User blog comment:4Ferelden/Mook showdown - ME adversaries vs. other games!/@comment-5379655-20130507055745/@comment-5379655-20130507093954

Yes I did read them, but this is one of those instances where Mass Effect's lore contradicts itself. According to the Codex, kinetic barrier shielding blocks projectiles, not direct energy weapons. This is backed up by the entry concerning GARDIAN lasers which notes that kinetic shielding doesn't block lasers and ablative armor is intended to make up for this. Even the entries for phasic and proton rounds note in their descriptions that they bypass shielding. The only reason these weapons deal damage to a player's shields is to create a balanced combat system since it wouldn't be fair to the player if half of your defenses simply didn't work. As for the Acolyte, it fires projectiles so the shielding would block it.

As I said, this subject is contradictory, but I choose to follow the Codex and in-game lore which clearly states that kinetic shielding only works against projectiles.