Obsidian Shield
Obsidian Shields are like regular Shields, but they are made out of crying obsidian, take a smaller 5x5 diamond shape, and contain a special glass pane in the middle that may be broken 3 times to destroy it. For each time the glass pane is broken, it changes color to reflect the stage of breakage, from purple to magenta to pink. Unless destroyed ingame, Obsidian Shields remain on the map until the arena is cleared.
During the game, players may receive enderman spawn eggs that they can use to deploy Obsidian Shields. When placed, these summon a punchable dragon fireball, and when punched, the dragon fireball places an Obsidian Shield wherever it lands after a maximum 1.5 seconds of flight. In this way, their deployment is similar to a regular Fireball, but their functionality is similar to a regular Shield.
Use Cases
Much of the same uses of regular Shields also apply to Obsidian Shields, so this page will not cover those. However, seeing as Obsidian Shields are deployed differently and consist primarily of a blast-resistant, immovable material, they also have notable differences in their use cases as described below.
Players may use Obsidian Shields to directly counter an enemy missile headed their way by sending the dragon fireball towards the missile, as they would with regular Fireballs and Nova Rockets. Since pistons cannot move crying obsidian, the missile is practically guaranteed to stop and, if not already disarmed, explode. However, the more explosions that occur near the Obsidian Shield, the more the glass pane in the middle breaks, and when that happens 3 times, the entire shield breaks, too.
Obsidian Shields may also be used to provide cover/protection or deter enemies chasing the player when placed directly on the floor. They may also be strategically placed to create staircases and gain height advantages in a manner similar to the “Shield-stacking” technique with regular Shields (keep in mind, this is still just as frowned upon if you wish to be a good sport).
Obsidian Shields cannot be used to break portals.
Gamemode-Specific Differences
In Capture the Flag Mode, Obsidian Shields may not be deployed in a close proximity of the flag poles. This prevents overpowered defensive strategies and never-ending games.