Crimson Desert

Pearl Abyss

I have previously told people to be wary of looking for “best” weapon guides in Crimson Desert, given that almost all of them are just housings for the best gears in the game, with the weapons not necessarily innately strong themselves. But for shields? I have a pick, one that I have used for probably 150 out of the 250 hours I’ve played of Crimson Desert, and I have never taken it off since I understood how good it was.

This is the Drake Shield, a round one with a giant dragon on it that looks awesome, for starters, and has a movement speed bonus, which always feels nice for the somewhat clunky cliff.

Why this is so good, however, is that while you cannot slot any gears into it, it has a unique, innate ability. After three blocks of any type, incredibly easy to fill especially during enemy combos, your shield will glow and you press the block button and heavy attack to blast out a fireball. It sounds cool at baseline, but it’s so good. A) it has AOE so it can blast an entire group of enemies swarming you. B) it’s the fire element so it is extra strong against ice-weak enemies. C) it even has a little range to it so you can hit enemies further away. D) it acts as a Force Palm-like interrupt for almost every boss in the game, giving you not just damage but often an opening window to attack. I have relied on sword and shield for nearly every boss fight so far, and specifically, this shield.

So, where to get it? It’s not hiding behind a waterfall. You have to do an actual quest and fight an actual boss. That boss being The Flame Knight.

• It does not matter if you know where the The Flame Knight’s castle is (north west of Demeniss), you have to progress to Chapter 8 in the main story to unlock this quest.
• The quest is Letter of Silence which will appear after doing the Ashen Steps quest to the south east of Demeniss.
• The Flame Night castle will turn red. You do not necessarily have to follow the quest steps from here, you can just go to the castle and start fighting.
• The Flame Night is kind of hard but I mean, he’s a Crimson Desert boss. Learn his moveset, dodge, I would probably use focused shot bow to stun him, eat lots of food. Get his Drake Shield (and a boring sword afterward) by walking nearby to pick them up which is a quest step. Do not forget this part. He took me a few tries, certainly.

There are a couple “charge up” shields in the game I’ve found, but I don’t think any of them are better than the Drake Shield here, and I don’t think you’ll regret going out of your way together. I have not found anything to replace it, and at this point, it’s pretty clear I’m not going to.

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