Ubisoft confirmed in their last community update that Thermite, Hibana, and Maverick would receive buffs in Rainbow Six Siege X's Year 10 Season 4. No changes to Ace were mentioned; instead, Ubisoft seem to face the current hard breaching situation with an all buffs, no nerfs vision.
Breaching is one of Siege's keystones. Playing without a hard breacher is, most of the times, a death sentence before the round even kicks off. Back in the day, Thermite and Hibana dominated the battlefield – now they share it with Maverick, Ace, Striker, and secondary hard breaching charges.
Ubisoft's new approach means Thermite, Hibana, and Maverick will receive buffs for the first time in years. But, why these three operators? Why is Ace so strong and could the upcoming changes dethrone him if Ubisoft doesn't nerf the attacker? And, most importantly, what buffs could Ubisoft introduce next season?
Let's try to answer these questions right below:
Ace's current position in Siege X: what does he have that other hard breachers don't?
Ace currently is the second-highest picked attacker in PC's top four ranks with a 45% pick rate, only behind Ash. His pick rate is even more surprising when you see that the hard breacher is the most banned attacker in PC's top four ranks with a ban-rate of 72% – Dokkaebi, Thermite, and Ram are behind with 20% each.
In comparison, Thermite, Hibana, and Maverick's pick rates are 30, 15, and 10%, respectively. This is mostly because players have no other choice other than picking the American attacker when the opposite team bans Ace. If Thermite is also banned after the first round, players have no other option than picking Hibana, Sriker, or any other attacker with hard breaching charges.
It's interesting to see that, when comparing charts from Y10S2 and Y10S3's Designer's Notes, we can see how Hibana and Fuze's pick rate increased by around 5% as they are two great hard breaching alternatives to Ace and Thermite.
What truly makes Ace such a strong option compared to Thermite, Hibana, and Maverick is that he obviously has the best gadget and the best loadout. Two of Ace's S.E.L.M.A. charges can be placed very quickly, which is something Hibana's X-KAIROS Launcher lacks. Meanwhile, Ace can deploy his gadget from a safe distance without exposing himself too much, which is exactly Thermite's biggest flaw: he has to expose himself to place his Exothermic Charge.
If we combine these two strengths, Ace's S.E.L.M.A.s are easy, quick, and safe to deploy. What's a flaw in Thermite or Hibana's gadget, it's a strength in Ace's. To top it off, they can also be used to destroy hatches, although the device isn't exactly designed to breach them.
Finally, Ace's loadout is another aspect to consider: the AK12 is easily one of the best attacking weapons in the game. Although Thermite and Hibana's primary options aren't bad at all, Ace's assault rifle is clearly ahead. Overall, Ace isn't just the perfect hard breacher; he's a brilliant attacker that can be played as a support but, after using his device, can be used as a strong, aggressive operator.
So, can Ubisoft replicate that in Hibana, Thermite, and Maverick? We believe so. Making these three stronger should automatically reduce Ace's pick rate: more options available should translate to players using them more often – instead of using just one.
Now, buffing these three operators isn't as easy as it may look. Sure, Thermite and Hibana have some clear flaws that can be addressed. However, Maverick is in a different position.
Here are some suggestions:
Thermite
Thermite was the first hard breacher to be introduced to Rainbow Six Siege. Although his loadout has been modified every now and then, especially across the game's initial years, it's fair to say the American attacker has never suffered important tweaks. In fact, his gadget, the Exothermic Charge, has never suffered balancing changes. Thermite's device is so crucial to the game that not even the release of three hard breachers or the addition of hard breaching charges have killed the attacker.
Thermite's two Exothermic Charges are the most destructive hard breaching tool in the game as each one can get rid of an entire non-electrified reinforced wall. It takes the attacker three seconds to place one of his charges, and an extra three seconds to detonate. Considering his loadout is solid too, it's fair to say Thermite is one of the most balanced attackers in the game and a buff isn't really a must. We're sure Thermite mains won't complain about a little upgrade, though.
At the moment, the only rumored buff in Thermite's loadout is the addition of a ballistic shield. While it makes the operator slightly more versatile, we don't really see the point in bringing a shield on Thermite. Of course, it would give him extra protection when planting the defuser, but it's nothing differential, even when shields are still in a strong position.
We believe the line is thin here. As we think Thermite is already in a good position, we believe the American's buff should be very light. Therefore, we have thought of the following upgrades:
- Reduce Exothermic Charge deployment time from 3 to 2 seconds. It makes Bandit or Kaid tricking a bit more difficult as they have less time to react to the attacker placing the charge on the reinforced wall.
- Reduce Exothermic Charge detonation time from 3 to 2.5 seconds. As mentioned above, this would make Bandit and Kaid tricking more difficult.
- Replacing stun grenades with fragmentation grenades. Giving Thermite fragmentation grenades would encourage players to use Thermite more often, especially to SoloQ players, as these would be able to deal with reinforced walls without the need of relying on another player bringing Thatcher, Impact EMPs, or any other character that can safely destroy or temporarily deny Bandit, Kaid, or Mute's devices. We're not fully confident on this change as it could be a bit too much, but it's a change that makes sense.
