Note: Responses were received just after the launch of Operation Void Edge.

The new free expansion that just released saw the two new operators of Iana and Oryx be introduced to the game while last season’s operators of Kali and Wamai entered the competitive operator pool. As well as this we have seen a reworked Oregon map come out, a number of operators have received grenades and it was announced that Theme Park will be replacing Bank in the competitive map pool.

To get some initial impressions on the newest changes to the game before the changes start to impact the professional tournaments we spoke to Troy "Canadian" Jaroslawski from Spacestation Gaming, Leonardo "Astro" Luis from FaZe Clan, and Kaya "Loona" Omori from Team SiNister to get an idea of what we should expect.

Canadian at the Six Invitational 2020.

What are your opinions on Kali and Wamai and how are they going to factor into the competitive meta?

Canadian:

Contrary to my initial opinion, which I will say I was a bit quick to jump the gun on, I would have to say Kali is not too strong and is a very situational pick. I think there might be some teams and players that are quite comfortable with Kali and might bring her out more often because of it, however overall she doesn't seem to be a reliable pick to me. Wamai, on the other hand, I think will see a lot more play and is very strong in some situations. I don't think he can always find a use but on some sites he can be brought out to add another layer to protect a shield, Evil Eye etc. or even to counter an operator such as Capitao.

Astro:

I belive that both will be present in the meta, Wamai even more then Kali.

Loona:

Wamai is a game changer. He is like a better and worse Jäger -- he can counter Capitao which Jäger can’t, but doesn’t destroy grenades or flashbanges like an ADS (Active-Defense System) can. Wamai's gun isn’t as great, but he is still quite mobile and can dump his utility down and be a roamer if desired.

What are your views on Theme Park entering the map pool? Do you think it will be played often over the next three months?

Canadian:

I think Theme Park is another new map that has come out very defensive-sided, which is always a bit frustrating to play on release. I think as time passes attack will become stronger and overall it will be an alright competitive map. That being said, I personally loved Bank as a competitive map and was sad to see it go. I do think that Kali may have hurt that map a lot, though, and I wasn't looking forward to dealing with that too much. I think just like any new map it won't see too much play. I think usually only map reworks see quite a lot of play immediately, whereas brand new maps (or at least brand new to competitive, since Theme Park is a rework still) take a bit longer for teams to understand and feel comfortable playing it in a match.

Astro:

I belive that it will be played a lot, but I liked Bank and I do not like this map switch.

Loona:

I like that Pro League has changes like this and I like the idea of new maps coming straight into Pro League but I feel most teams ban it and try to stay traditional so I’m not sure if they’ll be seen much.

Is the newly reworked Oregon map Pro League viable and, if so, which map would you like to see it replace in the pool?

Canadian:

I believe the new Oregon map is viable. I think there was some solid changes to kind of spice things up on the map, but still make the map feel familiar. I think there are quite a few maps that are on the chopping block for me and it's between Border, Consulate, and Coastline.

Astro:

I think that Oregon is a very competitive map and I would switch it with Clubhouse.

Loona:

I have only played a bit of the new Oregon and I’m not sure how to work a defense on it, so in a way it is better because it was so easy to attack before. Now, it actually takes some strategy and effort to roam clear/set up an execute on laundry, especially.

What are your early opinions on Iana and Oryx? How would you change/balance them further?

Canadian:

I don't have too many thoughts on Iana and Oryx. Probably a range limit on Iana's clone where once it gets a certain distance away it needs to be destroyed. As for Oryx maybe adjusting his soft destruction on some of the furniture in the map since it seems a bit extreme for setup in my opinion. Although, I'm not entirely sure if the change is necessary or not yet. Too early to tell without playing the operators competitively.

Astro:

I believe that Iana is much better than Oryx. Both have great utility in-game, but Iana will have a 100% pickrate.

Loona:

I feel like the new operators Iana and Oryx bring something very new to R6 and the meta will be tested with new ways to rotate. Flank-watch in particular will need a bit more spotlight, or holds/pushes can be ripped apart by either Iana or Oryx.

What are your opinions on the Year 5 esports announcements and what are you most excited for out of them?

The 2020 LAN calendar prior to the cancelation of the Sao Paulo Pro League Finals due to COVID-19. (Photo: Ubisoft).

