Clearing up Breath of the Wild's BIGGEST Misconception - The Shield Stats

Breath of the wild has already been out for 3 years now, and despite everything a player may know about this game by now, one of the biggest misconceptions to this day has to deal with the shield numbers, and what their exact purpose is. Since the game never once explains to the player what their exact function is, I decided to do some research both in game and out to solve this mystery once and for all!! I hope this helps - please enjoy!! :)
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All shield durability/guard stats:
orcz.com/Breath...
Shield durability formula:
gamefaqs.games...
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[@Croton]

It seems like a lot of these stats carry over to Tears of the Kingdom very well - I will have to look into everything else new though!! Once I play enough I will be making a Stats of the Kingdom series, but in the meantime be sure to check out our existing stat videos for more in-depth game info --> kzbin.info/aero/PLAjULYyNSE9aa7aQW31IupW685MO-ZBHc

[@lefriki123]

hype 💜

[@LeLeDeLaGeo]

big question now : is this system the same in totk ? or is there any slight differences ? (btw thanks, that was so interesting)

[@guardianfoxxed7516]

Quick question from me but when you made this video how long did you think COVID’s quarantine would last? I remember watching this in the airport on my way home from being in Mexico for a week which was right when the first quarantine that was supposed to only be a couple weeks started. Did you have any plans for the channel or content that got changed due to our sudden change in life?

[@helio6839]

I really wish they had decided to make durability a visible value in TotK

[@Jonas-ph1gb]

Quick tip for TotK shields: fusing a mushroom to them makes them ‘bouncy’ (on normal weapons this gives them a knock back effect similar to the hammer Kilton sold in BotW); when a shield becomes bouncy it disarms any normal enemy upon parry and staggers any normal enemy upon being hit. Another tip: fusing frozen meat to a shield (Use a source of ice on meat to get some) will make surfing like sliding on ice; this is better than ice because ice melts over time and cold meat even survives fire. (Different meats have different behaviors upon fusing, I know the cheapest slab of meat works well)

[@tallic967]

I've never really thought about what the number meant, it was always just apparent to me that a higher number means a better shield lol

[@Julmaa87]

Which really isn't untrue anyway :)

[@dabmonstr7403]

@@Julmaa87 royal guard shield.

[@royalet7982]

@@dabmonstr7403 err the Royale weapons are… special. Technically it’s still a (good) shield cuz the number is high and you can parry the weapon out of an enemies hands and stun them. Though they break in like… 2 hits lol.

[@hazemimam6826]

@@royalet7982 they are made of mc gold

[@jeffdiggs7030]

Right either way a higher number is better regardless if it means durability, defense power or something else.

[@christinekatzman2164]

The funny thing is that when seeing the shield numbers I immediately took it at its word and just thought, "Oh, that number means how much defense it has!", without once stopping to think what defense applies to in this situation.

[@WaverlyAverly]

Enemy Attack Power *(Defense*0)

[@Royal_Keith]

Same LOL.

[@valsagar4917]

⁠@@WaverlyAverly ..0?

[@dropthehatantonycraft7516]

@@valsagar4917 That's the joke

[@jennakerrigan1092]

Me too LMAO. Didn't once cross my mind that they all block 100% damage

[@nj8833]

Always was annoyed that durability was a completely hidden stat. I think it should be shown after an item is added to the compendium

[@mictony999]

naturalism is part of the game, having too much UI and numbers to memorize will clog it up. the game took a minimalist route.

[@PhabioTheHost]

@@mictony999 Minimalist would be w/o the clutter of needing stacks of replacement gear lol.

[@mictony999]

@@PhabioTheHost idk how your comment connects. we're talking about visual clutter. and do you know what minimalism means? the point of minimalism is not to simplify something, it's just to abstract it from the viewer. weapon durability is just an abstraction of "ammo" in fps game, but nintendo took a simpler route. i dont see anyone complain of running out of ammo from shooter games, usually that's a player's fault when they go underprepared, not the game's.

[@nj8833]

@@mictony999 this is a good point, I do prefer the UI to not be cluttered with stats. I think a good compromise would be for the durability stat to only be shown in the compendium itself. Provides information for interested players who go out of their way to seek it out without cluttering the inventory

[@mictony999]

@@nj8833 yes, i agree with this. the compendium is very lacking. it should provide all the stats hidden and backstory for characters too like in witcher 3

[@michaelsaxonson251]

Me at the end of the game about to fight Ganon: "Wait, you can parry with shields?"

[@JoeNerdShow]

....

[@itsllama1610]

No clue how you faced guardians lmao

[@asdfjkl1292]

BRO SAME LMAOOO

[@itsllama1610]

@The Hittite ah I see

[@CASMANWHAT]

Lol happened to me too

[@DragonFang409]

I’d really like a shield that never breaks when surfing, but will immediately break if hit by an enemy. I just think it’d be really nice to do a long shield surf down a hill without your shield breaking halfway down.

