Elden Ring's new Thrusting Shields make Shadow of the Erdtree difficulty trivial, players say

Elden Ring DLC Shadow of the Erdtree introduced Thrusting Shields as a new weapon type, but some players believe they’re overpowered to the point of being “absolutely busted”.

You may have spotted in the DLC’s gameplay trailer the player character leaping through the air with a spiked shield. This is one of many new weapon types, with two shields to choose from: the Dueling Shield and Carian Thrusting Shield.

Both shields have the Shield Strike skill that uses the shield to attack. And if attacking and blocking at the same time seems overpowered, well it is.

“New Thrusting shields are the strongest weapons in the entire game and it’s not even close,” wrote DamnHare on the Elden Ring subreddit. “NG+ DLC was absolutely obliterated. Thrusting shields can be enchanted with any affinity/damage type that makes them extremely versatile. And it’s just so much fun to slap the grace out of every single boss!”