The prevalence of personal shielding technology in Dune: Awakening is one of the reasons why melee weapons are preferred over guns. Projectile weapons usually struggle to neutralize shielded targets, but there are guns out there that do a good job at taking shields down.
If ranged combat is your thing, then you'll be glad to know that they aren't totally worthless when it comes to fighting shielded enemies — some might even be better than blades. This guide covers the best guns to use against targets protected by Holtzman Shields in Dune: Awakening.
Best Guns vs. Shields in Dune: Awakening
There are a variety of ranged weapons to choose from in this game, and while most of them are best used against unshielded targets, others do excel at overloading or even bypassing shields altogether. The absolute best guns against shields won't be available until the later parts of the game, and if you want to base your playstyle around ranged combat, here are the weapons you should be looking forward to getting.
Melee weapons are still the best at fighting shielded targets, but there will be scenarios where guns are the better weapons to use.
Disruptors
- Fast-firing SMGs that can overwhelm shields through sheer volume of fire
Disruptors are the earliest anti-shield weapon players can get in the game. T hese weapons fire Light Darts at a rapid rate, and while they don't deal as much damage compared to other guns, they can overload shields through volume of fire. It usually takes one full Disruptor magazine to take down a shield that matches the weapon's tier, so it's best to carry a backup weapon.
Players can get the Legion Tattoo Unique Disruptor in the Wreck of the Pallas, a Shipwreck in Western Vermillilus Gap. This Disruptor variant has an extended magazine, making it great against stronger shields.
The House Disruptor Pistol
- Unique Snubnose pistol that fires charged shots
Snubnose pistols aren't especially good at overloading shields, but the House Disruptor Pistol variant is an exception. It fires charged Heavy Darts that deal over 200 points of damage per hit, which allows it to overload shields in only a few shots compared to other guns. However, its shots take a while to charge, which makes hitting moving targets harder than usual.
You can find the schematic for this weapon as a random reward from chests in POIs in the Eastern Shield Wall region, such as Sentinel City.
Drillshots
- Shotgun-like slug throwers that burrow through shields with drill-like projectiles
Unlike Disruptors, Drillshots ignore shields completely. They fire drill-like darts that burrow through shields and hurt enemies directly, much like how a slow melee weapon would. They don't deal as much direct damage, but they're great for pressuring opponents in PvP.
There is a Unique Burst Drillshot variant that can also be obtained as a schematic from Eastern Shield Wall POIs, and much like the House Disruptor Pistol, it can be charged to fire two shots instead of one.
Spitdart Rifles
- Hard-hitting rifles armed with poisoned darts that ignore shields
The JABAL Spitdart rifle and its variants work a little bit like Drillshots — instead of breaking shields, they work around them by firing darts that release poison on contact. This poison deals direct damage over time to targets, and if your unlucky victim is unable to heal themselves in time, they'll likely succumb to the DoT effect.
Poison damage from Spitdarts tick slowly, but even so, they're great for PvE. Meanwhile, they can be an absolute pain to deal with in PvP, as the poison can put an immense amount of pressure on enemy players. Schematics for a unique, unscoped Spitdart that fires three darts in a horizontal pattern can be purchased from the Atreides merchant in Arrakeen (assuming their inventory doesn't change).
Vulcan Machine Guns
- Like Disruptors, but much, much bigger
While not the most practical of weapons, Vulcan GAU-92 variants can overshield shields through extreme volume of fire. These weapons shoot at an alarming 1176 RPM fire rate, making them the highest-DPS guns in the game so far. However, these chew through ammo extremely quickly, and their poor accuracy makes them hard to use beyond close range. Crowd control grenades from the Trooper skill tree are highly recommended when using this weapon type.
If you're playing with a group in Dune: Awakening, you can use Vulcan MGs to provide suppressing fire while teammates close-in for the kill (or just have everyone use Vulcans).
Dune: Awakening
- Released
- June 10, 2025