[@CheddarCheeseRebirthed]

that's probably gonna be the best DLC yet

[@popcat7287]

Just get a hylian shield and dupe it or if you dont want to glitch you can buy them in tarrey town for 3000 which is quite easy to get

[@jeffdiggs7030]

Never knew it breaks from that

[@VeeOasis]

I use a ancient shield with the hylian shield durability using durability transfer

[@breather8758]

There's a mod that disables sheild surfing damage

[@Zephhi]

Nintendo: Hylian Shield in BotW has 90 Player: 90 what??? Nintendo: Yes

[@Croton]

This sums it up perfectly 😂😂

[@callysta5160]

It's clearly 90 shield units 😔

[@SpiffSpaff]

@@callysta5160 You just have 90 Hylian Shields

[@callysta5160]

@@SpiffSpaff you have 90 shields but each one breaks in one hit

[@nahor88]

@@Croton Btw, it's "Hai-nox", not "He-nox", also "Em-BLAY-zuhnd", not "Em-bla-zuhnd". Please tell me you don't say "Oak-uh-ree-nuh" and "Me-lay".

[@SSM24_]

So basically: If the enemy's attack exceeds the shield guard by 10 or less, then the shield takes 1 point of durability. Otherwise, it takes 1 extra point of durability for every 5 extra damage on top of that.

[@FiahCraker]

Thank you!

[@Phlorochyll]

So that's why the Hylian Shield lasts so damn long?

[@SSM24_]

@@Phlorochyll Well, that and the fact that it has 800 durability, which dwarfs every other shield in the game. (For comparison, a Royal Shield has 29 durability, and Daybreaker, Urbosa's shield, has 60 durability.) But yes, a shield guard stat of 90 certainly doesn't hurt either.

[@OscarMunoz-zj8sp]

Thank u! I really didn't wanted to watch a 9min video just for that bit of information

[@Shyguy5104]

@SuperSupermario24 I also read somewhere that the shield also has a hidden thing where it takes 1/3 the damage so that 800 is more like 2400

[@nol2521]

The math behind the durability is actually really smart, since it’s basically based off of enemy power and explains why powerful attacks from lynels and guardians destroy most shields in one hit

[@raine6813]

1:38 "rupees arent always 100% consistent in every zelda game but even still, GREEN has always been ONE" -peanutbuttergamer

[@haydes1285]

But Zelda one had a yellow/blue that was worth one, and in links awakening (the original) the blue was only one while green was five and red was thirty

[@GreyPunkWolf]

Just Nintendo things. Lads just can't make a game series without throwing away at least some of the rules we thought were essential to the game's understanding. The pokemon franchise also suffered from that so many times it's actually nuts.

[@MrMudbill]

The flashing yellow/blue makes sense as when combined they create the color green. Nevertheless, the original comment is correct because although ONE has had several colors over time, GREEN, when present, has always had the value of one (except in CD-i... but yanno).

[@nif4345]

YES GREEN GREEN I LOVE GREEN GREEN IS NUMBER ONE!

[@XadePsyconic]

My head canon for this is that the rupee colors represent the type of gem the rupee itself is made of. Blue (like sapphire) is not that uncommon of a gem in the mines and mountains of Hyrule for most of the games in the timeline, therefore the people of the land give it a value of 5 for the sake of bartering. Red (like rubies) gems, on the other hard, are more uncommon. So, my logic is, the reason why some games in the franchise have different values for some rupee colors is because, during that time period in the timeline, the value of those gems has changed because the people of Hyrule have more access to one gem type over another now, therefore the more valuable one is no longer as valuable and vice-versa. Imagine it like copper and tin vs. gold in real life; if, 1000 years from now, a breakthrough is discovered and we have much more gold than we do now, then it would decrease in value and copper and tin would become more important.

[@bootyman20]

Beta gamers: “WhaT doeS thiS nUmBER meAn?” Alpha gamers: *”higher number good.”*

[@fnln3011]

How to be golf god, high numbers

[@tallic967]

high number good number

[@leftalone64]

Charlie Gamers: Me know high number good, but what number mean

[@richardmahn7589]

@@leftalone64 Number mean good!

[@farhaambareen2487]

999like

[@nonpareil7951]

I think the system does a nice job of seeming “natural” in terms of what it feels like to use different strength shields. Like you know that you can’t expect a pot lid to do much against a strong enemy even if you don’t know exactly how it’s worse. I like the way your video reveals some of the careful design that goes into creating this experience that feels instinctively right :)

[@poplee6478]

I agree. It does a good job of giving you info to be technical but not so much so you have to use some basic logic too, making an overall really nice relaxed but strategic feel I think.

[@yingwang7214]

@@poplee6478 totally agree! that is exactly the beauty of this game ie you use the number info provided by the game designers and also your common sense gained from real life

[@poplee6478]

@@yingwang7214 right! What they intended is usually pretty fun. Minimal stressing about maxing efficiency but also some logic and strategy.

