The newest season of Rainbow Six Siege, titled “North Star,” has been announced, and it comes alongside a new gameplay trailer. The Year 6 Season 2 update will include a new operator known as “Thunderbird,” as well as changes to the Favela map and other major and minor tweaks.
The new operator will be available from the beginning of the new season via the North Star battle pass or through the usage of in-game currency. Mina “Thunderbird” Sky is an operator from the indigenous Nakoda nation and is voiced by Sera-Lys McArthur. The defender will be able to use the SPEAR .308 or SPAS-15 as a main weapon, and the BEARING 9 or Q-929 as a sidearm. She will also have light armor for fast roaming of the map.
Her main ability is the Kóna healing station: a deployable device that shoots any individual — both teammates and enemies — in a small radius with a healing projectile. Downed players can also interact with the device to revive themselves, and this applies to downed enemies as well. The device has a recharge time of 38 seconds and will prioritize the operator with the lowest health in the radius. It’s important to note, however, that the device can be disabled using EMP attacks like those from Thatcher.
Additionally, the new season will also include a rework of the Favela map. It has been reportedly reworked to scale back the destructibility of the buildings’ walls and offers an entirely new floorplan. On the topic of destructibility, bullet hole physics will also be modified so that singular bullet holes will no longer be see-through.
Finally, many operators will also see some significant tweaks, the most prominent being the ability to shatter the bulletproof glass on Mira and Maestro’s deployable camera and black mirror using melee attacks. While this will not disable each character’s deployed gadget, it will make them near impossible to see through. However, these bulletproof cameras will also be given a rechargeable EMP blast and the unrestricted ability to look in any direction.
Other changes, such as a new armor system and death recap were also mentioned. For more information, you can check out the official North Star gameplay trailer below:
Ubisoft is also planning to release the North Star update on Rainbow Six Siege‘s PC test servers beginning May 25, 2021. Rainbow Six Siege is currently available for PS4 and PS5.