Rainbow Six Operation Neon Dawn patch notes: Aruni, Skyscraper, more

Rainbow Six’s Operation Neon Dawn has finally been fully revealed. After months of leaks and speculation, players will soon have the chance to play new defender Aruni, the new Skyscraper, and test out huge changes to Jager, Hibana, Echo, and more.

The final Operation of Year 5 in Rainbow Six is here. Y5S4’s Operation Neon Dawn marks the end of the 2020 season, and it’s a big one.

New Thai defender Aruni is set to be released, along with the Skyscraper rework that was delayed from Y5S3. Huge changes for Hibana, Jager, and Echo are on the way too, as well as major quality of life changes for all players.

New defender Aruni released

After being leaked months back ⁠— it’s official, Aruni is coming to Rainbow Six in Operation Neon Dawn. The Thai defender will be the last operator joining Team Rainbow in 2020.

She is a two-speed two-armor defender with an incredibly strong laser gate gadget. Her Surya Gates can be deployed on walls, windows, doors, and even hatches, making it difficult for attackers to push through.

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The gates are indestructible, although they can be disabled by throwing a projectile through them, or running through them. They also automatically turn off when defenders are nearby. Once they deactivate, defenders can reactivate them by shooting the Surya Gate generator.

That’s not all Aruni has though. She will have access to the P10 Roni and the MK14 EBR rifle, the first DMR on defense. She also will have a choice between Barbed Wire and a Bulletproof Camera, making her one of the strongest defenders at slowing down attackers in Siege.

Skyscraper rework finally goes live

The Skyscraper rework is also set to go live with Operation Neon Dawn. The biggest changes to Skyscraper is the removal of most of the maps balconies, especially on the west side. The opportunity to spawn peek is real though.

The vent area outside of Bedroom has been expanded outside, making it a much more realistic place to attack from. The Dragon statue ⁠— named Shrine ⁠— that was once outside has also been moved inside, attaching to both Office and Team Room.

The map as a whole feels bigger just due to the number of rotations opened up, especially on the second floor. The bomb sites remain unchanged, but the map as a whole feels a lot more cohesive than its previous self.

Big changes to Jager, Hibana, and Echo

Jager, Hibana, and Echo have always been around the top of the Siege meta. However, with these changes, the tides could shift.

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For Hibana, things are looking up. She can now deploy her X-Kairos pellets in configurations of two, four, or six. Given it takes four to open a hatch, and she has 18 total, she can now open four hatches in one round instead of just three, which is a huge buff.

The changes for Jager and Echo are less defined. Echo’s is clearly a nerf ⁠— his drones are now visible at all times. They no longer disguise themselves on the ceiling when deployed, making them easier to hunt down.

Jager’s ADSes are also being changed significantly. They’ll now only block one projectile at a time, but will have infinite charges. They will regenerate every 30 seconds until destroyed. This will change exactly how Jager’s place their ADSes, perhaps moving them closer to site.

Update to runouts and reinforcements

Outside of new content and major operator changes, small things are also changing in a big way. The two most notable changes are runouts and reinforcements.

The runout timer has been halved from two seconds to one second, making it a lot harder to pull off without being noticed. This will give attackers a bit more of an opportunity to fight back against sneaky defenders.

Defenders aren’t taking the hit entirely though. Reinforcements now deploy significantly quicker ⁠— which Dexerto has timed to somewhere between one and two seconds faster. This change makes it a lot easier to bolster up sites, no matter if you’re a roamer or an anchor.

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There’s also a handful of gadget interaction changes on the way, as well as a new accessibility feature for chat that converts text to speech. You can now customize the chat scale, font size, and more as well.

When does Operation Neon Dawn launch?

Operation Neon Dawn is set to hit the Rainbow Six test servers shortly. After a testing period of around three weeks, the Operation will be set live on the main servers for everyone to enjoy.

We will keep you updated with all the major changes as they happen.