Rainbow Six Siege – Operation Heavy Mettle Operator and Gadget Guide

Operation Heavy Mettle is bringing a destructive new Operator to Rainbow Six Siege in Year 8 Season 3. Her name is Ram, she hails from South Korea, and her unique gadget is the BU-GI Auto-Breacher: an armored drone that tears apart destructible floors, busts through barricades, and wrecks Defender traps as it rolls autonomously forward on its path. Ram will be available as part of the Premium Battle Pass at the launch of Operation Heavy Mettle and unlockable two weeks later with Renown or R6 Credits.

The new season will also deliver a new Permanent Arcade mode called Weapon Roulette; a significant buff to shotguns to increase their efficacy; and Operator updates for Grim, Fuze, and Frost. Plus, some changes to Quick Match parameters and player onboarding are coming, as well as a new free camera option in the spectator mode of Match Replay.

Ram and her BU-GI Auto-Breacher

Ram joins Team Rainbow as part of the Redhammer squad. Led by Thermite, these Operators are not known for their delicate touch, so Ram fits right in. Her loadout primaries include the LMG-E light machine gun for matching the big-and-loud theme of her gadget, and the R4-C assault rifle for more precision work. Her secondary options are the ITA12S, one of the beneficiaries of the new shotgun buff, and the MK1 9mm pistol. Bring along stun grenades or a hard breach charge, and Ram is ready to root out her foes no matter where they hide.

She brings with her the BU-GI Auto-Breacher (watch the video embedded above to see the scope and sound of the destruction these things can unleash!). The BU-GI is an armored drone roughly the size of Rook’s duffel bag of armor plates. Equipped with spinning blades near the front and explosive charges underneath, these devices are built to destroy defensive positions and open up huge swathes of floor for vertical play. They’re loud, they’re powerful, and with all the noise they make, they are very distracting.

To use a BU-GI, Ram must first deploy it by tossing it onto the ground. If she happens to toss it through a barricaded window or door, the barricade will be smashed to bits. Either before she tosses it or once it lands, Ram can select the direction that the BU-GI will go once activated: straight ahead, curving to the right, or curving to the left. Once she activates the BU-GI, it will automatically drive forward and follow the path she has designated. After a set amount of time, the BU-GI will run out of juice and fall to pieces.

During its drive, the BU-GI causes an absolute ruckus. About once per second, it explodes the floor beneath it, opening up impact-sized holes in soft floors. It will also destroy any deployable shields, Castle barricades, and barbed wire in its way, and will trigger enemy traps (Lesion, Thorn, low-install Kapkan, etc.). And as a purely mechanical gadget, the BU-GI is unaffected by electricity, trampling right over electrified barbed wire. Got a soft wall or an unreinforced hatch standing in your way? They don’t stand a chance against a BU-GI.

All of this destruction is a great way to punch holes in Defender emplacements, peel off entire ceilings to create extensive sightlines (try deploying multiple BU-GIs in rapid succession!), and sow chaos and disruption among the defending team. On top of its explosive sounds, a BU-GI also emits a loud grinding noise as it churns along, meaning it’s perfect for creating an auditory distraction to cover up your allies’ activities. Try coordinating with Fuze for a vicious cluster-charging or Amaru for an unexpected flanking incursion. A BU-GI also pairs well with other drones from the likes of Brava, Twitch, and Flores as Defenders are likely to be preoccupied with the BU-GI and less attentive to smaller targets.

Now, despite its bulletproof armor and explosive power, a BU-GI can be stopped. An impact grenade or C4 will destroy it, as will shooting the red canister on the rear of the device. Mozzie’s Pests can’t hack the BU-GI’s mechanical operations, but Mute can stop it before it gets started. His jammers cut off the signal Ram uses to activate her gadget, so if the BU-GI is deployed in a jammer’s radius, it won’t move until the jammer is dealt with. Once it’s activated, though, the only way to stop it is to destroy it. Good luck.

Operator Updates for Grim, Fuze, and Frost

Operation Heavy Mettle delivers some changes to the way a few Operators’ gadgets function. First up is Grim, who can now toggle his Kawan Hive launcher to shoot either sticky projectiles or ones that will bounce one time before landing and unleashing the bees. This gives him more flexibility to deploy his intel-gathering swarms around corners and into the places his enemies are likely to be hiding. Combined with Operation Dread Factor’s buff that gave him new loadout options and increased how quickly his bees deploy, how much area they cover, and how long they linger, things are looking grim for Grim’s enemies.

Fuze’s cluster charges can now be set on deployable shields, provided you’re confident enough in your intel to get up close to one. You can also plant them on Osa’s Talon-8 shields, which – while likely a bit safer than sneaking up to a deployable shield – will allow any nearby Defenders to look over and see exactly what you’re up to.

A change is coming later in the season to Frost’s Welcome Mats that will allow you to remove yourself from the metal jaws of death; though you might still want to wait for a teammate’s aid once you hear this next part. After escaping the trap, you are badly hurt, meaning you move more slowly, make more noise, and leave a blood trail that Defenders can easily follow. These effects wear off after a time, but you’re still better off avoiding Frost mats in the first place.

Weapon Roulette in the Permanent Arcade

The Permanent Arcade playlist launched last season in Operation Dread Factor, giving players a variety of specialized game modes that mix up the core elements of Rainbow Six Siege. Operation Heavy Mettle is bringing a new game mode titled Weapon Roulette to this playlist. In this twist on team deathmatch, every player begins with the same random weapon. Then, once the roulette timer reaches zero, every player simultaneously switches to a new random weapon. It’s a fun way to flex your skills across the Siege arsenal and test your aim in some surprising situations.

More Heavy Mettle Updates

• Shotguns are getting a host of tweaks to aspects like spread, damage, range, and headshot modifier, all aimed to make them more consistent and reliable. You’ll also be able to make bigger holes in destructible surfaces if you hipfire them while moving, all the better to shape the map to your advantage. Note that these changes do not affect slug shotguns like the TCSG12, ACS12, and BOSG.

• Quick Match rounds will begin with a few basic walls already reinforced and a few rotation holes already opened up. Additionally, in the first few seconds of the round, Defenders will be unable to shoot outside or run out, giving Attackers a welcome reprieve from spawn peeking.

• New required onboarding tutorials will give new players a series of lessons and simulations to run through before they can join multiplayer matches to help smooth their entry into competitive play.

• A free camera option is being added to spectator mode in Match Replay.

Catch up on the latest patch notes on the official Rainbow Six Siege website and learn about last season’s manipulative new Operator, Fenrir, in our Operation Dread Factor Operator and Gadget Guide. To catch up on all the news from Ubisoft, be sure to visit This Week at Ubisoft.