In The Legend of Zelda, shields will be some of the strongest items you can use, and for some enemies in Skyward Sword HD, the ability to block will be necessary to defeat them. It’s also a good defensive tactic for every enemy in the game! If you’re wondering how to use your shield, we’re here to help you out!
How to Use a Shield in Skyward Sword HD
In order to use a shield in Skyward Sword HD, you’re going to need to have one equipped. You get a wooden shield at the start, but that can burn up in combat, so be careful! Once you have it equipped, you can shake the Left Joy-Con (or click the left Joystick downwards) to raise the shield or perform shield bashes. You can also parry if you time your shield-raise correctly, allowing you to really defend yourself in combat!
Once you have a shield, equip it by opening the menu on your controller with the R button and releasing R when you’re hovering over it. This means you can have multiple shields at once! Having a backup is never a bad idea, especially while your wooden ones are in danger of exploding into flames.
Blocking is important for defeating rolling enemies, deflecting projectiles, and approaching enemies that attack you from afar. However, you will have to keep your eye on your shield’s durability meter! Almost every shield will break over time. As your shields upgrade, you won’t have to worry about them burning into flame; especially once you get the Hylian Shield, Link’s signature tool. That one actually has no durability meter, and thus you can block everything in the game with ease!
Skyward Sword HD is a remake of the 2011 title for the Nintendo Wii. It’s exclusively on the Switch, and uses the JoyCons to control Link as he battles through Skyloft and the land around it.
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