Mordhau Shields Complete Guide

A lot of Mordhau players dread the appearance of a shield. It can break up even the most well-planned attack on an enemy if used by them correctly. That is kind of a big if. At the moment, far too many players who use shield don’t know how to properly use them. As a way to block attackers, newcomers often flock to the Mordhau shield like it can save them from any attack. Whether it’s used effectively or without any skill or thought, the shield is often annoying to other players. They’re also fairly unique to Mordhau compared with other Battle Royales, you won’t find an equivalent in Fortniteor PUBG.

In most people’s hands, shields are an annoyance that doesn’t seem to have much value. However, Mordhau shields are actually quite a powerful part of the melee combat. Ignoring them entirely will stop you from accessing some of the better techniques.

Shields are going to cost you extra points to equip. They are not a free element of your character. So if you’re planning on using one, you should be using it properly rather than wasting it. They can be equipped alongside any one-handed weapon. Anything that you can wield with only a hand allows you to use the other for a shield. This obviously has its drawbacks in limiting your weapon choice.

Each Mordhau shield has different stats. Some of them allow you to constantly block, defending one part of your character. This type can help players who don’t quite have their timings down. Then, there are shields with which you need to time the block right to work. Choosing which type of shield works better for you is as important as using the right settings and perks.

Mordhau Shields: Buckler and Targe

The Buckler shield is an item that requires you to time your blocks to still be effective. It is the smallest shield in the game so covers the least space. This doesn’t make it entirely useless, but you will need more skill to actually use it. Most shields reduce the speed at which you can move and more importantly, turn. Turning your character model is vital for more advanced combat like dragging, but a shield slows this turning down and can make it hard to fight. Since this shield is so small, it has the smallest impact on your turning.

Using any weapon to block or parry an attack will drain your stamina depending on which weapon you block. A Buckler shield has the smallest impact on your stamina through blocking. With this and its mobility bonuses, it can be very useful in combat. If you time your blocks quickly, you can minimize your loss of stamina without giving up much mobility. However, if you’re bothering to do all of this timing then surely you could just be using a weapon? That’s the trade-off with this shield.

The Targe is essentially a watered down version of the Buckler. The Targe does have a lower cost that reflects this, but it doesn’t have much else going for it. It is larger but only slightly. This increases its negative effects on your movement and stamina, but it is not bigger enough to actually warrant this loss. You’re still going to need exact timing to get it to work.

The Heater and Kite Shield

The Heater is a different type of Mordhau shield entirely. It is considerably larger in size than either of the previous two shields. However, to balance this it drains your stamina at a significantly faster rate. This tradeoff makes it a bit of a bad choice. The Kite Shield similarly is larger and drains more stamina, but considering the protection, you gain versus the stamina you lose it is a much more worthwhile trade-off. The Heater Shield does require fewer points to put it into a build though. If you’re being economically then it does have some advantages.

With either the Heater or Kite shield equipped, you can hold down the block button indefinitely. This allows you to keep your shield permanently up in the blocking position to take on any attack that comes your way. If it gets hit or you release the button, you stop blocking. This can be really helpful. However, it isn’t as easy as it sounds.

You can’t actually attack while holding the block button outside of Ripostes. So you will need to work out the timing of blocking your shield long enough to attack if you plan on dueling with a shield. It can take some time to adjust to this but with a bit of practice, you should become adept at remaining constantly blocking while automatically dropping your block when you need to attack.

The Kite Shield is probably the most effective option in the game. If you can master the timing behind it then it will become a very effective use of stamina. If you’re finding the more complicated aspects of duelling difficult to get your head around, switching to a character class with a shield might be the change you need.

Overview of Mordhau Shields