A Legend Steps Out from the Shadows…
Over the weekend, Ubisoft announced their plans for Season Three of Year Five for Rainbow Six Siege with a new Operator, a reworked map, and some new gameplay features. The biggest piece of news was the addition of Sam Fisher from the Splinter Cell franchise making his way into the game as an Attacker. While it was reported last week that he was officially joining the fighting ranks of Team Rainbow, we now know of what Sam can bring to the battlefield.
In this season under the name Operation Shadow Legacy, players will be able to play as Sam “Zero” Fisher as an Attacker. He is equipped with a two-way night vision drill camera (dubbed the ARGUS Launcher) that can zap enemies and their defenses with a laser charge. Penetrable through soft and reinforced surfaces, it’s the perfect stealth tech for someone like Sam. His SC3000K and Karambit weaponry will also be implemented into his loadout.
With Operation Shadow Legacy serving us Sam Fisher as a new Operator, Ubisoft has also reworked the map Chalet. Alterations were made to the first and second floors, an accessible roof has been included, there are new routes, and other additions to give it a sincere reimagining.
A Newer Siege
But Operation Shadow Legacy doesn’t just bring us Sam and a redesigned map; this new season will carry out a wave of gameplay changes that will significantly change how Siege is played.
Ping 2.0 is a new pinging system that gives players the power to point out gadgets during the mission, for one. As well, a new hard breach charge can execute a small blast through a reinforced surface to give the Attackers a better chance against defenses. To help defend or attack better, Ubisoft added additional optics that provide players more of a variety when selecting a scope for their weapons (as well as having the option to change the color and opacity of your reticle). There’s also a shared pool of reinforcements for the Defender side where a total of 10 can be picked up by anyone in the team. Finally, following suit with the Ban Operator phase in Ranked, there’s a Map Ban system that will generate three selectable maps for the players to pick and forbid.
Furthermore, Match Replay – a requested feature from the community – will enter an Alpha phase for the Test Server of the game, where a player can view their 12 previously played matches. No official release date has been announced for Shadow Legacy, but you can test the changes on the Test Server starting today. Ubisoft is also offering a free-to-play weekend that will run from August 27 to September 4. To see more of an in-depth breakdown for the upcoming season below is a video from Ubisoft North America showcasing everything from the hero of the Splinter Cell series to Chalet’s remixed appearance.