Wooden Shield

wooden_shield.jpg
Imprints None
Damage
physical_atk.jpg blood_atk.jpg arcane_atk.jpg fire_atk.jpg bolt_atk.jpg
-- -- -- -- --
slow_poison.jpg rapid_poison.jpg VS_kin.jpg VS_beasts.jpg durability.jpg
-- -- 100 100 120
Requirements & Scaling
strength.jpg skill.jpg bloodtingue.jpg arcane.jpg qs_bullet_use.jpg
8
--
8
--
--
--
--
--
--

Wooden Shield is a Shield in Bloodborne; it's the only non-DLC Shield in the game.

 

Wooden Shield Description

"A crude wooden shield used by the masses who have arisen to join the hunt.
Hunters do not normally employ shields, ineffectual against the strength of the beasts as they tend to be.
Shields are nice, but not if they engender passivity."

 

Wooden Shield Information

  • The Wooden Shield cannot be upgraded, nor fortified with blood gems.
  • You can block attacks and reduce some damage by holding L2.
    • However, keep in mind that you cannot parry with a shield in this game.

 

Location

  • It's found up the big stairs right after the Cathedral Ward Lantern.
  • You can also pick it up as a rare drop from early enemies in the game with wooden shields.

 

Shield Tactics

  • The Wooden Shield isn't an effective means of dealing with melee combat, especially against elemental damage.
    • Although it can prevent damage, you can simply dodge the attacks and position yourself in an advantageous spot to counter-strike.
    • Furthermore, you can Rally to make up some of the damage you might've taken from an attack.
    • Finally, you lose stamina everytime you're attacked while blocking, which can lead you into a tricky spot if the enemy is aggressively attacking you while blocking.
    • However it can deflect/ bounce some smaller weapon strikes, such as: the Threaded Cane in whip mode, Blades of Mercy, Beast Claws, and allow for a follow up parry with the Reiterpallasch and possibly Augur of Ebrietas- needs testing.
  • The main strength of the Wooden Shield is that it can minimize damage/stagger you might take from long-ranged attacks.
    • This is especially noticeable with non-explosive gunfire like pistols and shotgun pellets.
    • Furthermore, some gigantic bosses can attack from afar yet still inflict physical damage.
      • The Wooden Shield might save you from these attacks if you fail to dodge them but block in time.
      • It shouldn't be relied on for this reason, but if you feel that you won't make it in time, you can hold down L2 as a panic button to try and reduce the damage taken.
  • The Wooden Shield decreases natural stamina regeneration while blocking.
    • It's recommended to carefully time your L2 blocks; this way you don't run out of stamina too quickly.
    • Keep in mind that after blocking attacks, you are able to recover some of your health via the rally mechanic; use this to your advantage.
    • Overall, watch your stamina carefully and retreat if your stamina runs too low. It's not worth overextending and becoming exhausted.
  • Ultimately, the Wooden Shield is mainly used to prevent chip damage from opponents rather than nullify high-damage attacks.
    • For this reason, the Wooden Shield can be thought of as a inferior choice when compared to other left-handed choices in terms of utility and damage.
    • However, for those looking for a challenge, the Wooden Shield can be an interesting choice as well.
  • The Loch Shield is considered an upgrade when compared to the Wooden Shield in terms of overall damage reduction.
    • Scroll down to see the differences in damage prevention.
    • Keep in mind you will need The Old Hunters DLC in order to obtain this particular shield.
  • You're vulnerable to frenzy even while blocking, and it will not decrease the rate of frenzy buildup while under its effect.
    • Blocking poison attacks will not prevent the poison status from building up either.
    • In short, this shield and other shields aren't useful for preventing status effects.

 

Stats/Scaling

trick_weapons.png
physical_atk.jpg
blood_atk.jpg
arcane_atk.jpg
fire_atk.jpg
bolt_atk.jpg
slow_poison.jpg
rapid_poison.jpg
VS_kin.jpg
VS_beasts.jpg
strength.jpg
skill.jpg
bloodtingue.jpg
arcane.jpg
qs_bullet_use.jpg

+0

-- -- -- -- -- -- -- 100 100 -- -- -- -- --

+5

-- -- -- -- -- -- -- 100 100 -- -- -- -- --

+10

-- -- -- -- -- -- -- 100 100 -- -- -- -- --

 

 

