First Encounter with Tubarão
Eight years, 32 seasons, 70 operators. In all this time, Rainbow Six Siege players can only point to a few moments when the core of its meta - breaching - was turned upside down. In 2015, the Bandit trick proved that Thatcher could be countered, in 2018, Maverick offered an unstoppable (but risky) option to break through a wall with brutal force, then Kaid provided protection for hatches. Since then, alternative options for breaching charges and EMPs have integrated well into the meta, but I'm not sure if anyone is ready for Tubarão.
Tubarão is the new defender of Operation Deep Freeze. He enters the testing phase this week and will be released in early December. He is a medium speed and armor operator and carries the Zoto canister - a sticky throwable grenade that freezes everything within a small radius. Operators who enter the frozen area are slowed down and leave footprints for several seconds. But that's only half the story: almost all gadgets within the freeze area are disabled - with only a few exceptions.
Tubarão in Detail
He is somewhat like a portable signal disruptor, similar to Mute - he can be thrown from a distance, instantly disrupting gadgets and interrupting the detonation of explosives that have already been set. This is an intimidating new element for attackers who have been dealing with reinforced walls in the same way since 2015. Even mechanical devices that are immune to Mute's effects - like Ram's breaching bots or secondary hard breach charges - cannot escape Tubarão's freezing function.
Tubarão's complete loadout:
- Primary Weapons: AR-15.50 (DMR), MPX (SMG)
- Secondary Weapon: P226 MK 25 (Pistol)
- Secondary Gadgets: Nitro Cell, Proximity Alarm
Ubisoft has a habit of introducing gadgets that seem to be simply better versions of older ones. I wonder if Zoto will surpass Mute or even Kaid. But I suspect that two key weaknesses will hold him back: the Zoto canister cannot destroy gadgets on its own, and it only temporarily disrupts them. Frozen gadgets thaw out once the canister runs out (about 10-12 seconds), allowing them to resume their function. This means that you still need Bandit, Kaid, or a well-thrown impact grenade to clear a wall; otherwise, you have only delayed the inevitable.
It's hard to judge based on just a few games with Tubarão, but I'm not sure how an attacking team can reasonably counter someone who can block a wall for over 40 seconds of the round (when using all four Zoto canisters). Ubi says that Zero's lasers or Twitch's gadgets can destroy the Zoto from the inside out, but we all know how unreliable drone infiltration can be. Otherwise, your options are: disrupt the wall defense from above (not easy, but counters any wall defense), somehow get a frag grenade into the room (sometimes easy if there's a gap above the wall), or wait out the Zoto.
Contrasting Moments of Play with Tubarão
And that's only if you use him for anti-breaching. In a pinch, Tubarão's reactive throwable objects can prevent drone entry, reveal attacker footprints for an easy vertical attack, or simply make a critical chokepoint much harder to penetrate. The only thing holding Tubarão back is surviving long enough to make a difference.
If you want to learn more about the game mechanics or are looking for tips and tricks to improve your skills in Rainbow Six Siege, our site offers a variety of helpful articles and guides.
Looking Ahead to the Future
I'm curious to see if Tubarão is as dominant in practice as he appears on paper. He will arrive in December as part of Operation Deep Freeze, along with the new map Lair, a significant nerf to frag grenades (they can no longer be cooked), and attack training scenarios.
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