Rainbow Six Siege‘s upcoming Operation Shadow Legacy just went into early access. PC players can give the new operation a test drive and experience the significant gameplay changes firsthand, Ubisoft announced today.
Shadow Legacy introduces a new operator that hails from another Tom Clancy franchise. Splinter Cell‘s Sam Fisher is making his way to Rainbow as Zero, a medium-speed, medium-armored operator who excels at gathering intel.
Zero’s unique gadget, the Argus Launcher, shoots a security camera that lodges itself inside breakable or reinforced walls and allows the attackers to surveil two angles at once. Argus cameras also have a laser shot that can destroy pesky defender gadgets, such as Jäger’s ADS or Mute jammers.
The operator carries the trademark SC3000K or the MP7 as a primary firearm, the 5.7 USG as a secondary, and can choose between frag grenades or Claymores as gadgets.
Shadow Legacy is turning more operators into faux Hard Breachers. The new Hard Breach Charge gadget lets players blast through reinforced walls similar to Thermite, Hibana, or Ace but with reduced efficiency.
The new gadget has a long delay until detonation and creates smaller holes, enough to crouch or vault through. The aim of the gadget is to reduce pressure on hard breachers and provide the attackers with more alternatives.
The operators that can carry the Hard Breach Charge into a match are Montagne, Ying, Fuze, Finka, Amaru, Nokk, Capitão, and Lion. The new charge took the place of another gadget in their loadouts.
The operation is also overhauling the callouts system with Ping 2.0. Players can notify teammates of hazards and enemy gadgets even when they’re downed to make intel-sharing easier than ever. Pinging gadgets will reveal the location of their owner, which can synergize well with Zero’s intel-gathering capacities.
Shadow Legacy is also letting players take a stab at the long-anticipated Match Replay feature, which will let fans relive their best (and worst) moments. The feature may not make its way out of the Test Server for the time being, however. “By releasing the feature this season on our Test Server, we intend to gather all your feedback on this feature first, then pull it back to polish and improve it,” Ubisoft said.
Chalet is also getting an overhaul as part of another map rework. Bedroom and Office bore the brunt of the changes, with new access points and rotations. A new area called the Solarium will replace the balcony outside the Master Bedroom. The entryway between the bedroom and the bathroom was also severed, and the Bathroom will only serve as a rotation option. Other areas, such as Bar and Gaming, as well as the Kitchen and Basement bomb sites, only saw minor changes.
Operations usually spend approximately three weeks on the Test Server before moving to the live version of Siege. That schedule could place the official release of Shadow Legacy in early September. The update is subject to delays, however, due to the coronavirus pandemic and the sheer magnitude of changes coming to Siege. Ubisoft, as usual, hasn’t officially announced a release date.