Wooden Shield vs Loch Shield

  • Wooden Shield Damage Prevention:
    • Physical: 50%
    • Blood: 20%
    • Arcane: 40%
    • Bolt: 30%
    • Fire: 20%
  • Loch Shield Damage Prevention:
    • Physical: 30%
    • All Other Damage: 70%

 

Trivia

  • For those who are thinking about using this shield, keep in mind the warning issued in this item's description, "Shields are nice, but not if they engender passivity."
    • Miyazaki has been known to say that the Wooden Shield becomes more important as you continue to play through the game.
  • The Wooden Shield appears to be makeshift, rather than an actual, purpose-built shield.
  • It's used by a Yahar'Gul Hunter in the Cathedral Ward, specifically the one who wields the Tonitrus.

 

 

Firearms
Cannon  ♦  Church Cannon  ♦  Evelyn  ♦  Flamesprayer  ♦  Gatling Gun  ♦  Hunter's Torch  ♦  Hunter Blunderbuss  ♦  Hunter Pistol  ♦  Loch Shield  ♦  Ludwig's Rifle  ♦  Piercing Rifle  ♦  Repeating Pistol  ♦  Rosmarinus  ♦  Torch

 




Tired of anon posting? Register!
    • Anonymous

      I'm trying to beat Ebrietas in a chalice root dungeon right now and I thought since I can not figure out how to dodge the charge attack I could try the shield.. if I block the charge I die instantly and if I just take the hit (even during a dodge with instability) I can survive it. I think if the hit takes away all your stamina it does a ton of bonus damage but I am not sure of the exact mechanic

      • Anonymous

        "Hunters do not normally employ shields, ineffectual against the strength of the beasts as they tend to be."
        Bro the shield guys can block a fully charged and loaded boom hammer and not even lose half hp

        • Anonymous

          It is kinda annoying to see people referencing this when talking about how shields are bad in Dark Souls, like, BB and DS are completely different games that follow different gameplay styles, Bloodborne being extremely agressive and fast paced and the Souls games being much heavier and slow. It's the same as saying that guns suck in Bloodborne because you can't use them in Dark Souls.

          • Anonymous

            This was actually really effective in my fight with ludwig phase 1. He just thrashes about like an absolute madman; and it's really to dodge and predict what he's going to due. I decided to try this shield out and it was suprisingly effective. It also has slightly higher damage reduction than blocking with ludwigs or kirk; plus you don't have to try and time it like those too either. It's not too bad at all.

            • Anonymous

              The charged r2 is insane, can one shot laurence from across the arena. This baby has carried me through pvp, the massive base damage and S tier arcane and skill scaling give it easily the highest damage in the game. Man, this isn't even touching the lifedrain aura and status effect immunity. Still can't beat the witch of hemwick though. If someone invades you with this, your best bet is to delete the game and factory reset your console.

              • Anonymous

                Unless you can bait god awful players to attack in PVP, don’t use it. This is basically Miyazaki just making fun of DS players.
                3/10

                • Anonymous

                  Don't be fooled by the low defense of this shield, as it is actually pretty good despite what one would think. This shield, along with the loch shield, ENCOURAGES you to get good base defense from armor, then consider blocking things, THEN take advantage of the rally mechanic to get the health back... (For which, I specifically use the axe, due to it's rally potential)

                  Perfect combo for many things like Dark Souls shields? Me thinks not, but I had gotten much use out of just the combo I mentioned. It's really only a situational thing, and if it's not your style, then fine... Just note that if you TRY hard enough, then anything in this game can have a use, and even a shield like this is no exception.
                  ... Besides, not everyone is into dodging rapidly, and sometimes you don't want to accidentally dodge into environmental hazards, hmm? Being able to hold ground can help at times, trust me!

                  • Anonymous

                    Funny thing is, this would probably be reasonably effective if it wasn't made from broken rotting boards, maybe 4 nails, and a cup of Dark Souls players' tears, collected by Miyazaki himself

                    • Anonymous

                      I consider this shield a blessing against enemies with very fast counter attacks, or if do not want to dodge for some reason... (maybe like when to close to a ledge, or other environmental hazards, or trying to block access to a doorway in multiplayer).

                      • Anonymous

                        Would've been interesting to have a heater shield with a bit more damage reduction on all fronts and stability, but with a decent strongth requirement. I guess that might ruin the while point of shields in this game however so :/.

