Questions about Shields

Was there a change to the way shields worked in Rebellion? In diplo, Entrench, and vanilla, it was my experience that you wore through shields first and then hull was affected. The only weapon to subvert this rule was the vasari phase missile.

Just now, I had to pull my Eradica Titan out of a fight because its shields were nearly topped off but its hull was about to fail. I was fighting Advent loyalists, and I have to ask. Is there some kind of strange shield bypass thing going on with weapons now, or do the loyalists have a way of bypassing enemy shields I'm not aware of?