Door Fu - Giant Door Shields and You

If you think doors are for you, then so is this guide. I'll be going through the basics and advanced techniques for the most powerful weapon added in the DLC.

Understanding the Doors

What are the Giant Door Shields?
Although they're really shields, the fact that you can duel wield them makes them more viable as a weapon as opposed to putting it in your left hand. They do suprising amounts of damage that many people underestimate, comparable to a strong straight sword.
Are they for me?
Unless you used the Orma and Reeve's Greatshields in Dark Souls 2, there really aren't a lot of weapons that work like the Giant Door Shields. They can be played in a passive or aggressive manner, which means that you shouldn't have to worry about changing your playstyle much.

Getting your first Doors

Where do I find the Giant Door Shields?
In the Dreg Heap, just after the Earther Ruins bonfire, there's an Angel that you have to slip past with the help of cover. After killing the Angel's...thing...go back to that Earther Ruins bonfire and run towards where the Angel was in the sky. If you reach the cliffside and keep going right, you should see a small path going down, guarded by some Hollow Slaves with an item at the end. That item, my friend, is the Giant Door Shield.
What do you need to upgrade the Giant Door Shields?
The doors, thankfuly, upgrade with regular titanite. They can also be infused, but I can't think of an infusion that would be better than just a regular set of doors. Besides, if you don't infuse them, you can buff them with Magic/Great Magic Shield for an unstoppable defence. It's worth noting that the doors have a B scaling in Strength when fully upgraded, so focus on that over dex.

Door Basics

First things first, the R1 and R2 are the weakest moves of the shield. That's not to say they're useless, but they shouldn't be used as much as the other attacks this weapon has. The R1, for example, can be used after a Weapon Art R1, which makes a nice combo. The R2 can be used in the same situation if you know your enemy has nowhere to go, i.e. they're in a corner of you're bodyblocking them.
The L1 running attack is great for catching moving targets, as it staggers them, as do most of the door's moves. Not only that, but the Weapon Art can be used immediately afterwards to guard against counter running attacks.
When using your weapon art, you have two options: a charging attack from R1 or a defensive stance from R2. The charging attack covers a suprising amount of distance, and anyone that hasn't fought a shield user before will be caught off-guard by the deceptive range. Note that for a brief second at the end of the charge, despite the shields being up, you will be vulnerable to attack. The defensive pose is only useful to barricade doorways or to lock yourself in corners. All attacks to the shield during this are completely absorbed and stamina loss is lessened. The downsides are that you become immobile and vulnerable to backstabs and you won't regain stamina. The best use I've found for this is to defend fellow invaders/hosts/phantoms from enemies while they heal.

Advanced Door Techniques

When dealing with someone that's circling you, don't use the Weapon Art charging attack. A quick weapon can backstab you and leave you vulnerable. Instead, try to kick them (or rather, shield bash) them or unlock and try a charge of faith.

Casters pose a threat to door users, especially pyromancers, and especially those with the Chaos Bed Vestiges. When playing against one of these, adopt a more aggresive playstyle, as turtling will only get you killed in this situation. Miracle users, however, pose very little threat, as the doors have a high resistance to lightning.

When fighting a shield user (emphasis on SHIELD and not DOOR), try to lure them into attacking. If you can get a Weapon Art charge on any non-shielded player, they will be staggered and, unless you hit them from a strange angle, will be hit. Any high stability shield can be your downfall, especially when paired with a high damage weapon such as a Great Hammer or a Great Axe.

This weapon makes short work of anyone using the Ringed Knight Paired Swords. The hyperarmour is not enough to stop the staggering on most of the attacks and, with their lack of defensive capabilities, you'll be able to bash them to oblivion.

Door Philosophy

Some people think this just another meme weapon like the Soldering Iron.

They are wrong.
This weapon takes timing, prediction and game sense to use, which isn't something every weapon takes (I'm looking at you, Carthus Curved Sword). When you're using the doors, it's kind of like infusing a weapon with a Refined Gem; you're trading off damage for a more skill based weapons.

Don't let all those naysayers get you down. This is Door Simulator if you want it to be. In the end, Dark Souls is an RPG, and if you want to fight with doors, then it's your ♥♥♥♥♥♥♥ right.

Finally, be careful against Hand Axe users. They're a door's number one counter.

[Vultea]

Nice guide, although the text overlaps on the pictures a bit much, other than that though it's very nice and informative