How To Make A Shield In Minecraft

Minecraft combat is surprisingly in-depth, requiring not only skill but a strong set of defensive tools to survive. While armor is the game’s most common defensive tactic, a lesser-known one is the Shield.

This guide will cover everything there is to know about the Shield in Minecraft. Including but not limited to how to make a Shield in Minecraft, how to decorate the Shield, how to repair the Shield, and more.

What Is A Shield In Minecraft?

A Shield in Minecraft Java Edition is an active way to protect yourself from damage, allowing you to block attacks coming from the front.

A Shield blocks all damage, though it takes a durability hit each time you block, resulting in a damaged Shield. The Shield will not automatically block attacks. You can equip a Shield in the off hand slot and must activate it with the right mouse button.

You can block ranged or melee attacks, and the Shield should protect you from most status effects as well. In fact, blocking a projectile like an Arrow causes it to redirect. This means you can potentially damage an enemy in front of you by redirecting an Arrow.

A fun fact — you get the Not Today, Thank You advancement for achieving this.

That said, there are a few things the Shield cannot block. It cannot block a Crossbow shot with the Piercing enchantment, fall damage, or effects from Splash Potions, among other attacks.

How to Disable Shields

Unfortunately, Shields have a weakness in the Axe. The Axe disables Shield use for five seconds, making it the ultimate offensive weapon against the defensive item.

Damaged Shields

Over time, Shields will become Damaged Shields due to durability damage. If that’s the case, you can repair it by putting two Damaged Shields next to each other in a Crafting Table.

Two Shields with lower durability combine at a Crafting Table to make a full one.

You can also repair the Shield at an Anvil with Wood Planks, which allows you to name the item as well.

The Anvil repair process costs Experience Points, but you can name it.

How To Make A Shield In Minecraft

To make a Shield in Minecraft, you must gather six Planks and one Iron Ingot, and organize them at a Crafting Table. Let’s go over each material.

Planks

What’s neat about a Shield in Minecraft is that you can use any combination of six Planks to craft it. They can be Wooden Planks, Acacia Planks, Mangrove Planks, or anything in between. No matter which materials you use, the Shield will be the same brown color.

Iron Ingot

Iron Ingots are pretty easy to gather. All you need to do is mine Iron Ore with a Stone Pickaxe, then smelt it at a Furnace.

Once you smelt the Iron Ore, it will turn into an Iron Ingot.

Now you can combine the two items into the Shield item. Organize the pieces at a Crafting Table as follows:

Fortunately, you only need one Iron Ingot for a Shield.

Aside from making Shields, you can find a Shield item through some Armorer villagers. It costs five Emeralds to buy one.

Enchanted Shields

You can apply the following three enchantments to a Shield:

Unbreaking

The Unbreaking enchantment lowers the amount of damage a Shield will take when it’s attacked. This will keep it around longer, which is ideal when fighting off tons of enemies.

Mending

Mending will repair your Shield durability when you acquire experience points. While this doesn’t prevent the Shield from taking damage, it can still keep the item around if you’re regularly defeating enemies.

Curse of Vanishing

This enchantment makes your Shield disappear if you die while holding it. While you probably won’t want this to apply while you’re playing Survival Mode, it might be helpful in PvP. This way, an enemy player won’t be able to pick up your Shield if they defeat you.

To apply enchantments to a Shield, you must take it to an Enchantment Table and enchant it using experience points.

To build an Enchantment Table, you must acquire four Obsidian, two Diamond, and one Book. Organize them as follows in a Crafting Table:

Organizing items like this makes you an Enchantment Table.

How To Make A Custom Shield In Minecraft

Once you’ve created a Shield, you can choose to customize it using a Banner Pattern. A Pattern is a decoration applied to the defensive item that gives it a unique look. There are all sorts of Patterns you can apply to your Shield, but first, you need a Loom.

Organize the items like this in a Crafting Table.

A Loom exclusively focuses on Banners, and you can make one with just two Planks and two Strings.

Once placed, you’ll want to acquire a Banner and some dye. Make a Banner by combining six Wool Blocks with one Stick as follows:

Crafting a Banner is pretty cheap if you have a Sheep or two.

Acquire whichever colored dye you prefer, and combine the Banner with it using the Loom. A set of Patterns will appear that you can choose between. Pick whichever one suits you.

There's a variety of Patterns you can choose from.

Now that you have a Banner, bring it to a Crafting Table with the Shield in hand. Place the Banner next to the Shield, and it will apply the Pattern. For more information on Minecraft Banners, check out our article on them.

Apply the Banner to the Shield via a Crafting Table.

That’s everything you need to know about Shields. With that in mind, why not create some with your friends? If you’re looking for a way to play Minecraft online with your friends, NameHero has you covered. Our Minecraft server packages support up to 50 players, have multiple layers of DDOS protection, and have a ton of RAM for installing awesome mods! If you’re interested in learning more about NameHero Minecraft servers, check out this page.

Max Moeller

Max is a freelance writer with a love for gaming and technology. He’s always looking for the next big game to play and tinkers with tech in his remaining free time.