One of the things I like best about Rainbow Six: Siege is that it’s OK to learn on the job. The tactical hero shooter is extremely popular, so you’re often partnered with newer people who are also learning. And figuring out how to use a new character — or operator — is part of the fun early in that process. With Ubisoft preparing to release a pair of new operators as part of its Year 3 content update, everyone is going to go through that again.
Earlier this week on the test server, I spent some time with Lion and Finka (when I wasn’t playing the cooperative Outbreak event), which are the new attacking characters in Siege. Lion can see moving targets through walls, and Finka provides an adrenaline buff to her entire team. These are some powerful capabilities, but the best thing about them is that they encourage teams to communicate and work together.
Now, I’m a very dumb person, so I went into my first time with Lion and Finka without fully understanding how to use them. But by experimenting and speaking with my teammates, I was able to piece together how to use them and even when to use them. Don’t consider me a pro … or even competent, but I may have an insight or two to share to help you get off to a good start with these operators when they hit the live servers in the near future.
Lion
Lion is a National Gendarmerie Intervention Group agent. He uses an assault rifle as his default primary, and he can use claymores or stun grenades as his gadget. His unique gadget is the EE-ONE-D, which is an indestructible drone that flies over the map and can provide an overview of enemy positions up to three times during a round.
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But the EE-ONE-D is not exactly a “wall hack” cheat. When you activate this ultimate ability, a timer starts as a warning to the enemies. If your opponents keep their feet still after the initial timer and through the life of the EE-ONE-D detection phase (about five seconds), they will remain invisible. If, however, they move during that second timer, they will show up as a red shimmering outline to everyone on your team.
As you are probably already imagining, the goal then is to combine EE-ONE-D with other ultimates to force players to move. Some examples that I saw during my time were causing the opponents to panic with Fuze’s grenade pucks or by tracking them with Jackal.
Lion’s EE-ONE-D is best used when the other team is already in disarray. If you try to use it early in the match when everyone is still alive and comfortable, you’re probably not going to get a positive ping.
Finka
Finka is a Spetsnaz operative, and she is an incredible support character. Her default primary is the Spear .308 assault rifle, and she can use the breach charge or stun grenade gadgets. Her unique gadget is the Adrenal Surge.
Because Rainbow Six: Siege is sci-fi as hell now, Finka’s teammates start rounds with her special nanobot friends inside of them. This is a powerful buff. Let’s break it down.
Each time you activate the Adrenal Surge, each person on your team will get:
- 40HP.
- Steadier aim for the duration of the surge.
- Revived from a down-but-not-out (DBNO) state.
The surge works no matter where you are, so if a teammate goes DBNO while flanking in from 200 meters away, Finka can revive them instantly with the Adrenal Surge. My team used this to plant a defuser. Even with the enemy team shooting at our planter, our Finka was able to heal and revive him multiple times in a hot zone.
But you don’t just have to use Adrenal Surge to heal. If your team is about to rush a position, you may want to use the Adrenal Surge to steady everyone’s aim.
My early feeling is that Finka is perhaps overpowered, but new characters often get that designation just because players don’t wait for the meta to shake out. That said, Finka makes Doc, a defensive operator, feel weak on the other side of the equation.