Overall, these three tweaks would make Thermite better without making feel extremely overwhelming. His gadget would be better and it would require more skill to perform some defensive tricks to counter his device. Meanwhile, the addition of fragmentation grenades would make Thermite more adaptable to different operator lineups, making players decide between bringing his smokes or switching to the grenades.
Hibana
Hibana was released in November 2016 and, contrary to Thermite, her gadget has experienced multiple tweaks. During Year 3, Hibana's X-KAIROS no longer triggered Jäger's ADSs. Two years later, Ubisoft tweaked her X-KAIROS Launcher so she could be able to choose how many charges to shoot – 2, 4, or 6. This made her gadget a bit more versatile.
Thinking of Thermite, Hibana, and Maverick exclusively, the Japanese is the operator that could be improved the most. The destruction potential of the X-KAIROS is quite limited compared to Thermite's Exothermic Charges. It falls behind Ace's gadget too.
Hibana's main strength is destroying reinforced hatches. She has always been a strong pick when playing sites like Bank or Clubhouse's basements. However, the arrival of operators like Kaid and Maverick, plus the addition of hard breaching charges made Hibana obsolete: she was no longer neither the strongest pick against hatches nor the most efficient.
Moreover, Hibana's loadout is fairly weak compared to Ace, Thermite, and Maverick. The Japanese's primary assault rifle, the Type-89, has 21-bullet magazines – which is very limited compared to the AK-12, the 556XI, or the M4. At this point, the Bearing-9 isn't enough to compete not just with her three fellow hard breachers but also against other operators with access to secondary hard breaching charges.
Keeping everything in mind, Hibana is the hard breacher that should benefit the most from a buff and we think she should be generously improved. These are the changes we have thought of:
- Increase Type-89's magazine size from 21 to 26 bullets. This would make Hibana's primary assault rifle a more viable option and closer to Ace, Maverick, and Thermite's primaries.
- Reduce X-KAIROS detonation time from 5 to 4 seconds. Similarly to Thermite' suggestions, reducing the X-KAIROS detonation time would make Bandit and Kaid tricking slightly more difficult.
- Make X-KAIROS reloading animation quicker. Allowing Hibana to shoot a second charge quicker than she can now would improve her position in the game. The current reloading animation seems to be close to 2 seconds, so reducing it to 1,5 would be a good first step.
- Increase X-KAIROS numbers from 18 to 24. This would make Hibana a stronger operator for more casual hard breachers, but this suggestion could backfire especially considering the next one.
- X-KAIROS pellets to react to Jäger and Wamai's gadgets. This may sound like a disadvantage but the truth is the Japanese attacker would be incredibly strong to get rid of defensive utility. Combined with her stun grenades, Hibana would be a great option in multiple lineups.
While Hibana is a hard breacher, even after introducing changes to her gadget and loadout, she would still be the weakest hard breacher of the four – and that's why we have gone with pretty impactful tweaks which could make her seen as overpowered. However, this way she brings new alternatives to the battlefield that other hard breachers don't, making her a bit better as a hard breacher but also improving her position as a utility clearer.
Maverick
Although Ace's pick rate and ban rates are extraordinary, let's face the truth: the real best hard breacher in the game is Maverick.
Maverick is unstoppable. His Breaching Torch can breach reinforced walls even if these are electrified or jammed. Defenders can't trick a reinforced wall against Maverick. You can even Maverick trick a wall and make it completely soft, allowing Buck, Sledge, or any other soft breach to open the wall instantly.
In conclusion, while Maverick's blow torch can penetrate reinforced walls, which makes him a hard breacher, he's completely different to Ace, Thermite, and Hibana. He's superior, but it takes him a lot of time to breach a reinforced wall or hatch by himself.
Here are two suggestions to buff Maverick:
- Make breaching reinforced hatches easier for Maverick's torch. It would make Maverick a more viable option when attacking sites with reinforced hatches.
- Torch's fire length to be increased from 2 to 3 meters. This would allow Maverick players to be in safer positions while using their torch, making them more difficult to kill especially with C4s.
Will buffing Thermite, Hibana, and Maverick increase their respective pick rates and end up with Ace's tyranny?
On paper, buffing Thermite, Hibana, and Maverick should increase their respective pick rates. If these three were to become more viable, players wouldn't ban Ace 70% of the times. Instead, the bans (and the picks) would be shared more often across the four. Sounds good, right?
Still, Ace was the first to do it. It's no mystery to anybody that Siege X players hate to learn new stuff. The game is complicated enough the way it is. Players really get annoyed when a new operator is introduced to the pool, a new map is added, or a game-changing tweak is released. However, after a few months, nobody remembers. Players end up adapting to the changes, and this is probably what's going to happen here – Ace's pick will still be quite high until new ways of playing post-buff Thermite, Hibana, and Maverick are discovered.
It's really hard to say how Ubisoft will tweak three of the game's most iconic hard breachers, but rest assured these changes will be improvements. Only time will tell if the changes have the desired effect.
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