Ubisoft Montreal is gearing up to start another season for Tom Clancy's Rainbow Six Siege. This is a big update, as it marks the beginning of the game's ninth year. For the next season, Operation Deadly Omen, Siege's Defenders had better watch themselves. It turns out they're being watched by the game's next Operator.

If Deimos looks familiar to long-time followers of the Rainbow Six series, that's because he isn't exactly a new character to its lore. In fact, a Friday trailer revealed that this is actually the new alias of former Rainbow Six operator Gerald Morris. Morris previously served as an operative in the first three Rainbow Six games, last seen in Rainbow Six 3: Raven Shield. During a mission, Morris betrays his team and is believed to be killed in an explosion until he re-emerges as the masked villain Deimos.

At his core, Deimos is a hunter. That's why his gadget fits him so well. It's a nano-sized heli-drone called the Deathmark Tracker. Players can select any member of the opposing team for the Deathmark Tracker to target, provided that those opponents have been scanned by drones or cameras during the prep phase. Once selected, the drone will relentlessly seek them out and reveal their location to Deimos. Given how Siege rounds usually work, a single target's reveal will likely lead to the bomb and the rest of that target's teammates.

It should be noted that there are a few drawbacks to the Deathmark Tracker. Only Deimos will know their location and must communicate with the rest of the team to inform them of their target's location. Furthermore, the target will be notified that they have been marked and will also be made aware of Deimos' location, unless they're Vigil, whose ability protects him from the Deathmark Tracker entirely. Like Deimos, the targeted player can then relay this information to their team and they can prepare traps accordingly. Lastly, once the Deathmark Tracker has been deployed, Deimos automatically switches to his custom .44 Vendetta revolver, which means he'll need to use stealth to get up close for a clear shot. While it's most effective at short range, the Vendetta is a powerful piece of work that can take down most targets in two hits.

Operation Deadly Omen will also see a noticeable revamp to shields. Shields are being adjusted to allow for users to safely reload from behind a shield, but in exchange, they must exit the safety cover of their shield in order to fire their weapon or go on any kind of offense. This means that if Fuze, Blitz, and Montagne want to act like tanks, they must operate accordingly. Of course, that's not to say players have to be totally defensive when using shields. Melee pushbacks can knock opponents over and deliver modest damage while shields are also powerful enough to destroy full-health barricades. Shield users can sprint, but only until their shield sustains too much damage, at which point, they're reduced to walking speed. Ubisoft Montreal is promising to revisit the topic of shields later this year.

In addition to Deimos and the shield revamps, Operation Deadly Omen is promising a variety of changes to Siege. Attachments and ADS are being tweaked, Ranked Play is being adjusted for new players and veterans alike, and machine learning is being exercised to detect and ban cheaters. Plus, Azami and her Kiba Barriers are getting some balance adjustments that will allow for the barriers to be mowed down by bullets. More on what's coming in Operation Deadly Omen can be found on the Rainbow Six Siege website. Look for Rainbow Six Siege to kick off Operation Deadly Omen on all platforms on Tuesday, March 12.