It’s been rumored for some time now, but now it’s confirmed – Rainbow Six Siege Year 5 Season 3, entitled Operation Shadow Legacy, will feature none other than Splinter Cell’s Sam Fisher. Codenamed “Zero,” Sam Fisher was actually the first member of the Rainbow Operations staff, and he’s back to teach the youngsters a few lessons. Fisher will be the only new Season 3 operator, but the update will include a number of other features to look forward to, including a Chalet rework, an updated Ping system, match replays, a new hard breach gadget, and more. You can check out the Operation Shadow Legacy gameplay, below.
Here’s are your Rainbow Six Siege Operation Shadow Legacy patch notes:
New Attacker – Zero (Sam Fisher)
Intel is crucial to a good attack strategy, and Zero is well aware of that. His Argus Launcher is equipped with very special cameras that can lodge themselves into breakable and reinforced surface to surveil either side. Yes, these cameras can cover two angles and effectively allow you to spy on the opposing team. Argus Cameras do have one more quirk though: a single laser shot, perfect for destroying key elements in the Defenders’ setup or drawing attention away from choke points.
Map Rework: Chalet
The Basement and Kitchen sites were already quite strong, so the changes there were minor. One hallway was added to improve rotation between the sites in Basement, and we switched out the Trophy site for a new one in Dining. For Bar and Gaming, the difference is mostly in access and rotation, as it is for most of the map. Doors were moved, and a new hallway on the South side links them together.
Finally, you’ll find the biggest changes with Bedroom and Office. The stairs that led up from the first floor have been moved to connect Trophy and a brand-new room that replaces the balcony next to Master Bedroom: the Solarium. The Bathroom no longer connects directly into Bedroom, but rather serves as a rotation point.
Overall, you’ll find that the map has been greatly reconfigured, whether it be by changing the cover inside objectives, or moving access points, or even offering new options for rotation. However, it remains widely recognizable and keeps its signature thematic.
Thatcher Changes
The Disabled State for Electronic Gadget (DSEG) is an update aiming to add a “disabled” state for gadgets, besides “active” or “destroyed”. The duration of this states depends on the ability from the opposite operator that caused the gadget to be disabled. Gadgets in that state can still be deployed and can still be detected by Operators with the proper gadgets.
In this new phase, we’re aiming to implement a loss of functionality for all Defenders gadgets across the board when Thatcher uses his EMP Grenade. Rather than having some gadgets destroyed and others disabled for a short amount of time, we’re choosing to unify the behavior of gadgets affected by Thatcher and have them all be disabled temporarily.
PING 2.0
The new Ping system is coming! On top of regular yellow pings, you’ll now be able to use contextual pings both while in Character and while using Cameras and Drones. You’ll also be able to keep pinging after being eliminated, so your ability to give your teammates intel will remain. A few notes, however:
- You can reveal opposing Operators by pinging their primary gadget.
- Regular yellow pings have assigned numbers to make for easier callouts.
- The reticle used to determine where your ping will go can be turned off in Options.
- When using a controller, the default Ping input has been switched with the Swap Fire Mode input.
Map Ban
We’re introducing a new feature called the Map Ban that will allow players to gain more control over the maps they play, both on Ranked and Unranked. Before a match, each team will be able to ban one map from a random pre-selection of three maps from the pool. Banning the same map will result in a random selection from the two remaining maps while banning two different maps, by elimination, will result in the selection of the remaining map. Players can also choose not to ban any maps.
Secondary Gadget: Hard Breach Charge
As we did last season, we’re once again bringing a new secondary gadget to the game. This time, however, the gadget is for the Attacking team. Much like the Breach Charge, this gadget is meant to be deployed on a wall, hatch, or barricade, and blast through it. However, the Hard Breach Charge also works on reinforced surfaces, and leaves a medium-sized hole that Operators can navigate. Take care not to stay too close, because the charge is automatically activated shortly after deployment is done!
