Ankh Shield

The Ankh Shield is a Hardmode shield accessory which provides immunity to 12 / 11  / 10  different debuffs, knockback immunity, and an additional  defense. It is crafted from an Obsidian Shield and an Ankh Charm at the Tinkerer's Workshop.

Consisting of 11 different ingredients, the Ankh Shield entails one of the most complex crafting trees in Terraria, beaten only by the Zenith and Cell Phone.

(NOTE: As of the 1.4.4 update, the Ankh charm now requires the Pocket Mirror as well. The crafting tree needs updating.)

When equipped, the Ankh Shield provides immunity to all of the following debuffs:

Tips

 * The Ankh Shield does not require any items from Hardmode bosses (but does require Hardmode), and so it can be obtained before defeating them. It can be a very useful accessory when the player does decide to fight them.
 * While it does not directly affect the debuff, the Shield blocks all of its side effects, rendering it mostly harmless against the player.
 * The post-Plantera Paladin's Shield offers an extra 2 defense and a multiplayer buff, but does not prevent common debuffs. As such, the Paladin's Shield may be slightly more advantageous for most boss battles.
 * Using an Obsidian Skin Potion renders the player immune to the On Fire! debuff, which the shield does not provide.
 * The Ankh Shield can synergize with the to block attacks, granting the Striking Moment buff.
 * The Ankh Shield can be used to defuse active debuffs if it is left in the players inventory and quickly swapped with a currently equipped accessory, allowing the player to use other shields or accessories in place of the Ankh Shield when exploring or in combat.
 * The Ankh Shield takes the Obsidian Shield to craft, meaning crafting the Obsidian Skull Rose or Magma Skull makes it unable to craft the Obsidian Shield without crafting another Obsidian Skull.

Trivia

 * The, the ian that is depicted in the shield, was most commonly used in writing and in art to represent the word for "life" and, by extension, as a symbol of life itself.
 * The Ankh seen in game in the Ankh Charm and Ankh Shield moreso resembles a, a variation of the Christian cross inspired by the Egyptian Ankh which was used in the Holy Roman Empire. Additionally, the Ankh Shield is the final upgrade to the Cobalt Shield, which features a simple Christian cross on the front. These two facts could be a subtle reference to how the Roman Empire took over ancient Egypt, but adopted some of its symbols and traditions.
 * Of all accessories, the Ankh Shield and the Celestial Stone offer the fourth most base defense, being bested only by the Paladin's Shield and, which have a base defense of , the and , which have  base defense, and the , which has a base defense of.
 * The only crafted item in the build path not crafted at the Tinkerer's Workshop is the Obsidian Skull, which is crafted at a Furnace instead.
 * Its components sell for more than the shield itself does.
 * In the, the Ankh Shield (requiring 11 base ingredients and 7 crafting operations) has the most complex crafting tree. Although the required one more base ingredient, it only needed one crafting operation.
 * The took the lead (requiring 13 base ingredients and 8 crafting operations) in the, and the  thereafter (requiring 16 base ingredients and 11 crafting operations), in the.
 * Despite giving immunity to Chilled, the crafting chain for the Ankh Shield does not include the Hand Warmer. The shield also does not give immunity to Frozen.