Combat in Minecraft is frantic and at times tactical. Knowing how to approach each of the different enemy types can save your life and allow you to keep exploring. Of course, sometimes you need a little help. One of the more recent patches helped players augment both their offensive and defensive options with shield and armor changes. Making a Shield in Minecraft is pretty simple, so here’s a guide to speed up the process.
Once the shield is crafted, place it in your inventory slot meant for your off-hand.
Here’s the layout you should use when putting the items into the crafting table:
- Top row – Planks, Iron Ingot, Planks
- Middle row – Planks, Planks, Planks
- Bottom row – empty, Planks, empty
Shields block a ton of different attacks and problems, here’s a list:
- Lasers from guardians
- Thorns from pufferfish
- Fireballs
- Ghast fireball explosions
- Melee attacks
- Normal and tipped arrows
- Flaming arrows
- Tridents
- Creeper explosions
Keep in mind though, Shields also have durability. Over time and through use a Shield in Minecraft will lose its power and eventually break. You can repair a busted Shield by plopping another one into a crafting table beside the broken one. This will combine the durability of both shields together, and grant a 5% bonus to durability on top. You can also use an anvil to repair the item, with just some wooden planks.
Shields can also be enchanted with a few different enhancements. Mending and Unbreakable enchantments make the defensive item last far longer than normal. So if you really want to be a tank in Minecraft, get to building that enchanting station and slap some stuff on your armor and shield.
