We’re very near to the 4th anniversary of Rainbow Six Siege‘s launch. The game is still going strong with a healthy online player base which can be attributed to the continued support from Ubisoft. The latest update coming to the game is Operation Shifting Tides and there’s a strong chance the meta is going to be shaken up this time.

Operation Shifting Tides will introduce two new operators and one new map rework. It will be the fourth and final season in Year 4. If you have Year 4 Pass then you’ll immediately unlock the two new operators the moment Operation Shifting Tides launches, otherwise you’ll have to wait a week before you can purchase them using Renown or R6 credits. The reworked map will be free for all players.

Kali Snipes Her Way In

The new Attacker operator introduced in Operation Shifting Tides is Kali, head of an Indian private military company. She’s medium-speed and medium-armour. What truly makes her an interesting addition is her main weapon: a custom CSRX 300 rifle.

The CSRX 300 that Kali carries is a bolt-action sniper rifle that can punch through breakable walls and multiple enemies. Headshots are lethal, of course, but what makes the weapon really devastating is that it will instantly down anyone shot in the torso.

To balance things out, it’s really loud and the bullets leave behind a smoke trail that will clearly tell everyone where the shots are coming from. Also, those who are downed by it will automatically spin in the direction of the shot, letting them point out where Kali is to their teammates.

When facing reinforced walls or hatches, Kali isn’t completely helpless. She’s got an LV Explosive Lances as her gadget, which are deployed from an underbarrel launcher attached to her CSRX 300. These little bad boys will dig into any breakable and reinforced surfaces and then blow up on both sides.

The LV Explosive Lances can take out a host of Defenders’ gadgets such as Maestro’s Evil Eyes, barbed wire, deployable shields, and more. However, they won’t make an opening in reinforced barriers and have no effect on Mira’s Black Mirrors. They can also be easily destroyed by just shooting the tail end (not the tip at the other side of the wall) while they’re digging into a wall and even if you’re not quick enough for that, they do very little damage to enemies anyway.

Kali has two sidearm options: the P226 Mk 25 or the C75-Auto.

Wamai, An Attractive Defender

Employed by Kali’s PMC, Wamai is a Kenyan defender who is also joining Team Rainbow. Like Kali, he’s got medium-armour and medium-speed. What truly makes Wamai special is his gadget called the Magnetic Neutralizing Electronic Targeting System AKA the Mag-NET.

The Mag-NET is basically a disc that can be thrown to stick onto surfaces and what they do is that they will pull in projectiles towards them. For example, if it catches a flashbang, it will stop the projectile mid-air, reset the timer, and then detonate itself along with the flashbang. Of course, you’ll still get flashed if you’re facing the explosion.

This might seem weak at first but when you understand it gives Wamai the ability to control and divert how projectiles behave, then you’ll see why he’s an attractive Defender. The Mag-NET also catches special projectiles such as Ash’s Breaching Rounds, Ying’s Candelas, Nomad’s Airjabs, and more. However, it doesn’t affect Hibana’s X-Kairos pellets and Twitch’s shock drone charges.

By placing the Mag-NETs in locations that would divert Attackers’ projectiles towards themselves and their own teammates, Wamai can potentially mess up the entire attacking team’s composure and capitalise on it with his MP5K or AUG A2. His sidearms are the Keratos 357 and the P-12.

Welcome To The New Theme Park

Theme Park is the map that will be receiving a reworked version in Operation Shifting Tides. The biggest change is the removal of the train that used to split the second floor. The developers are aiming for quicker navigation and more close-quarter skirmishers with this change. The haunted first floor has been transformed into a throne room and armory, which creates a new bomb location for players to plan around.

There’s also a new walkway above a staircase. This will give a new backdoor to Attackers but Defenders can also use it to flank or get a good vantage point down a major hallway. The first-floor arcade entrance is now completely blocked.

Judging by what’s been shown in the gameplay gadgets and starter tips video, I’m really confident Kali will change the way the game is played. Her one-shot down lethality will be a huge advantage for players who are good at sniping.

Wamai’s Mag-NETs are neat but I’ll have to wait and see how useful they actually are. It seems like they’re too easy to spot which kind of renders them almost useless but since they can be positioned both defensively and offensively, some players will definitely find creative uses for them.

Operation Shifting Tides doesn’t have a release date yet but it’s expected to arrive sometime in early December 2019. It’s scheduled to go live on the PC Test Server on 11 November 2019.