Operation Shadow Legacy marks the introduction of Sam Fisher to Rainbow Six Siege. Ubisoft revealed the upcoming operation today, which plans to introduce Sam as this season’s new operator, re-launch the Chalet map with a new rework, and bring multiple changes. As usual, Ubisoft didn’t announce a release date, but the new operation is coming to the PC test server on August 17, so you won’t have to wait long to try Sam Fisher out for yourself.
Sam Fisher comes to Rainbow Six Siege with the codename ‘Zero’ and his Argus Launcher gadget, a pistol that shoots a two-way drill camera that can penetrate soft and reinforced walls. This lets the attacking team see both sides of a wall, while Sam can control it to shoot a single laser that’s powerful enough to destroy gadgets or deal damage to a defender. Sam can equip the MP7 as well as two unique weapons: the SC3000K assault rifle and Karambit knife. Sam’s classic Five-Seven suppressed pistol is also available in his arsenal.
As for players’ arsenals, you may notice something different in the next season: Ubisoft has changed up a lot of the optics and sights. A number of the optics have been redesigned, while several assault rifles now no longer have access to the ACOG scope. This has been replaced for some operators with several different scopes that feature different ranges. It’s a little disappointing that I’ll have to get used to new optics, but admittedly, it is nice to see some shake-up in an area that needed it.
Sam and the new sights join Siege alongside the reimagined Chalet map, which makes some substantial changes. There’s now a new hallway in the basement, and the trophy room is no longer home to any objectives–its bomb site has been switched to the dining room. The kitchen also doesn’t feature a window anymore, preventing players from being able to peer inside of the house for an easy kill or vice-versa.
One of the most significant changes is the new reinforcement pool, which was one of the big highlights of the Siege preview event. Each team has a pool of 10 reinforcements, and each player can reinforce up to four walls. This means you won’t be stuck without reinforced walls if someone decides to run off and roam.
The new operation also introduces the Hard Breach Charge secondary gadget. This is a big square gadget that operators like Capitao and Ying will have access to, allowing them to pop open a kill hole in a reinforced wall. While Thermite, Hibana, and Ace still feel clutch, this gives talented teams more options for breaching an objective.
Operation Shadow Legacy also introduces an improved ping system that helps players ping traps, enemies, and locations with more detail. Each player is given a number at the beginning of the game, and when someone pings, their number is shown. This should make it easier to tell where a specific person is pinging when their are multiple pings popping up on a map.
Speaking of maps, players will now be asked to ban maps at the beginning of certain modes like Ranked. Each team will ban one map of three shown, and whichever one is left over is where you’ll play–though you can choose to ban no maps, which will cause the game to randomly choose between the remaining playing fields.
Operation Shadow Legacy may only include one operator, but it’s changing a lot–one of the smaller changes will see Thatcher’s EMP grenades disable gadgets instead of destroying them. We’ll report back when an official release date is announced, but until then, PC players can enjoy the test server starting August 17. And if you want to get into Siege, Ubisoft has announced a free-play weekend that will last from August 27 to September 4. This free-play period will give you access to the full game and its 20 legacy operators.
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