Bilawal Bashir 
GSK from Rainbow Six Siege is joining Ubisoft’s free-to-play shooter, XDefiant, and bringing its own toys to play.
XDefiant is doing good numbers for Ubisoft, drawing in both Rainbow 6 converts as well as Call of Duty defectors. The tight shooting mechanics and good map design are helping the game retain most of its player base. Ubisoft is also actively updating the game, adjusting balance, and deploying fixes.
The game features factions from all Ubisoft properties, from Far Cry to Watchdogs. Each faction comes with unique operators and offers players a different playstyle. The Echelon faction from the Splinter Cell series is all about espionage, so they bring sonar goggles and a digital ghillie suit. Similarly, the Cleaners from The Division have a flamethrower and a napalm-spewing drone. What GSK brings to the table isn’t clearly announced yet but plenty of die-hard fans would’ve already guessed what the abilities are.
GSK brings a shield to XDefiant’s gunfights
The new XDefiant faction GSK comes with a defensive shield which will make them harder to take down head-on.
Shields are a sensitive subject, especially in first-person shooters like Call of Duty or Rainbow Six Siege. While some players love a good shield, others call it unfair.
Thankfully, the GSK shield is the ultimate ability, so it cannot be used throughout the match. Shields are popular these days, Doom Guy has one, and Captain America always had one. The other two GSK tactical abilities aren’t made clear yet.
The shield also has a flash built at the front, great for blinding incoming enemies. The flash would probably have a limited number of charges per ultimate, otherwise, it would be a nightmare to balance the new faction. In a trailer shown at Ubisoft Forward, a player can be seen using a firearm with the shield drawn, giving even more depth to the ability. Riot shields with pistols is a concept that has been done in many games in the past and often translates to a more methodical and aim-focused style. This should make the GSK faction an interesting addition to XDefiant.
XDefiant Season 1 has plenty of content
Season 1 in XDefiant kicks off with three new maps, a new mode, and an improved better player ranking system.
Ubisoft is feeding consistent updates to keep the game fresh and it’s just been a month since it launched. Season 1 will have three new maps, Clubhouse, Daytona, and Rockefeller. The development team is aiming for three new maps for each season. The map quality in XDefiant has been superb and it will be hard to maintain that level of quality with frequent new releases.
The game is not getting the rumored team deathmatch mode. However, another multiplayer FPS staple, Capture the Flag is coming to the game. Previous rumors also suggest the game would eventually get Assassins from The Assassin’s Creed franchise as well. They won’t be arriving with XDefiant’s season 1 when it launches on July 2, 2024.
