Rainbow Six Siege Operation Steel Wave is bringing a spate of additions, tweaks, and reworks to the game. It is the second major title update for the game’s fifth year, and it is finally doing South Africans some justice. For a while now, Africans have been enjoying Wamai, the game’s first ever operator from the African continent. Only now, however, have we been given what we really asked for: the first Rainbow Six Siege South African operator, Melusi. And she is a bad ass!
“Understanding is the only tool that vanquishes ignorance”
While we have not had a lot of time to play as Melusi yet, we know she is a force to be reckoned with. As a defender, Melusi features a deployable shield, impact grenades, a T5SMG, and RG15 handgun. She also boasts a Super 90 Pump-Action shotgun, which ensures that her blows up close are almost always fatal. As a South African operator, it is only natural that she received professional training from the defense force. Her full bio and background definitely backs that up, and more!
According to her bio, Thanidwe “Melusi” Ndlovu was born in the small town of Louwsburg, near the Ithala Game Reserve. While there, she spent many years exploring the reserve with her friend Elna Gardiner. This wonderful experience gave her an astounding appreciation for the animals in the reserve – one which flared when she learned of poachers, and how they ruin the lives of animals. This threat from poachers fueled both Melusi and Elna’s determination to focus on the lives they could save, giving them the determination needed to carry themselves to greatness.
Melusi signed up with the South African National Defence Force (SANDF), where she grew a new skillset, and simultaneously funded her ranger training. Her persistence and dedication made her a perfect candidate for the 1 Parachute Battalion. However, she was badly wounded when an ambush in the Central African Republic went awry… causing her to be tagged unfit for duty.
Elna, on the other hand, went on to become an accomplished veterinarian. Upon learning of Melusi’s injuries, Gardiner offered her a position as a ranger at the Hluhluwe–Imfolozi Park. There, Melusi took it upon herself to train local women in tracking, interception and surveillance. This was the beginning of the Inkaba Task Force Anti-Poaching Unit.
The bio does not state how she became involved with the rest of her Rainbow Six brethren, but it definitely paints an honourable picture. Making her a really cool addition as the first Rainbow Six Siege South African operator. In the first teaser Ubisoft released, you could see Melusi stalk her prey from atop a tree. Her voice actress speaks of how “the true predator strikes out of necessity, and not greed”. It perfectly sums up the kind of person she is, and what kind of operator she will be when players finally jump into her shoes.
While an exact release date has not been revealed, Ubisoft says Operation Steel Wave will be coming to PC test servers on 19 May 2020. If history is anything to go by, the major title update will extend to live servers about two to three weeks after that.
Junior Editor at Vamers. From Superman to Ironman; Bill Rizer to Sam Fisher and everything in-between, Edward loves it all. He is a Bachelor of Arts student and English Major specialising in Language and Literature. He is an avid writer and casual social networker with a flare for all things tech related.