Last week, I visited Ubisoft to go hands-on with Rainbow Six Siege’s new Operation Phantom Sight content. In addition to getting acquainted with the new content, I had to chance to play as new Attacker Nøkk.
Nøkk is a member of the Danish Jægerkorpset (Jaeger Corps) and is as mysterious as she is terrifying.
Her special ability is the HEL Presence Reduction gadget which is worn as a glove. When activated, Nøkk’s movement and ambient sound is dampened and makes her invisible to detection by cameras, Drones, Bulletproof Camera, Evil Eyes and more.
She’s pretty scary.
Operation Phantom Sight Nøkk
Of course, if you spot Nøkk with your own eyes, she won’t be invisible. It’s only tech that can’t detect her, however there are some exceptions. If she’s hit by Lesion’s Gu Mine her HEL will glitch as she takes damage. These glitches momentarily make her more visible on camera.
When Nøkk walks over debris, players watching on camera will be able to see the debris move, which is a telltale sign that Nøkk is there. The same goes for when she walks over barbed wire.
The HEL Presence Reduction gadget is only truly effective when Nøkk is moving at a walking pace or slower. If she runs, jumps, fires her weapons or vaults over cover she will glitch making her more visible.
In Operation Phantom Sight, Nøkk can be equipped with an FMG9 Submachine Gun or a SIX12 Suppressed Shotgun. Her secondary weapon is either a 5.7 USG Handgun or a D50 and she can carry a Breach Charge or Claymore. Nøkk has two Armour and two Speed.
The HEL gadget can be used as many times as you like and it has no cooldown. It does, however, have a short recharge period.
I’m a lapsed Rainbow Six Siege player and in my hands-on, FNATIC’s RizRaz was on the opposing team. That meant I was being deftly and swiftly murdered, though I did manage to get a good feel for both Nøkk and Warden.
The FMG9 Submachine Gun feels great and is deadly in the right hands, as it was in RizRaz’s. For a noob like me, the Shotgun was preferable. It’s an absolute beast of a gun though when I first fired it I was suprised by the lack of noise. At close range it is deadly, which works really well for Nøkk as her best strategies lie in stealth flanking.
Nøkk Nøkk, Who’s There?
After spending time playing Operation Phantom Sight I had a chat with RizRaz (Ethan Wombwell) about the new content. I asked him about the future of Rainbow Six Siege and how he thinks Nøkk and Warden will factor into the pro meta.
I think [Nøkk] will be quite a big change. Siege is currently in a meta that focuses on Valkyrie. I think Nøkk completely wipes that.
She keeps everyone on their toes and they can’t trust what they see on cams, so they have to stay off them. Little things like Legion mines and wire can counter her but it’s not something you can rely on all the time.
RizRaz added that he thinks she’s a “game changer” and fun to play as but not against. “She’ll shake up everyone and change everything and it’ll be really fun.”
When asked whether he thinks Nøkk or Nomad is more likely to be banned, RizRaz said;
That’s tough. I’d say, Nomad, still.
I think Nøkk be countered with Lesion’s mines, barbed wire or Ela mines but Nomad is quite hard to counter.
Impact damage is the best you’ve got. So I still think Nomad will be a higher ban pick.
On top of her great utility and visuals, Nøkk’s background is an interesting mystery. Her name, date of birth and place of birth have all been redacted. According to her background “Nøkk keeps her identity hidden from all but her fellow operators.”
Additionally, her psych report reads;
When they looped me in on Nøkk’s real identity, I cracked open her secret dossier with schoolboy glee. I love a good mystery and I was not disappointed.
Nøkk’s real identity has been a prickly issue given the potential scandal should it ever be made public. Frankly, had I not known who Nøkk’s father was, I wouldn’t have noticed the family resemblance.
But it smacks you in the face when you know the truth.
Dr. Harishva Pandey
The prevailing theory is that Nøkk is Danish Royalty which is why everything about her is such a secret. However, there are no solid leads so we’re left with best guesses.
Other fans suspect that Splinter Cell’s Sam Fisher could be her father. Although that sounds more like wishing rather than being based on anything real.
Still, it’s very interesting.
Nøkk will be available in Operation Phantom Sight when it launches for Rainbow Six Siege.
Leo Stevenson travelled to Sydney as a guest of Ubisoft.
