Dark And Darker: Every Shield, Ranked

Highlights

• Dark and Darker is a free co-op dungeon crawler with PvE and PvP gameplay.
• Shields in the game serve defensive and aggressive roles, providing various options for different playstyles.
• Artifact shields like Delirium and Aegis offer unique abilities, making them valuable additions to players’ arsenals.

Dark and Darker is a free to play co-operative dungeon crawler that features both PvE and PvP gameplay. This is an MMORPG that doesn’t attempt to be everything to everyone. Instead, it does one thing very well: It enables solo or teams of players to enjoy some classic dungeon hack and slash gameplay.

Shields have two uses in this co-op MMORPG. Firstly, they can be used defensively to add armor rating to the player’s build. Secondly, they can be used proactively in combat to block and slam opponents. Depending on the player’s build and preferred playing style, they may prefer certain shields to others. For those unsure of what to pick, here is every shield available in Dark and Darker, ranked from worst to best.

7 Buckler

A Basic Shield

• Class: Fighter, Cleric, Bard
• Movement: -12
• Armor: 17-28 (depending on tier)
• Resist: 6
• Guard: 90%
• Shield Slam: 90%
• Block Reaction: 99%
• Artifact: Delirium

The Buckler is a basic shield that can be used by the Bard, Fighter, or Cleric classes in Dark and Darker. Though it may not be the most enticing shield available for players to make use of, a Buckler in the right hands does have its uses later in the game if no better option is available.

With great guard and shield slam percentages, it is excellent for defensive builds. And with just a small player movement debuff, it doesn’t impact mobility in battle very much at all. The downside with the Buckler is that its base armor rating is quite low.

6 Heater Shield

A Mid-Game High Armor Rated Shield

• Class: Fighter, Cleric, Warlock
• Movement: -20
• Armor: 20-35 (depending on tier)
• Resist: 5
• Guard: 65%
• Shield Slam: 90%
• Block Reaction: 97%
• Artifact: Aegis

The Heater Shield is usable by Fighters, Warlocks, and Clerics. In many ways, it is the opposite of the Buckler. Where the Buckler is a very active shield with great guard and block stats but a low armor rating, the Heater Shield has a great armor rating but low guard.

This shield is best carried by characters who simply want to enhance the armor rating to their preferred build without having to actively use the shield in combat. It is a solid shield for any player to use until they can get hold of a legendary or artifact replacement later.

5 Pavise

Like Standing Behind A Wall

• Class: Fighter, Ranger
• Movement: -50
• Armor: 30-53 (depending on tier)
• Resist: 6
• Guard: 60%
• Shield Slam: 90%
• Block Reaction: 97%
• Artifact: None

The Pavise is usable by either the Fighter or the Ranger class in Dark and Darker. This is a huge shield that acts more like movable cover. It has a great armor rating, but it is somewhat lacking in terms of active speed.

For players who enjoy taking on the tank role and don’t have access to one of the legendary shields, the Pavise is about as good as it gets. With the huge -50 player movement speed buff, it really is aimed at tanks who intend to stand in one place and soak up damage.

4 Lantern Shield

Offers Utility And Defense

• Class: Fighter, Bard
• Movement: -19
• Armor: 17-28 (depending on tier)
• Resist: 6 + 50% special attack damage
• Guard: 50%
• Shield Slam: 90%
• Block Reaction: 99%

Usable by both the Bard and Fighter classes in Dark and Darker, the Lantern Shield is completely different from all other shields in the game. The first reason for this is that it can be used as a light source by simply pressing “R” to turn it on and off. The second reason is that it is an offensive shield that can add to one’s DPS.

With the right timing, the player can trigger the blade attachment that is integral to the Lantern Shield. When the player manages to pull this off, it acts as a damage add for special attacks.

3 Round Shield

Offers Balanced Defenses

• Class: Fighter, Cleric, Barbarian
• Movement: -18
• Armor: 18-33 (depending on tier)
• Resist: 6
• Guard: 75%
• Shield Slam: 90%
• Block Reaction: 97%

The Round Shield in Dark and Darker is usable by the Fighter, Barbarian, and Cleric classes. It is perfect for players who want to carry a shield that can cover most situations acceptably well.

With its low player movement debuff and better-than-average guard stat, this shield is a great choice for new players who are not sure which direction they want to take their sword and board build yet.

2 Delirium

The Artifact Version Of The Buckler

• Class: Fighter, Cleric, Bard
• Movement: -12
• Armor: 17-28
• Resist: 6
• Guard: 90%
• Shield Slam: 90%
• Block Reaction: 99%
• Special: When held in hand, maximum health is reduced by 10% but regenerates 1 health per second (0% Scaling).
• Archetype: Buckler

Delirium is the artifact version of the Buckler, making it a shield that is intended to be used proactively in combat by Fighters, Clerics, or Bards. This is a great upgrade over the basic Buckler if the player can manage to loot one.

With its excellent guard stat and the baked-in special that grants the player passive health regeneration, this is the best non-tank shield in Dark and Darker. It may be somewhat lacking in defense, but it isn’t designed to be used that way.

1 Aegis

The Artifact Version Of The Heater Shield

• Class: Fighter, Cleric, Warlock
• Movement: -20
• Armor: 20-35
• Resist: 5
• Guard: 65%
• Shield Slam: 90%
• Block Reaction: 97%
• Special: Can deflect projectile spells while in a defensive stance. After the reflection is triggered, players remain able to reflect for 3 seconds but cannot reflect again for 20 seconds after performing a spell reflection.
• Archetype: Heater Shield

The Aegis is the artifact version of the Heater Shield in Dark and Darker. This can be considered an anti-mage shield due to the backed-in special, which reflects incoming spell damage back on the caster.

However, this is a solid shield in its own right without the spell reflecting special. It has a decent armor rating and is quite capable of being used proactively in combat as well. Sure, there are better options for both the armor and combat shield roles, but as a single package, this is the most flexible shield in Dark and Darker.