Rainbow Report #1: The Ides of March
Rainbow 6: Siege is a one of a kind game. In a crowded market of First-Person Shooters, R6 was able to carve out its own nitch. Ultra-realism and a breakable surface mechanic that allow players to fire through walls, floors, ceilings, and more created a game with a cult like following. On top of it’s ground breaking new features, Ubisoft Montreal has done an amazing job releasing new seasons of content, fixing bugs, and balancing game features to keep the game relevant. Where the Call of Duty and Battlefield franchises have thrown away games to release a new version every year, Rainbow has stayed consistent.
The consistence has allowed players to invest themselves more into the game, continuing the growth of that rabid fan base. A fan base that will pay to travel to LAN tournaments, stream weekly matchups, and follow along with the newest fringe updates intently. The problem is, no developer is perfect. Some changes are what the community wants, and others are met with nothing but bitching.
No topic is more of a hot button than the release of new operators at the beginning of each season. This is where the ultra-realism Rainbow made it’s money on tends to pin them in a corner. A concept that isn’t rooted in real-world tech gives every gamer a PTSD flashback to the cluster-fuck that became the black-op’s series. But, with a goal of creating a game with 100 unique characters, dipping into sci-fi is a inevitable. Year 5 seems to be that first foray into the future, and Oh boy…people hate it.
Oryx: The Juggernaut of Jordan
If you put a 6’5”, 290lbs. monster, carrying a Spas-12 shotgun in any other game, everybody would be tripping over themselves to play him. But Rainbow 6 is different, and for a player base that values methodical, tactic-based gameplay, this is a massive wrench in the system. The problem isn’t, with Oryx’s size or loadout, but with his abilities. Oryx can use a dash to crash through walls and barricades, or to knock over enemy operators. On it’s own that seems crazy to most dedicated players, then additionally, this savage of a defender can jump through hatches in the ceiling to move up floors.
There is a massive section of the R6 community that fucking hates the idea of this freak operator. Criticism spans from, “How can he jump that high with all his gear?” To “Nobody can run through walls.” Now, you can break each one of these apart, like really easily. Every year the dunk contest shows us how high a freak athlete can jump, and if you’ve ever seen a Bill’s Mafia post…well no wall can hold those mutants. We can sit here and give example after example that prove people can do in real life what Oryx does in a video game. But that’s the biggest thing right there isn’t it. It’s a FUCKING video game.
Video games are made for entertainment, so that people can have fun. If you show me someone that says this doesn’t sound fun to play, I can show you the kind of person who calls the cops on parties at 8:30. Stop sounding like a nerd, and just have fun! Is there no other operator that does what he does? Yeah, they aren’t going to add 3 people like this, but he adds a cool twist to the game, it’ll be cool. Try it out.
Mysterio..?
My last statement still applies, Iana is going to be fun to play, and every R6 hard needs to chill a little on this one. Buuuuuuuut, a character that can summon drones like Tony Stark doesn’t really fit into Rainbow 6.
If you are late to the party on this one, Iana can basically make a perfect hologram of herself. She can then use that hologram like a camera to move through a building. The hologram can’t mark anything or effect the environment at all, but can be used to call out enemies, and as a distraction for the rest of the team to push.
It’s a really good idea, and the ground work has already been laid with Alibi using a similar technology of defense. Alibi can move her holograms, but they do ping attackers who shoot it. I think that’s my problem with Iana, she basically just has an oversized drone. I don’t think she’s over-powered, even with the ARX in her load out, which is a super-soaker. Iana just isn’t that crazy, which makes everyone going crazy about her that much more frustrating to me.
Yes, her tech is futuristic and not at all what we see today, but again…vi-d-eo GAME. Enjoy it and things will be easier. This isn’t a mech suit, it isn’t changing the game into something crazy, it just puts a new wrinkle on defense.
Yin and Yang
Balancing is always a hot-topic for developers. If you watch any Pro-League match the casters are always telling you, “This IS a defender sided map.” and it’s just the way the game is. Rainbow starts every match slightly tilted to the defensive team, and it’s up to the attackers to take every inch they can from their opposition. That is why dealing with roamers is such a headache, they take away the ability for attackers to enter the building wherever they want. Good teams take it a step further and use roamers to funnel attackers into kill zones. Oryx will be very, very good at springing those traps, and taking attackers by surprise.
On the other side, Iana will be good at sniffing those traps out. She can help clear roamers without having to lose a player. She uses a futuristic, sci-fi technology to do it, but if that’s your only criticism, grow up. Iana’s slow play style is the counter to the wild charging of Oryx, and vice versa. The game will be balanced on these two, and they add a new, fun mechanic, what else can you ask for.
Future Operators
Now that we are starting to see sci-fi tech in the game, I don’t think that there is any Ubisoft can put the genie back in the bottle. The game is starting to change, and if you played in year 1 or are just starting in year 5, it’s time to start accepting that. Mech’s shouldn’t be coming any time soon, or hopefully not at all, but getting ready for new stuff is what makes the game fun. Just remember…It’s a video game.