Ubisoft is testing the newest operators on the beta server for Tom Clancy’s Rainbow Six: Siege right now, and this is giving fans of the fast-growing tactical shooter a chance to test out the new abilities. The defensive heroes Maestro and Alibi are art of the Operation Para Bellum season, which should hit the live version of the game soon.
I’ve spent some time on the test server so I could try the two new Italian operators. They are both leaning hard into the near-future science-fiction side of the Tom Clancy universe, and you can see some of my time with them in the video below.
But I also thought I would give my quick thoughts on using, playing against, and playing alongside these characters.
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Alibi
She uses an Mx4 Storm sub-machine gun and has can drop holograms of herself as a decoy. This is not a new concept to shooters, but it has some specific ramifications for the way combat works in Rainbow Six: Siege.
Your hologram will mark the location of any opponent that shoots it or touches it. You might think that players will quickly learn to avoid falling for this, but Siege is game about holding positions. And if you see a face peaking through a crack in a wall, you often can’t wait to see what’s going to happen next.
People should still learn the tells and common placements for the decoys, but Siege’s fights are hectic enough that this tool should still fool quite a few players.
Maestro
He has the Alda LMG, which is a brutal weapon. And he can drop a pair of cameras that are indestructible unless Maestro takes control of them to fire a weak laser at enemies. That’s when the camera opens up and players can take it out.
Right now, Maestro’s weapon is what sets him apart. His LMG can fire on automatic for a long time before needing a reload. It is also accurate and can take an ACOG site for improved range.
His camera is also useful and fun. Having eyes on enemies is crucial in Siege, and it’s nice to have a more resilient camera for that purpose. Sledge and a few others can still take it out by destroying the wall it’s mounted to, so people can still counter it. But it seems like it should survive most of a round.
The laser on the camera only does damage of 5 hit points, so you will probably use it as a harassment tool in most situations — although I did get a kill with it on a player who was disoriented.
So are they good additions or not?
I think that Maestro and Alibi are both doing what Ubisoft want — they make me want to play more Siege. I want to learn these characters, but I also want to see how they change up the flow of a match.
Ubisoft is planning to introduce four more characters before the end of 2018 after Operation Para Bellum, and I think it’s doing an excellent job of creating interesting new dynamics with these additions without destroying what makes Siege work. And even if Maestro or Alibi don’t join the “meta” or whatever, they are keeping Siege fresh.
