PROs:
- Strong utility
- 3-speed suits roaming
CONS:
- Characteristics not very suitable for anchor play
Melusi
Defensive operator
Organization
ITF
Availability
DLC Y5S2
Armor Rating
Light
Speed Rating
Fast
Biography
“Understanding is the only tool that vanquishes ignorance.”
Born in the small town of Louwsburg near the Ithala Game Reserve, Ndlovu spent many years exploring with her friend, Elna Gardiner. As they grew, so did their appreciation of and sense of responsibility for the animals on the reserve. The threat from poachers fueled their determination, and though haunted they focused on the lives they could save, rather than past casualties.
Ndlovu signed up with the South African National Defence Force to broaden her skillset and fund her field ranger training. Her persistence and dedication brought her to the attention of the 1 Parachute Battalion, until an ambush in the Central African Republic left her badly wounded.
OPERATOR VIDEO
When Gardiner, who had become an accomplished veterinarian, asked for help defending Hluhluwe–Imfolozi Park, Ndlovu resigned from the military and began training local women in tracking, interception, and surveillance. Together, they are the heart of the Inkaba Task Force Anti-Poaching Unit.
Operator guide
Detailed information on how to play Melusi R6 Siege operator
Utility
What is Melusi utility?
Here’s the list of basic characteristics of Banshee:
- Melusi’s gadget is of deployable nature
Banshee cannot be thrown, unlike proximity alarm. The device can be deployed on both horizontal and vertical surfaces, similarly to Maestro’s Evil Eyes - The gadget has an effective radius of 4 meters
- The effective radius is circular, with the device being the center
- Requires line of sight on attackers to activate its effect
- Banshee can impact multiple attackers, similarly to Electric zap from Clash
- The effect on the attackers within its LOS is twofold:
- slows down attackers – the closer opponents are to Banshee, the stronger the effect becomes
- emits distinctive sound
- When Banshee is actively slowing down attackers, it exposes its core which can be shot with bullets (Y6S2 patch change)
- While inactive, the device is not vulnerable to gunshots
- Melusi’s gadget has no duration limitations nor recharge – it remains active as long as attackers are within its radius and LoS
How to use utility?
To place gadgets effectively we have to first understand what roles the device fills in. Understanding the fundamental benefits that we can bring to the table allows us to make correct judgment calls when selecting the right spots.
BANSHEE BENEFITS
From the utility role perspective Banshee gives defenders the following benefits:
Debuffs attackers
Movement speed is an important factor in Rainbow Six Siege.
Being able to “click heads” is a significantly easier task when opponents are not moving at Mach 3 speed – yes, we’re all looking at you, Ash!
Gathers intel
Intel is the king in Rainbow Six Siege. This was true in Year 1 of the game and still is now in Year 5!
Melusi adds yet another tool in defenders’ arsenal that allows gathering information on enemies’ location.The sound emitted by Banshee can either help you cover your flanks or provide the intel needed for a quick peek with an intent to kill.
Distracts enemies
Being able to focus effectively on shooting enemies is much harder when your movement speed is impaired and you know that defenders are aware of your location.
The sound emitted by Melusi utility has a psychological effect on attackers – it makes them feel unsettled.
The tendency we see so far in R6 attackers is that attackers do not know what to focus first on: “Should I go for meleeing Banshee or should I wait for a peek?”
This hesitation makes defenders’ jobs so much easier!
Burns attackers’ utility
When placed in hard to reach location, the Melusi gadget can be yet another utility sink for defenders. If attackers cannot safely melee the device, but cannot leave it active to progress, then they will be forced to either change their plan or use explosives to deal with Banshee.
BANSHEE FOR OBJECTIVE OR ROAM?
Objective
Some objectives will have 1-2 primarily used entry points (i.e. basement on Bank), while other sites may have more flexibility (basement in Chalet).
Think first where you do not want attackers to have easy access from and plan your gadget placement accordingly.
Some objectives may be best to use all of your Banshees on the site. However, in other cases, 1 or 2 gadgets on the site are absolutely sufficient, and the rest can be used to aid your roam.