[@MatthewPogi-md7oq]

Me:”I always wondered how shields work” *has beaten game* “Wait what’s a parry” :/ Guess I should’ve payed a LITTLE more attention to dialogue huh

[@droidboi3867]

Lies

[@droidboi3867]

You must parry to beat the game

[@MatthewPogi-md7oq]

Warden Angelic I genuinely didn’t know. I went thru the tutorial and I remember it teaching me it buuuuut I forgot as soon as I left the shrine. :/

[@alwaysonyourtail2563]

@@droidboi3867 man i didn't parry till i got the the castle and that was only to deal with the turrets. lynonals the strongest monster in the whole game forget gannon

[@AdudenamedKemp]

How did you beat Ganon without parrying?

[@DraconicDuelist]

Croton: "Breath of the Wild has already been out for 3 years now, and a lot of us already know a TON about the inner workings of the game." Me: "You can get a freaking motorcycle?!"

[@Croton]

Lmao, this game has a lot of big surprises 😂

[@DraconicDuelist]

@@Croton Sadly, I have yet to play it...

[@hestushenchman]

@@DraconicDuelist If you do get a chance to play the game, just know that the motorcycle is only available after completing one of the DLC packages.

[@DraconicDuelist]

@@hestushenchman Aw...

[@DolusVulpes]

@@DraconicDuelist It has a brand new boss that isn't just a variant of the blights too. Whether you take that as another obstacle or it's own reward is probably up to you.

[@FloridaMcCoys]

Nintendo: as you can see this shield has 20 people: 20 what Nintendo: diD I sTuTtEr?

[@129140163]

Me: you (Nintendo) might as well have stuttered because I have no idea what you’re talking about. You said the shield has “20”. 20 OF WHAT? WHAT DOES THE $&@#% SHIELD HAVE 20 OF?

[@totallyahuman5055]

@@129140163 it has 20 of shield obviously.

[@kingblitz4408]

@@totallyahuman5055 lol what does that mean

[@totallyahuman5055]

@@kingblitz4408 It means that the shield has 20 shield

[@vortexfrosti299]

@@kingblitz4408 it means meow

[@charlezz648]

croton: doing research hinox: wait how is that tiny thing stopping my hand so much?!?!?!

[@annoyingkittycat6449]

That’s actually really cool how the game measures how much damage the shield can take! This video is very informative! :)

[@cqllel5186]

Player using a Shield: What's this number for? Nintendo: Yes The Book: Yes, but no

[@nickkelley9139]

Croton: Fine. I'll do it myself.

[@cqllel5186]

Zelda BoTW 2 Official Book makes mistakes* Croton to Nintendo: You couldn't fix your own failures, and where did that bring your fans? Back to me

[@shineayandrews1869]

This gave me a chuckle.

[@richardmahn7589]

Nintendo: Four? yes, some shields are 4.

[@ciara.1x]

Hello

[@Shady_Fungus]

The hero we needed but didn’t deserve. And it didn’t even take 100 years. Thanks so much for this.

[@Croton]

No problem, happy to help 😅

[@khristianseaward5454]

Best comment ever

[@eli2210]

Gold comment

[@davidmcgarry7207]

This fucking comment made my right eye tear up What a King

[@arrowsaurus7561]

Glorious comment

[@bobbyspectre7533]

To be honest I thought along the lines of what you said about resistance but I could only think of a simple version which was basically “if enemy has more attack than shield has guard then the shield loses more durability” but this video was really fascinating to me

[@Thebes]

“Finally, I got the legendary Hylian Shield!” *Tries shield surfing, goes 4 centimeters.* “Well this shield is worthless.”

[@selestielwolf7949]

How do you shield surf?

[@P.7005]

@@selestielwolf7949 shield then the jump button if i remember correctly

[@Ckpnguyen]

Pixel then press “A” I think

[@mikeanthony3300]

Honestly, my first reaction was "Meh, I've seen better and more cooler looking shields in the game". It may be the strongest but I have to admit, it was refreshing to be able to use more than just the Hylian Shield for once.

[@Thebes]

Mike Anthony I love the design of the Hylian shield, I find it pretty cool. It may be since it’s been a staple in the series, but I expected to be the best in everything. Yea, I guess it is refreshing, I mostly use the small Ancient Guardian shield, or whatever it’s called.

[@SuperZeldaGirl]

One! how did I never see the rupee problem in that book? Two! Why did I find it so funny when you pointed it out?!

[@Croton]

Honestly, I looked over it the first time as well - but I have no clue how that made it to the final print 😂 Glad you liked it tho!! 😅

[@IanHsieh]

@@Croton I just checked. They updated this error in the new version that includes the DLC. Though the shield part remains the same.

[@Croton]

@@IanHsieh Ahh, that's good!! I only have the base version lol. Still kinda odd how they didn't change the shield part tho 🤔

[@IanHsieh]

@@Croton Maybe because they believe it's "correct". Rupee is obviously wrong, but the shield formula is not that obvious.

[@Darth_Bateman]

Because they knew nobody would care and did not really care for quality control.

