TL;DR
- The Ancient Shield is inside the Sanctum of Faith in the Grey Forest, Delesyia
- You need to meet the Witch of Humility first before you can fully access it
- Clear all Antumbra enemies from the sanctum area to liberate it
- Use Blinding Flash to burn through a vine-covered door and grab the chest inside
- The shield comes with Defense 3 and Guard Stamina Cost -3.0% Abyss Gears already slotted
- It’s a solid mid-game upgrade over the starter wooden shield
The Ancient Shield is one of the better-looking and more practical shields you can find while exploring Crimson Desert. It comes with two Abyss Gears already slotted — Defense 3 and Guard Stamina Cost -3.0% — which means less stamina drain every time you block. It’s tucked away in the Sanctum of Faith in Delesyia, but the good news is you don’t have to solve the full sanctum puzzle to get it. You just need to clear enemies and burn through some vines.
Here’s everything you need.
Ancient Shield Stats and Abyss Gears
The Ancient Shield is a Tier 5 shield with the following base stats:
- Defense: 13
- Guard Rate: 20
- Attack Speed: Level 2 (scales with refinement)
It comes with two Abyss Gears pre-equipped:
- Defense 3 — boosts your defense passively
- Guard Stamina Cost -3.0% — reduces how much stamina you burn each time you block
The Attack Speed stat is a nice bonus that benefits you even when you’re not actively using the shield — it applies passively to your overall kit. Refining it at a Blacksmith pushes the Defense and Attack Speed higher. If you’re building around stamina-efficient blocking and parrying, this is a shield worth hunting down early. Pair it with our advanced combat guide to get the most out of those guard bonuses, and see how it stacks up against other options in our best unique weapons and armor guide.
Where Is the Ancient Shield?
The Ancient Shield is found inside a hidden treasure chest at the Sanctum of Faith, located in The Grey Forest in the Delesyia region. Delesyia sits in the southeast part of the map. Head east from the end of Hernand’s southern road and follow the path into the Grey Forest. The Sanctum of Faith is east of the Blue Thicket area.
When you arrive, activate the Abyss Nexus nearby if you haven’t already. It makes returning much easier. Our fast travel guide covers how the Nexus system works if you’re still setting them up.
What You Need Before You Go
Meet the Witch of Humility first. The Sanctum of Faith belongs to the Witch of Humility, Lyselia. You need to have spoken to her and received her request before you can fully cleanse the sanctum. Without meeting her first, you can still kill the enemies and grab the shield chest — but the sanctum completion steps won’t trigger. Check our all witches locations guide to find Lyselia if you haven’t yet.
Have Blinding Flash unlocked. This is how you burn the vines blocking the chest. Blinding Flash is used by pressing L1+R1, then holding L1 again on PlayStation. On Xbox it’s LB+RB, then hold LB. On PC it’s CTRL+Left Click, then CTRL. See our Blinding Flash guide for full details.
Bring healing food and decent gear. The sanctum area is full of Antumbra cultists, including flying enemies. Have a good supply of healing food ready and make sure your equipment is up to date. If you’re struggling, check how to get better equipment before heading in.
How to Get the Ancient Shield Step by Step
Step 1 — Reach the Sanctum of Faith. Fast travel to the nearest Abyss Nexus in Delesyia and follow the path on foot to The Grey Forest. You’ll see the sanctum ahead. It will be crawling with Antumbra Order enemies.
Step 2 — Clear all enemies. You must kill every Antumbra enemy in the area to liberate the sanctum. Watch the green liberation bar on the left side of your screen — it needs to reach 0%. The flying enemies are the most annoying. Use ranged attacks or fire arrows to knock them into melee range, then follow up. Crowd control skills help a lot here.
Step 3 — Drop down to the right after clearing. Once the area is liberated, look to the right side of the main sanctum area. Drop down from the main level — the vine-covered door is below, not straight ahead. A lot of players miss it because they’re looking at the same level they’re standing on. Drop down and you’ll see it immediately.
Step 4 — Burn the vines with Blinding Flash. The doorway is completely blocked by red thorns and vines. Use Blinding Flash and aim at the vines to focus the sun’s light on them. They’ll start burning and disappear after a few seconds. Keep the beam on them until they’re fully gone.
Step 5 — Enter the room and grab the chest. Once the vines are cleared, walk through the doorway. The treasure chest is inside. Open it to receive the Ancient Shield. No Mask required — this is a regular loot chest, not a stolen item.
That’s it. You have the Ancient Shield.
Does the Sanctum of Faith Puzzle Affect the Shield?
No. The chest with the Ancient Shield is completely separate from the sanctum puzzle itself. You don’t need to complete the full Sanctum of Faith cleansing to get the shield — you just need to clear the enemies and burn the vines.
That said, if you’re already there, it’s worth completing the full Sanctum of Faith walkthrough while you’re around. Completing it counts toward the Witch of Humility’s questline and rewards you with additional progression. The full puzzle involves finding two Fusion Reactor Cores and slotting them into the generator — it’s one of the easier sanctum puzzles in the game.
For reference on other nearby sanctums tied to the same witch, check out:
Is the Ancient Shield Worth Using?
Yes, especially as a mid-game upgrade. The starter wooden shield has no Abyss Gears and weak base stats. The Ancient Shield comes with two gears already filled, which means you get immediate passive benefits without spending resources. The Guard Stamina Cost reduction is particularly good — blocking costs less stamina, so you can parry and counter more aggressively without running dry.
The Defense 13 and Guard Rate 20 are solid numbers at this stage of the game. It also looks far better than the default gear, which matters if you care about your character’s appearance. You can hide your helmet to show off your armor set, and the Ancient Shield holds up visually with most mid-game builds.
If you’re building around shields specifically, also look at:
- How to Flip Enemies with Shield — useful combat technique with any shield
- Shield of Unchanging Will Challenge — a Sealed Abyss Artifact challenge worth completing nearby
- How to Get the Demeniss Royal Guard Shield — a stronger Tier 5 shield for later in the game
- How to Get the Mark of Darkness Ring — pairs well with the Ancient Shield for stamina-efficient builds
- Critical Rate OP Boss Build — see how shields fit into late-game build optimization
The Ancient Shield won’t be your endgame pick, but it’s a free upgrade with solid pre-loaded Abyss Gears that’ll carry you through a significant chunk of the game without needing any extra investment.
Crimson Desert is available on PC via Steam, Epic Games Store, PlayStation, and Xbox. Learn more at the official Crimson Desert website.
