Blocking is a powerful tool in Elden Ring, and shields use Guard Boost to block incredibly well. However, the stat isn’t explained very well in the game’s guide, despite it being crucial to the game’s second-best defensive technique.

Here's how Guard Boost works and which shields are best to use in Elden Ring.

Guard Boost is a weapon stat that refers to the amount of Stamina required to block attacks in Elden Ring when using something in the game. The higher the Guard Boost, the less Stamina is used per block. Shields range from a baseline of 29 with the Coil Shield to 77 with the Fingerprint Stone Shield.

All weapons and shields in Elden Ring that can block have a Guard Boost score, but shields have a much higher Guard Boost than weapons. At the same time, some two-handed weapons can also reach significant thresholds of the stat.