Shield

Shield

Type	Combat
Rarity	Common
Durability	337
Renewable	Yes
Stackable	No
Sounds	Blocking
Data value	dec: 442 hex: 1BA bin: 110111010
Namespaced ID	shield

Shields are tools used for protecting the player against attacks.

Obtaining

Crafting

Ingredients	Crafting recipe
Any Planks + Iron Ingot

Repairing

Ingredients	Crafting recipe	Description
Damaged Shield		The durability of the two shields is added together, plus an extra 5% durability. The repaired shield has no pattern.

Shields may also be repaired on an anvil by using planks. Shields repaired on anvils will retain their pattern.

Trading

Journeyman-level Armorer villagers have ¹⁄₃ chance of selling a shield for 5 emeralds as their sixth trade.‌^{[Bedrock Edition only]}

Journeyman-level Armorer villagers have a 40% chance to sell a shield for 5 emeralds.‌^{[Java Edition only]}

Usage

Despite using iron in its crafting recipe, it cannot be smelted into iron nuggets.

Defense

Main article: Blocking

Shields are used for blocking incoming attacks. Using one causes the player to slow to a sneaking pace, and after five ticks (0.25 seconds), blockable attacks coming from in front of the player will be negated, dealing no damage. When the shield blocks an attack which is 4 () or stronger, it takes damage equal to the strength of the attack (rounded down) plus 1.

All non-damage effects of ranged attacks (such as being set on fire or poisoned by a poisonous arrow) are prevented. Knockback from both melee attacks and projectiles is entirely nullified, while knockback from explosions is reduced to one block or less. When a melee attack is blocked, the attacker will be knocked back slightly, one block away.

The shield blocks any directional attacks coming from up to (but not including) 90° away from the horizontal direction the player is facing, i.e. it covers almost a full hemisphere in front of the player. The player's vertical rotation normally makes no difference to the direction of blocked attacks, however, a player facing straight up or straight down might be unable to block attacks from any direction. Similarly, an attack coming from directly above or directly below cannot be blocked as it has no horizontal direction.

Blockable attacks include mob/player melee attacks, arrows, fireballs, thrown items such as tridents and snowballs (all non-magical projectiles), damage from Thorns, which also includes spines of pufferfish, and some explosions (e.g. creeper explosions or TNT ignited by another player are blockable, but not TNT ignited by yourself or by a redstone mechanism). Shields block guardian/elder guardian lasers, but like armor, doesn't protect against any other magical damage.

If attacked by an axe, an activated shield have a chance to be disabled for 5 seconds.‌^{[Java Edition only]}

When hit by an arrow or trident, they will ricochet off the shield and may hit other entities. The shield also prevents damage dealt by touching magma blocks and campfires.

Bedrock & PS4 Editions

In the Bedrock and PS4 Editions, shields are activated by sneaking. Shields stay activated when riding mobs since sneaking would normally make the player dismount. Unlike in Java Edition, shields cannot be disabled when attacked by axes.

Applying patterns

A custom blue shield.

Ingredients	Crafting recipe	Description
Shield + Matching Banner		Applies the banner pattern to the shield. The banner is consumed. The shield must have no preexisting patterns. Does not change existing durability or enchantments on the shield.

Unlike with banners, shields cannot be repainted or washed in a cauldron. Shields have only half the resolution of banners, making patterns look slightly different. In the game files, the pattern textures can be found in a separate directory called entity/shield.

Shields with patterns can also be obtained using the same commands as banners, except banner has to be replaced with shield.

Enchantments

A shield can receive the following enchantments, but only through an anvil:

• Unbreaking
• Mending
• Curse of Vanishing‌^{[Java and PlayStation 4 editions only]}

Advancements

Main article: Advancements

Icon	Advancement	In-game description	Parent	Actual requirements (if different)	Internal ID
	Not Today, Thank You	Deflect an arrow with a shield	Suit Up	Deflect any projectile with a shield.	minecraft:story/deflect_arrow

History

July 10, 2011					During an interview, Jeb says that "shields for the left arm" might be added.
Java Edition
1.9		15w33c			Added shields, which replace the blocking functionality of swords, although blocking more damage.
					Their original crafting recipe included wool, producing 16 possible colored shields; there was no blank, uncolored shield. Recipe Ingredients Crafting recipe Matching Wool + Any Planks + Iron Ingot
					Any of the colored base shields could be crafted with a banner of the same base color, to produce a patterned shield.
		15w34c			When an attack is blocked by a shield, the attacker may be knocked back.
					Being attacked with an axe may disable shield use for 5 seconds.
		15w37a			The crafting recipe was changed.
					Crafting now produces a base wooden shield that can be crafted together with any banner.
					Cooldown reduced from 0.5s to 0.25s.
					Blocking now prevents some side effects.[verify]
					Arrows now ricochet off shields
		15w44a			Shields can be repaired by combining with other shields. This removes any banner that had been applied.
		15w45a			Crafting a banner onto a shield now consumes the banner.
		15w47b			Added shield blocking sounds.
		16w07a			Added more variation of shield blocking sounds.
		1.9-pre1			Increased durability from 181 to 337.
1.11		16w33a			Crafting a shield with a banner no longer changes the durability, nor does it remove enchantments from it.
		16w35a			Shields now block 100% of damage/knockback/debuffs dealt in melee combat.
1.13		17w47a			Prior to The Flattening, this item's numeral ID was 442.
1.14					Shields can now be bought from armorer villagers.
1.14.3		1.14.3-pre1			They now block flaming arrows.
Upcoming Java Edition
?					Shields can be used by sneaking.
?					Removed shield's cooldown, so now they block instantly.
Bedrock Edition
1.10.0		beta 1.10.0.3			Added shields, though they cannot be customized with banners.
					Shields are activated by crouching or mounting mobs.
1.11.0		beta 1.11.0.4			Shields can now be bought from armorer villagers.
PlayStation 4 Edition
1.90					Added shields.

Issues

Issues relating to "Shield" are maintained on the bug tracker. Report issues there.

Gallery

• 

  One of the first images of shields. Jeb wearing diamond armor while holding a creeper-emblazoned shield during MineCon 2015.

• 

  Player holding the default shield.

• 

  A player blocking with a custom shield.

Items

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