Six Major Raleigh Panels: Pilot Program, New Operators, Kanal

At the Six Major Raleigh today, Ubisoft revealed some highly anticipated details about the upcoming in-game season, titled Operation Ember Rise. In the season to come, two new operators will be introduced -- the defender, Goyo, and the attacker, Amaru -- and the long-awaited rework of Kanal will be introduced to the game.

Pilot Program

The new Pilot Program was released prior to today’s Reveal Panel, offering new operator uniforms, weapon skins, and accompanying charms for 14 Pro League teams across all of the four major regions. While there are some returning faces, such as FaZe, Rogue, PENTA, and EG, there are plenty of new options for both operators and Esports orgs to represent in the new Operation Ember Rise!

The Operators

DEF - Goyo

Joining the defense from Mexico’s FES unit is Goyo, a “savvy technician” with a very potent gadget and loadout. Perhaps sharing the same barber as Thatcher, this operator looks to the flames to tackle the issue of keeping the Attackers at bay. The Volcàn Shield, an explosive gadget that completely mimics the new deployable shield designs, can be detonated with a single gunshot from the interior. The shield can also be destroyed by many other means (Ash’s Breaching Round, Sledge’s Hammer, etc.), which will unleash a petro-induced fire that quickly spreads around the surrounding area. The compartment housing the fuel cannot be disabled, meaning removal without detonation cannot be avoided. 

Goyo’s kit will include the Vector .45 ACP submachine gun, same as Mira, and the TCSG12 Shotgun with ACOG, similar to Kaid, as primary weapons. For secondary weapons, he has the P229 pistol, and the option of either impact grenades or a nitro cell. As he is 2-speed and 2-armor, his loadout and utility suits players of all archetypes.

ATK - Amaru

Conversely, the CTU-less Attacker, Amaru, will be quite the thorn for the Defenders to anticipate and prepare for. Her utility, the Garra Hook, allows for fast grappling and entry into windows that are above or even-leveled with Amaru’s position along with open-hatches, which she has ample weaponry to open and execute her maneuver upon. 

However, her gadget has its limitations. It cannot breach closed-hatches, even if they are left unreinforced, and she cannot breach Castle barricades as well. The gadget also leaves her very vulnerable upon entry, as her weapons remain holstered throughout the entire process.

Her primary weapon kit comprises of the G8A1 LMG or the Supernova that IQ and Hibana/Echo carry on attack respectively, while her secondary weapon choices are the ITA12-S or the SMG11, offering a few combinations of soft breach and high DPS. At 2-speed and 2-armor, she is a strong entry operator, and can also bring either a claymore or breach charges to make her job easier. 

Kanal Rework

Also introduced with Operation Ember Rise is the reworked Kanal. Much has been changed and reconfigured, with far fewer windows and opportunities for runouts and spawn-peeks. While the “two-building” philosophy still exists, there is now an extra bridge added between the buildings to allow for more fluid movement across the map. 

The basement Kayak and Supply Room bomb site is the new location for Defenders to shelter inside of the Kanal building. With a new staircase added and remodeling of the floor itself, this site should not suffer from a direct external attack that plagued locations like Bakery and Kitchen on pre-reworked Kafe.

Moving up to the second floor, the Radar Room and Server Room have the added bridge on the backside of the map, which Defenders can utilize for retake and rotations on an otherwise isolated objective. Less windows in the actual site will also deny many of the angles that the previous iteration included, which attackers often utilized to pick off helpless Defenders forced to constantly shift around.

On the first floor, the Security and Map Room bomb site also saw a lot of reconfiguration and remodeling, including the relocation of the bombsite from adjacent to Map into the old side-room that now is Security. This bomb site will be interesting for the Defenders to hold down, with Security located in the hallway by the main bridge. Unless proper roaming or presence is maintained on the western portion of the map, the Attackers should have little issue gaining control right outside of the site.

And finally, the first floor Lounge and Coast Guard Meeting Room bomb site, like the previous one, has one of the two bomb sites moved to a new location. Unlike Security and Map, however, this location is split between a hallway. It will be interesting to see whether there is ample breachable flooring from the basement, which of course can really make a site virtually impossible to enter / plant or extremely favoring for the attack to force defenders out of.

There was quite a few other updates announced, including a Battle Pass, the new Champions Rank, and even a Mira Elite skin - the Inspiración!

The new operators and new map will be available to play on Monday, the 19th of August on the Technical Test Server (TTS).

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Catch the battle between Team Empire and G2 Esports in the Grand Final later today live on stream, and be sure to check back here at SiegeGG for more coverage of the Six Major Raleigh.