New Optics And Sight Colors
In an effort to make Rainbow Six Siege a game anyone can enjoy, we are introducing a new feature that will increase the accessibility of the game. We’re implementing new optics and sight colors to allow for a better experience to players that are colorblind or visually impaired. Our menu section now includes an “ACCESSIBILITY” tab that proposes various color options adapted to different forms of color blindness (Deuteranopia, Protanopia and Tritanopia). A custom option is also available for anyone to adjust the sight colors to their preference. Players will get to preview those sight options in small and full screen mode before making their choice. We aim to increase the comfort level for all of our players and ensure everyone has the best experience possible.
Reinforcement Pool
We’re changing the way teams prepare for combat with the new Reinforcement Pool system. Rather than have 2 reinforcements to deploy each in their inventories, Operators will now take from a Reinforcement Pool, including 10 available reinforcements to share with teammates. The pool will decrease by 1 for each reinforcement used and will increase by 1 for each failed reinforcement.
The goal of this update is to bring some balance to the Defending team, allowing Operators that already have a lot of preparation before a match to leave it to others. This can also allow for more experienced player to take on the reinforcements if newer players have less knowledge of the map. This feature is also available in PvE, in Protect Hostage. At the moment, we have removed the amount of reinforcements HUD for the caster. The HUD for the Reinforcement Pool should be added in the coming months.
Siege Stats
Another update we are proud to offer is the arrival of a stats tracker available to all players on our website, available during the season. You have been vocal about how important tracking your performance is, so you will soon be able to access your history through the brand new MY SIEGE STATS section on our website.
With only your username, you will be able to access your stats for the current season and break it down into monthly and weekly summaries. You’ll also be able to access your previous seasons, add friends to see how their stats stack up to your own, receive weekly personalized recaps of your best matches and check out the advanced stats pro players use to track their performance!
Squadfinder
We’re offering a brand-new service called SquadFinder on our website to help Rainbow Six Siege players find the perfect teammates and build the best Squad in the game. SquadFinder allows players to create a profile based on their in-game data and play habits and set-up a request following their game sessions, languages, playstyle and game mode. The matching system will then connect them to players with similar stats and with good compatibility. From then on, you can send and accept friend requests, allowing players to gain new teammates and friends to join the fight. The more we are, the better the experience will be!
Shadow Legacy Weapon Skin
Last but certainly not least we’re excited to unveil our latest seasonal skin ready to make you feel like the greatest of heroes. Enjoy the Penumbra Cell weapon skin, a reinvention that will make you relive the glory of Splinter Cell. With the arrival of our new operator, Zero, we are revisiting the franchise to offer you a seasonal skin you won’t want to miss out on.
Balancing
With the introduction of the hard breach charge, new sights and scopes, the change to the DSEG 1.2, and other gameplay balancing updates in this update; we’re holding off on operator-related balancing changes for the time being to evaluate their impact.
Loadouts:
- Montagne: Hard breach charge replacing Stun Grenades.
- Ying: Hard breach charge replacing Breach Charges.
- Fuze: Hard breach charge replacing Smoke Grenades.
- Finka: Hard breach charge replacing Breach Charges.
- Amaru: Hard breach charge replacing Claymore.
- Nøkk: Hard breach charge replacing Breach Charges.
- Capitão: Hard breach charge replacing Stun Grenades.
- Lion: Hard breach charge replacing Claymore.
Maverick
- Maverick now has an additional blowtorch canister, with 6 in all (up from 5).
- This gives players more leniency when rationing their fuel to open hatches. On average it requires approximately 2.3 canisters to open a hatch, so an extra canister will be a bit more forgiving of mistakes.
Phew! That’s a lot of new stuff! In addition to everything listed about, Ubisoft will also be reducing the price of certain Rainbow Six Siege operators, including Amaru, Goy, Maverick, Clash, Ying, Lesion and Ela. If need to know about every minor tweak and bug fix included in the Operation Shadow Legacy update, you can get the full, unabridged patch notes, right here.
Rainbow Six Siege is available now on PC, Xbox One, and PS4. Operation Shadow Legacy hits test servers today. A full release date has yet to set, but Siege updates tend to remain in testing for around a month, so expect an official launch in mid-September.
