Rainbow Six Siege Crimson Heist Hands-On Preview

Rainbow Six Siege is entering its sixth year of content. After countless additions of new maps, Operators, and more, Rainbow Six Siege still manages to grow and expand every year. 

Last week I was able to go hands-on with the new operation Crimson Heist. So let’s talk about Flores, the new Operator, and what he brings to the table.

Flores is a brand-new attacker from Argentina. His kit consists of an AR33 and SR-25 primary weapon, a GSH-18 secondary, and his ability lets him pilot a remote-controlled explosive known as the RCE-Ratero.

Rainbow Six Siege Crimson Heist Hands-On Preview

The Ratero itself works similar to the remote drones the attackers pilot at the beginning of every round for surveillance. However, outside of the Ratero exploding, there are a few key differences.

For one, you can not slow down or reverse while piloting the Ratero, it goes forward, and it goes full-speed. It can also jump and stick to surfaces to help take out equipment like Maestro’s cameras or Frost’s Welcome Mats. 

When you initiate the destruction sequence, the Ratero will armor up and become bulletproof to ensure its detonation.

There were plenty of moments where an enemy attacker would knock me down, and while I was waiting to be revived by a teammate, the Ratero would show up to finish the job.

This is a great way to eliminate players who have hidden behind a wall or taken cover. It also works as a way to pull enemy defenders out of their hiding spot. Operators like Frost or Mira who post up and wait can now be flushed out of their heavily defended areas.

When the Ratero explodes, it initiates a three-second timer, so it’s not an instant kill but can be used tactically. It’s also important to note that the Ratero won’t be a counter to Mute’s jammers. The radius of the jammer is larger than the explosion radius of the Ratero.

Trust me; I learned that the hard way. Flores feels like the natural next stop for attacking operators. With such a heavy defensive season 5 meta, it was time for the attackers to get some more hard counters to the game’s defensive brutes.

While it still remains to be seen how Flores will shake things up, I’m pretty confident this is just the beginning. 

That’s not all, though; Crimson heist also brings a new secondary weapon that the developers hope will eliminate the “20-second meta”. The Gonne-6 has one bullet in the chamber, but it’s a small explosive that will damage soft walls and enemy equipment.

It’s great for poking a hole in the wall to shoot into a room or to eliminate Bandit’s electric traps. Crimson Heist also brings in a rework of the Border Map. After playing on the new map, it definitely has a new flow to it.

Upstairs feels much more spacious with the bathroom’s extension and the interior balcony now connecting the east stairs to the break room. Ultimately it feels a lot less claustrophobic and adds a new dimension to matches.

With more space for your team to set up on the B bombsite, it’s a really excellent addition. This is only the beginning of Year Six of Rainbow Six Siege. Plenty of more stuff is coming down the pipeline, and we can’t wait to see what’s next for the game.