Shields are a state-of-the-art defensive tool to aid you in Minecraft’s pixelated combat. They’re used instead of blocking with swords and are not upgradable, so one size fits all, but they can be customised with a banner.
If you want to create a shield from scratch, you need the following ingredients for your shield recipe: six wood planks and one iron ingot.
Arrange your six wood planks into a ‘Y’ shape in your crafting grid, and then place the iron ingot into the top slot.
If you have a damaged shield, it can be repaired using either an anvil, or by combining it with a second damaged shield in your crafting grid.
You can use your shield to fend off melee attacks from hostile mobs, prevent ranged damage, and recover quickly by using enchantments or repairing your shield. But did you know you can also decorate it?
You can use banners to create customised shields. A banner can be placed onto the shield in the crafting grid, with the shield directly in the middle and the banner to the left.
Crafting a banner in Minecraft is simple, although there are countless designs to choose from. First, you need plenty of wool and one stick. Go into your crafting screen and put the stick in the bottom middle slot, and the wool in the top six slots.
To choose a banner design, you need to craft a loom. Using the loom, place the banner in the top-left slot, and any dye materials in the top-right slot. This brings up a menu of possible designs.
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