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Shield IRL

A DeadStop lightweight police ballistic shield in reality.

A Ballistic Shield or Tactical Shield, is a hand-held shield used to defend its user from ballistics. Less common are heavier and thicker rifle-protection shields that are mounted on wheels for ease of mobility. Ballistic shields have been used by law enforcement and military forces throughout the twentieth and twenty-first centuries.

Vegas[]

The Shield is featured in Tom Clancy's Rainbow Six: Vegas. It is bulletproof against all weapons in the game, allowing the user to operate a handgun and safely engage the enemy. Despite this, it is possible to shoot through the window of the shield and kill the user instantly.

It does not protect the user from explosives, fire, flashbangs, or tear gas. While the shield protects most of the user when in use, it does leave the legs exposed unless crouched.

The shield greatly reduces player mobility, preventing players from sprinting and using equipment such as grenades, making it extremely difficult to traverse large maps or evade grenades. As a result, it is advised to wear light to no armor to at least have some mobility, though heavy armor is also a viable tactic.

Since the player may only reload their sidearm with one hand, it takes much longer than a normal reload to do so. As a result, using a weapon with a High-Capacity Mag can be extremely useful so as to reduce the number of reloads.

Gallery[]

Vegas 2[]

TE084 500 1

The Shield is featured in Tom Clancy's Rainbow Six: Vegas 2. It appears in the same configuration as Vegas 1.

Gallery[]


Siege[]

A Ballistic Shield is also featured in Tom Clancy's Rainbow Six Siege. The standard variant of the ballistic shield is currently available to only one operator, which is Fuze. Special variants are available for Blitz and Montagne. Clash also has a special shield, but it functions a bit differently compared to every other shield in the game.

White Mask Engineers on Attack occasionally spawned with improvised Ballistic Shields, though this is no longer the case, as Terrorist Hunt was removed in accordance with Ubisoft not being able to support the old AI. The FBI SWAT Recruit also had a Ballistic Shield, but he has since been reworked and can no longer use a ballistic shield.

Mechanics[]

General Details[]

A Ballistic Shield is carried as Primary Weapon. It is carried with the left hand, while the operator's right hand carries their secondary weapon, which can be used. A shield constantly protects the operator from incoming gunfire from the direction the shield is facing.

A shield is tall enough to protect the operator's head and body. The legs are exposed while standing, but the window of vulnerability can be reduced by crouching. The user's shoulders are also exposed. A shield can also be aimed upward or downward to protect different angles.

There is a panel of bulletproof glass at the operator's eye level for sight. However, this glass can be damaged and cracked, reducing visibility.

While carrying a Ballistic Shield, an operator can walk, crouch-walk, or sprint. The user can also can also unequip the shield, in which the secondary weapon will be fully equipped. Going prone will unequip the shield, and shields cannot be used while rappelling (at all times).

The shield is present at all times. While not equipped, a shield is stored at the user's back, protecting the back of the user's body, but not the head.

Regular-sized shields do not protect the legs while standing or sprinting, leaving them vulnerable. In addition, the sides and rear of the user are open at all times while the shield is equipped, making the user vulnerable to ambushes or explosives tossed over their shield.

Using Secondary Weapon[]

A shield user keeps their right arm and hand behind the shield. This renders them unable to fire from the hip.

Instead of hip fire, pressing and holding the FIRE button will instead cause the shield user to FREE LOOK, turning their head around for sight of different angles, while keeping the shield facing front. However, if the button is released, the user's body and the shield will face the direction of last focus at time of release.

While carrying the shield, The operator can press AIM to use their secondary weapon. When aiming down sights, the user holds the shield horizontally, exposing their head. The sidearm can only fire once the aim animation is fully complete.

Utilities[]

Several actions are performed behind the shield's protection.

An operator performs a RELOAD behind the protection of their shield. They can also reload while carrying only the secondary weapon, but this does not equip the shield to give temporary protection.

Shields can perform a MELEE attack by pushing the shield directly forward, dealing 65 damage and still covering the body and head. A shield's melee attack pushes the hit enemy away and knocks them onto their back, similar to that of an Oryx's Remah Dash or Nomad's Airjab. If an enemy is pushed into a breakable wall or hatch, it is breached and the victim receives an additional 5 damage. Meleeing directly at a breakable wall will only cause a peek hole at the point of interest, similar to any gun meleeing a wall.

With a shield equipped, the user can instantly BREAK THROUGH Barricades, destroying them instantly regardless of remaining health, and making entry in the process. It still requires 3 melee hits to conventionally destroy barricades.

