Tom Clancy’s Rainbow Six Siege – Crystal Guard (Year 6 Season 3)

The next season of Tom Clancy’s Rainbow Six Siege was released on the test server on August 17th, and appears like it will be a very significant update for the game, as it includes not just new skins and map updates but also an entirely new operator that will be added to the game’s growing roster of playable characters.

This new operator, Anja “Osa” Janković, is a Croatian-born attacker. However, while her position is classified as an attacker, many of her unique abilities have a distinct defensive aspect, making her a very versatile character and opponent. Osa has a unique gadget called the Talon-8 Clear Shield, which is both transparent and bulletproof. Osa can carry this shield and use it to protect herself, or she can deploy it on floors, doorways, and windows, providing cover for herself and her teammates without diminishing line-of-sight. While it’s true that defensive operators can also deploy shields, Osa’s clear shield is unique because it is much larger and is see-through. Note that the Talon-8 Clear Shield is not completely indestructible and will shatter after taking a significant amount of damage, such as repeated melee blows or an explosion from a grenade. Aside from the shield, Osa is armed with a 556XI Assault Rifle, a PDW9 Submachine Gun, and a PMM Handgun.

While it’s true that Ubisoft has stayed away from adding any new maps to the game, it appears in this upcoming season, they will recommit themselves to adding more map-based content by significantly reworking some of the existing maps including the Clubhouse, Coastline, and Bank. The Clubhouse will see improvements to lighting and various other details and changes made to the layout in order to make it more navigable. Coastline will have breakable walls added, along with more barricade options on windows. As for the Bank, the banana-shaped four window balcony will be receiving additional cover, railings will be made destructible, and the bars within the bank vault will be removed.

Another interesting change coming the next season will be adding customizability to Elite Skins. They will now have separate headgear and uniforms, allowing players to mix and match the headgear from one elite skin with the uniform from another elite skin.

There will also be changes made to the way that Flash grenades work. Instead of affecting players for the same duration but at different intensities depending upon how directly the target was facing the flash, it will be the reverse where the intensity of the effects will be consistent, and what varies will be the duration of the effect.

Apparently, there may also be some minor changes to existing Rainbow Six Siege operators, including IQ, Fuze, and Twitch. Twitch will now begin matches with a regular drone. However, it will now be able to jump, and it will now deal laser damage as well. Fuze’s charge will now work on reinforced surfaces, but the activation time will vary based on the toughness of the surface. Finally, IQ will now be able to use the smart ping system on gadgets.

As of yet, we don’t have a confirmed release date for Crystal Guard, but it appears the general consensus is that we should expect the next season to begin sometime in September. We will be sure to keep you updated on the latest news about the next season of Rainbow Six Siege.