Rainbow Six Operation Steel Wave reveal: New operators, Amaru buff, more

Rainbow Six: Siege’s next operation, titled Steel Wave, has officially been revealed. Two new operators will be added in the Year 5 Season 2 update, as well as a buff to Amaru, changes to Nomad, Kaid, and Kali, and the new Proximity Alarm.

After weeks of speculation, the new Rainbow Six operation is finally here. Operation Steel Wave was officially revealed on May 18, after a bevy of leaks and teasers had players on the edge of their seats.

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Ace and Melusi have joined Team Rainbow in the latest update, while some old faces like Amaru, Nomad, and Kaid have received some changes. A new gadget in the Proximity Alarm has also been added.

Operation Steel Wave attacker: Ace

Ace is the fourth hard breacher in Team Rainbow’s arsenal. The two-speed, two-armor Norwegian attacker’s S.E.L.M.A gadget can blow open reinforced walls and hatches.

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It works similar to a grenade, attaching onto a wall. It then breaks the wall down in segments from top to bottom. Three holes will be blown open if the gadget gets its full deployment off, making an entrance big enough to walk through.

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However, it can be stopped by Mute jammers, Bandit batteries, and Kaid electroclaws, as well as people shooting it from the other side of the wall. The grenade can also be captured by Jager’s and Wamai’s devices.

He comes equipped with the AK-12 rifle and M1014 shotgun as primaries, and the P9 sidearm. He will also have access to breach charges and smoke grenades as his secondary gadgets.

Operation Steel Wave defender: Melusi

Melusi might take Jager’s place as the must-have roamer. The three-speed, one-armor South African defender has access to three Banshee devices designed to slow attackers down.

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The Banshee is deployable on all surfaces, and emits a loud buzzing noise when attackers are in its radius. The closer attackers are to the Banshee, the more they will be interfered with. This includes a slow and a subtle screen shake.

The Banshee can only be destroyed with explosives or melee attacks ⁠— regular fire doesn’t affect it. Partnered with Melusi’s fast speed and T-5 SMG, it can make for a lethal combination.

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Melusi also has access to the Super 90 shotgun and the RG-15 sidearm ⁠— with the reflex sight Ela and Zofia also get. Her secondary gadgets are impact grenades and a deployable shield.

Amaru buffs to Garra Hook

Amaru mains rejoice ⁠— the Peruvian attacker is getting a huge buff in the Operation Steel Wave update. Her Garra Hook will have a lot more uses, and won’t be so obvious to defenders anymore.

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Her hook won’t be as janky anymore, with a smoother animation. It also won’t break barricades until she goes through them, making her entries less obvious. She will also pull out her weapon as she enters ⁠— not when she lands.

Finally, she can breach up through unreinforced hatches without blowing them open. This means you won’t be forced to bring a shotgun when playing her.

House map rework

The House map rework was initially shown off at the Six Invitational, but now it’s here for all players to get their hands on. The renovations to one of Siege’s most beloved casual maps have finally been completed.

House has expanded to have four bomb sites, with a second bomb site on the top floor being added in Car Room (formerly Kid’s Bedroom) and Master Bedroom. Workshop has been turned into a Pink Bedroom, while the rest of the map has gone through a bit of an expansion.

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It’s no longer so confined, although it’s unlikely we will see House in the competitive rotation any time soon. Ubisoft seem keen on keeping House a strictly casual map, but its long-awaited facelift will be welcomed by all.

New Proximity Alarm defender gadget

The Proximity Alarm, first teased at Six Invitational, is coming in Year 5 Season 2. Select defenders will have access to the gadget, which makes a loud beeping noise when attackers are near it, and in its line of sight.

Castle, Wamai, Caveira, Tachanka, Mira, Goyo, Rook, and Oryx will all have access to the Proximity Alarm.

On top of the new gadgets, some smaller changes to pre-existing operator loadouts were made. Kaid and Nomad now have access to the LFP586 revolver as a sidearm, while Kali’s P226 MK 25 pistol has been replaced by the SPSMG9.

Ranked level requirement increased, MMR unified

Finally, the last major change was made to ranked play in Rainbow Six: Siege. Instead of there being different MMRs across different servers (for example, from Europe to North America), all MMRs will be unified in Y5S2.

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Ranked will also be restricted until accounts hit level 50 now to discourage smurfs, as well as give new players a bit more time in casual to learn the ropes.

Operation Steel Wave release date

Operation Steel Wave is likely to go live in the coming hours on the TTS, but don’t expect it to hit live servers for a few weeks.

Usually there’s a three-week buffer, so any time around June 8 is when you can expect Ace and Melusi to be available to all.