Ubisoft shipped Rainbow Six Siege’s Operation Solar Raid update just over a week ago now, if you can believe it, and players have been getting to grips with a new operator and a new map in the tactical shooter. While Solis, the newest face on this FPS game’s roster, has proven popular enough with players, Nighthaven Labs – the new map – is causing something of a divide. While there are quite a few players praising the map’s attacking options and angles, a lot of them are lamenting the location for being overly confusing and – interestingly – quite linear.
In a debate kick-started online by Reddit user ‘-xSallyx-‘, fans of what is one of the best competitive FPS games out there have been sharing their frustrations when it comes to Nighthaven Labs’ interior – with one player summarising the thoughts of many with the statement “where are the f–king stairs”.
Both Hibana main ‘fantailedtomb’ and Ela main ‘Tavliet’ echo this sentiment with a specific reference to the map’s basement level. ‘Fantailedtomb’ explains that they “went down a set of stairs for a flank on the opposite side, then couldn’t find the original set [they] came down” and Tavliet admits that “it’s so hard to get to the basement” that they just use a hatch.
‘Hazel_Dreams’ has also expressed that the basement level of Nighthaven Labs is so confusing that they “lost a round on it because [they] couldn’t find [their] way down to the basement before the timer” expired. With anecdotes like this peppered throughout posts on the new map, it makes you wonder whether Ubisoft needs to rethink how it introduces maps to Rainbow Six Siege. We can’t say we know how to avoid this confusion, but it’s clear that Nighthaven Labs is proving to be something of a challenge for players to learn.
Interestingly, this lower level isn’t the only area of Nighthaven Labs under fire after a week of gameplay from the Rainbow Six Siege community. Frost main ‘Garfie489’ has expressed that they feel like it’s a “very linear” area of the map – with this top floor feeling as though “there’s only one path” to play through.
Although, this apparent lack of viable options when choosing pathways inside may be due to the map’s uniformity. The opinion from ‘alejoforaday’ that “every room looks identical” is one shared by quite a few of the players who have taken to the internet to share their thoughts.
However, as you might expect, there are lots of Rainbow Six Siege players who feel that Nighthaven Labs is one of the better new maps. Tenstar Rainbow Six Siege content creator ‘Kudos‘, for one, thinks Nighthaven Labs is “incredible” and is fully in favour of Ubisoft’s decision to make the map initially unbannable – something quite unpopular with players trying to climb the Rainbow Six Siege ranks.
Above all else, though, ‘Kudos’ joins countless other Rainbow Six Siege players in calling on the wider community to take the time to “learn it” – not only the layout, but callouts, and entry points too. With this being one of the biggest esports games out there, we understand the sentiment. But, it’s important to remember that this isn’t just a game that esports pros play.
Even still, Nighthaven Labs has only been out and available for a week, so there is thankfully still plenty of time for players to explore the interior and indeed learn this map. However, we can’t help but wonder if Ubisoft should be developing maps that are easier to pick up at first – especially when they’re unbannable in casual and ranked playlists.