Beast Crest Heater Shield

Notes

• On Standard affinity, blocks 100% of the physical portion of a successfully guarded hit. You still need enough stamina to hold your guard, and elemental damage is handled separately.
• At +0 it blocks 50% Magic, 43% Fire, 32% Lightning and 42% Holy damage. These are guarding values, rather than protection from an attack that hits around your shield.
• At the same 3.5 weight and 10 Strength requirement as Heater Shield, it starts with 54 Guard Boost instead of 52 and blocks more Magic and Lightning damage.
• The camp chest gives a guaranteed copy without a random-drop farm. The armored knight nearby is a threat to manage, rather than the enemy whose death directly awards the shield.
• Starts with Parry, which costs no FP. Medium-shield Parry requires deliberate timing; blocking normally and attempting a parry are separate actions. Apply No Skill if you want direct access to your right-hand weapon's skill instead.
• Can use compatible shield Ashes of War. A new affinity can change blocking values and Guard Boost, so the Standard-affinity percentages above do not describe every infused version.
• Upgrade with Smithing Stones to +25. Reinforcement improves Guard Boost and offensive power; it does not turn every elemental blocking percentage into 100%.
• Shield Grease or Scholar's Shield can temporarily improve guarding. Those shield buffs are separate from a grease or enchantment applied to your right-hand weapon.
• Lower the shield between attacks when it is safe so stamina can recover more quickly. Full physical blocking does not stop grabs, attacks from behind or every status effect from reaching you.
• Requires 10 Strength and weighs 3.5. Strength scaling affects shield attacks, rather than increasing its fixed blocking percentages.