Stats |
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160 | ![]() |
100 | ||||||||||||||||
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120(130) | ![]() |
71 | ||||||||||||||||
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160(160) | ![]() |
150 | ||||||||||||||||
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160(160) | ![]() |
16.0 | ||||||||||||||||
Requirements & Bonus | |||||||||||||||||||
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34 | - | – | – | ||||||||||||||||
Weapon Type | Greatshield | ||||||||||||||||||
Attack Type | Strike | ||||||||||||||||||
Enchantable | Yes | ||||||||||||||||||
Special | No |
*When infused with Magic: 120 physical dmg/130 magic dmg, with Fire: 160 physical dmg/160 Fire dmg, with Lightning: 160 physical dmg/160 Lightning dmg
"Greatshield of the might knight Tarkus"
"Built of special black iron and even heavier than Knight Berenike's tower shield. Especially resistant to fire attacks and effective for shield bashing."
The shield was designed as part of a contest FromSoftware had before Dark Souls was released. Adam Ledzion is the name of the creator and the original name for the shield was the “Blood and Souls Shield”. He was credited as a Shield Contest Design Winner in the end credits.
Though uncredited, the shield makes its return in Dark Souls 3 wielded by Knightslayer Tsorig.
Acquired from:
- Found on Tarkus' corpse in the grand painting hall of Anor Londo along with his matching armor set. He's on the ground floor, huddled in a corner to the left of the painting.
Hints and Tips:
- It's heavier (23 Str required for two-handed action), less durable and 1 point less stable than the Tower Shield, but it gains an extra +15% of fire resistance, making it the #2 fire protection shield in the game.
- Upgrades exactly the same way and same price as the Tower Shield.
- While listed above as a Greatshield, the in game UI actually lists it as a normal shield which is incorrect.
Youtube relevant videos:
- ??
Black Iron Greatshield Upgrade Table






Overview table for all Upgrades at regular, max and threshold levels. Click on the tabs to see individual upgrade paths in detail. Use this table to quickly compare performance
Regular Upgrades are performed by Andre of Astora at the Undead Parish.
Regular +6 requires a regular +5 weapon and to hand in the Large Ember. Regular +11 requires a regular +10 weapon and to hand in the Very Large Ember.
Regular Reinforcement Scales 31% for Strength to increase your AR.
To reach max, you need: 3,000 souls, 9 titanite shards to +5, 9 large titanite shards to +10, 7 titanite chunks to +14 and 1 titanite slab to +15
Crystal Upgrades are performed by the Giant Blacksmith at Anor Londo.
Crystal Upgrades require a regular +10 weapon and to hand in the Crystal Ember.
Crystal Reinforcement reduces weapon Durability by 23, but increases base damage. It scales 31% for Strength to increase your AR.
To reach max, you need: 1000 souls, 8 titanite chunks to +4 and 1 titanite slab to +5
Lightning Upgrades are performed by the Giant Blacksmith at Anor Londo.
Lightning Upgrades require a regular +10 weapon, but no special Ember is required.
Lightning Reinforcement removes all scaling but adds Lightning Damage.
To reach max, you need: 1000 souls, 8 titanite chunks to +4 and 1 titanite slab to +5
Magic Upgrades are performed by Rickert of Vinheim, found in New Londo Ruins.
Magic Upgrade +1 requires a regular +5 weapon. Magic +6 requires a Magic +5 and to hand in the Large Magic Ember
Magic Reinforcement adds Magic Damage and an Intelligence bonus. The weapon can no longer be buffed with Magic Weapon. Scales 8% for Strength and 22%
Intelligence to increase your AR.
To reach max, you need: 2,000 souls, 10 Green Titanite Shards to +5, 7 Blue Titanite Chunks to +14 and 1 Blue Titanite Slab to +15
Divine Upgrades are performed by Andre of Astora at the Undead Parish.
Divine Upgrades require a regular +5 weapon and to hand in the Divine Ember. Divine +6 upgrades require a Divine Weapon +5 and to hand in the Large Divine Ember.
Divine Reinforcement adds Magic Damage and Faith scaling. Scales 10% for Strength and 25%
Faith to increase your AR.
To reach max, you need: 2000 souls, 10 Green Titanite Shards, 7 White Titanite Chunks and 1 White Titanite Slab
Fire Upgrades are performed by Blacksmith Vamos in The Catacombs.
Fire Upgrades require a regular +5 weapon. Fire+6 requires a Fire+5 weapon and to hand in the Large Flame Ember.
Fire Reinforcement adds Fire Damage but removes all scaling bonuses from the weapon.
To reach max, you need: 2000 souls, 10 Green Titanite Shards, 7 Red Titanite Chunks and 1 Red Titanite Slab
- Anonymous
match this w/ the +15 Greatsword (Ultra GS, not normal GS) this is OP
- Anonymous
- Anonymous
Since there’s no trivia section I’ll add some; this shield was designed as part of a contest FromSoftware had before DS was released. Adam Ledzion Is the name of the creator and the original name for the shield was the “Blood and Souls Shield”. Got this info from another DS wiki but you can take a quick look at the game credits or google to confirm. I could have sworn this info was on Fextra at one point so feel free to dunk on me if I’m just being foolish.
- Anonymous
It's classified in game as a shield. Not a greatshield. Idk either
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