Rainbow Six Siege spreads fear with Operation Dread Factor

Tom Clancy's Rainbow Six Siege is moving forward into the next part of Year 8 and things are about to get a little scary. Operation Dread Factor can be described in a single word: fear. Nobody encapsulates that more than Siege's newest Operator, the Defender known as Fenrir. Shacknews recently got to take a first look at Fenrir while also checking out some other things coming to Ubisoft Montreal's long-running tactical shooter.

Fenrir comes from the friendly nation of Sweden, but there's nothing jovial about what he brings to the table. This Defender takes a different route when it comes to stopping the opposition. Fenrir is less a hardened soldier and more of a mad scientist and it certainly shows through both his unique uniform and his main gadget. Of course, he is plenty capable on the battlefield, whether he's opting for an MP7 SMG or SASG-12 shotgun.

The F-NATT Dread Mine is Fenrir's signature gadget. These are mines that can be placed anywhere and once they open up, they unleash fear gas. Comic book fans may read this and immediately think of Scarecrow's fear gas from the Batman series and they wouldn't be that far off. Any attackers that step too close to the F-NATT's gas are consumed by fear to the point that their surroundings are clouded by an illusion of darkness. For the attackers, this spells disaster, because it leaves them wide open to fire from any defenders. It also makes it more likely that they'll stumble into other defensive traps, like Thorn's Razorbloom Shell.

There is one major catch to the F-NATT Dread Mine and that's that they need to be activated manually. Fenrir can deploy five mines, but only three can be remotely activated. Players can deploy all five mines and select which ones to activate, at which point attackers who step in their vicinity will be exposed to the gas. They can also opt to simply deploy only three mines and just activate the three of them. Once the three activation codes are used up, that's it. If a mine is destroyed, there's no deploying a fourth and activating it.

With that said, there are counters to the F-NATT Dread Mine. Explosives can remove them, so if you're going in loud with certain Operators, it's possible to just blow them up. However, a more surefire way to remove them is through EMPs. Twitch's Shock Drones, IQ's Spectre electronics detector, and Thatcher's EMP grenades are just a few gadgets that can directly counter Fenrir's Dread Mines. A more outside-the-box solution is Finka, whose Adrenaline Surge can act as a direct counter to the F-NATT's fear effect.

Another major addition to Operation Dread Factor is a total rework of Consulate, a map that goes all the way back to Siege's original 2015 launch. Every aspect of the old map has been adjusted, including attacker spawn points. A new staircase has been added to the basement level to take teams to the first floor. The first floor has been totally redesigned and even includes a new bomb site. New hatches have been added to take advantage of some of Siege's recent mechanical additions. Some areas, like the spiral staircase, haven't changed from a mechanical standpoint, but have received a total visual overhaul to make it feel more modern.

Look for some other new features to come to Siege with Operation Dread Factor. The Shooting Range will receive a new update and allow for players to create custom scenarios. Plus, for those Siege players who want something a little different, Ubisoft Montreal is adding a new permanent Arcade playlist, which will contain some of the various limited-time arcade modes that have graced Siege over the years. This includes modes like Free For All, Team Deathmatch, Snipers Only, Headshots Only, and Golden Gun.

As far as in-game features go, expect to see an all-new gadget called the Observation Blocker. This is a one-way screen for defenders, in which the opposing team's recon tools cannot see through it from a distance. Plus, Siege is looking to open the door to more players with new controller layout options.

Rainbow Six Siege will bring Operation Dread Factor to PC, PlayStation, and Xbox on Tuesday, May 30. We'll continue to watch for the latest from the world of Siege, so keep it on Shacknews for any updates.

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?