We keep reiterating that the world of Minecraft isn’t safe and there are dangers at every turn. Fortunately, with its dangers, the game also offers us some safety measures. You can use the best Minecraft potions for power boosts or apply the best Minecraft enchantments to beef up your gear’s reliability. But all of that feels like too much work, doesn’t it? Luckily, you can skip the drastic measures for the most part if you know how to make a shield in Minecraft. It’s a simple tool that you can hold to repel attacks, block projectiles, and look like a knight (complete with the best Minecraft skins) while protecting yourself. You can even use it to make traveling into the Nether portal less risky. But let’s not get ahead of ourselves and first learn how to make a shield in Minecraft.
Make a Shield in Minecraft for Your Protection (2022)
Just like most of our gear, Minecraft has a variety of mechanics around shields. We will first explore the shield’s uses and blocking powers before moving on to the crafting recipe. But feel free to use the table below to skip to any section as you like.
What Is a Shield in Minecraft & What Is Its Use?
Similar to real-world shields, a shield is a defensive tool in Minecraft. Its main purpose is to protect players from incoming attacks. But it only works if you are actively holding the shield while getting attacked. Unlike armor, you can’t use the shield while fighting. Instead, you have to pause and use it as an active defensive tactic.
What Can a Shield Block in Minecraft
A shield in Minecraft can block a variety of attacks, but not all of them. The attacks it can block include:
- Melee attacks other than mobs with an axe
- Arrows: normal, tipped, and spectral
- Tridents, snowballs, and eggs
- Projectile attacks from mobs, including blazes, llamas, shulkers, and pufferfishes
- Bee stings
- Explosion damage from creepers and TNT lit by other players
- Beam attacks from guardians and elder guardians but only at half capacity
Non Blockable Attacks
You can’t block the following attacks with a shield:
- Arrows shot from a crossbow with piercing enchantment
- Status effects of tipped arrows and shulker bullets on Bedrock edition
- TNT lit by players or Redstone on Java edition
- Teleportation and fall damage
- Attacks from mobs with an axe
- Magic attacks like a sonic shriek of a Warden
- Direct hits from a Warden
How to Get a Shield in Minecraft
Other than crafting, which we will get to in a second, the only other way to obtain a shield in Minecraft is via trading. To do so, you have to trade with journeyman-level armorer villagers. They trade shields in exchange for 5 emeralds. You can use our best Minecraft village seeds to easily find armorer villages in no time.
Items Required to Make A Shield
You need the following items to make a shield in Minecraft – an Iron Ingot, 6 Planks (any), and a Crafting Table.
You can use our Minecraft ore distribution guide to easily find iron ore in the game. Then, you need to smelt raw iron in a furnace or a blast furnace to get iron ingots. As for the planks, you can place the stem, log, or wood from any in-game tree in the crafting area to obtain planks. You can even mix random planks in the crafting recipe of the shield. The type of plank doesn’t affect the shield output.
Minecraft Shield Crafting Recipe
To make a shield in Minecraft, follow the steps below:
1. First, place an iron ingot in the middle cell of the first row of the crafting table.
2. Then, place a plank on either side of the iron ingot in the first row.
3. Next, fill the second row of the crafting area with planks.
4. Finally, to finish the shield recipe, place a plank in the middle cell of the bottommost row of the crafting area.
While crafting a shield, you can use any type of wooden plank. They don’t have to be of the same type of wood and can be placed in any cell dedicated to planks in the recipe.
How to Craft a Custom Shield in Minecraft
A major problem with shields is that you can only make them out of wood. Because of that, they have fixed properties by default and a very rather basic appearance. Luckily, Minecraft allows you to change the latter by crafting custom shields. Unfortunately, this feature is only limited to the Minecraft Java edition. So, Bedrock users can skip ahead.
Items Required to Make a Custom Shields
You only need the following two items to craft a custom shield:
- A Regular Shield
- A Banner
You can craft a banner by combining six wool blocks with a stick. Or, you can find them around various structures in-game. The color of the wool blocks automatically gets applied to the shield. But you can later customize it using a loom to draw patterns on it.
Crafting Recipe for Custom Shields
Once your banner is ready, place the banner along with the shield in the crafting area. There is no fixed arrangement for this crafting recipe. So, you can place both items anywhere in the crafting area. The final result will be a shield with the same design as the banner. You can use this method to match your shield with your cool Minecraft skins.
How Do You Use a Shield in Minecraft
To use a shield in Minecraft, you have to equip and actively use it. You can hold it in your main fighting hand, but it’s best to place it in your off-hand. Doing so makes it easier to use during combat. If the shield is in your off-hand, you need to press right-click or the secondary action key to use it.
While you are using the shield, your character will slow down a little for better defense. Do keep in mind that doing so still leaves the other side of your body, which isn’t hidden by the shield, vulnerable. Moreover, each attack reduces the durability of the shield. So, unless you repair it with an anvil, it’s going to break leaving you unsafe.
Alternatively, you can use this useful Minecraft enchantments guide to make it last longer by adding enchantments like unbreaking and mending to your shield.
Make and Use a Shield in Minecraft with Ease
At this point, you know that a shield isn’t the perfect protection you need to survive in Minecraft. But now, you are better off knowing how to make a shield in Minecraft than traveling without one. There is no better counter tool for projectile attacks in the game other than this. However, if you still don’t feel safe enough, the Potion of Healing can definitely get you back on your feet. You can also start to plant seeds and grow food to heal yourself up when required. With that said, if nothing works out, the best Minecraft commands can definitely give you special advantages. But even with a shield’s recipe in your hand, are you a defensive player or a fighter? Tell us in the comments!
