Ubisoft recently teased the upcoming mid-season operator changes for Rainbow Six Siege. Usually, operators are nerfed or buffed according to feedback from professional players as they know more about the game. However, this time one of the most controversial changes, the Jäger nerf, was decided upon the pick rate of the operator in Ranked games.
JÄGER
Jäger is one of the original operators in Rainbow Six Siege and has received several nerfs over the years. The loss of Jäger’s ACOG site was one of the biggest changes implemented in the game to reduce the number of spawn peeks and the overall strength of the operator. Jäger has also gone through smaller nerfs over time, which affected his gadget function and lowered his weapon damage. Still, even after these nerfs, Jäger remains a top pick as his gadget is very important for stopping projectiles.
This time, in Y6S1.3, Ubisoft decided to nerf Jäger even further by reducing his 416-C's magazine capacity to 25, from 30, and increasing the recoil to make his weapon more difficult to handle. These changes probably won’t make much difference in terms of pick rate as his major role is to stop projectiles, but players may opt to play Wamai more since he can do the same thing.
THERMITE
Thermite is also one of the original operators since the game launch. Thermite’s pick rate has drastically dropped when operators, such as Maverick, Hibana, and Ace, came out and have better weapons and utility. Ubisoft wants to improve Thermite’s pick rate by replacing Claymore with Smoke Grenades, which isn’t a terrible idea. Though the meta has always required operators to carry multiple flashbangs to destroy Jäger ADS or Wamai discs, followed by projectiles to get rid of players and utility. So, this change won’t really make a contrast yet you will see players choose for smokes for last-second executes.
You can read more about Tachanka's buffs and other upcoming changes here.
