[PsYcNeT]

I'm unsure on consoles, but the meta on PC was heavily skewed towards shields in the early weeks of the game, but has since moved away from them.

Fuze's shield has barely any coverage so most people opt for the AK or LMG instead, and Montagne's is overly cumbersome. Usually Blitz is the only shield you see being used with any frequency now, since the flash can be super useful in the right hands.

Average players are getting very savvy to shield counters now as well, as well as being able to identify shields before they see them (shuffle clunk shuffle clunk). Nitro cells are becoming way more popular as a hefty shield counter.