Shields

Shields are a common type of power-up found in Sonic games. They are usually obtained only by destroying certain types of monitors. Obtaining a shield protects the player from losing rings for one hit, at the cost of the shield itself. Most shields typically have a passive effect that benefits the player, as well as give the player an extra ability. However, characters such as Sonic are unable to transform into their Super form while they are holding a shield.

In SRB2, there are nine types of shields that can be encountered in the game:

Name	Appearance	Icon	Description
Attraction Shield			This shield is awarded when the player destroys an Attraction Shield Monitor. When a player has this shield, any rings near them are attracted to them. This shield can also lock onto enemies — when pressing the Spin button mid-jump, it will do a homing attack toward an enemy with a reticule over it. Weapon rings are also slightly attracted to the player. The player is also protected from electrical damage. However, this shield shorts out if the player is submerged in water.
Force Shield			This shield is awarded when the player destroys a Force Shield Monitor. Unlike other shields, this shield protects the player from two hits. After the first hit, the shield becomes lighter. After the second hit, it disappears completely. When pressing the Spin button mid-jump, it will halt all of the player's momentum.
Armageddon Shield			This shield is awarded when the player destroys an Armageddon Shield Monitor. When the player with this shield presses the Spin button in mid-jump, the shield explodes, hurting all nearby enemies, including Match opponents, within a large radius. The shield will also automatically explode if the player gets damaged.
Whirlwind Shield			This shield is awarded when the player destroys a Whirlwind Shield Monitor. When a player with this shield presses Spin in mid-jump, they will do a second jump with the same height as their normal jump height. It will bring the player out of a spin, however, leaving them vulnerable to enemy damage. Pressing the jump button while falling, for example after walking off a ledge, will also activate the shield. This shield does not have a passive effect.
Elemental Shield			This shield is awarded when the player destroys an Elemental Shield Monitor. This shield protects from elemental damage, including fire/lava, slime, drowning, and suffocation in space. It also creates a damaging flame trail when the player is spindashing. When pressing the Spin button mid-jump, the player's horizontal momentum will be stopped, and they will stomp down into the ground, spawning a circle of fire on impact.
Flame Shield			This shield is awarded when the player destroys a Flame Shield Monitor. This shield protects from fire damage. When pressing the Spin button mid-jump, the player will be given a burst of speed in the direction they're facing. However, submerging the shield in water will extinguish it.
Bubble Shield			This shield is awarded when the player destroys a Bubble Shield Monitor. This shield protects from water damage and drowning. When pressing the Spin button mid-jump, the player's horizontal momentum will be reduced and they will quickly slam into the floor and bounce off of the ground. This ability can be used several times without landing.
Lightning Shield			This shield is awarded when the player destroys a Lightning Shield Monitor. This shield protects from electrical damage. When a player has this shield, any rings near them are attracted to them. This shield also shorts out if the player is submerged in water. When pressing the Spin button mid-jump, the player will do an extra jump — unlike the Whirlwind Shield, this will keep their spinning state and can't be used while falling.
Pity Shield			This shield protects from one hit and has no passive effect or special ability. In base SRB2, this shield is given in unique circumstances, rather than being obtained from a monitor. A pink-colored version will be given to friendly players that do not have any other shield if hit by Amy's hammer hearts. In Match and derived gametypes, it is automatically given to weaker players and players who have just spawned (see Match > Pity Shield for more details). Otherwise, the shield can also be awarded when the player destroys a Pity Shield Monitor, but this monitor is unused by SRB2.

In Mario mode, the Fire Flower power-up also functions like a shield, protecting the player from one hit. This power-up can be combined with any of the above to protect the player from additional hits.

Old shields

These were shields that appeared in old versions of SRB2. They do not appear in the current version of SRB2, v2.2.

Name	Description
Basic Shield	This was a basic blue-colored shield with no special effects or abilities. In v1.09, it was replaced by the Whirlwind Shield. In v2.1, the Pity Shield was added, which serves a similar purpose.
Liquid Shield	This shield protected from drowning and water damage. In v2.0, this shield was merged with the Inferno Shield into the Elemental Shield. In v2.2, the Bubble Shield was added, which serves a similar purpose.
Inferno Shield	This shield protected from fire damage, and created a damaging flame trail when the player spindashed. However, like the Attraction Shield and fire-based objects, this shield disappeared when the player was submerged in water (except if it was lava). In v2.0, this shield was merged with the Liquid Shield into the Elemental Shield. In v2.2, the Flame Shield was added, which serves a similar purpose.