"Who wants to go through life defenseless? Not you, that's who! Cobble one of these gems together and put a good, solid barrier between you and all those zombie teeth! (Doubles as an umbrella.)" In-game description

A Shield is an equipment that appears in Dying Light. It is can be used and crafted upon unlocking the Shield Mastery skill

Overview

If timed correctly the shield can cause knock back and stun enemies that attack with melee attacks. There are however, many drawbacks to this item. For starters, the player is slowed to a crawl upon raising the shield with their field of view limited. Attacks happening 2 seconds after the shield is raised will not stun the attacker or apply any of the shield's effects. Shields work against Goons and Demolishers, though the latter's charge attack will only reduce damage taken when hit and will always reduce shield durability. It is suggested not to use shields to block projectiles as it will waste its durability, not apply any of its effects on the assailant, and the player is slowed to a crawl thus making it harder to reach said assailant.

An advantage with shields is that as long as you time your blocks right, they can effectively last forever, as shields do not take damage on perfect blocks.

Later in the game upon unlocking the Shield Crafting skill, you can add effects to your shield.

The shield is confirmed to do no damage on perfect blocks, however if you are able to knock assailants down you can potentially do minor amounts of damage from the falls, or knocking them into places they can’t stand up (which will kill anything this is done to).

Blueprint

Blueprint	Requirement	Effects/Usage
Shield	Metal Parts (3) Duct Tape (1)	Used to block incoming damage (Biters, bullets, etc.).

Trivia

• Based on its shape and composition, the shield in Dying Light are based on anti-ballistic shields which would explain their ability to resist bullets