Note: Redeemer, karzheka, and Shokei's responses were made before the Operation released on the main build.
The new free expansion that just released saw the two new operators of Goyo and Amaru be introduced to the game while last season’s operators of Nøkk and Warden enters the competitive operator pool. As well as this we have seen a reworked Kanal map come out as well as a number of smaller changes such as with certain operator’s gadget options and a redesign of the deployable shields.
To get some initial impressions on the newest changes to the game before the changes start to impact the professional tournaments we spoke to four major faces across the four regions to get an idea of what we should expect. This includes Eugene "karzheka" Petrishin from the reigning Major and Pro League champions of Team Empire, Taylor "Redeemer" Mayeur who previous played for Spacestation Gaming and cast the DreamHack Montreal 2019 Minor, and Shohma "Shokei" Shiotsuka who plays for the first-placed team in the Japanese Pro League, CYCLOPS athlete gaming.
Karzheka with the Raleigh Major trophy via @ESLRainbowSix. From left to right, standing then crouching: karzheka, JoyStiCK, dan, Scyther, ShepparD and RayzerGM
What are your opinions on Nøkk and Warden and how are they going to factor into the competitive meta?
With Kafe now having been in the rotation for three months, what is your personal opinion of the map? How balanced are the objectives and the map as a whole?
Having seen (and presumably played a little bit of) the new Kanal, what are your impressions of it? Is it a future competitive map?
What are your early opinions on Goyo and Amaru? Could they impact the Pro League meta in the future?
What are your opinions on the balancing changes for this patch, such as the new shields (with slits), the SMG-11 and SMG-12 recoil, operators like Glaz and Dokkaebi being given frag grenades (or Maestro losing his deployable shield in favour of impact grenades)?
The new deployable shield design via rainbow6.ubisoft.com
Other Views
Niclas "Pengu" Mouritzen from G2 Esports on Goyo:
And on Amaru:
Maurice "AceeZ" Erkelenz from the Vodafone Giants and Alexander "Skys" Magor from Team Reciprocity on the gadget changes:
Leon "LeonGids" Giddens from Team Secret at the Ubisoft Experience Birmingham event on August 24th:
Gustavo "Psycho" Rigal from Ninjas in Pyjamas on Amaru and Goyo:
Other Additions
As well as these new operators, map and balance changes, the Operation Ember Rise update also adds in 14 new Pilot Program bundles allowing you to support your favourite organisations in-game for the following prices:
- Complete bundle -- 1680 credits (1,512 with the Season Pass)
- Headgear -- 600 credits (540 with the Season Pass)
- Uniform -- 720 credits (648 with the Season Pass)
- Weapon Skin -- 300 credits (270 with the Season Pass)
- Charm -- 480 credits (432 with the Season Pass)
Finally, the update sees a new lineup of cosmetics available from alpha packs and the release of the Mira Elite:
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The new season is available to play now with these changes debuting in the Pro League on Monday as the Vodafone Giants faces GiFu eSports at 18:00CEST. Check out our prior Operation Phantom Sight pre-season analysis with Pengu, Psycho, and Bosco here and the Operation Wind Bastion analysis with Goga and Beastly here.