Kinetic barriers
The shields of starships and soldiers
Kinetic barriers, commonly called shields, were repulsive mass effect fields projected from small emitters to deflect fast-moving objects. They protected starships and infantry alike from mass accelerator fire while leaving slow movement and ordinary contact untouched.
Kinetic barriers, colloquially called shields, were the primary defense against the mass accelerator weapons that dominated galactic warfare. Whether mounted on a starship or built into a soldier's suit of armor, the basic principle was the same: repulsive mass effect fields, generated from element zero and projected by tiny emitters, deflected small objects travelling at high velocity. The same dark-energy technology behind faster-than-light drives and the omni-tool thus shielded combatants from the slugs that small arms and shipboard guns hurled at lethal speed. (Mass Effect; Mass Effect 2)
How kinetic barriers worked#
A kinetic barrier was a repulsive mass effect field projected from tiny emitters. The field safely deflected small objects moving at rapid velocity, affording protection against bullets and other dangerous projectiles. Crucially, the barrier reacted only to objects travelling above a certain speed, so a protected individual could still sit down without knocking the chair away. On a starship the same emitters scaled up to shield the hull against incoming fire. (Mass Effect; Mass Effect 2)
This defense had a sharply defined limit. Kinetic barriers stopped kinetic impacts and nothing else, offering no protection at all against extremes of temperature, toxins, or radiation. Each emitter also drew on a finite power cell. A barrier deflected projectiles only so long as there was enough energy left in that cell, so concentrated or sustained fire could overwhelm and collapse it, a vulnerability that mattered as much for a single soldier as for a warship under bombardment. (Mass Effect; Mass Effect 2)
Kinetic barriers and personal armor#
On an individual, the kinetic barrier was the outermost element of a layered defensive system. A combat hard-suit used a dual-layer base of fabric armor with kinetic padding, reinforced in rigid areas such as the chest and shins with sheets of lightweight ablative ceramic, all sealed against vacuum and hostile atmospheres. Over this the barrier emitters generated the deflecting shield, detecting objects incoming at high speed and turning them aside as long as their power cells held out. (Mass Effect)
The most advanced hard-suits extended this into what was sometimes described as a triple canopy of protection: the kinetic barrier first, then the traditional sealed armor and ceramic plates beneath it, and finally a self-repair system run by microframe computers woven through the fabric. That system sealed tears with sterile medi-gel to plug holes that could prove fatal in vacuum or toxic environments. Some technically minded soldiers added still further measures atop the standard barrier, such as tech armor, which trapped a disruptive warp effect between two low-yield kinetic barriers, or a fortification field that used magnetic currents to immobilize incoming metal. (Mass Effect 2)
Mass accelerators and the arms race#
Kinetic barriers existed in constant tension with the weapons they were built to stop. A mass accelerator propelled a solid metal slug using precisely controlled electromagnetic attraction and repulsion, the slug designed to squash or shatter on impact so it transferred its energy to the target rather than punching cleanly through. Element zero transformed these weapons: a slug lightened by a mass effect field could be accelerated to velocities once thought impossible, to the point that a paint chip at sufficient speed could strike with the force of a nuclear weapon, limited mainly by the recoil such impacts produced. (Mass Effect; Mass Effect 2)
This drove a continuous contest between projectile and shield. In an age of kinetic barriers, the geth concluded after analysing their own combat logs that firefights were most often won by whichever side put the most rounds downrange the fastest, yet weapons had to be fired slower or vented to manage waste heat. Their solution, detachable heat sinks called thermal clips, was soon adopted by organic militaries as well, leaving the battlefields of the galaxy littered with spent clips even as kinetic barriers continued to turn aside the fire they enabled. (Mass Effect 2)
Frequently asked questions
- What are kinetic barriers in Mass Effect?
- Kinetic barriers, commonly called shields, were repulsive mass effect fields projected from small emitters to deflect fast-moving objects such as bullets and other dangerous projectiles. They were the primary defense against the mass accelerator weapons that dominated galactic warfare, protecting both starships and infantry.
- How do kinetic barriers work?
- A kinetic barrier was a repulsive mass effect field generated from element zero and projected by tiny emitters, deflecting small objects moving at high velocity. The barrier reacted only to objects travelling above a certain speed, so a protected person could still sit in a chair or be touched without disturbing the field.
- What can kinetic barriers not protect against?
- Kinetic barriers stopped kinetic impacts and nothing else, offering no protection against extremes of temperature, toxins, or radiation. Each emitter also drew on a finite power cell, so concentrated or sustained fire could overwhelm and collapse the barrier.
- How do kinetic barriers fit into personal armor?
- On an individual, the kinetic barrier formed the outermost layer of a combat hard-suit, ahead of fabric armor with kinetic padding and lightweight ablative ceramic plates. The most advanced suits added a self-repair system run by microframe computers that sealed tears with sterile medi-gel, and some soldiers layered on extras such as tech armor or a magnetic fortification field.
- Why did kinetic barriers lead to thermal clips?
- In an age of kinetic barriers, the geth concluded that firefights were most often won by whichever side put the most rounds downrange fastest, yet weapons had to be fired slower or vented to manage waste heat. Their solution, detachable heat sinks called thermal clips, was soon adopted by organic militaries as well.
Sources
- GameMass Effect, BioWare, 2007
- GameMass Effect 2, BioWare, 2010
Spotted a factual error or a primary source we missed? Email a correction. Every flagged claim gets reviewed.
Followed from this entry
Element zero
Element zero, nicknamed eezo, was a rare material that released dark energy when subjected to an electrical current, letting it raise or lower the mass of everything in the resulting field. It underpinned faster-than-light travel, artificial gravity, and the biotic abilities of living beings.
Omni-tool
The omni-tool was a forearm-mounted multipurpose device combining a computer, diagnostic scanner, and miniature fabricator. Projected as an orange hologram, it handled hacking, repair, medicine, and manufacturing, and could be reshaped into improvised weapons in the field.
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