Rainbow Six Siege X: Rainbow Six Siege X Operation High Stakes: Everything you need to know

The newest season, Operation High Stakes, and all its upcoming contents were recently unveiled in a reveal livestream. Year 10 Season 3 in Rainbow Six Siege X will bring a new operator, three new modernized maps, several balancing updates, and more. The Dual Front game mode will also receive updates to keep up with the latest events in the game lore.

This article will go over everything to know about the upcoming season, Operation High Stakes, in Rainbow Six Siege X.

New defender and map updates in Operation High Stakes

Denari gadget and loadout

Denari is the newest operator to join Rainbow Six Siege X. This Swiss defender aims to connect the dots to create an elaborate trap on the defending side. Their gadget will act as a trap to slow down pushes or block entry points. The way these T.R.I.P. Connectors work is very simple; Denari will be able to deploy seven small devices that can connect via a laser.

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Denari is the newest defender releasing in Operation High Stakes (Image via Ubisoft)

These lasers can shock attackers as well as damage them for 20 HP per laser when intercepted. With a stacking effect present for each additional laser, this damage can quickly ramp up to lethal proportions. The electrocuted status, however, can stack up to a max of 8 seconds. These connectors can be thrown anywhere on the floor, walls, or roof, but must be within 20 m of each other to connect via a laser.

Here is the loadout that Denari will use in Rainbow Six Siege X Operation High Stakes:

Denari: 1 Armor 3 Speed
Primary Weapon: FMG-9, Scorpion EVO 3 A1
Secondary Weapon: Glaive-12 Slug Shotgun, P226 MK 25 pistol
Secondary Gadgets: Deployable Shield and Observation Blocker

New secondary slug shotgun being introduced

Operation High Stakes will introduce a new secondary weapon to Siege X. The Glaive-12 will be a slug shotgun that chambers four bullets and can deal high damage (63 per bullet). This can be used to create openings in soft walls or to take down unsuspecting enemies.

Glaive-12 will be in Denari's loadout (Image via Ubisoft)

All modernized maps coming in Rainbow Six Siege X

Following the trend of map modernization initiated last season, Operation High Stakes will bring three new maps up to standards with the new visual overhaul of Siege X. Here are all the modernized maps coming next season:

Lair
Nighthaven Labs
Consulate

Alongside the visual update, these updated maps will also feature destructible ingredients, like the Fire Extinguisher, gas pipes, and so on. These will create several interactive scenarios that can play out differently throughout a match. Siege X Game Director, Joshua Mills, also reminded us in the livestream that we will be getting three new modernized maps every season.

Dual Front update in Year 10 Season 3

The 6v6 Dual Front game mode will get a new Neutral Sector Assignment that will allow players to take part in a Keres mission, which was showcased in the animated clip. Players must reach the Keres Safe Room in the neutral sector, where they must activate the hub computer. Following this, all walls will be shut down, and no one will be able to get in or go out.

Keres Safe Room Neutral Sector Assignment (Image via Ubisoft)

However, in typical Siege X fashion, players can utilize their gadgets to create new entry points by opening up hatches or breaching reinforced walls, and eventually, contest the team that is taking over the hub computer in the safe room.

Anti-cheat and Anti-toxicity updates in Operation High Stakes

Shieldguard update

R6 Shieldguard Lead, Adrian Fraisse, acknowledged the spike in cheating during Siege X Operation Daybreak. They also mentioned that the priority is on catching these cheaters, as player frustration in a transitional period of Siege X is concerning. R6 Shieldguard will focus on precision, detection, and deployment of updates to the anti-cheat.

R6 Shieldguard will be updated to address the recent spike in cheating (Image via Ubisoft)

Live updates were a major point of focus during this Shieldguard update. Additional refinements in the Shieldguard will be coming throughout the season. Furthermore, MouseTrap will be updated to detect recoil tampering so that players using Xims can get detected faster and with more accuracy.

Also read: Rainbow Six Siege X Abandon Penalties: Updated sanctions, cooldown period, and more

Privacy settings in Year 10 Season 3

Nicknames in Rainbow Six Siege X will get an update, where players can auto-generate nicknames for specific situations. Be it only to protect your identity against opponents or to keep yourself away from toxicity when you are solo, here are all the newest options in Privacy Nickname:

Off: Don't hide your name with a privacy nickname
All: Use a privacy nickname that will be shown to all other players
All But Squad: Use a privacy nickname that will display to all players except your squadmates
Enemies Only: Use a privacy nickname that only appears to the enemy team

New privacy settings coming with Operation High Stakes (Image via Ubisoft)

After a match is over, the original usernames will be revealed, and players can report toxicity without worrying about the privacy nickname. These settings will become available to console players starting with Operation High Stakes.

