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Rainbow Six Siege: Operation Shifting Tides welcomes Kali and Wamai

Just ahead of Sunday's Rainbow Six Pro League Season X Grand Finals, Rainbow Six Siege fans got an extended look at Operation Shifting Tides, which introduces two new Operators and improved bullet penetration.

Ozzie Mejia

November 10, 2019 1:00 AM

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It's another big esports weekend for Rainbow Six Siege. The Rainbow Six Pro League is ready to crown another world champion with this weekend's Season X Finals from Japan. But before the Grand Finals kick off, it's time for intermission. And as has been the custom for the past few years of Rainbow Six esports majors, that means it's time to look at what's next for Ubisoft's tactical shooter. Early Sunday morning, Ubisoft offered a closer look at the upcoming Operation Shifting Tides.

As is often the case with new Rainbow Six Siege updates, Operation Shifting Tides will introduce two brand new Operators to the game's rotation. Each of them bring along their own distinct weapons and gadgets, some of which will change the RB6 meta significantly. Here are the two new characters set to debut in the game soon:

• Wamai: Ngugi Muchoki Furaha form Kenya is better known as Wamai. This defender is considered an anchor, acting more as an alternative to Jager. His gadget is called the MagNET, a totally oddity that can be placed almost anywhere on the stage. When activated, the Mag-NET will attract any projectile in its radius and line of sight towards it. That means any sorts of grenades or Operator gadgets will get removed from their trajectory and pulled towards the Mag-NET. Players can counter this with EMPs or gunfire, but the trick is finding it, since the Mag-NET's location is not always obvious. Fortunately, IQ, Thatcher, and Twitch all have their own built-in counters.

• Kali: Jaimini Kalimohan Shah (a.k.a. Kali) hails from India, bringing along the experience that comes with creating her own private security firm and working alongside the Indian government. This attacker introduces an all-new weapon to Rainbow Six Siege: a CSRX 300 bolt action sniper rifle. If that's not enough, her sniper rifle has a special attachment, where she can equip the LV Explosive Lance. The LV Explosive Lance is a sticky explosive that can stick to walls on impact. Fired from a distance, Kali can heavily damage walls and destroy nearby gadgets. Just don't use it for hard breaching, since the LV Explosive Lance cannot breach through metal surfaces.

Beyond the Operators, Operation Shifting Tides will also introduce a reworked Theme Park map. This map has undergone some big changes. The biggest change is that the rail platform has been taken out, bringing the East and West sections closer together. The bomb sites have also been shaken up, with the Gargoyle and Haunting Dining sites replaced by Throne Room and Armory. Those looking to step into the theme park's interior will now go through the Gong Room as the main entrance, while the arcade entrance is now blocked.

Ubisoft will look to add some noteworthy gameplay changes to Rainbow Six Siege as a whole. A new limb penetration system is being introduced, allowing for firearms to shoot straight through limbs. That means that, for example, if an Operator is covering their face with their hand, an incoming bullet will no longer just stay lodged in their hand. The bullet will now go through the hand and straight through the head. This will allow for more realistic and accurate damage.

Those looking to take a look at what Operation Shifting Tides will have to offer won't have to wait long. The Rainbow Six Siege Testing Server on PC is set to receive this update this Monday, November 11. Once the update makes the rounds and the developers are able to work out any kinks, look for all versions of Rainbow Six Siege to receive this update.

Ozzie Mejia

Senior Editor

Ozzie has been playing video games since picking up his first NES controller at age 5. He has been into games ever since, only briefly stepping away during his college years. But he was pulled back in after spending years in QA circles for both THQ and Activision, mostly spending time helping to push forward the Guitar Hero series at its peak. Ozzie has become a big fan of platformers, puzzle games, shooters, and RPGs, just to name a few genres, but he’s also a huge sucker for anything with a good, compelling narrative behind it. Because what are video games if you can't enjoy a good story with a fresh Cherry Coke?