Freelancer as a game has always had the ability to utilize multiple types of shields with different damage modifiers added to them. In order to utilize this ability of the game, shields will be available in 9 different types for each of the 10 classes, with variants for the Republic, Empire, and Civilians, totaling 270 different shields in the game.
Shields are broken down into three overall types:
Deflector Shields-
These are your standard shields designed to protect against energy and projectile weapon attacks. There are no damage modifiers applied to standard deflectors.
Ray Shields-
Designed specifically to counter projectile weapons, ray shields employ damage reduction to torpedo and missile damage but are weak against energy attacks. (-50% Torpedo Damage with 150% Energy Damage)
Particle Shields-
Employed as an anti-energy barrier, particle shields reduce the damage of incoming energy attacks but are weak to torpedo and missile damage. (-50% Energy Damage with 150% Torpedo Damage)
Of the above three types, there are three sub-types for each shield which adjusts its capacity and recharge:
Standard Shields-
Normal capacity and recharge, no modifications applied.
High-Capacity Shields-
Increased total shield strength but reduced recharge rate. The reduced recharge rate also means less of a draw on energy reserves which allows a ship to fire its weapons for longer (125% Capacity and 75% Recharge Rate)
Quick-Charge Shields-
Quick-charge shields offer an increase in the speed they regenerate in exchange for an overall lower shield capacity. (75% Capacity and 125% Recharge Rate)
Combine the above with the ten classes of shields and the three factions and you get 270 total shields in the game.
(Each faction's shield generators have a different appearance which is why they are split up between factions. Imperial shield generators follow the "geodesic sphere" appearance while Republic shield generators look similar to the planetary shield from the planet Hoth. Additionally, shield generators can be targeted and destroyed in-game.)
