Great Shield

Weapon Overview
Great Shield (大盾 Ōdate) is a weapon the boasts unparalleled defensive capabilities. Like with the Lance, Gunlance, and Charge Blade, the Great Shield is able to block. A generally easy weapon to use, the Great Shield personifies the saying "The best defense is a good offense".

Weapon Traits
The Great Shield has a couple of traits that sets it apart from other weapons.
 * Great Shield inflicts blunt damage like the Hammer and Hunting Horn, allowing hunters to KO a monster with repeated blows to the head.
 * Pressing the R Button allows hunters to block.

Advantages

 * Great Shield can guard against attacks.
 * Can be drawn instantly to block monsters' attacks
 * With the Guard Up armor skill, the Great Shield becomes capable of blocking attacks that not even the Lance and Gunlance are able to block.
 * Sharpness is lost very slowly while attacking due to the Great Shield's slow attacks.
 * Can KO monsters by attacking the head enough.

Limitaions

 * Extremely slow movement and evasion.
 * Blocking reduces not only stamina but also sharpness, a bit more than a bounced-off attack.
 * Great Shields tend to have generally low sharpness.
 * While blocking, the hunter is unable to move.

Sheathed
Shield to guard instantaneously)
 * Triangle while stationary = Unsheathe
 * Triangle while moving = Unsheathing Shield Bash
 * Triangle and Circle while holding R = Instant Guard (Hunter unsheathes the Great

Unsheathed

 * Triangle - Shield Bash
 * Triangle x2 - Shield Bash + Rightward Shield Slash
 * Triangle x3 - Shield Bash + Rightward Shield Slash + Leftward Shield Slash
 * Triangle x4 - Shield Bash + Rightward Shield Slash + Leftward Shield Slash + Downward Shield Slash
 * Triangle and Circle = Charged Shield Bash
 * Circle and Right = Clockwise Spinning Shield
 * Circle and Left = Counterclockwise Spinning Shield
 * R = Block