Today I'm going to write a guide for obtaining the Greatshield of Artorias, arguably the best shield in Dark Souls. Firstly you will need to ascend any ordinary shield to +10 at the blacksmith (preferably not a rare one like a black knight shield, just go for a wooden shield or something common like that), and secondly have the soul of Sif - the giant wolf. The easiest way to get the soul of Sif is to travel to the first blacksmith (near the Undead Chapel) and purchase the crest of Artorias from him. This will grant you access to the sealed door in Darkroot Basin (which can be found on your way to the Moonlight butterfly area, and right next to an illusionary wall) - it's the blue glowing door, you can't miss it!
Beware when entering through the door however, there are a number of strong NPCs in there who belong to the cat covenant, and some have the invisibility spell active. Don't hesitate to kill these NPCs as they will respawn next time you visit a bonfire (apart from a couple who give you a greater number of souls, and some unique items - but you will end up killing them anyway probably). Alternatively you can sprint past these characters if you are too weak to fight them, or want to save time. Immediately after you enter the first area bare left along the cliff edge being careful not to slip down and you will find a broken stone room on the top of a small hill (there is a cleric outside who will attack you). Inside you will find Alvira - the leader of the cat covenant (Note: you can join the covenant here if you wish, and this will stop the NPCs on the way in being aggro'd) - and a stony bridge. Follow the bridge and just keep going through the woods until you see a massive door emitting white light in the distance - this is your target!
Travel all the way to the door and once inside you will be in Sif's boss area. Approach the giant sword in the ground in front of the gravestones and Sif will attack you. Once you've beaten him you will get his soul and the ring of abyss walking. Now travel to the blacksmith in Anor Londo with your +10 ascended shield and soul of Sif and go to create new weapons. Navigate across to the boss soul category in the forging menu and you will see the Greatshield of Artorias ready to be created. Note: ONLY the smith in Anor Londo can forge unique weapons from boss souls, so don't try and make them elsewhere.
Personally this is my favourite shield in the game. It has a great balance of weight and protection so you can still move quickly, and it also has a very high stability meaning you will not be knocked around as you're fighting. As a result of this combination of stats, you lose far less stamina when blocking, and if you have a high endurance you can block and absorb massive hits from most enemies. Dropping your shield between blows means you can recharge stamina, and consistently block all attacks coming at you. Just remember to raise your shield at the right time, or perhaps a little earlier with fast-attacking enemies.
Be careful when using the soul of Sif, as it can be used to forge 3 unique items: 2 swords and 1 shield. So if your going for the 'Knights Honour' achievement/trophy, it will require a minimum of 3 playthroughs to forge all of these items. Fortunately this is the only boss soul which goes into making 3 unique items, nonetheless it means getting all the achievements takes quite a long time.
Good luck and if you have any questions leave a comment.
