List of Shields

Hand armor in the Golden Sun series belong to multiple classes which distinguish themselves by which individual Adepts can equip them. The pieces of armor listed here belong to the Shield class of hand armor, which can be equipped by all warrior-style Adepts to date: Isaac and Garet in the first game; Felix and Piers in the second game; Matthew, Tyrell, and Eoleo in the third game.

All shields that are counted as "common" are shields that can be bought in unlimited quantities in an armor vendor's Buy menu and are sold without event. All shields that are counted as Artifacts are special, stronger shields that do not appear in the Buy menu. These are bought and sold individually and usually are unique, and if one appears in the Artifacts menu of a town's vendor that one shield can be bought by itself and then be sold by itself anytime afterward to reappear in the Artifacts menu. The vendor shopkeeper will specifically remark about how rare a find your Artifact is whenever you specifically sell one.

The prices the games assign to each shield are quite reliable indicators of how good each shield is as they measure against each other in actual battle. A shield that is priced higher than another is generally superior to that other shield even if the other shield has a higher physical defense rating than the more expensive shield. Therefore, the following shields are all arranged by price. Also, they are divided into groups based on what game they first appear in. Keep in mind that many of these pieces of armwear continue to be used in later games, even if they are not listed under that game's list of Shields.

Shields introduced in Golden Sun
The following shields have been around since the original Golden Sun game:

Wooden Shield: A common shield that increases base Defense by 6. It is sold in armor vendors at Vale and Vault in Golden Sun, at Daila, Madra, and Alhafra in The Lost Age, and at Patcher's Place and Carver's Camp in Dark Dawn. It can be bought for 40 coins and sold for 30 coins.

Bronze Shield: A common shield that increases base Defense by 14. It is sold in armor vendors at Bilibin, Imil, and Kolima in Golden Sun, at Garoh in The Lost Age, and at Ayuthay and Kaocho in Dark Dawn. It can be bought for 500 coins and sold for 375 coins. It and the Bronze Helm are the only two pieces of equipment whose graphic is changed in between the first two games.

Iron Shield: A common shield that increases base Defense by 20. It is sold in armor vendors at Xian, Altin, and Kalay in Golden Sun, at Naribwe and Kibombo in The Lost Age, and at Passaj in Dark Dawn. It can be bought for 1200 coins and sold for 900 coins. It is among the starting equipment of Piers in the second game.

Dragon Shield: An Artifact that increases base Defense by 26 and Mars Resistance by 30. It is found in a treasure chest in Altin Peak in Golden Sun, and in a chest in Ayuthay in Dark Dawn. It can be bought for 2400 coins and sold for 1800 coins. Not to be confused with the Dragon Shield in The Lost Age.

Knight's Shield: A common shield that increases base Defense by 28. It is sold in armor vendors at Tolbi in Golden Sun, at Apojii Islands in The Lost Age, and at Belinsk, Port Rago, and Saha Town in Dark Dawn. It can be bought for 3000 coins and sold for 2250 coins. It is among the default starting equipment of Isaac and Garet in the second game.

Earth Shield: An Artifact that increases base Defense by 31 and Venus Resistance by 20, and it can be used as an item while in the inventory of an Adept that is able to equip it (even if it is not equipped) to cure a target Adept's HP by 150 points, though there is a chance its functionality as a Usable item will break and it will have to be repaired to reuse its Use effect. It is obtained randomly as a prize in Tolbi Spring won with Lucky Medals. It can be bought for 4100 coins, sold while intact for 3075 coins, sold while broken for 2050 coins, and repaired for 1025 coins.

Mirrored Shield: An Artifact that increases base Defense by 39, and it can be used as an item while in the inventory of an Adept that is able to equip it (even if it is not equipped) to inflict multiple enemies with Delusion during battle, though there is a chance its functionality as a Usable item will break and it will have to be repaired to reuse its Use effect. It is sold as an Artifact in the armor vendors at Lalivero in Golden Sun, Contigo in The Lost Age, and Champa Camp in Dark Dawn. It can be bought for 5200 coins, sold while intact for 3900 coins, sold while broken for 2600 coins, and repaired for 1300 coins.

Shields introduced in The Lost Age
The following shields first appeared in the second game, Golden Sun: The Lost Age:

Fujin Shield: An Artifact that increases base Defense by 23 and Jupiter Resistance by 50. It is found in a treasure chest in the exterior portion of the Air's Rock dungeon, in the topmost screen at the mountain's peak. It can be bought for 1400 coins and sold for 1050 coins.

Luna Shield: An Artifact that increases base Defense by 33 and Venus Resistance by 30. It is only bought randomly by bringing a Star Dust forgeable material to the blacksmith in Yallam so that he may create one of several possible, randomly determined items from it, including this one. It can be bought for 3900 coins and sold for 2925 coins.

Aegis Shield: An Artifact that increases base Defense by 41, and adds 10% to the Unleash Rate of weapons. In The Lost Age, it is obtained randomly as a prize in Lemuria Spring won with Lucky Medals. In Dark Dawn, it is found in a treasure chest in Warrior's Hill. It can be bought for 6700 coins and sold for 5025 coins.

Dragon Shield: An Artifact that increases base Defense by 42 and Mars and Mercury Resistance by 15 each. It is only bought randomly by bringing a Dragon Skin forgeable material to the blacksmith in Yallam so that he may create one of several possible, randomly determined items from it, including this one. It can be bought for 7400 coins and sold for 5550 coins. Not to be confused with the Dragon Shield in other Golden Sun games.

Flame Shield: An Artifact that increases base Defense by 44 and Mars Resistance by 60. It is only bought randomly by bringing a Salamander Tail forgeable material to the blacksmith in Yallam so that he may create one of several possible, randomly determined items from it, including this one. It can be bought for 8600 coins and sold for 6450 coins.

Terra Shield: A Cursed Artifact that increases base Defense by 48 and base Attack by 5. It is obtained randomly by bringing a Dark Matter forgeable material to the blacksmith in Yallam in The Lost Age and in Champa in Dark Dawn so that he or she may create one of several possible, randomly determined items from it, including this one. In The Lost Age, it must be bought once forged, while in Dark Dawn, it is given to the player for free. It can be bought for 11200 coins and sold for 8400 coins.

Cosmos Shield: An Artifact that increases base Defense by 49 and increases the elemental resistance of all four Elements for an Adept by 20 each. It is obtained randomly by bringing an Orihalcon forgeable material to the blacksmith in Yallam in The Lost Age and in Champa in Dark Dawn so that he or she may create one of several possible, randomly determined items from it, including this one. In The Lost Age, it must be bought once forged, while in Dark Dawn, it is given to the player for free. It can be bought for 12200 coins and sold for 9150 coins.