[@matthewclark7952]

I do wish armour/weapons gave you some idea of how many uses they have remaining before they are destroyed. I also find sorting items quite confusing, how do they decide which items are grouped where.

[@T0HK_Boi]

armor doesnt break though

[@darthscootacus1141]

When Croton gets to the math part: I DONT SPEAK TACOBELL

[@Lepushii]

just basic math now calm down

[@Ninjaananas]

You have my gratitude. I always wondered what the shield stats mean and it was apparent that it did not mean the durability. Otherwise having a different enhancement for the stat and an enhancement for the durability would be quite needless. Knowing this makes me happier. Also, I realized as well that powerful hits shatter the shields abnormally fast. This confirms my observation.

[@Croton]

I'm so glad you found this video helpful!! It really seems that a lot of the Zelda community is left in the dark about what the shield statistics mean, so I just wanted to help out as best as I can!! Thank you!! 😊

[@Ninjaananas]

@@Croton It could be really helpful. Now I can calculate whether I can disarm an enemy. This should be really helpful for the master trial. All that is left is looking up the weapon's and enemy's base strength.

[@Croton]

@@Ninjaananas gamefaqs.gamespot.com/wii-u/632936-the-legend-of-zelda-breath-of-the-wild/faqs/75488/enemy-statistics Hopefully this helps!! There's a lot of hidden information like this online, but its really hard to find. May cover more stuff like this in the near future!!

[@Ninjaananas]

@@Croton Thank you a lot for your courtesy. Information is a valuable gift.

[@Croton]

@@Ninjaananas No problem!! :)

[@aidan4529]

Wait so you mean I could’ve just been using the funny cool looking shields? I need to cry now

[@josheike3543]

Link can take out a decayed guardian in one shot with a pot lid. Use any shield you want!

[@partyprinceyt7528]

@@josheike3543 How bout in Armors and Swords? Does a higher number means stronger and Durable?

[@tryit1804]

PartyPrince YT no because the royal guards weapons durability suck

[@robn2066]

I JUST DROPPED MY COOL SHIELD AND THE ONE I LOVED MOST FOR A HIGHER NUMBER SHIELD I'M GONNA CRY

[@raviolithebest8644]

@@robn2066 Don't let the flame die out !

[@bcj842]

It's no wonder these two games have taken so bloody long to develop. Even this little peek behind the curtain reveals a lot of care into how intuitive the game is supposed to feel. This was a wonderful swan song for the Wii U, may its goofy ass rest in peace.

[@christopherliang6879]

Before this video: confused af During the video: oh ok After the video: Still confused af

[@uku5252]

@Robbe Van Hove Before: Confusion 34 During: Confusion 3 After: Confusion 99

[@uku5252]

@Robbe Van Hove I was joking lol

[@jvnebugged]

same

[@thebreloomcheese2884]

@Sirius Bell how is he dumb

[@sanacankindadraw]

@Sirius Bell I'm also confused lmao it's just a confusing concept

[@NintendoBlackCrisis]

*Finally, some quality content*

[@Croton]

Aha, thank you man!! 😅

[@thelordofthescrubnation2566]

NintendoBlackCrisis aye be nice NBC

[@shoe5672]

Finally, most of this content sucks lol

[@urmom4009]

Sarcasm??

[@shoe5672]

@Tony Melo it's true, I tried making music in highschool. No bueno... Lol. But I'm not a professional KZbinr, so I thought it went without saying.

[@cbplayz2374]

I knew it wasn't durability, since the boko shield breaks significantly faster than the pot lid, despite the value being higher. I know this video came out 9 months ago but I found this really interesting.

[@dirksnellen7142]

I love the fact that at 6:22 the 'training with the legendary hero' from twilight princess starts to play

[@isaiah204]

So what I learned: screw the math. learn how to perfect parry with a pot lid and you're good for the game

[@milesedgeworth3667]

Wait,why a pot lid

[@isaiah204]

@@milesedgeworth3667 I mean, why not?

[@LilacMonarch]

because p o t l i d

[@booty_hunter4207]

I mean it is how link became a knight

[@TheUnluckyEverydude]

@@isaiah204 cause it won't disarm. HAVE YOU LEARNED NOTHING?!

[@bhume7535]

My thought process looking at the shield stats: "Ok, so daybreaker is the second best shield at 60 durability, so its probably a little below the hylia- HOLY SHIT THE HYLIAN SHIELD HAS 800 DURABILITY!"

[@sakuraogami6885]

i mean it’s the hylian shield so it should lmao

[@PinapMocha]

The hylian shield is just like Your power is great but my power IS GREATER

[@2911oscar]

@@sakuraogami6885 the hero's shield has more than the daybreaker

[@garuelx8627]

It is a little annoying that nothing in the game except for armor is indestructible, but it is relieving that you can reclaim lost unique gear with some work.

[@sterlingmuse5808]

@@garuelx8627 Reclaiming the Hyrulean Shield isn't even that hard. You just have to have completed some sidequests and have the money for it, and money is really easy to get in this game.

