Operation New Blood is the second season of Year 9 of Rainbow Six Siege, following the release of Operation Deadly Omen in March. This season will introduce the Recruit remaster, which creates two new Operators to fill the role: Striker on attack and Sentry on defense. While these former Recruits don't have their own unique gadgets, they do have the unique ability to bring two different secondary gadgets, unleashing the potential for some electrifying play-making combos.
Operation New Blood also addresses two dominant Defenders, with balancing updates for Fenrir and Solis, and sharpens barbed wire so it now damages Operators as they move through it. These updates, as well as Versus AI additions, map filter changes, Stadium renovations, and more are coming in Operation New Blood.
Two New Names, Many New Possibilities
Striker and Sentry now fill the Recruit role on attack and defense, respectively, but each can do much more than their predecessor. Each can now be selected in Ranked play, and their appearance can be customized with the usual array of cosmetics, some of which will be available in the Operation New Blood Battle Pass. Unlike other Operators, Striker and Sentry do not have unique gadgets. Instead, each can choose two secondary gadgets to bring into the fray. So Striker can finally realize the Attacker's dream of solo opening an electrified wall by deploying Impact EMP grenades and a hard breach charge. They could also carve their own path towards the objective with a breach charge, and then cover their own flank with a claymore. For every secondary gadget an Attacker could choose, Striker gets to choose two, provided they aren't the same item.
Meanwhile, on defense, Sentry can do the same, but chooses from a very different pool of gadgets. They can focus on staying hidden from Attacker drones by bringing an observation blocker and placing a bulletproof camera nearby to further deter prying eyes. Or they can create some very dangerous situations by placing strategic proximity alarms and lurking nearby with a nitro cell to surprise unwary Attackers.
The key here is flexibility, as both Sentry and Striker open up possibilities for solo and team utility compositions that were not possible before. And each one has a versatile loadout to match: On the attack, Striker brandishes the M4 assault rifle or the M249 light machinegun as their primary, with the 5.7 USG pistol or ITA 12S shotgun as their secondary. Sentry, on the defense, wields the Commando 9 assault rifle or the M870 shotgun as their primary options, with the C75 Auto machine pistol or Super Shorty shotgun in the secondary slot.
Fenrir and Solis Balancing Updates
Operation New Blood also brings balancing changes for Fenrir and Solis to address the two dominant Defenders. Fenrir will now only have four F-NATT Dread Mines to distribute, with two activation codes to deploy amongst them, and the mines will no longer be bulletproof in any state. This means fewer mines can be active at a time and they are easier for Attackers to remove. However, once a mine is destroyed, Fenrir will now be refunded the code instead of losing it, allowing him to more easily use the full complement of his mines. Additionally, his barbed wire option will be replaced with the observation blocker.
As for Solis, her SPEC-IO Electro Sensor will no longer be usable during the prep phase, giving droning Attackers a little more breathing room. Once the action phase is underway, the gadget will have a reduced duration of 10 seconds, as well as a reduced range of 12 meters; plus, it will need to be fully recharged before each activation. Finally, her Impact Grenade option is being replaced with barbed wire. Note that it will now cost Attackers about 5HP per second to move through barbed wire, so choose your steps carefully.
Stadium Renovations, Versus AI Additions, and More
A few more notable updates coming in Operation New Blood include renovations to Stadium Alpha and Stadium Bravo. To make these arenas a bit more competitive, bulletproof glass has been removed in many spots and there are some layout changes to help make certain objective sites more defensible.
The Versus AI map pool is expanding to include Coastline and Nighthaven Labs, and new AI Operators available as opponents include Vigil and Thunderbird. You can now play Versus AI as Ace, Blackbeard, Hibana, and Deimos.
Rainbow Six Siege is available now on PS5, PS4, Xbox Series X|S, Xbox One, PC (via theUbisoft Storeand Epic Games Store), and Amazon Luna, and is included with aUbisoft+ Premium subscription.Stay up-to-date with the latest seasons and events at our Rainbow Six Siege news page.
