Rainbow Six Siege Operation Steel Wave is now live: Ace and Melusi Operators, new Gadgets and House map rework

Rainbow Six Siege’s Operation Steel Wave is now live and fans can finally experience two brand new operators. The new season also introduces a reworked version of House, a new gadget for players to experiment with, and various other updates and fixes. 

(Picture: Ubisoft)

New Operators 

Ace

(Picture: Ubisoft)

Ace is the newest attacker joining the Rainbow Six ranks and brings a familiar but unique gadget to the table. He is a two speed two armour operator who can move quickly and get his team into bombsites with ease. His S.E.L.M.A Aqua Breacher is an explosive device that breaks through breakable and reinforced surfaces. The device is thrown at whatever surface needs to be breached and then opens to fully deploy. 

The device explodes one time on floors, ceiling, and hatches, but it can explode up to three times on walls if there is available space. The device rolls down after each explosive and creates holes that are similar in size to Mira’s Black Mirror. 

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Ace can use his device to give his teammates an entrance into a fortified area, but players should expect a fight as the enemy players will likely have time to prepare while the device breaches the wall. Players can also stop the device from fully deploying, but the destroyed area can still provide a line of sight for the attacking team. 

The new operator is equipped with an Ak-12 and M1014, can select between a Breach charge or Smoke Grenade, and has a P9 as a secondary weapon.

Melusi

(Picture: Ubisoft)

Melusi is a new one armour two-speed operator with a unique gadget designed to slow down enemies. Her Banshee Sonic Defence is a deployable device that can be placed on surfaces similar to Maestro’s Evil Eyes. The device activates automatically when an enemy player gets close and unleashes a loud scream that slows and slightly disorients their screen. 

It can be destroyed, but it is bulletproof and requires some sort of utility or a close-up strike to silence the scream. This gives Melusi or one of her teammates to eliminate the enemy slowed by the device. 
Melusi is equipped with a T-5 SMG or a Super 90 and has an RG15 as a secondary weapon. She can select from an Impact Grenade or Deployable shield. 

Map Rework:  House

(Picture: Ubisoft)

Players can now experience the new version of House and see all of the new changes around the iconic map. 

Several rooms around the map have been made bigger, and a new section was added on the south side of the house. This new section features two new rooms on each floor and staircase connecting them. Ubisoft made this change to give everyone “more space to breathe”, and they also added a new bomb site in the TV room and Music Room.

The garage has also been revamped as only one door is destructible now. A new barricade was also added to provide a different access option, but planting a diffuser is still difficult. 

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The second-floor workshop is now a finished Girl’s room with a walk in closet which changes the dynamic of covering the area. The lines of sight on the north side of the building have also been reduced, and the shuttered window has been replaced with a hallway. 

A Master Bedroom & Boy’s room have replaced the old Living and Training Bomb site, and floors are now breakable. This last change will add more vertical gameplay and provides more options when navigating the house. Some hatches have been added or moved in response to this change, so make sure to familiarize yourself with these slightly changed access points. 

New Secondary Gadget: Proximity Alarm

 
(Picture: Ubisoft)

The Proximity Alarm is a small device that can be placed around the map and will trigger when an enemy walks past it. Players nearby will hear the alarm and will gather intel on the enemy team’s movement. 

This device can make it easy for the defending team to keep track of enemy movement and prepare for an ensuing attack. 

Other Updates

Operation Steel Wave introduces a big change to the Matchmaking Rating System in Siege. MMR’s will be unified regardless of what region you play in, which means players cannot switch regions and abuse the system. 

A minimum of 100 matches is now required to hit Champions rank as Ubisoft wants to put an emphasis on dedication and not just skill to reach the highest level. Steel Wave also introduces new weapon skins, price reductions on older operators, and various balances and updates to existing operators. 

A full list of changes can be found on the official Rainbow Six: Siege website.

Operation Steel Wave introduces a lot of content and changes for players to enjoy, so we recommend diving in early to be ahead of the competition.