How to use a shield in Zelda Tears of the Kingdom
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Link will carry around quite a lot of gear in The Legend of Zelda: Tears of the Kingdom, especially shields. Useful for blocking and deflecting enemy attacks, they’re beneficial to keeping Link alive while you explore the open world. Plus, if you pair a shield with a strong weapon, you’ll bring down enemies in no time. If you want to master the art of combat, here’s how to use a shield in The Legend of Zelda: Tears of the Kingdom.
The Legend of Zelda: Tears of the Kingdom – How do you use a shield?
To bring up your shield you need to press and hold the ZL button on the Nintendo Switch controller. Link will raise his equipped shield in front of him to block oncoming attacks. If he has a one-handed sword, he’ll wield that in his other hand to attack enemies.
To equip a new shield you go into the inventory by pressing the + sign, find the shield menu, and equip the shield you want by pressing A. A faster option is to press the Left D-Pad button to bring up a quick shield selection menu. Select the shield you want to use by using the Right Stick.
Link can defend himself with a shield by pressing X to parry as well. While blocking will prevent Link from being hit, parrying will deflect an enemy attack, giving Link an opening to strike. You can also use a shield to practice shield surfing.
Link will hop on his equipped shield and ride it like a skateboard down slopes. However, everything that impacts the shield will reduce its durability. Once a basic shield takes enough damage, it will be destroyed and vanish from the inventory.
One of the newest features not included in The Legend of Zelda: Breath of the Wild allows Link to fuse things to his shield. Once you have the Fuse ability, you can attach items and objects to a shield to increase its effectiveness.
