After our illustrious few months with the new additions of Grim Sky operators Maverick and Clash, it’s about that time to move on with our two newest additions to the Rainbow Six team!
At last month’s Season 8 Finals, we received a full taste of what is to come with the December content drop in the form of Moroccan operators Kaid and Nomad, a new locale ‘Fortress’, and the slew of patches and bug fixes that come with the usual seasonal content. We reached out to some pro players within Rainbow Six, notably Jared ‘Beastly’ Medeiros of Rise Nation (ex-mouz) and Daniel ‘Goga’ Romero of G2 Esports to discuss these changes, what they think of the new content, and what they would change overall.
Q: We've received quite a backlash over the addition of Nomad, how does she affect the Pro League level of gameplay and will she become the proverbial 'Lion' of Season 9?
Goga: Nomad won't become such a big issue like Lion was. But, she is definitely gonna be played in some strats, I think she has a useful gadget for entry fragging/retake denial. Beastly: Pre-nerf Nomad would have been a problem but now after the nerf she will only be used in certain situations. I don't think there will be another operator like Lion where it was a must ban every single match.
Q: Kaid provides a unique dynamic for defenders with his ‘Rtila’ claws, will this be seen as a nuisance or a welcome addition for Pro League?
Goga: Kaid is a really nice operator who is gonna change the meta in my opinion, will help a lot in certain defenses. Beastly: Kaid is not really a nuisance but he undoubtedly puts more pressure on the attackers because they have to use their utility more effectively.
Q: What nerfs or buffs that have not been implemented to the new operators at this moment, would you like to see in order to balance these operators out?
Goga: The recent nerf Kaid and Nomad received were needed. I think they are in a good spot right now, but it's too early to know if they are too strong. Beastly: At this moment Nomad is completely fine, Kaid, on the other hand, his pistol is way too overpowered. I would take away the ACOG sight on it and just give him iron sights, having possibly 2 ACOGs on one operator is kind of ridiculous.
Q: The new map, Fortress, has had been paid little attention amidst the raucous attention that both new Moroccan operators have been gaining. How are Pro League players taking to the new locale, and could we potentially see it in a future map pool?
Goga: Fortress has the potential to be in the future map pool, personally I like it, it’s a big map. I would like Oregon to be removed and Fortress added to the map pool. Beastly: Our team thinks Fortress is a good map and we wouldn't be surprised if it was in the future map pool.
Q: Moving off of the new content and into the season's patches and fixes, we've heard a lot about the new throwing mechanics and seen absurd imagery of CS:GO-like cross-map Valkyrie cameras, what are your thoughts on these new mechanics?
Goga: New throwing mechanics are not needed, the “old” mechanics were perfect, Valkyrie’s cameras are absurd now. Beastly: The new throwing mechanics for all operators are currently in a bad state, especially for Valk -- it is absolutely crazy how far you can throw cams now.
Q: Mute's getting an SMG-11, the SMG-11 has been buffed slightly, Clash has received a slight damage buff, Zofia loses a concussion grenade, and Lesion has received a nerf to his T-5 -- do these affect the game at its current state?
Goga: Mute’s buff is nice and I think he will be played more. Zofia nerf is okay, 2 concussion nades are fine. Clash and Lesion changes won't affect to gameplay at all. Beastly: I personally think that the Mute buff will have the biggest effect and you will see his pick rate go up this upcoming season of Pro League. As for the other operators you mentioned, they were only tweaked slightly so you won't really see a change in their pick rates at all.
Q: We are reportedly getting some kind of a rework to Kafe Dostoyevsky -- a map that much of the Pro community disliked and was removed post-2018 Invitational. What would you propose be done to the existing map to balance it out?
Goga: About Kafe, remove skylight, rework bakery/kitchen first floor and third floor needs some rework too in my opinion. Beastly: Well if it’s anything like the Hereford Base map rework, Kafe will be a completely different map anyways, I honestly have no idea what could be done to balance the map out. Maybe make the map bigger, especially the top floor, and probably don't have the skylight look straight down into the bomb site.
Q: Are there any other changes to existing operators you'd like to see launch with Operation Wind Bastion?
Goga: Changes to operators... Jäger needs another buff, and remove flashbangs to make it 2 per operator.
Operation Wind Bastion is expected to drop on Tuesday for the main build, and will open up the new adventures in Morocco for all to enjoy. Meanwhile, due to the earlier-announced operator evaluation period, it might be awhile before you can see your favorite players try out the new additions of Kaid and Nomad.
What do you think? Are the Wind Bastion operators balanced in their current state? Is Fortress competitive-worthy? Are the season changes and buffs/nerfs acceptable?