[@kesavanramesh5663]

this is how I threw away the second best shield in the game for a hylian shield or something

[@jaxon3186]

which one is the second best? is that the one with the three spike thingys?

[@jaxon3186]

why am i getting likes but no comments? I NEED ANSWERS

[@tubegerm6732]

@Carter Gieni the ancient sheild also always reflects guardian lasers regardless if you parry or not for only 1 durability making it by far the best way to kill guardians.

[@IndigoGollum]

@@jaxon3186 Ikr, it's like when you ask a question and get a heart instead of an answer.

[@DarkMoon2476]

@Carter Gieni daybreaker

[@mr.england5205]

OH MY GOOOOD!!! I subscribed to you earlier today, but I my level of respect skyrocketed when I saw the AJR posters on your wall! Keep up the great posts! You will be one of the first people I will head to when BOTW 2 comes out.

[@Croton]

Yess I'm glad you like them too!! Such an amazing group haha But thank you!! :)

[@fuchigole]

Three years playing BOTW, still find new things.

[@deathsoulv-yola2133]

69th like

[@1s4iah74]

Jam Fuchigole seriously I was playing yesterday and I had never seen the zonai ruins before hand but then I found them it was crazy

[@ThePie_NedGreen]

And then we all got confused said : “ there was a book ?”

[@CASMANWHAT]

ROFL

[@sbkeel5639]

Why read when I can just slash and shoot the things the words talk about?

[@WaffleStomper69]

Dude you're crazy. The dedicated community in general for this game is nuts. I love it.

[@bakurawthesupersaiyanhair937]

It's amazing how many people play this game and how many people like to take their combat to the next level.

[@waffles8144]

I’ve put around 500 hours into this game and never knew what the shield stats meant.

[@ttrevoroneill]

same and i never realized the lynel shield did damage

[@fraguess]

dw, i'm around 1k+ hours and i never even questioned it

[@El.Gatito.]

I thought it was stopping power against any attack.

[@thetrashman5252]

High number good

[@Enderjay280]

I have played for 1000 hours and watched this video and still dont know what it exactly is

[@youraveragegamer4604]

This was actually really intersting, cause I've always wondered about that number is

[@Croton]

Thank you!! Glad you liked it :)

[@maximumforce8275]

I always thought it was defense points or durability

[@Jo_Phonda]

I never knew someone else had the same profile picture as me

[@youraveragegamer4604]

Yeah me neither, that's pretty neat

[@KutsaiChan]

Interesting*

[@joe123fly]

Don't forget the Guardian vs. the Perfect Parry technique. When using a weaker shield, those same rules will apply; however, the damage significantly increases with the said strength of the shield. 😁

[@redrome9]

*When you start your first run of Breath of the Wild one year after its release and you haven’t even beat Gannon yet*

[@elijahgarcia1907]

The scariest thing in this game? *”your Hylian sheild is almost broken”*

[@unlistedsans4862]

Laughs in tarrey town

[@jasnammansa8565]

*laughs in menu overloading*

[@droidboi3867]

Laughs i Not using it unless it's a emergency

[@breadh1277]

Laughs in blood moon and ruppees

[@quandalecorbin1135]

@King_penguin 09 welp

[@gusjanuary1729]

You have done a wonderful service to this community

[@Croton]

Thank you!! 😊

[@disturbedenvironmentalist2313]

“I’m so proud of this community”

[@joshuanixon5023]

Amen

[@miacampbell4681]

Honestly the first three minutes of this video was super helpful. Had no idea you could disarm enemies with the sheild and that it blocked all damage coming towards you. I only ever used it for shield surfing and I’ve beaten the game multiple times XD

[@BeautyMarkRush]

Interviewer: Can you research the cure for cancer? Croton: Nah, but I can research how shields work in botw Interviewer: You're hired

[@albedougnut]

Running around with an inventory full of Hylian Shields is the pro strat.

[@Croton]

Yess 😎

[@birchtree7383]

or just durability transfer to like ancient shield and go kill those ugly idiot guardians

[@booty_hunter4207]

REAL men durability transfer to ancient shields

[@HidinginPublic]

This was a damn good video. Too many Zelda videos (and youtube videos in general) artificially extend their content and drag on and on, but this was incredibly in-depth, well put together and showed consistent relevant footage. Seriously A+++, I hope this video continues to blow up and you gain subscribers fast.

[@Croton]

Thank you SO much, I'm really glad you enjoyed it!! :) I know I'm a bit late with this reply, but I'm happy this video did continue to blow up since 😅

[@OndoginReverse]

I always went by "The bigger the number the gooder the fun"

[@NautilusXO]

The other thing that the guard value affects that you seem to have missed: When you parry a Guardian laser back at them, the higher the guard number, the higher the damage. So the manual was like, 10% right.

