It’s time for a new season of Rainbow Six Siege, and with it comes some fresh blood. While most games treat new characters as same same but different, Siege’s small army of operators are a different sort of breed. They’re soldiers with more subtle differences than you’d expect, covertly changing the narrative of a game with their arrival and forcing veterans to adopt new strategies with which to deal with them while other players incorporate new tactics into their arsenal that makes the most of their unique skills.
Operation Steel Wave will see two new Operators make their debut: Conservationist Melusi from South Africa, and the Norwegian influencer with a gun Ace. Here’s a breakdown on their loadouts, stats and backgrounds:
Melusi
Understanding is the only tool that vanquishes ignorance.
- Role: Defender
- Primary weapons: T-5 SMG and Super-90 Shotgun
- Secondary weapon: R15 Handgun
- Gear: Impact grenade and deployable shield
- Stats: Speed 3, Armour 1
Gadget: Banshee
The Banshee can be deployed on a horizontal and vertical surface, and emits a loud buzzing noise whenever an attacker steps into its radius or line of sight, of which it has considerable range.
The Banshee is also capable of slowing attacker movement down (but not their aim) once it has been triggered, with the efect becoming more powerful the closer they get to the device.
Biography
Born in the small town of Louwsburg near the Ithala Game Reserve, Ndlovu spent many years exploring with her friend, Elna Gardiner. As they grew, so did their appreciation of and sense of responsibility for the animals on the reserve. The threat from poachers fueled their determination, and though haunted they focused on the lives they could save, rather than past casualties.
Ndlovu signed up with the South African National Defence Force to broaden her skillset and fund her field ranger training. Her persistence and dedication brought her to the attention of the 1 Parachute Battalion, until an ambush in the Central African Republic left her badly wounded.
When Gardiner, who had become an accomplished veterinarian, asked for help defending Hluhluwe–Imfolozi Park, Ndlovu resigned from the military and began training local women in tracking, interception, and surveillance. Together, they are the heart of the Inkaba Task Force Anti-Poaching Unit.
Ace
The perfect shot, like the perfect rescue, is all about the framing.
- Role: Attacker
- Primary weapons: AR-12 Assault Rifle and M1014 Shotgun
- Secondary weapon: P9 Handgun
- Gear: Breach charge and smoke grenade
- Stats: Attack 2, Speed 2
Gadget: SELMA
Sequentially exploding hard-breach gadgets, SELMA gadgets can be thrown at walls to create new breach points of various sizes.
This allows for new line of sight firing points to be created, or patient attackers can wait it out and have a new entrance made for them to storm into a room. SELMA can blow through hatches, but you’ll need two of them to take out a reinforced one.
Biography
Born in a quiet but historic village, Haugland benefited early on from high praise and a lack of competition. Consistently the best at whatever he set his mind to, he easily imagined himself as an admired pediatric surgeon and enrolled in medical school. However, he soon discovered that memorizing theory wasn’t to his liking and instead opted for paramedic training in order to get into the action more quickly.
The Norwegian Armed Forces brought him into a new world of achievement. He completed basic training and joined the Norwegian Home Guard, where he acquired a reputation for heroics. After completing his service obligation, he was accepted into the Forsvarets Spesialkommando and took part in a prominent hostage rescue soon afterward. As part of a joint UN operation in Somalia, his tendency toward theatrics and his impulsive nature resulted in him saving Kali’s life. The offer to join NIGHTHAVEN swiftly followed.
Last Updated: May 18, 2020