Furthermore, voice chat will be monitored starting Year 10 Season 3, with the Reputation system having a separate section of Negative communication for voice chat abuse.

Updated Esports tab and Siege Cup in Operation High Stakes

New Esports Tab design

The Esports tab will be getting a design rework with the arrival of Operation High Stakes. Laurence Emma Tanguay, UX Designer for Siege X, shed some light on the updated Esports tab during the season reveal livestream. This new menu design will allow players to get more details about ongoing tournaments as well as showcase a team's journey through the competition.

Updated Esports tab coming with Year 10 Season 3 (Image via Ubisoft)

A global standings page is being introduced to highlight the biggest event of the year, Siege Invitationals, so that players can keep an eye out for teams that qualify for SI.

Updates in Siege Cup

Siege Cup will now allow players to participate every weekend. This increase in frequency aims to provide players with a consistent competitive experience. Additionally, Squad statistics will now be available to inspect so that teams can prepare with more information at their fingertips.

Squad statistics can now be inspected in Siege Cup (Image via Ubisoft)

Major Balancing changes in Operation High Stakes

Ballistic shields are getting a nerf, where throwing gadgets will now make the Shield users vulnerable during the throwing animation. This allows room for counterplay, so that defenders have a fair chance against them. Blackbeard, in particular, will be getting five major nerfs. Let us go over these nerfs below:

Cannot break through a full health barricade while rappelled.
Cannot ADS when rappelling in through a window. If ADS is already active, it will get cancelled.
Reloading the weapon folds the shield completely.
Magazine size of MK17 reduced back to 21 bullets from 26.
Removed one breach charge from the shield.

Additionally, Echo will receive a buff where the 3 armor 1 speed operator will become 2 armor 2 speed.

Reaper MK2 will be buffed and redistributed in Operation High Stakes (Image via Ubisoft)

The Reaper MK2 will receive a recoil buff, distributed among several operator loadouts. Some operators will also go through some loadout updates as mentioned below:

Sledge: Reaper MK2 added as a secondary
Striker: SR-25 added as a primary
Ying: Reaper MK2 added as a secondary
Fenrir: Bailiff 410 removed from secondary
Lesion: Super Shorty removed from secondary
Oryx: Reaper MK2 added as secondary
Pulse: Reaper MK2 added as secondary
Rook: Reaper MK2 added as secondary, Observation Blocked replaced with Nitro Cell
Sentry: TCSG12 added as primary
Wamai: Super Shorty added as secondary

Furthermore, all defenders are losing their magnified scopes for automatic weapons. This includes Doc, Rook, Frost, Tachanka, Castle, Echo, and Goyo. However, operators who have DMRs or Slug Shotguns get to keep their magnified sights.

This concludes our coverage of Rainbow Six Siege X Operation High Stakes. This seasonal update will be released on September 2, 2025. However, the Public Test Server for the upcoming season will go live starting Monday, August 18, 2025. So keep an eye out for the PTS to test the newest changes coming with Year 10 Season 3.

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About the author

Sankalpa is a gaming journalist at Sportskeeda who specializes in role-playing games (RPGs) and first-person shooters (FPS). A trained IT engineer, he switched his career to combine his passion for computer hardware and video games. Having done early build testing for Redstorm Entertainment, Sankalpa brings a wealth of insight into his role at Sportskeeda. He actively plays the games he is tasked to cover and then writes unbiased, thoughtful, and accurate features.

Delta Force 1 was the first title Sankalpa played, and it ignited in him a lifelong love for the FPS genre. Currently, he prefers to play multiplayer games on his PC. That said, he would love to explore the majestic landscapes of Far Cry 4's Kyrat in person if he ever finds himself in a Jumanji-type scenario.

Sankalpa follows the esports scene of Rainbow Six quite closely, with he himself playing with and against T2 and T3 teams in R6 tournaments at one point. He enjoys watching the tactics employed by professional players, especially Pengu, a former G2 member and 2x Winner of Rainbow 6 Siege invitationals.

In his spare time, Sankalpa can be found listening to lossless music or editing YouTube videos. He also loves binge-watching anime.

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Edited by Adarsh J Kumar