[@leobastian_]

im pretty sure the reflected damage is always 500, you always the broken ones and 3 hit the walkers

[@AlannahFlint]

@@leobastian_ You would think so, but when I parried a guardian walker today, it's health went from 1500 to like 826, then to 286, then to 0. And I was using a hylian shield (which then broke when I messed up a parry lol) and then a knight shield. So it's more complicated than it seems.

[@unavailable2705]

Now I’ve got one more question. How exactly does shield surfing deplete a shield’s durability points? I’m sure someone on the Internet has cracked the code for this problem as well :P

[@kudocaz]

probably 1 durability point per second

[@T32Squad]

@@kudocaz what, thats a bit confusing

[@Lepushii]

I have, I like decoding that sort of stuff, it takes one durability point per second BUT the shield's defense nullifies most of it, every 10 guard defense nullifies 0.2 durability, so if the hylian shield has 90 guard defense, it´ll nullify 1.8 def points so in total you would lose 0.2 durability points every two seconds.

[@Croton]

​@@Lepushii Actually, the guard stat doesn't decrease it at all!! Its 1 point of durability for every 4 seconds surfed, on top of 1 point of durability every time the shield impacts the ground after a jump. I have a video on the full subject here: kzbin.info/www/bejne/rGqXl3qYrc54b9k

[@bigtoblerone8446]

@@Croton that's awesome 😊

[@garygarcia2313]

I kind of figured the parry system while playing. I used to wonder why I couldn’t knock the Lynel weapons out of their hands... Then I thought about it, they’d snipe us to death easily.

[@Croton]

That's accurate haha. The lynels archery skills are truly unmatched 😂

[@damien18462]

Croton BuT rAvIoLi’S aRcHeRy SkIlLs ArE bEtTeR

[@kilist174]

Gary Garcia well lynels have chains around their weapons so they don’t lose them I think because I saw it on the swords

[@oscarrenaupallares330]

@@damien18462 Because Lynels attack with electicity or ice, which would be superefective against Ravioli

[@disturbedenvironmentalist2313]

See, the thing is I never parry any of the enemies weapons because I’m not the best at parrying and doing a flurry rush ensures that you get in way more damage so I just do that instead. But to each their own

[@ninjacube_]

him: this ones for mathematicians me:ight lets see also me: *dies*

[@Gaulwa]

Thanks for making this video! I'm a system designer for video games and that sort of insight into other game's system is always fun to watch.

[@Croton]

Dang, thats so awesome!! Glad you enjoyed it :)

[@gdoubleu8045]

This game is a masterpiece. Seemingly simple, but hidden details for days.

[@GreyPunkWolf]

Some even seemingly hidden for years

[@jat6758]

Or just poorly explains part of it's mechanics to the player.

[@indonesiareborn4068]

i wouldn't call it masterpiece, but it still a very enjoyable game

[@LAK_770]

It's a masterpiece sure, but not because it has hidden calculations. Every game has that. It's just what they decided on, they could have done it a hundred different ways and nobody would have thought twice. Combat stats and mechanics are actually one of the least great things about this game.

[@mictony999]

@@jat6758 it's called abstraction. why bother making the player bored by trying to explain it when as simple as "high number is better" works for it.

[@R0B1NG5]

Kinda wish once you have the picture taken for the compendium they could at least lay out all the stats for items, like durability ect on that page, its so empty with just the attack/guard value in the compendium. They can keep the inventory UI clean with one main number if they want, but just put the info somewhere in game for people who care to look for it.

[@Croton]

That's actually a really good idea!! Its a good way of keeping the player informed without throwing too much info at them right away!! :D

[@snakeplisskinable]

That maths behind the shield is so over engineered, yet satisfying.

[@Diedeux]

It's been like five years, as my first Zelda game, I'm surprised I never played it sooner.

[@wutadam]

I think they should have a bar that represents the durability the weapon has left

[@Croton]

That would have been helpful!!

[@oscarquiroz15]

At least Skyward Sword

[@captaingoomba6907]

Oh, wow. So I was actually kinda right when I guessed how durability works with shields. Interesting. Didn't know about the shield guard affecting disarming though, or how resistance worked, though, so this was a very informative video nonetheless. Thanks for the insight, Croton.

[@Croton]

Oh awesome, I'm glad to have helped you then!! No problem, and thank you!! 😄

[@royalfool7]

I wondered why parrying sometimes didn't disarm. Thanks Croton!

[@Croton]

@@royalfool7 No problem!! :)

[@captaingoomba6907]

@@Shrin3Iroh Thank you ;)

[@Soulxce]

Ay gang

[@Mr_Unavailable]

I always thought the numbers meant that if the weapon that hits the shield has a higher damage stat than the Shields defence stat than link would be knocked back.

[@melben7934]

You forgot one of the most important information : the level of the shield is proportional to the dammage dealt with perfect reflection for lasers. So the guide was right

[@brisingrislindri7267]

No, that’s false. A laser parry always deals 500 damages. Using a pot lid or the gard up hylian shield won’t change that

[@dreadfulroses]

ive been playing this game for over a year, ive mastered literally everything about it but ive always wondered what the shield guard meant, all I knew was "the higher the number the better the shield"

[@El.Gatito.]