A user can throw grenades (such as Frag Grenades, Smoke Grenades, Impact EMP Grenades) and trigger gadgets (Breach Charges and Fuze's Cluster Charge) behind the shield.

Operator placed gadgets, such as Fuze's Cluster Charge, a Breach Charge or a Hard Breach Charge, can be equipped and deployed, but the user's shield will be temporarily unequipped while they are deploying such charges.

Weaknesses and Countermeasures[]

By default, when an operator has a shield in their possession, their Speed is reduced by 10% of their base speed (20% for Blitz), regardless of the shield is equipped or not.

Explosive damage, such as Nitro Cells and Impact Grenades, is reduced but not negated when taken from the front. They can also be thrown behind the shield to bypass the protection.

Meleeing a shield will cause the shield to be knocked aside as the user flinches, exposing their body to an attack. The distance and angle the shield moves when hit is different for each shield. The small ballistic shields, including Montagne's undeployed shield, move nearly 90 degrees to the operator's left, where-as Clash's deployed CCE shield moves about 20-30 degrees to her right, and Montagne's deployed shield only moves about 10-15 degrees to his left. It is important to note that none of the shields move if they are unequipped on the operator's back, or if they are in the middle of another animation such as a melee.

If the shield is impacted sufficiently by gunfire, the user enters a SUPPRESSED FIRE status, which renders them unable to sprint for that duration, even if the shield is unequipped. If enough gunfire is applied, the user of the shield will experience blurring around the edges of their screen, and the sound of tinnitus (similar to that of a Flashbang) will be present, masking all sound aside from the impact of bullets on the shield. The amount of gunfire required to cause the SUPPRESSED FIRE status is dependent on the offending weapon's caliber. Weapons such as shotguns or marksman rifles have high impact, and will cause the suppression faster and make it last longer.

Variants[]

"Protective shield equipped with a secondary weapon."
— In-game description
The shield carried by Fuze offers no unique ability of its own except the basic function of withstanding incoming fire.

"Triggers the flash attached to his ballistic shield to temporarily blind enemies."
— In-game description

Blitz's Shield has a band of extremely powerful flashbang grade lights attached to the front. This allows him to blind enemies in front of the shield, enabling him to get the advantage and push forwards. However, the number of charges and the range of the lights are limited, meaning Blitz needs to make each and every flash count.

The speed penalty for Blitz's Sprint is a 20% reduction.

"Can expand his Extendable Shield to offer full protection while standing."
— In-game description

Montagne's Shield can extend to cover his legs, sides and even the top of his head. This can be used to give Montagne and his allies better protection, can effectively block off doors, greatly reduces explosion damage, and reduced sway from melee attacks.

However, while the shield is extended, Montagne has a decreased movement speed, cannot sprint or use his weapon or gadgets, and cannot melee attack, forcing him to rely on others for help and fire support. He can still FREE LOOK and gain intel.

Gallery[]

"Extendable electro shield capable of slowing down enemies, causing damage over time."
— In-game description

Clash's Electro Shield automatically extends when used and can slow down opponents by using a high voltage Charged Field Generator (CFG) that emanates directly in front of the shield in a cylindrical shape. Opponents caught in the CFG also sustain low damage over time. Effective use of the shield allows Clash to block entry points, and to prevent or delay a push by the Attackers.

Unlike other shield operators, she can only user her shield in its extended form. Thus, Clash cannot sprint, melee, or simultaneously equip a sidearm (or reload them). She also cannot FREE LOOK as it shares the same keybind with using her gadget's shock ability. However, Clash can be impacted by Suppressive Fire.

The Shield is transparent, and anyone can see through the shield from both ways.

While not equipped, the shield retracts to a standard-sized shield and kept on Clash's back, protecting her back body. When she equips them, it is first equipped in a retracted form, and immediately extended.


Trivia[]

  • Until the release of Operation Void Edge in Tom Clancy's Rainbow Six Siege, the Ballistic Shield was available to the FBI SWAT and GIGN Recruits.
    • These recolored versions of Fuze's basic shield were black rather than a shade of green.
  • Shield received a major rework (commonly known as the "Shield Rework") in Operation Deadly Omen. However, no operators received the basic Ballistic Shield to their loadouts.
    • Before the rework, Shield users could hip fire, but almost every action (Reload / Sprint / Melee / Throw grenades / Trigger gadgets) puts the shield away from protection.
    • Newer abilities (Free Look / Break Through) did not exist in the game for shields and neither did the de-buff ; Suppressive Fire.
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