How to Make a Shield in Minecraft and Block Properly

A shield is 6 planks and 1 iron ingot. On a crafting table, the top row is plank, iron ingot, plank; the middle row is three planks; and the bottom row has one plank in the center, a Y shape. Any planks work, mixed or matching. You get one shield.

Put it in your off-hand slot (press F on PC to swap it there, or drag it into the shield-shaped slot in your inventory) and hold the use button to raise it.

What it blocks

A raised shield blocks all damage from the front, in roughly a half-circle around where you’re looking:

• Melee hits from zombies, skeletons up close, piglins, players.
• Arrows and tridents, which bounce off.
• Explosions. A shield facing a creeper takes the full blast for you. This alone makes it the most useful early-game item after a bed.
• Fireballs from ghasts and blazes.

It doesn’t help against attacks from behind, fall damage, lava, poison or magic damage like the Warden’s sonic boom.

You walk slowly while blocking, so raise it when a hit is coming and drop it again. There’s a very short delay before a raised shield starts blocking.

Axes and shield breaking

An axe hit disables your shield for 5 seconds. Players with axes use this in PvP, and so do mobs: vindicators, piglin brutes and any zombie holding an axe can disable it. When you see an axe swinging, step back instead of blocking. The Warden’s melee attack also disables shields.

Durability and repair

A shield has 336 durability. Each blocked hit costs some, with big hits costing more. Fix it by:

• Anvil + planks: each plank restores part of the durability and keeps enchantments and pattern.
• Crafting grid or grindstone: two shields combine into one with their durability added. The crafting grid removes the pattern; the grindstone keeps the top shield’s pattern.
• Mending: XP repairs it while you play. Unbreaking and Mending are the only useful enchantments a shield can take, and both are worth it.

Making it look like yours

Put a shield and a banner together in a crafting grid and the banner’s design goes onto the shield, in both Java and Bedrock. Our custom shields guide covers designs and how to copy patterns from a loom.

The only hard ingredient is one iron ingot. If you haven’t found iron yet, see how to find iron; it’s worth getting a shield before your first night in caves.