It's an exciting time to be a fan of Ubisoft's Rainbow Six Siege. In addition to Ubisoft's announcement that the game would be receiving another year's worth of additional DLC content, the highly anticipated Operation Red Crow update is nearly here. It launches on Nov. 17, and while it primarily adds two new operators and a new map, there are plenty of other new features coming as well.
But first things first: the new operators. On the side of the Attackers is Hibana, an operator who's special ability is the X-Kairos launcher. Judging from the trailer, the launcher appears to be yet another way to breach fortifications from a distance, as the trailer shows it burning through a reinforced wall.
On the side of the Defenders is Echo, a new drone wielding operator. Unlike previous drones, however, Echo's can fly and does far more than scout enemy positions. Echo's drone is equipped with a supersonic sound wave that disorients enemies caught in the blast.
In addition to the new operators and a new map called Skyscraper, Ubisoft is using the update as an opportunity to improve other areas of the game as well.
Matchmaking is seeing some changes that will no longer take player experience into account, which means it should now be a more accurate gauge of overall player skill.
A few changes are coming to Blackbeard's MK17CQB and Capitao's Parafal in the form of lower damage overall, and fans of the SMG-11 will be sad to know that the weapon's ACOG scope has been removed.
A major game balance change is also coming in the form of how much damage shots to the neck and limbs inflict. Neck shots will now deal just as much damage as headshots, while limb hits will now deal x1 damage instead of their previous x.75.
Environmental destruction is a big part of Rainbow Six Siege, so it's nice to see that Ubisoft is bringing some improvements to that key area of the game as well in Operation Red Crow. Stronger weapon calibers will now generate larger holes and impulses in the environment.
And for players who love to get the look of their favorite operators just right, a number of new weapon skins and customization options are making their debut on Nov. 17 too, alongside a long list of bug fixes.
You can read the full Operation Red Crow patch notes.
