid-levelled shields can be made through the Crafting skill. Shieldbows are not included here, despite them allowing the use of shield abilities.

Icon	Name	P2P?	Skill requirements			Notes
	Leather shield		None	30	0
	Hard leather shield		10 10	40	0
	Studded leather shield		20 20	63	0
	Green dragonhide shield		40	125	0
	Blue dragonhide shield		50	170	0
	Red dragonhide shield		55	196	0
	Black dragonhide shield		60	226	0
	Crystal deflector		70 50	297	35	Requires completion of Roving Elves. Degrades.
	Armadyl buckler		70 70	297	35	+1 prayer bonus.
	Dragonfire deflector		70	297	35	Provides protection from dragonfire as an anti-dragon shield. Must first be charged with dragonfire attacks in order to reach its highest armour bonus.
	Elysian spirit shield		75 75	338	0	+3 prayer bonus. Absorbs 30% of incoming damage in exchange for draining 6% of the original hit in prayer points. Requires completion of Summer's End. This is currently the strongest non-degrading Ranged shield available.
	Eagle-eye kiteshield		80 80	384	385	Obtained from the rewards trader at Daemonheim. Degrades.
	Attuned crystal deflector		80 50	384	385	Requires 90 to make with Crystal Singing. Requires completion of Plague's End. Degrades.
	Vengeful kiteshield		90	491	735	This is currently the highest tier Ranged shield available. Degrades.

Magic[]

Many Magic shields, particularly the lower- to mid-levelled shields can be made through the Crafting skill.

Icon	Name	P2P?	Skill requirements			Notes
	Imphide shield		10	40	0
	Batwing shield		30	90	0
	Splitbark shield		40	125	0
	Mystic shield		50	170	0
	Grifolic shield		60	226	0	Does not degrade, unlike other grifolic armour.
	Dragon ward		60	226	0
	Crystal ward		70 50	297	35	Requires completion of Roving Elves. Degrades.
	Ward of subjugation		70	297	35	+1 prayer bonus.
	Dragonfire ward		70	297	35	Provides protection from dragonfire as an anti-dragon shield. Must first be charged with dragonfire attacks in order to reach its highest armour bonus.
	Spectral spirit shield		75 75 65	338	210	+3 prayer bonus. Requires completion of Summer's End. Does not absorb damage unlike other spirit shields, however has a life point bonus instead; this and the arcane spirit shield are currently the strongest non-degrading Magic shields available.
	Arcane spirit shield		75 70 65	338	0	+3 prayer bonus. Absorbs 30% of incoming damage in exchange for draining 6% of the original hit in prayer points. Requires completion of Summer's End. Lacks the life point bonus that the spectral spirit shield has; this and the spectral spirit shield are currently the strongest non-degrading Magic shields available.
	Farseer kiteshield		80 80	384	385	Obtained from the rewards trader at Daemonheim. Degrades.
	Attuned crystal ward		80 50	384	385	Requires 90 to make with Crystal Singing. Requires completion of Plague's End. Degrades.
	Merciless kiteshield		90	491	735	This is currently the highest tier Magic shield available. Degrades.

In Daemonheim[]

Shields of all classes may be found and equipped while Dungeoneering.

		Tier
		1	2	3	4	5	6	7	8	9	10	11
	Name
	Reqs	1	10	20	30	40	50	60	70	80	90	99
	Armour	22	40	63	90	125	170	226	297	384	491	606
	HP	0	0	0	0	0	0	0	35	385	735	1050
	Level	6	16	26	36	46	56	66	76	86	96	--
	Materials	3x	3x	3x	3x	3x	3x	3x	3x	3x	3x
	Name
	Reqs	1 1	10 10	20 20	30 30	40 40	50 50	60 60	70 70	80 80	90 90	99 99
	Armour	22	40	63	90	125	170	226	297	384	491	606
	HP	0	0	0	0	0	0	0	35	385	735	1050
	Level	6	16	26	36	46	56	66	76	86	96	--
	Materials	3x	3x	3x	3x	3x	3x	3x	3x	3x	3x
	Name
	Reqs	1 1	10 10	20 20	30 30	40 40	50 50	60 60	70 70	80 80	90 90	99 99
	Armour	22	40	63	90	125	170	226	297	384	491	606
	HP	0	0	0	0	0	0	0	35	385	735	1050
	Level	6	16	26	36	46	56	66	76	86	96	--
	Materials	3x	3x	3x	3x	3x	3x	3x	3x	3x	3x

Additionally, there are two Magic-class shields dropped by Spiritual guardians.

Icon	Name	P2P?	Skill requirements			Notes
	Protector's ward		65	259	0	Only dropped by Spiritual guardians, which require 63 Slayer to defeat.
	Guardian's ward		94	540	875	Only dropped by Spiritual guardians, which require 63 Slayer to defeat.

See also[]

• Defender
• Off-hand weapons
• Orb (equipment type)
• Book (equipment type)