Canadian:

They all seem like very positive changes for the future of R6 esports. I am of course most excited for the new LAN league in NA, especially considering our team has historically performed significantly better on LAN. Also the new point system to qualify for majors as well as the number of major spots available for the region makes me very excited for a more competitive future for the game.

Astro:

I liked them a lot, I hope that R6 keeps getting better like that.

Loona:

It will be easier to make LANs, I feel but harder to get further than that. That’s also fine though, as I feel the region (APAC) will be more competitive for once and the best of the best of us will make Majors and hopefully get further than we’ve seen yet!

Other Views

To see a range of professional player's opinions on Theme Park entering the map pool check out our article on the change here. Here’s what some other members of the R6 community had to say about the above topics:

European Pros:

Niclas "Pengu" Mouritzen from G2 Esports on Oregon:

New Oregon better than old Oregon? Obviously the new one. Even if they messed up the rework massively it would still be better than the old Oregon cause the flaws in the old Oregon were huge. Oregon was a good map back when the same was simpler but now that the game is more advanced the map was not sustainable.

On Iana:

The new attacker is really strong. Just the fact that you have “infinite drones”. The thing is the copy makes the sound of footsteps so if you’re just walking around they’re gonna callout someone’s there but they don’t know if it’s a copy or not.

And on the Tachanka rework:

Yeah, the Tachanka buff seems kinda strong. I was like Tachanka get a turret, cool. He can make rotation holes, cool. He has a grenade launcher with like five canisters, what the f-. He shoots once, he shoots twice and I’m like he’s done now right? Three-four, I’m like holy shit. He can bounce them off walls. Tachanka went from underpowered to overpowered, it’s pretty pog.

The coach of Team Secret, Louis "Helbee" Bureau, on Oryx:

Your boy Oryx will be Site Architect and then just go off roaming like the mad man he is. I like him a lot :)

Jack "Doki" Robertson from Natus Vincere on Kali:

North American Pros:

Gabriel "LaXInG" Mirelez from Team Reciprocity on Oryx:

And on Theme Park:

Thoughts on balance updates via Alexander "Skys" Magor from DarkZero Esports:

Susquehanna Soniqs’ substitute of Lauren "Goddess" Williams on Kali

The Luminosity Gaming player of Kian "Hyena" Mozayani on the gadget changes:

Casters:

Ghassan "Milosh" Finge on the changes:

Derry "Dezachu" Holt on the gadget changes:

Streamers:

The ex-World Champion, George "KingGeorge" Kassa, on the new update:

BikiniBodhi on Iana:

CrossArchon after Ash’s new Tomb Raider Elite uniform:

MacieJay on possible Kali changes:

CoreRoss’ Mythbusters video on the new operators:

And finally, Ubisoft's series of videos featuring Dillon "Get_Flanked" Clark, firstly on Oregon:

On Iana:

On Oryx:

Other Additions

As well as these new operators, map and balance changes, the Operation Void Edge update also adds the following 13 new Pilot Program skins:

Natus Vincere - 556xi (Thermite’s Assault Rifle)

G2 Esports - K1A (Vigil’s Submachine Gun)

Team Empire - MP5 (Rook and Doc’s Submachine Gun)

Rogue - M762 (Zofia’s Assault Rifle)

Evil Geniuses - F2 (Twitch’s Assault Rifle)

Spacestation Gaming - 552 Commando (IQ’s Assault Rifle)

FaZe Clan - R4-C (Ash’s Assault Rifle)

Team Liquid - 416-C Carbine (Jager’s Assault Rifle)

MiBR - ALDA 5.56 (Maestro’s Light Machine Gun)

INTZ - MP7 (Bandit’s Submachine Gun)

Fnatic - M4 (Maverick’s Assault Rifle)

NORA-Rengo - MPX (Valkyrie and Warden’s Submachine Gun)

Cloud9 - M590A1 (the SAS and Warden’s Shotgun)

Finally, the update sees the release of the new Caveira Elite:

And, shortly we’ll see the new Tomb Raider Ash Elite also released on a currently unknown date:

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The new season is available to play now with these changes debuting in the Pro League on Monday as the Rogue faces Team Vitality at 20:00CEST.