Rainbow Six Siege – Operation Collision Point Operator Remaster and Balancing Guide

Operation Collision Point is coming to Rainbow Six Siege and giving Blackbeard a brand new shield armed with a soft-breach capability and a retracting window that allows him to wield a primary weapon. This free Operator remaster is the tip of the spear in a season that's also bringing balancing updates for Ying and Sens, changes to ballistic shields, and big developments in player protection. Plus, crossplay is launching across PC and consoles, so you can squad up with your friends no matter what platform you're on (though if there's a PC player in your squad, you'll always be in the PC matchmaking pool).

Blackbeard and his HULL Adaptable Shield

Arriving for free at the launch of the season for all players who have Blackbeard in their roster, this Operator remaster introduces a special new variant of the ballistic shield. Dubbed the HULL Adaptable Shield, this gadget has very similar coverage to a regular ballistic shield, with a few key innovations: First, true to Blackbeard's previous kit, this shield allows him to wield a primary weapon - either the MK17 CQB assault rifle or the SR-25 marksman rifle. He'll need to retract the bulletproof window at the top of his shield in order to take aim and fire, increasing his vulnerability as a trade-off for boosting his lethality.

Secondly, the HULL Adaptable Shield can breach destructible walls. Blackbeard needs only to approach a soft wall, trigger one of the shield's limited charges, and he'll create an Operator-sized hole that he can lead the charge through. And finally, the bottom of the shield is also retractable, allowing him to keep the shield up while on rappel. Whether he's pushing an enemy position or holding a second-story window angle, Blackbeard is back as an attacking force with powerful tactical options.

Ying, Sens, and Ballistic Shields Balancing

As part of this season's balancing updates to Operators, Ying's Candela fuse will be lengthened a bit, giving Defenders more time to react to the imminent flash and Attacker incursion. Sens will now be able to toggle their ROU Projectors on or off at will, giving them the flexibility to determine when their light walls deploy to hide their approach, or drop to reveal who's behind them. This toggle can happen before deployment as well, allowing Sens to roll out the projectors in a more low-profile way.

Ballistic shields are also receiving some adjustments, notably that a shield bash (i.e. meleeing with a shield equipped) will no longer do any damage; Attackers will have to stick their necks out a bit more if they want to take an opponent out. Also, the suppression effect that affects shield-bearers when you shoot their shield (which prevents them from shield bashing and slows them down to discourage them from sprinting in close) will now be easier to trigger. And consecutive melee attacks on a shield will cause escalating guard break animations in which the shield bearer temporarily lowers their shield, creating progressively bigger and bigger windows for the Defender to strike back.

Crossplay, Player Protection, and More

• Crossplay will now be available between consoles and PC. Note that if a squad has a PC player in it, they will always join the PC matchmaking pool. Furthermore, console players playing Ranked will maintain a PC progress rank that is separate from their console rank.
• Player Protection advances this season include Mousetrap Penalty adjustments to account for crossplay, automatic match cancellation if a cheater is detected, an overhaul for the Reputation center, and AI text moderation.
• A new long-term progression system will begin tracking your rank and reputation, as well as award badges for completing a new set of challenges that can be displayed on your Operator card.
• Matchmaking improvements will add a few new steps behind the scenes to better balance skill ratings between the two teams.

Rainbow Six Siege is available now on PS5, PS4, Xbox Series X|S, Xbox One, PC (via the Ubisoft Store and Epic Games Store), and Amazon Luna, and is included with a Ubisoft+ Premium subscription. Stay up-to-date with the latest seasons and events at our Rainbow Six Siege news page.