Rainbow Six players are quickly finding out just how broken new operator Tubarão is

Get ready for the 20 second meta all over again.

Rainbow Six Siege Deep Freeze character holding a gun.
Image via Ubisoft

Tubarão, the latest operator to be introduced to Rainbow Six: Siege, is looking extremely strong with his Zoto Canisters and all of their interactions.

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Historically, Siege has been a defender-sided game, but attackers have always had a way to win every single round. Tubarão is extremely strong, and he might push the game to the most defender-sided meta we’ve ever seen at any level.

First, the Zoto Canisters can help hard breach denial operators keep defenders’ walls up. Its utility-freezing gives defenders much more time to plant electricity-based denial gadgets on walls, and it can slow down fast-moving attackers. When combined with a Nitro Cell secondary gadget and two strong primary weapons, Tubarão is either a must-pick or a must-ban for any serious player or team.

Additionally, attackers can no longer cook Frag Grenades. Without efficient killing power from Frags, attackers have lost a very important part of default takes across nearly every map. Without indirect killing power or a Tubarão ban allowing other powerful defenders like Azami, Fenrir, or Valkyrie through, defenders simply have way too many tools to win rounds.

The “20-second meta” was one of the most hated Siege metas of all time because it took nearly the entire round to clear all of the defender utility, leaving only around 20 seconds for attackers to execute a site take. Tubarão’s presence has the chance to bring a worse meta to the forefront. Without grenade cooking and another powerful defender gadget on the field, only the most efficient attackers will be able to set up an advantageous execute.

Strap yourselves in for pain—there’s a chance that 1-5 attacking halves will be the new normal in professional play. The attackers simply do not have enough tools at their disposal to counter-play all of the defender utility that’s about to come at them.

Author
Image of Hunter Cooke
Hunter Cooke
Investigative Unit. Rainbow Six Siege, VALORANT.