Shield of Betrayal

Overview

The Shield of Betrayal is a shield in Crimson Desert with distinctive lore ties to the events of Chapter 6.

It provides DEF 6 and comes equipped with two Abyss Cores: Aegis I (Damage Reduction 1.0) and Guard Stamina Consumption -3.0%. The shield is awarded for defeating Cassius Morten during The Unyielding Shields quest, one of the major story encounters in the game.

Stats

How to Obtain

The Shield of Betrayal is obtained by defeating Cassius Morten during The Unyielding Shields main quest in Chapter 6. The shield is awarded automatically after the boss fight cutscene. It cannot be purchased from merchants or crafted at a Blacksmith.

Core Slots

The Shield of Betrayal comes pre-equipped with 2 Abyss Cores: Aegis I (Damage Reduction 1.0) and Guard Stamina Consumption -3.0%. These cores can be swapped out at a witch NPC at no cost, allowing players to reconfigure the shield's bonuses for different combat situations.

Location Walkthrough

The Shield of Betrayal is not hidden in the world like the other large shields in the 2H build rotation. It is a guaranteed drop from The Traitor, who is the final boss of Chapter 6. You cannot skip the fight: the shield is locked behind clearing the boss encounter that closes out the chapter. Some players refer to the boss as Cassius Morten depending on the quest text; both names refer to the same encounter. Once the boss is down the shield drops into your inventory automatically as part of the story reward.

Because the Shield of Betrayal is tied to story progression, the earliest you can add it to your loadout is whatever point in Chapter 6 you choose to complete the main questline. There is no exploration shortcut that bypasses the fight. If you are specifically building toward a 2H loadout and want this shield, the reliable move is to push the main story to the end of Chapter 6, collect the drop, and then return to whatever side content you were working on.

Two-Handed Build Defense

The Shield of Betrayal is the black color variant of a shared model in the game; the Shield of Conviction is the white (or light) variant of the exact same design. Players who favor the Shadow Armor set or any darker cloak color typically pick the Betrayal for the matching aesthetic, while lighter plate builds go with the Conviction. Mechanically the two shields are near-identical: the choice between them is almost entirely cosmetic once both are refined.

For two-handed weapon users, the shield math is the same as the rest of the large shields. When you wield a two-handed weapon, the shield rides on your back. Its defense value still counts toward your total defense in that back-slot state, so the shield is not purely decorative. Only defense-type sockets remain active on a back-slot shield; sockets that add attack, critical rate, or similar offensive stats go dormant because the shield is not your active guard tool. Optimise the Shield of Betrayal by pushing it to Max Refinement (+10) and loading both sockets with defense cores.

Defense Tier Comparison

Large shields cap at 31, 29, or 27 defense with max refinement and two defense sockets. The Shield of Sacrifice and the North Wind Shield share the 31 ceiling, while the Shield of Betrayal and the Shield of Conviction sit one tier below them. The tradeoff is a small raw-defense loss in exchange for a better looking model on the back slot. Round shields generally have less defense than Large Shields at the same refinement level, so they are not competitive picks for a 2H build that relies on the back-slot defense contribution.

Black Variant vs White Variant

The Shield of Betrayal and Shield of Conviction are the dark and light palette swaps of the same model. Picking between them is a color match rather than a stat decision. If your 2H loadout leans into a dark aesthetic with Shadow Armor or a black cloak, the Shield of Betrayal is the natural fit. If your loadout leans white or silver plate, the Shield of Conviction pairs better. Both deliver the same defense tier once refined.

Story Gate vs Exploration Shields

The main downside of picking the Shield of Betrayal as your 2H back-slot shield is the story gate. The North Wind Shield west of Pailune and the Shield of Sacrifice in the far south can both be picked up without any combat, at almost any point in the game. The Shield of Betrayal requires you to finish Chapter 6 first. If you want to run a Two-Handed Weapons build before reaching that point in the story, use one of the exploration shields as a placeholder and swap to the Betrayal after the chapter wraps up.

Usage Notes

The Shield of Betrayal combines solid base defense with two useful passive effects. The Aegis I core provides flat damage reduction of 1.0 per hit, which stacks with the shield's base defense to reduce incoming damage further. The Guard Stamina Consumption -3.0% effect reduces the stamina cost of blocking, making sustained defense more efficient. Together, these effects make the Shield of Betrayal a strong choice for players who rely on blocking rather than dodging. The shield has no attack speed or movement speed bonuses, so it is best paired with a fast weapon to maintain offensive tempo. Refinement at a Blacksmith increases its base defense, and the two core slots can be customized further. At a sell price of 5.63 Silver Coins, it has moderate resale value, but most players will want to keep it for its defensive utility.