                        • Anonymous

                          So I take half physical damage while blocking? Might be handy, especially if I don't need a gun in my magic hand.

                          • Anonymous

                            “You can also pick it up as a rare drop from early enemies in the game with wooden shields.”

                            How rare is it exactly? I’ve never seen it being dropped and so far this is the only page that mentions this.

                            • Anonymous

                              Maybe it would be more effective against the strength of the beasts if they hadn't built it like an asshole.

                              • Anonymous

                                I've been playing around with the shield and it actually is very nice in pvp at times. The best use so far I've seen is when fighting someone who is a dex building using weaker but faster weapon. Like if you are being combo'd by a blade of mercy user just bust out this shield and it will stop the combo. Also most hits from a faster weapon will do no damage to you can cost not a lot of stamina. Another nice thing to use it for is people who spam there gun. The shield is one of the best defense against people who do this. Sure it might not be as good as the ones in Dark Souls but it still has it use and at times can be very useful.

                                • Anonymous

                                  Holding the shield with L2 decreases your stamina regen rate pretty significantly. Yet another reason to avoid the shield.

                                  • Anonymous

                                    I think something is wrong with the information. I've been using it for awhile each time I fight a boss. And it's pretty good. Just by equipping it, you can halve the received damage. I use this while fighting Rom and every boss ever, it's pretty effective

                                    • Anonymous

                                      the douchebag with a speargun (next to the one with a tontrious) to the right of the grand cathedral can be easily nullifed with the shield

                                      • Anonymous

                                        why did they have to make this shield's design so ugly? couldn't they have made a hunter leather shield made out of wood and beast hide? its just a plank with a handle.

                                        • Anonymous

                                          I think Fromsoft put this in the game as a joke because so many Souls players relied on shields. First time I found it I thought it was pretty funny.

                                          • Anonymous

                                            Yeah, pretty much halves the damage received from Rom's death from above spell, and stops you from getting staggered. As long as you're facing towards his aerial attacks when he fires them, it's great.

                                            • Anonymous

                                              I use the shield not only to block bullets, but if I get the chance I'll switch it for a stake drive or a cannon for a surprise mid fight, it's hilarious and effective

                                              • Made some changes and cleaned up the page a bit. The title claimed that it was the only shield in Bloodborne which technicaly isn't true anymore with the DLC; granted that you own the DLC to begin with.

                                                • 4th time changing this up, but I looked through some older pages I worked on in the past. One thing I wanted to do was flesh out more properly how and why you'd use this thing in the first place, and to be honest, it's pretty much a joke. But....rather than just straight up say this, it's better to explain better all the nuances of how this thing can be used and so forth.

                                                  Ultimately, for my paladin "no guns" character I finally finished, this piece of garbage wasn't very useful, but it certainly does add more challenge until you finally get that Loch Shield.

                                                  • Ok, so I found out that the shield doesn't do a thing against frenzy. I tested this out on a winter lantern. Then the winter lantern acted unamused and grabbed me and did horrible, horrible things to my hunter. I had a nightmare that evening when I went to sleep regarding it. All in the name of information gathering I guess.....enjoy folks!

                                                    [Also did some a bit more cleanup to make the page a bit more organized]

                                                    • Anonymous

                                                      For the Bloody Crow, the Wooden Shield nearly negates all the damage from his gun shots. I don't know what made to test it, but when I did he turned into one of the easiest fights in the game.... for a npc hunter that is.

                                                      • Anonymous

                                                        I used this against Amygdala due to my Bloodtinge being terribly low and a few instances of being one-shotted from its jump. That was due to my low Vit, but I know there's one of these in a Chalice Dungeon later, which will do much more damage. I wasn't able to figure out if the shield helped against the jump, though it was useful when it went crazy in third form. But if anyone can figure out if it helps against jumping attacks in particular let me know! Hate one-shot moves, horrible memories of the Ancient Dragon...

                                                        • I couldn't figure out how to create a table, but I managed to insert the numbers regarding damage prevention when comparing the Wooden Shield to the Loch Shield. I borrowed the numbers from the table on the Loch Shield page that did a side-by-side comparison between the two shields, so I'm not 100% certain that they're correct, but I don't have any reason to doubt they are wrong unless someone can show evidence.

                                                        Load more
                                                        ⇈ ⇈