How to counter Ballistic Shield in Fortnite

Fortnite's defense moves are getting fancier, especially with the new Ballistic Shield introduced in the Chapter 5 Season 1 update. Dealing with it is a challenge for many players, so I've put together this guide to help you counter it in Fortnite.

How Ballistic Shield works in Fortnite

As the name suggests, the Ballistic Shield is designed to block incoming bullets, providing complete protection as long as it's actively used. What's more, it comes equipped with a pistol that offers solid damage and a decent rate of fire. The added perk is its unlimited durability, though if it takes excessive damage, it will temporarily be knocked out of use.

That's Epic Games' take on how the Ballistic Shield functions in Fortnite. However, there are many other aspects of this new defensive shield that Epic Games hasn't clarified and have gone unnoticed. Luckily, a Reddit user, u/noodlecm, has managed to uncover these aspects and compiled them in a thread for other Fortnite players.

Related: How to rank up to Unreal in Fortnite Ranked Play

As I mentioned before, the user began their post by pointing out that many counters and counterplays aren't clearly explained to the player base, leading to a belief that the shield is overpowered. The Reddit user strongly recommends countering the Ballistic Shield by using cluster bombs, pickaxe swings, and grapple blade swings, as each of these ensures a stun on the shield user after just one hit.

The shield has a secret “stun health” that affects how easily the player can be stunned by a stumble. The character will shake the shield when aiming if the stun health is low. To restore stun health, the shield must be holstered. The shield user will be stunned if the shield tanks about 100 damage.

I wanted to check the facts, so I entered a custom match with one of my Fortnite friends and told him to use the Ballistic Shield to resist my attacks. As expected, the shield was able to block the incoming bullets even after several rounds, making weapons not very effective against it.

Pro tip: If you want to counter Ballistic Shield with a gun, make sure to shoot at your opponent's leg, as the shield only protects the upper body.

However, the shield was badly damaged when I used 2-3 cluster bombs, and it failed to protect my friend from any of the incoming damage. The same result occurred when I used pickaxe swings and grapple blade swings, and these moves also lowered the stun health.

So, in a nutshell, there's more to the shield than Epic told us. If you know its weak points and use the right moves, you can beat it. So, go out there, try stuff, and dominate the Shield users!

Looking for more Pro Game Guides Fortnite content? Check out our guides on Fortnite Ranked Play, Explained – How do Ranks work in Fortnite? or 13 Best Games Like Fortnite, Ranked!