If you want to survive in Ocarina of Time, you're going to need a sword and a shield. Heck, you need a sword and a shield if you want to get to the first dungeon, and that's kind of essential if you want to make any progress through the game. I know some of you might not be too bothered about shielding in battle and just going straight into attack mode, but you'll need to become just as adept with a shield as you are with your sword if you want to stay alive.
Not only that, but you'll need a shield to stop projectiles from hitting you and also firing items back at enemies like Deku Scrubs. But immediately, you're going to need one to be able to get past Mido, the Kokiri who is guarding the way to the Great Deku Tree.
If you've already followed my article on how to get your first sword in Ocarina of Time, then you'll now need to find the shield so that you can go and tackle your first dungeon. Getting the Deku Shield is quite simple; you just need to head to the shop in Kokiri Forest and purchase it for 40 Rupees.
Getting the Rupees is the most time-consuming part, however, but as you only need to get 40, it shouldn't take too long. Here are my tips for getting rupees so that you can buy the shield (and as you can jump on anything now, there's plenty of places to search around for them!):
- Break up rocks by picking them up and throwing them - you might find Rupees inside.
- You can no longer pick up a secret five Rupees by jumping across the stones near to the Kokiri Forest shop, but there are Rupees scattered around the forest and in the water for you to jump and find. You can dive down to get Rupees now.
- Roll into the tree by the training area and get 1 Rupee
- Walk along the ramps to reach the Kokiri girl standing on the pillar, looking down at the forest. She'll also give you a nice story about the Deku Tree
- Inside the area where you get the Kokiri Sword, you'll find two blue Rupees here.
- There's a blue Rupee inside the store with the Deku Shield.
- There are two pots up behind the house where the Know-It-All brothers live. Throw them and get the Rupees inside.
- There are four chests inside Mido's House (the guy's annoying anyway, he had it coming).
- There are some pots next to the House of Twins, too.
Once you've got 40 rupees, you can purchase the Deku Shield. Just remember that it's wooden, so it will catch fire if subjected to any kind of flame. When it disintegrates, you'll need to buy a new one, so try to be careful with it!
You've got enough for the shield, but your wallet can hold up to 200 rupees now from the very beginning instead of just 99, so you can properly stock up if the feeling takes you.
And that's how to get your very first shield in Ocarina of Time. The Deku Shield is the only shield that Young Link can use while holding his sword. You'll have the chance to use the Hylian Shield when you get to Hyrule Castle Town, but Young Link can't hold it in his hands; he simply crouches and makes a sort of turtle shape with the shield on his back. This is useful for when you head up Death Mountain, as the falling rocks will burn your Deku Shield to smithereens!
