Nothing borderline here.
A reworked Border, a new elite skin and the long-awaited addition of a streamer mode – Rainbow Six Siege Operation Crimson Heist is bringing the big guns when it launches later this year. Stevivor recently got to go hands-on with a preview of what’s coming next season, and there’s plenty to be excited about.
First and foremost is the update to one of the games oldest mainstay maps, Border. Set at a remote outpost somewhere in the Middle East, this map has long been known for its relatively balanced gameplay, With that in mind, what could Ubisoft change?
For starters, the ever-present helicopter sound and the much-memed, “do not attempt to board the helicopter” voice lines previously heard throughout the round now only play during the prep phase, cutting down on extra noise mid-round. Otherwise, not much has changed – there’s been some tweaking of bomb site hatches, on-site cover and a reduction on the total number of entry points to help defenders and reduced spawn peeks to help attackers out, but overall Ubisoft haven’t messed with perfection.
I may be biased as Border is one of my favourite maps, but I really think Ubisoft has nailed it this time around. The subtle shifts to site layout and hatch access definitely alter the power dynamic on some sites, but that’s nothing that a good push can’t defeat. The team have updated Border with a deft touch and have preserved the identity of the map while improving it all round.
Something entirely new though is the Gonne-6, a single shot explosive sidearm available to select attackers. This new pistol gives the attackers the chance to pick-off bulletproof or armored gadgets from a distance with a lot more certainty than a frag grenade. While the single shot is fairly limiting, the utility the Gonne-6 provides is hard to overstate.
Also coming this season is a new Elite set, this time for relatively new operator Kali, an updated Newcomer playlist to help new players get into the game and a much requested feature will make it’s debut too – Streamer Mode.
For those unfamiliar with the concept, Streamer Mode is a toggled option for streamers to prevent stream sniping from ruining their games. It can do things like hide nameplates, hide friendly outlines from view and even prevent viewers from knowing exactly when you jumped into queue to reduce the likelihood of them ending up in your game.
Overall Operation Crimson Heist is bringing a lot of exciting changes to Rainbow Six Siege, and you’ll be able to check them out yourself when the new season goes live later this year.
Rainbow Six Siege is currently available on Windows PC, Xbox One, Xbox Series S & X, PS4, PS5 and Stadia. It’s also available via Xbox Game Pass.
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