Pro Opinions: Operation Phantom Sight

Two new operators added to the game, two others being added to the Pro League, one being reintroduced, some having their weapons and gadgets tweaked, and a reworked map replacing a map from launch -- there is a fair bit of change for Season 10 of the Pro League that has come with Operation Phantom Sight.

The 14th in-game season’s biggest changes are perhaps the re-introduction of Kafe Dostoyevsky in favour of Oregon, albeit a version of Kafe that has been reworked significantly enough that it is winning praise from fans and pros alike. Close behind is the reintroduction of the initially terribly overpowered Lion, and the exit of Mozzie and Gridlock from the quarantine period to give teams a wider range of utility access.

To sample some of what the pro scene feels about Phantom Sight and everything new that comes with it, SiegeGG checked in with what Niclas “Pengu” Mouritzen from G2 Esports, Gustavo “Psycho” Rigal from Ninjas in Pyjamas, and Dylan “Bosco” Bosco think about it.

What do you think of the newly refurbished Kafe Dostoyevsky and do you think it'll fit in with the Pro League rotation?

Pengu:

New Kafe is the best map we have seen since Coastline (maybe Villa, although Villa had MASSIVE defender-sided issues upon launch -- it has gotten better since).

Psycho:

From what I played on the new Kafe, I thought its a map with huge potential. I liked the removal of a few windows that made the map too unpredictable, how the defense will be able to control some areas more effectively, and also the new bomb sites that will bring a new dynamic to the defense.

Bosco:

The new Kafe is so refreshing and I think the dev team did a really good job fixing all of the issues. There are multiple options for defending and attacking each bomb site and I think Kafe will see a lot of play in the upcoming season of PL.

Would you like to see Oregon return to the map pool in the future in any capacity?

Pengu:

Oregon is extremely linear, but a classic to the game, I hope to see it return (reworked) like Kafe in a better more competitive state.

Psycho:

Absolutely! Oregon is a map that the whole LATAM region is pretty consistent on. I would just like that the map becomes less linear, with more rotations between the buildings, and that there are at least three viable bomb sites.

Bosco:

If Oregon gets a rework like Kafe, I would love to see it return to the rotation. I do not think Oregon is a bad map, it's just stale from lack of variability in strats. As maps go, the current Oregon is just too simple.

Mozzie and Gridlock; which one do you think is the strongest and do you think we'll see either of them played when the Pro League returns?

Pengu:

Mozzie vs Gridlock; Mozzie is by far the better operator in terms of information denial and consistency, while Gridlock is either EXTREMELY underpowered, or overpowered depending on the situation -- I’ve seen here have zero effect for five rounds in a row, but also single handedly win an entire round. She’s a niche pick and hard to fit in a comp outside of wanting smoke grenades which Jackal, shields, Glaz, or Dokkaebi would bring too.

Psycho:

I believe that Mozzie will be the most used operator just because he’s more balanced, he has a good gun, a good gadget and mainly a secondary that can help create rotations, and still can use a C4, which is extremely important. Gridlock will be situational, I believe, mainly because she’s too heavy-armoured and does not have as effective a gadget.

Bosco:

I personally think Mozzie and Gridlock are both strong depending on how a team incorporates the operators into a strat, but Mozzie is more versatile and can be used nearly every round where Gridlock is good for certain maps/bomb sites where flanks might be an issue. I actually think Gridlock is better than Nomad for holding flanks in some situations.

Lion has now come out of quarantine -- do you think they've done enough to change him and do you think he'll be played or banned a lot?

Pengu:

The fundamentals of Lion will always be categorized as "broken" in the sense that it limits how you can play the game in regards to punishment of movement, but the current version is FAR better than the previous. I am 50/50 on it since we do have operator bans available and it's hard to fit him in the operator lineup with so many important operators.

Psycho:

I think that Lion will still be banned a lot. In my opinion, the whole idea of the gadget is terrible, it changes the meta game a lot in a negative way and makes the game too boring to play.

Bosco:

Lion will always be Lion. No doubt that the ability is not as strong as before and it will be played less, but I think a lot of teams will still ban him. His ability is just too good if used correctly.

What's your opinion on the newest two operators announced, Nøkk and Warden, from what you've seen so far?

Pengu:

Nøkk and Warden I have seen about one time each in 35 hours of ranked so far and I found them super underwhelming myself, and the re-used weapons will drag a lot of people away from them as they don't seem very new to people as half the content they have is recycled.

On the other hand, I think it's very healthy to have NON-overpowered operators and less meta-defining operators, such as Mozzie, Gridlock, Nøkk, and Warden.

Psycho:

I think both operators will slot into the meta pretty well and will change the dynamics a little. I like that none of them is too broken.

Bosco:

I like both of the new operators. Warden is going to be so strong in competitive if used correctly and I think he will see a lot of play in PL. Nøkk is more of a wildcard operator and capable of making unsuspecting plays, however her loadout is not that great. I don't think we will see as much of Nøkk in PL as Warden when the time comes.

Finally, Pro League will be changing to include two playdays a week to make time for the upcoming Six Major qualifiers. Is this a welcome change or not?

Pengu:

We have double weeks every single Pro League season, so this is nothing new. This time it wasn't due to a delay, but rather pre-scheduled, which makes teams more ready for it. I think it’s a good challenge, and starting up fast and speedy is always a good feeling as opposed to having a super slow dry start, I feel especially happy with double week due to our new roster, getting as many games in and getting the setup ready as fast as possible.

Psycho:

I think that this change will not affect us a lot -- the more we play, the better. The only thing that makes the team unhappy is the whole period between competitions that is always too long and creates a disadvantage for those who don’t make to the playoffs.

Bosco:

Two playdays a week is perfectly fine with the current format of Best-of-One games.

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Catch the first game of Season 10 of the Pro League on Monday, 17 June, at 5:30 PM CEST (GMT+1) when PENTA takes on Natus Vincere in Europe.