Ethereal Oak Shield – Dark Souls III: Ashes of Ariandel
Shields are one of the most important armor/weapon pieces in all of Dark Souls III, so naturally a few new ones have entered the mix with the Ashes of Ariandel DLC. In order to locate this Strength-focused shield, you are going to need to battle your way through some tough new enemies that don’t go down without a fight.
From the first bonfire, head right until the ground collapses and then continue on through the woods. If you hug the right side of the rocks, you will only need to kill one wolf as opposed to an entire pack of them. Once you reach the edge, turn left and run across until you are along a narrow path that leads to a different area. You should be able to outrun the wolves, which can be a lifesaver if you don’t have enough health.
From here you are going to need to fight your way to the massive tower at the end of the section. First kill the viking in front of you, making sure to utilize back stabbing and their easy stun locking for quick kills. The next two will be accompanied by wolves, so make sure to take them out first, otherwise these fights will be just frustrating.
It’s also important to note that this jerk in the tower will be firing arrows at you the whole time, so try and fight behind cover. Once you slay the last of the foes outside, go into the tower and get ready to fight another viking barreling down the stairs at you. Lead him outside so that you have more space and finish the unlucky fighter off before heading back up the tower.
Climb up the ladders until you see one last guard standing at the edge of a cliff. He is far tougher than the ones you’ve previously fought, so either knock him off with a spell or try to kick him off after a back stab. Once he is dead, go down the spiral staircase one floor and turn to your left. You should see a corpse with an item hovering right above him – that’s your Ethereal Oak Shield.
The Ethereal Oak Shield is a fairly standard shield, with a really interesting look and a decent amount of stopping power for physical damage. The weapon art lets you use your right handed skill ability without needing to dual wield, which can be helpful depending on your build. Maybe next time those vikings will learn not to shoot arrows at you while you’re trying to have a friendly duel.
