It looks like two major requests from Siege-ists are finally being answered in the upcoming Siege Year 11 Season 3, Operation Split Fire. We have a new defending operator who will give certain attackers a reason to shake in their boots and a targeted map update that will change how we approach a map that’s been in the game for 8 years. We’ve got the breakdown on this new content for you here.
Shields have long been the bane of a defender’s existence. From Montagne’s extendable fortress to Blitz’s blinding flash to Osa’s bulletproof glass deployable cover to Blackbeard bursting through a wall like the Kool-Aid man, the shield meta in Siege has continued to evolve over the years, presenting new headaches and little relief for the opposing team. Defenders have been given some tools to take on this ever-looming threat, like stun gadgets to break shield cover as well as explosives and fire to weed them out, but, to this day, being stuck in a 1-v-1 with any shield operator on the attacking team more often than not spells defeat for defenders.
It’s time now for defenders to fight back. Gone are the days of having to hold a defensive posture to wait out an incoming shield attacker. The new Egyptian operator Noor brings a gadget to the playing field that opens new gaps in a shield’s defense. The Horus Lance Launcher, named after the Egyptian god, fires projectiles that bore into shields and then shoots flames from one side. The flames deal a significant amount of fire damage to the operator if they don’t remove it quickly enough. There is a short activation window where the operator can remove it, but in either instance, the operator is left exposed.
The lance can also dig into reinforced walls and hatches and then spew fire from both ends of the device, which hints at Noor’s potential for breach denial, particularly against Thermite’s Exothermic Breach Charge. Area denial is another possible use as it can be shot at any other surface where it will attach and spit flames for several seconds, slowing down attacker movement in tight areas and doorways, however it can be destroyed easily.
The loadout Noor carries hits hard. He’s equipped with the Commando 9 (Mozzie) and ALDA 5.56 (Maestro) as primaries, the 1911 TACOPS and Bailiff 410 as secondaries, and either the Deployable Shield or Barbed Wire for secondary gadget options. This loadout means Noor can play passive, holding a defensive position on site, or he can play aggressive off-site, cutting off the flank and slowing attacker advances.
Noor was first teased at Six Invitational 2027 in Paris via an animation from mythical Siege storyteller, Siege_Tales. Since then, we’ve been chomping at the bit to get another look at the answer to our prayers. Will Noor be overpowered? I don’t think so. The lance itself is easily broken, has an activation timer, and can be quickly removed. I do think he will make a tremendous impact on every match, especially as players become more familiar with his gadget and loadout and learn how to play him. For players that like to crutch shield attackers, Noor is also likely to get banned a lot once the 2-week grace period ends.
Our first in-game look at Noor was on the map Villa, which is getting a partial rework. Living Room & Library are no longer bomb sites on the main floor. Instead, the basement has been given a little rework to now accommodate a new bomb site, Old Office (B) & Art Storage (A). Additionally, the garage area is no longer exterior. The large doors have been closed off, one with a soft wall and the other with a wide door, giving defenders additional space to defend the basement site. The small soft wall that sat between kitchen stairs and the garage has been replaced with a door as well, and several other changes have been made to the overall basement that change how you navigate the area.
I personally didn’t mind the Living Room & Library bomb site. However, it is the least-played objective since defenders usually opt for the stronger Dining Room & Kitchen bombsite instead. The new basement bombsite has several points of attack; the garage is an easier external entry with little means for defenders to contest unless they commit to holding that room, attackers can come in through the wine cellar and crypt oversized barrel entries, and the hatch that was in the Living Room is now in the hallway. Aside from that hatch and the hatch in the pantry by Kitchen, there is no vertical play as the ceilings are all brick. Whether this site will be any better or worse than Living Room & LIbrary remains to be seen, but in our short time with it, we found that every round could still swing in either direction.
These targeted map updates will be seen in seasons where new maps or major map overhauls are absent. They give players new challenges and new strategies to learn, keeping maps fresh and interesting. I’m a little on the fence with this direction, especially if these targeted updates are as drastic as the one for Villa. On the one hand, with the game being almost 11-years-old, revamping old content breathes new life into it, as we’ve seen with modernized maps as well as major map reworks, but at the same time, maintaining the identity of the map is vital, especially for long-running Siege players who already feel the nostalgia cravings for old versions of maps as well as the maps that are no longer in the game.
Current Villa Garage (Left) vs Updated Villa Garage (Right)
On top of that, the design aspect of any map rework should make sense in terms of the structure. For this new Villa update, the garage entry just looks weird now. The large wooden doors are still there, however an entire wall sits where one opening used to be and the other is half stone bricks with a regular door set in it. The design doesn’t make sense. I’d also comment on the hatches, but those don’t make sense anywhere on any maps, if we’re being honest. But this goes for full map reworks as well; I understand for gameplay they want to design a map that flows, but design the map with a layout that doesn’t make you question the contractors that built it (why are there 3 doorways into the House bathroom?!).
Design rant aside, I am actually hyped for both of these updates and can’t wait to see how it all actually pans out as we head into the open test server in the near future and then after the season launches next month. There are additional updates coming to matchmaking and ranked, as well as the much-anticipated Legends Division finally being introduced for Siege’s most competitive players, which you’ll never see me in. It’s only open to those who hit Champion in Ranked, and I’m just not about that life.
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