Ubisoft Montreal is kicking off its fifth year of Rainbow Six Siege in a big way. As fans of the series can expect, each season brings new operators, gameplay tweaks, and other new features to satiate the player base. Year 5 is no different, however, you may find a surprise or two at the top of the season.
Acting as the kick-off to Rainbow Six Seige’s Year 5 roadmap, Operation Void Edge has been officially announced during the Rainbow Six Invitational. As with previous seasons of the game, Operation Void Edge introduces two new Operators to the game, Oryx and Iana. Right off the bat, you’ll notice that Oryx and Iana don’t necessarily look like your standard Operators. Oryx is more exposed, wearing very little armour––more on that in a bit––and Iana looks as if she is torn from the pages of a sci-fi novel.
While teased by Ubisoft Montreal this past week, we were invited to get our hands on the new operators and see what each one brings to the ever-growing roster of Operators in the game.
Oryx
Oryx is the newest addition to the Defenders catalogue. Of Jordanian decent, Oryx has the power to instill fear into the eyes of the attacking team once mastered. Oryx’s Gadget is his Remah Dash. Using this dash ability, Oryx is able to run through soft walls and barricades. Running through soft walls will do a small amount of damage to Oryx, but gives you that chance to surprise an enemy. You’ll also be able to tackle Shield Operators such as Blitz. Oryx’s Remah Dash is rechargeable overtime. While playing Oryx, there are some obvious Juggernaught vibes given as you break through a barricade, knocking an enemy down before quickly finishing him off.
Oryx has a passive which grants him the ability to climb and vault through open floor hatches. Approaching an open hatch, Oryx can jump up and peak over a ledge to spy on unsuspecting Attackers. He can also climb up from the open hatch as well. However, you’ll need to be equipped to open the hatch yourself if you want to be proficient. Using either the Spas-12 or Baliff 410 is advantageous when using Oryx.
Oryx is a two speed-two armour Operator. He is also given either barbed wire or a bulletproof camera for his secondary piece of equipment. From a design perspective, he doesn’t wear the traditional armour set most Operators don. This is likely attributed to the fact that the character is more nimble and requires mobility.
Iana
Dutch Operator Iana joins the ranks of Attackers. She has the makings of a fantastic recon and distraction-based Operator. Armed with a Gemini Replicator, Iana is able to create and control a hologram that mimics her movements. Iana’s holograms can be used to track enemies in a more advanced way over the standard drones. The Gemini Replicator hologram can also be used to locate traps and set them off without taking damage. It can also be used to distract enemies and catch the attention of the defending team. However, Iana’s hologram cannot climb ladders or barricades, so it is imperative that you plan your strategy accordingly.
Iana’s holograms will regenerate quickly if disables on the player’s own accord. If the hologram is shot once, the hologram is disabled and will take longer to charge. It’s also worth noting that while it does mimic Iana’s movements, the hologram cannot cause any damage to enemies through the means of shooting, melee, or using secondary gadgets. Like Oryx, Iana is a two armour-two speed Operator. As previously mentioned, her ability is most useful as a support member on a team. You’re able to choose between frag grenades for a more aggressive build or stun grenades for a more passive role.
Game Updates
Alongside Oryx and Iana, the Oregon map will be slightly tweaked to include a redesigned floorplan in the master bedroom area. A new hallway between the big tower and kitchen allows players to bypass the meeting room entirely.
Operation Void Edge will bring a few gameplay tweaks and improvements. The first is the debris replication tweak, which will clean up pieces of the game such as broken barricades. Small updates to attacker drone spawn locations will be implemented as well. Ubisoft Montreal will also be tweaking Twitch and Lesion upon the launch of Operation Void Edge. Finally, a revamped player hub with more information given to players on each game mode will be available.
The test server for Rainbow Six Siege‘s Operation Void Edge will be going live on February 17th and is exclusive to PC.
