Bloodborne: how to get the most out of the Wooden and Loch Shields
While Bloodborne players tend to avoid the game’s shields like the Beast Plague, they do have their uses. Both the Wooden and Loch Shield prevent different types of damage, though not on the same scale as shields in, say, Elden Ring or Dark Souls. This guide might not get you to dust off the items from your Storage, but at the very least you’ll gain a deeper appreciation for their existence.
Where can you find the Wooden and Loch Shields?
The Wooden Shield can be found pretty early in the Cathedral Ward. From the Cathedral Ward Lamp, head outside of the cathedral’s main entrance, hang a right and walk up the flight of stairs. The Wooden Shield can be found on a corpse at the top of the stairs beside a locked gate.
The Loch Shield is trickier to get as it can only be found in The Old Hunters DLC. After acquiring the Eye Pendant from Laurence, The First Vicar in the Nightmare Grand Cathedral, you can access the Research Hall through the surgery altar right after defeating Ludwig, The Holy Blade. After using the lever that lifts the whole area, you can head back down to the Research Hall Lamp. It is from here that you can go back into the Research Hall proper, hang a right to a previously inaccessible door, and ride a lift upwards. Head outside the room where the lift takes you, drop down to the main staircase, and head down the stairs. The Loch Shield can be found on yet another corpse, just waiting to be picked up.
The Wooden Shield provides a brief respite from projectiles and weak attacks
From the outset, the Wooden Shield doesn’t have much going for it. With 50% Physical damage reduction, 50% Blood damage reduction, 40% Arcane damage reduction, 20% Fire damage reduction, and 30% Bolt damage reduction, you are generally better off dodging instead of using this item. The Wooden Shield can only be equipped on the left hand, meaning you will be sacrificing the use of firearms that can parry and/ or deal damage to attacking enemies. To top it off, holding and blocking with the shield decreases Stamina regeneration – making it harder to plan a counterstrategy.
Since the Wooden Shield isn’t that useful in close quarters, its best use is to block incoming physical projectiles. Bullets from firearm-wielding Huntsmen and Molotov Cocktails still do some damage when blocked with the Wooden Shield, but you can recover fast enough to close the distance between yourself and your attackers. Take note that the Wooden Shield might not be the best choice against multiple-hitting projectiles such as rounds from a Gatling Gun, but it can provide a momentary breather as you try to find cover.
The Wooden Shield is also useful for staggering foes with weak attacks. Since the damage from melee weapon-wielding Huntsmen and the like is so low, their attack animations can get interrupted as they bounce off the shield – providing you with ample time to counterattack. This tactic can also be used in PVP, as the Wooden Shield is great against players who specialize in Skill-based weapons. The Blades of Mercy, which can normally stun-lock opponents with its light attacks, has its main gameplan rendered almost useless thanks to the Wooden Shield.
The Loch Shield is at its best against elemental attacks
Unlike the Wooden Shield which focuses on reducing the amount of Physical and Blood damage received, the Loch Shield specializes in protecting against element-based attacks. With 30% Physical damage reduction, 30% Blood damage reduction, 70% Arcane damage reduction, 70% Fire damage reduction, and 70% Bolt damage reduction, the Loch Shield is best used against Arcane users like Micolash or the Living Failures – the latter of which are the bosses in the Research Hall where you get the Loch Shield.
The Loch Shield can also be used in PVP against players with a high Arcane stat. While Arcane builds are a rarity in Bloodborne, the Loch Shield can absorb a good amount of their attacks as you close the gap and punish them for using magic in a close-combat game.
Like the Wooden Shield, the Loch Shield can only be equipped using your character’s left hand. Holding the shield up also slows down Stamina regeneration, meaning that while it is more useful than the Wooden Shield, players still need to be mindful of their Stamina consumption and remaining health.
Although both the Wooden Shield and Loch Shield don’t work very well within the context of Bloodborne, it was nice of FromSoftware to add them in. It can be hard for some players to change their mindset when it comes to using shields in these games, but these niche items help make the transition easier.
