Rainbow Six Siege Y6S3 Crystal Guard: New operator Osa, reworks for classic maps, customization updates, and more

Rainbow Six Siege players are getting ready for the start of a new season, with the reveal of the Operation Crystal Guard featuring changes for some of the game’s classic maps and the addition of a new operator.

Here's everything you need to know about the R6 Y6S3 update, so let’s jump into it.

Crystal Guard operator - Osa

Let's start by talking about Osa, the new operator and the first transgender character in Rainbow Six Siege. Her real name is Anja Katarina Jankovic and she comes from Croatia, being an operator thought as a medium speed attacker to control the map.

Her unique ability comes with a transparent full-size bulletproof shield known as "Talon-8", allowing players to unleash their creativity as it can be adhered to window frames, doors or fixed on the floor.

Primary weapons:

• 556xi
• PDW9

Secondary weapon:

• PMM

Gadget:

• Smoke Grenade
• Claymore

Some characters can counte the strategies you want to carry out using her, since Osa's shield won’t resist fragmentation grenades and C4, as well as it can be covered with smoke grenades or fire bombs, so camping with her doesn’t seem like a smart choice.

Map reworks for three classic maps

Three of the most iconic maps in R6 are getting a revamp, with reworks revealed for Bank, Coastline, and Clubhouse.

The Bank will be rebuilt from scratch, with the most noticeable change being the elimination of all the metal bars of the vault, something that players will enjoy as bullets used to hit them more than enemies during shootings.

Some roof skylights will be blocked to prevent unfair firefights, while other lines of sight will be adjusted to prevent spawn peaks, Boulevard vehicles have been moved to new locations to prevent runout eliminations, the filing cabinets from 1F will be removed, and a new alleyway to connect the Boulevard and Back Alle will be added.

In the case of Coastline, a destructible wall will be added in the VIP lounge which can be accessed from the cockpit. New points for rappelling from the DJ booth to the roof will be available as well, just below the purple roofs.

Clubhouse will be designed so that you can move around the entire map more freely and thus avoid having to rappel to climb the buildings. The position of the bombs has also changed, and now defenders will be able to withstand more the attacks of their rivals.

Operator updates for IQ, Fuze and Twitch

In Operation Crystal Guard, three operators will receive interesting balance changes according to what was revealed by Daniel Pares, senior gameplay programmer.

Starting with IQ, her electronic field detector will now allow all devices to be viewed on a 3D mesh and marked with intelligent ping systems. Her teammates will be able to see what she detects, and the map elements will be reflected on her monitor before marking them, in order to identify them more easily.

As for Fuse, his explosive charges can now be placed on reinforced walls with a short delay in their activation time. This will allow the defenders to be alert for any noise and thus be able to destroy them, if you shoot a small switch that stops the rain of bombs.

Moving on with Twitch, her drones can now jump like any other drone, in addition to changing its electricity shot for a laser with infinite range.

Gameplay and customization updates

HP Replaces Armor

Operator armor will be converted to health (HP). 3-Armor Operators have 125 HP, 2-Armor Operators have 110 HP, and 1-Armor Operators have 100 HP.

DBNO Scoring

Players will now get a kill score when they down or completely eliminate an opponent. Players will also receive an assist score when they eliminate an opponent who was already downed by a teammate.

The DBNO scoring event has been removed. This prevents players from gaining unfair intel when they down an opponent who isn't in their line of sight.

Opponent Rim Light

By default, opponents are now highlighted with a rim light, which helps prevent unfair camouflage. This Interface Preference can be turned off in the Options menu.

Elite Customization

Players are now able to equip any headgear with an Elite Uniform and any uniform with an Elite headgear as long as they are both owned and belong to the same Operator.

Operators Price Decrease

Five Operators will see their prices adjusted during Crystal Guard, starting with Maverick and Clash, whose prices are set to go down to 10,000 Renown or 240 R6 Credits. Next, is Amaru and Goyo, with a lowered price of 15,000 Renown or 360 R6 Credits. Last but not least, Zero now costs 20,000 Renown or 480 R6 Credits.

Seasonal Weapon Skins

This season features an explosion of colours in a kaleidoscopic pattern. Acquire the Holographic Bundle to become a visual masterpiece.

The weapon skin will be released at the season launch and is available for purchase throughout the season. Once unlocked, it remains in your inventory indefinitely and can be applied to all available weapons.

Operation Crystal Guard will be available in R6 Siege on 17th August.

• Read more: Rainbow Six Siege Y6S3 Crystal Guard Operator balance changes: All buffs and nerfs

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