Rainbow Six Siege, Ubisoft’s tactical character-based shooter enters the last season of Year 6. A lot is riding on the season as the game’s popularity is on the wane in recent times. This is due to several factors, such as new FPS releases like Battlefield 2042, Valorent’s rampant success in the EU and US regions and also general lack of content in R6 itself. High Calibre looks to remedy all of that with a new Defense Op Thorn, a brand new gun (after 1 year 3 months) and a complete rework of a newer map. So, strap in for the final season of Year 6.
New Defender: Thorn
The star attraction of the new season is obviously the new Irish defensive operator Brianna ‘Thorn’ Skehan. Thorn is part of the Garda Síochána, a unit of the national police service of the Republic of Ireland. You can read about her backstory on Ubisoft’s official website linked here. Her vital info is listed below:
| Side | Defender |
| Health | 2 |
| Speed | 2 |
| Role | Anchor |
Thorn: Primary Weapons
UZK50GI
Thorn’s brand new SMG is a UZI variant chambered in .50GI rounds. The gun is unique to Thorn alone and like Tachanka’s RP-46 Degtyaryov LMG, it can be used to create rotations and destroy walls and floors to create unique lines of sight. The gun has a high damage per shot of 44 and has a relatively high damage output. The downsides however are the low magazine size of 22 and low rate of fire. It will interesting to see how good or bad the gun does as the season progresses, but currently, the weapon has potential.
M870
Thorn also comes equipped with Jaegar and Bandit’s M870 shotgun. One of the most powerful pump-action shotguns available, the M870 packs one hell of a punch at close range and can kill a victim outright if all pellets connect. This shotgun also has a quicker pump-action than the others.
Thorn: Secondary Weapons
1911 TACOPS
The 1911 is an above-average power, it can take down Light Armored Operators in 2 shots at its optimum range, with an additional bullet (3 shots) to kill Medium and Heavy Armored operators. Even after damage drop-off, this pistol can still kill both Light Armored and Medium Armored Operators in 3 shots, with Heavy Armored Operators requiring 4 in total.
C75 Auto
The C75 Auto features somewhat harsh recoil and a fairly high rate of fire. It is distinctly different from other machine pistols as its customization is very limited: it can only be fitted with a suppressor and is limited to iron sights only. However, the weapon has a lower rate of fire than most other Machine Pistols making it somewhat more controllable as a machine pistol.
Thorn Primary Gadget: Razorbloom Shell
Thorn’s Unique Gadget is the Razorbloom Shell, a proximity grenade that can be thrown and attached to any surface. When deployed, any Attacker that enters its radius will start the Razorbloom’s timer, followed by a powerful explosion a short moment later.
On its own, the gadget seems to be a bit weak but the grenades work well with Defender gadgets that can slow down Attackers, such as Barbed Wire, Melusi’s Banshee Device, Clash’s Electro Shield, or Lesion’s Gu Mines, preventing them from escaping the Razorbloom’s explosive radius.
Razorbloom grenades can be destroyed from a distance by explosions, gunfire, and laser devices such as Twitch’s Shock Drone and Zero’s Argus Cameras. Moreover, IQ can spot Razorblooms with her Electronics Scanner. Thatcher’s EMP nades can also disable the device.
Thorn Secondary Gadget
Thorn is equipped with Barbed Wire and Deployable Shield as her secondary gadgets. As such the utility the deployable shield provides will likely make it the dominant secondary choice for most Thorn players. However, the slow effect of the barbed wires presents an interesting gameplay synergy with her primary gadget and as such can be part of ingenious strategies.
Thorn: Availibity
Thorn is available to all players who buy into the premium track of the Year 6 Season 4 Battle Pass. She can also be unlocked later for 25,000 renown as well.
Map Rework: Outback
Outback is the last completely new map that was released for the game. Never a fan favourite and with this update, Ubisoft looks to address some key issues that plague the map. the main building and its exterior have been modified to allow Attackers to create and execute more effective strategies. New exterior soft walls have been added to the building, and some areas have been refurbished and cleaned up to remove junk and provide better lines of sight and balance.
A few new locations have been added to the map:
- 1F Convenience Store, 1F Compressor Room, 1F Gear Store, and 1F Beer Fridge have been combined into 1F Bike Repair and 1F Mechanic Shop.
- 2F Office Supply is larger and has an exterior soft wall.
- 1F Restaurant has been split into two rooms: 1F Restaurant and 1F Shark.
- 2F Covered Terrace is now an interior area that connects 2F Mezzanine and 2F Piano Room. The 2F Piano Room stairs have been removed.
Bomb sites have been moved:
- The bombsites that were previously in 2F Dorms and 2F Laundry have been moved to 2F Laundry and 2F Piano Room.
Operator Balancing
FINKA CHANGES
- She can now use the Adrenal Surge to revive herself, which is more consistent with other devices in-game, like Doc’s Stim Pistol.
- Her recoil boost has been removed.
- The Adrenal Surge cooldown has been increased to 20 seconds (was 10 seconds).
ECHO + MOZZIE
- Increased drones’ time outside the building to 10 seconds (was 3 seconds).
BULLETPROOF CAMERA REWORK
- Defenders can now rotate the Bulletproof Camera and use it to fire EMP bursts that disable opponent devices. EMP bursts cannot be fired by Attackers when the camera is hacked.
CAMERAS LOSE SIGNAL
- When placed outdoors, Valkyrie’s Black Eye (bye bye UAV Black Eyes), Maestro’s Evil Eye, and the Bulletproof Camera will now lose signal after 10 seconds. The player must pick up and redeploy the cameras elsewhere to regain signal.
Other Changes
The new season also introduces multiple changes to several aspects of Siege. The default team colours have changed from blue and orange to orange and red, although players can change the colours in their settings as needed. Fans can even enjoy the Elite 2.0 customization update, allowing them to adjust their operators in the loadout screen. New 3D weapons will be included in the new battle pass, too, giving guns an exciting custom look.
