Rainbow Six Siege prepares for Operation Para Bellum

Si vis pacem, the old adage says, para bellum. No one knows what it means, the original language long since lost to history, but it's believed to broadly translate to "If you don't sit down and shut your mouth, I'll belt you one." That message of shoving will carry over to the next Rainbow Six Siege update, named Operation Para Bellum, which will add the game's nineteenth map and two Italian new characters.

Ubi are keeping relatively quiet about new content Para Bellum, the Season 2 update of Siege's Year 3, for now because they plan to blab all during the livestreamed Pro League Finals that run May 19th and 20th. The two new operators are Italian defenders, the new map is presumably a based around an Italian farmhouse - given that ↑ piece of artwork, obvs.

While Ubisoft don't have much to say about Para Bellum, leaks a few weeks before this official announcement have more hints. Supposedly one of 'em has a remote-controlled turret and t'other can lay down decoy holograms. This isn't confirmed but operators do tend to leak long before their announcements these days, and the leaks did know the name Para Bellum.

The accompanying update will also tweak Siege's gameguts. The promised Pick & Ban system, which will let teams restrict their opponents' character options like in MOBAs, is coming.

"This feature provides an extra layer of strategy between teams, as each side tries to counter their opponents’ picks during the banning phase," Ubisoft say. "We also anticipate a thrilling twist at the last moment, when teams swap Operators for the unexpected 6th Pick."

The previously-discussed dropshotting changes are due in the update too.