Untill the Lynel shields shattered our thoughts.

[@atticninja9194]

Dude I don’t even like videos but I liked this. I didn’t even know how much I needed to know that. I always thought it was just like an overall effectiveness number or something. Thanks for clearing it up, and you have great production quality.

[@Croton]

I'm glad I could help you out then!! Thank you so much!! 😄

[@Verticom10]

Contradictory first sentence lol

[@megalcro]

You...don't like videos? Like, any? At all?

[@atticninja9194]

MegaLCRØ (Sentient Salt Shaker) this is literally the only video I’ve liked lol

[@buanenochorvo]

"i hope you use this information well next time" me: procedes to parry unsucessfully every single atack

[@idlehawk9553]

the MOST underrated i have seen all year

[@JikuAraiguma]

Okay, that’s neat and all, but how does this affect shield surfing?

[@leonardomadruga1011]

oh god

[@weeks7378]

That is the question

[@jojramsay]

I got a warning that my shield is going to break so I kept jumping on it to pick up a new one. Wasn't breaking at all. I surfed and it didn't break too.. I'm still confused.

[@AkiAmeko]

@@jojramsay From my experience, the shield doesn't take any damage if you surf on snow or sand, so that could be it.

[@SuperGabyBros]

we need answers

[@djbootymeatlive1484]

8:32 that was the sickest spin ive ever seen in my life

[@El.Gatito.]

*Ballet move

[@istoleyunomilesbigmac]

i am surprised this doesn‘t have more views, you did great research and put so much effort into this

[@noaika5342]

wish i could tell this to a lynel while that behemoth of a creature charges at me with the intention of yeeting me back to ocarina of time.

[@Mety333]

Impressive research Croton! This game has endless subtle details. Those Japanese are perfectionists heh ❤️ awesome video(:

[@Croton]

Heyy, thank you so much Mety!! I'm so glad you enjoyed it!! (Love your vids btw!! ☺️)

[@Mety333]

@@Croton happy you do, i subbed you (:

[@Mety333]

@Keigo Umemura-Pound haha yes i do ❤️

[@Croton]

Aw, thank you so much Mety!! ☺️ (I forgot to respond from last week haha)

[@sultanlootah726]

Hi metty

[@badopinionssquid1735]

"The numbers, Mason! What do they mean?!"

[@lucasjanarthanam]

thank you very much for this video ! I'm french and I don't found a video who talk about this subject in french BOTW youtubers ! But, with the subtitle I succeced to understand this one ! Merci beaucoup !

[@shinichitamura3128]

Great video, informative and intuitive! Let me add a note: HOW SHIELD GETS DAMAGED WORKS TOTALLY SAME AS HOW LINK GETS DAMAGED. And also, the formula can be written much easier without lots of "if" statements. Without a shield, the amount of damage Link receives is: damage = Enemy's attack - Armors' defense (incl. food buff) (at least 1) It reduces Link's HP (♡ = 4HP). With a shield, the amount of damage the SHIELD receives (instead of Link!) is: damage = (Enemy's attack - Shield's defense) / 5 (round down to integer and at least 1) It reduces shield's durability (in fact, durability is HP of shields). For instance, three cases explained in the video at 4:56, damage = (24 - 3) / 5 = 4.2 (round down to integer) = 4 damage = (24 - 78) / 5 = -10.8 (at least 1) = 1 damage = (24 - 18) / 5 = 1.2 (round down to integer) = 1 Note that there're several exceptions including (but not limited to) Guardian's laser beam.

[@machobravo504]

Not a single soul gonna talk about how perfectly the bokoblin was shot to the beat of the drum on 4:11? LMAO!

[@wesnohathas1993]

I figured shield guard affected how much damage shields take, but I had no idea it allows you to stagger and disarm enemies. It always annoyed me that BotW hides all but one of the stats for equipment when they have so many other unique properties. Knowing durability would be especially useful.

[@Croton]

I wish the game showed off more of this info too!! Would of been super helpful on my first few playthroughs 😅

[@lowrush4537]

*"The numbers mason, what do they mean?"*

[@claudevalentine8657]

I always thought The Royal Guard Shield was weak but after seeing this formula, It might worth using. That 70 guard stat ought to have most monsters only dealing 1 durability per hit compare to the Wooden Shield probably broken in 1 hit.

[@leeannziegler]

This is amazing...thanks for breaking it down so amazingly clearly. I really love these deep dive geek out breakdowns. I just don't have the patience to do this kind of research myself anymore, so I appreciate you sharing all your time and effort!!

[@Croton]

Aww, thank you so much!! I've been waiting years for someone to make a video on this subject cause I was always curious myself, but I got sick of waiting so I just did my own research and made a video about it haha. I'm glad you enjoyed it!! 😅

[@codekhalil6437]

3 years later and we are still getting quality content out of this game. The gift that keeps on giving. GOAT

[@edwinnewmaniii2092]

G O A T

[@gabrielp5227]

Awesome to think they would use a formula like that to make it feel like you know when the shields will brake based on how hard it gets hit.

