Rainbow Six Operation Crimson Heist details: Flores, Border rework, more

Rainbow Six’s Operation Neon Dawn is almost over, and that means Y6S1 is on its way. The expansion, named Crimson Heist, is set to kick off on February 21. Here’s what we know so far.

Rainbow Six is celebrating a big anniversary in 2021; it’s Year 6. To kick off the year of festivities, Ubisoft are starting off with a bang in Crimson Heist.

From the explosive new Operator Flores, to the Border rework, and a bunch of smaller changes in between, here’s what you need to know about Operation Crimson Heist in Rainbow Six.

Rainbow Six Y6S1 new Operator: Flores

Flores is joining Team Rainbow in Operation Crimson Heist. The explosive attacker has control of RCE-Ratero drones, which can blow up big holes in walls or enemies if you so choose.

The RCE-Ratero drones don’t work like regular drones. They can only be active for 10 seconds before automatically starting their detonation charge. They can jump and move like normal drones ⁠— except you can’t stop it from moving forward.

• Read More: Flores revealed as Operation Crimson Heist attacker

Once the detonation starts, defenders have three seconds to evacuate before it explodes. They can’t fight back either ⁠— it becomes bulletproof once it starts ticking. You can, however, shoot it before the detonation starts to stop it in its tracks.

The two-armor, two-speed Operator has access to the AR33 and the SR-25 as his primary weapons, and the GSH-18 as his sidearm. He also has Claymores and Stun Grenades as his secondary gadget options.

Border map rework to kick off Rainbow Six Year 6

Operation Crimson Heist might lend itself to having a Bank rework. However, Ubisoft have focused on Border in this update. The iconic map is losing the renowned P.A. system telling you to not board the helicopter, but it’s gaining some much needed quality of life changes.

There is now a balcony above the Lobby area connecting to Break Room, making those windows by Valley spawn more useful. The map inside has generally been expanded too ⁠— the Bathroom downstairs is now a bombsite, and is much bigger.

• Read More: Everything coming in Rainbow Six Year 6

A lot of clutter has been removed from the map, and there’s less destructible walls defenders have to worry about reinforcing or covering. The layout hasn’t changed much, but the worst parts of the map have been refreshed into something new.

New Gonne-6 secondary weapon

The Gonne-6 is a new secondary weapon ⁠— not gadget ⁠— that select attackers can use. It’s a one-bullet hand cannon that can be used to clear defender utility, like shields or bulletproof cameras. You only have one shot though, so be sure to shoot straight.

• Read More: What we know about Rainbow Six Quarantine

The attackers who have access to the Gonne-6 on release are: Zero, Iana, Amaru, Gridlock, Finka, Lion, Dokkaebi, and Glaz.

Match replay enters beta on PC

Finally, after over a year of anticipation, match replays are finally coming to Siege. The beta is set to kick off during Operation Crimson Heist for PC players only.

The system allows players to rewatch their games from any perspective ⁠— just like observing a professional match ⁠— so they can take notes, devise new strategies, or maybe just record a clip that you forgot about.

When will Operation Crimson Heist release?

Operation Crimson Heist has been in the works for quite some time. It typically would have launched alongside the Six Invitational 2021. However, with the tournament postponed, plans had to change.

Now, after that series of delays and ambiguities surrounding its launch date, it’s finally set to arrive on March 18, 2021. Players will have access to the update starting February 22, 2021 on the TTS.

• Read more: How to upgrade Rainbow Six to next-gen consoles

So, it won’t be long before we’ll have our hands on the new operator and map rework.