Rainbow Six Siege Operation Crimson Heist brought with it quite a large number of changes to Ubisoft’s long-standing FPS. Seeing the arrival of attack operator Flores, two things happened: the Siege community got very excited, and sales of red-tinted spectacles probably soared.
But outside of the suave new operator, Crimson Heist saw several big changes to the map, weapon, and quality of life departments of one of the best FPS games – something a lot of people were excited about.
So if you missed the Crimson Heist update, you’re in the right place to catch up. Here’s every big change that came in Rainbow Six Siege Year 6 Season 1.
Rainbow Six Siege Crimson Heist release date
Rainbow Six Siege’s Crimson Heist update arrived on Tuesday, March 16, 2021, for owners of the season battle pass, kicking off Year 6’s content roadmap with a bang. For those without the pass, Operation Heist became available to all on Tuesday, March 30, 2021.
Rainbow Six Siege Crimson Heist new operator – Flores
The big-ticket addition in Crimson Heist was Argentinian tinkerer Flores. This new operator brought an interesting explosive gadget that took some getting used to but has become extremely useful.
Flores’ RCE Ratero drone is essentially a small RC car packed with explosives that can deal damage to operators, break down destructible walls, and wipe out bulletproof gadgets like barricades. To balance this, you cannot slow it down or put it in reverse, and there is a three-second delay between hitting the detonator and the explosives going boom.
Read more about this medium-speed, medium armour operator’s kit in our dedicated breakdown of Crimson Heist’s Flores.
Flores was available immediately at the start of the new season if you bought the Crimson Heist Battle Pass. However, he is now purchasable with R6 credits for everyone – no matter if you owned the pass when it launched. You’re not missing out, don’t worry.
Crimson Heist map rework – Border
The iconic Siege map Border received a rework in Crimson Heist, giving it a significant remodeling.
The annoying audio, such as the helicopter sound effects, was completely dialled back, only playing in the prep phase ever since the rework. There was also some general housekeeping around bombsites, with some sightlines being blocked off and destroyable walls added or removed in some places.
In terms of layout, Bathroom was extended and now has a soft wall leading into the adjacent room. This means you can actually rotate out if you’re trapped.
Archives was also extended, with a staircase added to the exterior of the main building leading into it to make it easier for attackers to access without being picked off.
A connecting lane was also added on the top floor, linking East Stairs to Break.
Overall, Border is now a much more even map for both teams ever since this popular rework back in Operation Heist.
Rainbow Six Siege Crimson Heist new weapon – GONNE-6
A handful of attackers got a new weapon in Operation Crimson Heist, the GONNE-6 – but it must be used sparingly.
This secondary weapon holds just a single round. The kicker is that this round is explosive, and can clear bulletproof utilities or gadgets. If you think your squad is lacking in the explosives department, this is a great way to make sure you can breach or clear paths.
While only eight operators could use the GONNE-6 when it was originally added, more can use it today. On the other hand, Lion can no longer use this weapon. Currently, these are all the operators that can use the GONNE-6:
- Amaru
- Dokkaebi
- Finka
- Glaz
- Gridlock
- Iana
- Zero
- Buck (added later)
- Capitao (added later)
- Sens (added later)
Rainbow Six Siege Streamer Mode in Crimson Heist
Siege streamers could breathe a sigh of relief in Crimson Heist, because yes, Siege finally got a streamer mode.
The streamer mode offers live streamers a number of tools to try and hide their identities so that their experience isn’t hampered by stream snipers.
You’re able to hide your name, teammates’ names, region, ping, and much more. There is also a randomized matchmaking delay timer, which can also be hidden, so it’s trickier for stream snipers to know when you’re queueing up for a match.
However, following issues at launch, this streamer mode was relaunched in 2022 as Privacy Mode, boasting a few improvements on its original incarnation.
Rainbow Six Siege match replay beta returned
The match replay beta returned to the test server on February 22, 2021, and was potentially pushed live for all PC players in Operation Crimson Heist. This was later released on consoles in Operation Demon Veil in February 2022, so now everyone can enjoy its handy tools.
Crimson Heist Mozzie Pest changes
Ever since Crimson Heist, attackers with the capability to use drones have a slightly easier time when faced against an enemy Mozzie.
Thanks to Operation Crimson Heist, when controlling a drone, attacking players now see an icon when near a Mozzie Pest, which will flash at different speeds depending on how far from it you are. This gives you a better understanding of where a Pest may be, allowing you to back up and take a different route and keep hold of your drone.
Those were all the major changes and additions that came in Year 6 Season 1 of Rainbow Six Siege and Operation Crimson Heist. Some of these changes are still in place today and may affect your climb up the Rainbow Six Siege ranks, so make sure you’re up to speed.