Shields in Minecraft 1.9

Mar 9, 2016

banners and Shield

Among the most exciting new items in Minecraft 1.9 are the Shields that can now be crafted.

Crafting Shields

You might see a number of outdated recipes out there, as crafting shields changed a lot in the preview phases, but this is how Mojand decided shields should be crafted:

Decorating Shields

1.8 meets 1.9: you can place your Banner design on a shield by simply combining the tow together.

Using Shields

Using a shield will help to protect you against any attack coming from in front of you.

To use a shield, right click. When using a shield:

  • damage from melee (or hand-to-hand) attacks will be reduced by 66%
  • you will take no damage from projectiles such as arrows
  • you will be protected from some other attacks suck as flame or punch effects on arrows
  • your movement will be slowed as if you were sneaking

Sound good? It should - especially since Skeletons seem to have become a lot harder to fight in the new update. However, there are some complications, such as even if you have a shield equipped in your Off hand, you may not be able to use it with your main hand.

The full details are on our new Shields page