[@vultoneo]

I gotta point out that the "complicated math" simlifies to the following line of code: durability_loss = (A - (G + 10)) / 5 + 1 This value is calculated by the switch using integers (round numbers), And rouding down after each calculation to make sure the numbers are integers again. Good vid though!

[@viktorthevictor6240]

Me: Breath Of The Wild has a rather simple rendition of RPG mechanics, and I appreciate that Croton:

[@JTheMelon]

Ive never heard someone say that botw had simple mechanics...

[@cabbageman2184]

@@JTheMelon SAME LOL

[@drewce390]

Yu gi oh: I require a shit ton of math in order to play. Breath of the wild: not as much as me.

[@mini-conlongarm8021]

And BOTW’s more fun. YGO’s at a huge disconnect with fun nowadays. It doesn’t know what it is.

[@garuelx8627]

Laughs in tabletop rpg.

[@fullmoon3412]

the computer does the math for you :d

[@nebulousdraconic4642]

Wow, I sure am lucky I found this video and now understand the math behind shield mechanics. Otherwise I never would've been able to play BOTW!

[@mikeiscoolerthenyou]

@@nebulousdraconic4642 Yeah, who would have guessed that higher stats meant the shield was better.

[@lilcxtofficial1264]

THE most underrated video on the tubes… ALL tubes.

[@TheSonicFairy]

THIS VIDEO MADE ME UNDERSTAND THE NUMBERS UNDER THE SHIELDS COMPLETELY TYSM

[@nicklink217]

I never knew this and then about a month ago I thought i might have to do with knocking enemies weapons. i had no idea that it had to do with durability also.

[@Croton]

Glad I could help clarify it then!! I used to think it was just about durability for the longest time as well 😅

[@zeldalina499]

Now that I actually watched it: Great video! I applaud your efforts in shield experiments; I would not have have the patience to go that in depth.

[@Croton]

Thank you!! It was a mystery that I've been meaning to solve for a while, but it was worth it in the end!! 😅

[@Ckamaya]

Me: Walking down memory lane in mathematics when a wiseguy once asked the teacher, "When are we EVER going to use algebra in real life?!?!" Croton: WE HAVE ASCENDED!!!

[@AngryArmadillo]

“It’s not durability, but it does directly control the amount of damage it can take before breaking” Bruh

[@TricksterLawlet]

So durability

[@Beyondlimits_400]

I wish they had a separate screen where you could just look at the stats for each on there, but hopefully botw 2 has something like that

[@Croton]

That would be awesome!!

[@happyarewewhosmile]

Maybe they're trying to avoid the kind of gameplay that occurs in ganes that have features like that (see borderlands, or jrpg's with equipment comparisons). Often times adding another menu like that slow's down gameplay whereas this more "intuited" system makes people feel out whether or not an equipment is vital. Ultimately the number they give does influence the shield, so it's still a valid way to conpare, however by simplifying it they've made it less of a strain on players.

[@CaptainCFalcon]

@@happyarewewhosmile This is definitely more straining than an additional menu. 3 years. *_3 YEARS THIS GAME HAS BEEN OUT._* And in those 3 years, not a damn one of us ACTUALLY knew what those fucking numbers meant. You think I want to go through that again in BotW 2? Un-uh. Absolutely not. Give me a fucking side menu any day of the week.

[@Dylan_x64]

I've never understood that number until now. How fascinating!

[@Croton]

Glad I could help!!

[@user-fd2wr9pz9f]

nintendo: we thought it would not be cool if the shields had no numbers so we put them as a cool factor Croton:

[@ImARealBurrito]

I don't know why but I just, really love this video

[@theancientone4933]

SUPER loved this. Very informative and I've always wondered about this. I don't typically "like" videos because of KZbin's jank algorithm, but you earned it!

[@Croton]

I'm glad you found value in this then!! If only they explained all of this better in the game itself haha. Thank you very much!! 😄

[@twilightlink9953]

Yes, I love stats videos like these and would love to see more! Great video!

[@Croton]

Glad you liked it, thank you!! :)

[@chefrowlet]

so bigger number is gooder shield? got it in all seriousness this was a surprisingly enjoyable deep dive. I finally finished my first playthrough of BOTW today and had just assumed throughout that the shield's number roughly correlated to their durability. I had no idea how you'd get a nine-minute video out of "the number means this thanks for watching" but here we are.

[@TimeLordNivek]

I kind of figured that that number was linked to durability like you said, but I didn't know about the staggering and disarming stuff.

[@Tinker13ee]

The work you put into this video is awesome. However the second a game makes me do math is the second I lose interest. My strategy is just to get shields with the highest guards and get hit as little as possible 🤷‍♀️

[@Croton]

Thank you so much!! That's why I saved all of the math stuff for the end haha, in case people couldn't follow 😂