Operation Split Fire brings many changes to the game. Notably, and as expected, a new operator-Noor. Noor is a 2-speed, 2-health defender originating from Egypt. He is equipped with the Commando 9 or the Alda 5.56 as his primary choices, and the 1911 Tacops or the Bailiff as his secondary. The guns he has show how Ubisoft intends him to be played, especially seeing as his utility is barbed wire, or a deployable shield.
But Noor is not interesting for that. His main ability gives him many unique interactions and a high skill ceiling. His ability gives him a “Horus Lance Launcher”. This is a launcher that fires an ash type projectile, that when it lands, it digs into the target (wall, reinforced wall, shield, barricade) and will eject fire from both sides if it can, and destroy utility it hits (even team utility). But it doesn’t destroy everything, a Lana clone and an armed Flores drone both are exempt from being destroyed. If a shield is hit with this gadget, they will have a couple of seconds to take it out before it starts to hurt them, meaning they’ll have to take it out to live.
This leaves them exposed, however. If they don’t turn and face the other way so that their shield is still facing the defender, making it feel a bit like Lesion. You will know if it can blow fire out of both sides, if the top arrow on the sights of his gadget is there. You start with five uses of the ammo, and you can shoot two before having to reload, which is strong because you can deny space for 10 seconds with each ammo. However, you can stand up to 2m close to the flame, meaning that he can only deny small entries such as a doorway or an open breach, so the space denial is not as strong as someone like Smoke or Goyo. It takes a two armour 2.75 seconds to die from continually standing in the fire, so it’s unlikely Noor will get many kills directly from this gadget, but the danger of this is what can make the enemy panic and make a mistake- giving a great chance to punish them. Especially as it only takes two seconds from shooting the gadget to aim down sights with the Commando 9, and only a couple of milliseconds more for the Alda 5.56.
So what is the best use for Noor? Having played on the test server I believe that the best use for him is entry denial, not shield counter. His ability to destroy hard breaches from a completely safe distance, unlike many that could do the same, is especially strong, and if paired with someone to aid it even further (such as Tubarão) it makes life very hard for the attackers if they want to open a wall.
This is what I meant when I say Noor has a high skill ceiling, as the proximity is not big at all, and you need to know sound queues perfectly to get this right solo. For example, Thermite’s charge takes three seconds to explode from activation, giving Noor a 0.75s window to shoot his gadget in the right place to stop it. The payoff can be massive though, as many operators like this can only deny hard breach. But Noor can still do other things to help the team, like denying space, and he can kill time. His kit also lends itself to this, as he has everything you really need to anchor. A powerful gun, the bailiff to set up site, and the shield that you can anchor on.
Noor also has a couple of unique interactions. The first being that he is a complete counter to Ram. The second is with lesion. As no matter which order the attacker got both the lance and the mine, the lance will always get taken out first.
WHAT ELSE HAS CHANGED?
Kapkan’s traps have gone from 60 damage to 62, a negligible change which doesn’t impact him much.
Aruni and Tuberao lost their muzzle breaks on their respective DMR each. This is a straight up nerf to them and just makes them less powerful.
The biggest change gun wise, though, is the SMG-12 as Ubisoft aims to make people less reliant on it.
The SMG-12’s damage to is reduced to 16hp from 28hp. The magazine’s capacity has been reduced to 22 bullets from 32 bullets. The maximum ammo is reduced to 111 bullets from 129 bullets. These changes emphasize controlled bursts over prolonged firing, increasing the importance of precision and timing. Essentially, the SMG-12 is majorly weaker now.
Kali has had some big buffs, looking at her sniper. She now has a 3x scope and an 8x scope. This means that she can be more involved in pushes and will excel in mid-long range fights. This is even more obvious when you realise her fire rate has also been improved, she can now shoot about every second. Her damage is still 1 shot from above the hip, meaning that in the right hands she can completely control the long to medium angles as there is even more room for error. Also, she can now activate her gadget while ads, making her feel much better to play.
Changes have also been made to Dokkaebi. New interactions include Solis, IQ, and Mute. Solis can see Dokkaebi’s Ipad when she is sending the signal as it requires a constant connection to deliver the ‘payload’ now, meaning extra intel for the defenders. IQ can now see the phone that has been targeted, making the two attackers have great synergy, allowing for more plays. Lastly, Mute’s jammer will automatically remove the signal from Dokkaebi.
NON CHARACTER CHANGES
Villa has had a slight rework, with focus on the basement. This is because it was getting such small usage compared to the rest of the map. Ubisoft explains that “the Living Room/Library bomb site moves downstairs to create an alternative objective and diversify site selection”, adding that “The garage is now interior instead of exterior, changing how Attackers might approach through the east side of the map.” While the basement is stronger now, it still feels like it’s not enough to change people from the already favoured sites.
PLAYLIST ADDITIONS
There are three new additions coming; Legend division, 3v3, and drone racing.
While no gameplay was available for the drone racing, the description of it sounded rather exciting. You’ll be able to pick up items and race, and get points where you finish in the race.
The Legend Division is an exclusive game mode for the highest level of players. This is available to current champion players who have a rank history, having had to be above platinum last season. The players will enrol in their region and will be locked in to it. The top 100 players will get a charm corresponding to their finish. To avoid cheating, there will be lots of requirements to join this, and there is a dedicated team to watch the leaderboards looking out for cheaters.
Rainbow Six Siege Y11 S3 is launching on September 1st.