Your roster
Another important aspect impacting your placement judgment process is the choice of operators available on your team.
If you have Lesion, Ela, Kapkan, etc. then perhaps you do not need to use most of your utility in the objective itself.
Ask teammates who try to fill in a similar role where are they planning to place their gadgets.In some cases, however, doubling-down on utility can be very beneficial. Chokepoints vital to defend can be the best examples, i.e. server or CCTV in the basement of Bank.
If you decide to stack utility in a certain location, try to place them with some separation from each other. Otherwise, there’s a risk that single Ash or Zofia explosive will destroy all your utility in that location.
Team’s plan
You should consider the tactic of your team and any weak points of it which could be addressed with your Banshees.
This aspect is the most applicable for pre-made teams, but you can also apply it when solo queuing – just ask or simply observe the placement of your teammates, evaluate and act accordingly.
Your own intentions
Likely, you’ll decide to roam with Melusi and thus you should consider where will you roam and how you plan to set yourself up.
Having at least 1 Banshee to aid your roam is beneficial if you intend to hold the building entry point hard or want to simply cover your own flanks.
Considering the above aspects, you should be able to assess whether your Banshees are needed solely on the objective or to support the roam game of your team.
MAKE IT HARD TO MELEE BANSHEE
This is the most common placement error we can see so far from Melusi players.
You want to make it difficult for attackers to melee Banshee. Therefore, place your gadgets a few meters away from entrances and on high ground (if applicable).
Here are two videos from HologramSam with very good spots:
Interactions
SYNERGIES
Jager & Wamai
Since attackers can use explosives to deal with your Banshees, she can naturally synergize with both defenders. Jager should place ADS close to Banshee, while Wamai should use his Mag-nets farther from your gadget to avoid destroying it while catching the enemy’s projectile
Smoke, Goyo & Mira
Banshee can increase the effectiveness of area denial defenders. Smoking or burning attackers impacted by Banshee? Yes, sir.
Melusi’s gadget makes it also easier for Mira to shoot or C4 attackers located on the less beneficial side of the mirror.
Barbed wire
Stacking Barbed wire with Banshee can add additional pressure on attackers to either burn their utility or risk significant movement speed decrease
Counters:
The closest counter we can think of in terms of the operator-specific counter is Nokk.
However, since Nokk objective push is not a meta-thing, we consider it rather a situational counter.
More universally Banshee counters objective pushes and especially rushes.
When attackers rush the objective they tend to stack up and do not carefully deal with the utility. Banshee can give an early warning and slow down the initial push.
Since the element of surprise and speed of attack are the most significant benefits of a rush, Melusi can render them useless with the right reaction from the defensive team.
Countered by:
Melee
- Gunshots
Bullets are effective only when the device is active and only in the core, at the center of the gadget All explosives
Any operator with Frag grenades or unique explosive utility can deal with Banshee.
The most common counters in terms of operators with explosives are Ash and Zofia.
Thatcher EMP
EMP does not destroy Banshee but deactivates it for 10 seconds
Twitch Shock drone
Similar to EMP, zap from Shock drone disables Melusi’s gadget and does not destroy it.
How to play -
Melusi R6 Siege
Playstyle
Melusi’s Banshees are a passive gadget that can distract attackers and aid anchors. Doing so can be achieved without the South African operator being present on the objective, or even alive.
Therefore, we recommend that you set your Banshees at the start of the round before leaving the objective to roam.
WHAT IS ROAMING?
What roaming means is to leave the objective site while playing defense and attempt to flank and interrupt the attacking team.
We split roaming into two main types: sneaky and disruptive roam.
Sneaky roaming relies on concealing your presence and location. The goal is to flank unsuspecting attackers during the later stages of the round. In other words, you want to make attackers forget about you and catch them with pants down.
Disruptive roam revolves around denying the ability to enter the building or harassing attackers continuously during the round. The main goal is to shift attackers’ attention from objective to you. The idea is to burn round time, leaving little time and utility for execution on the site.
Getting kills as a roamer is great, but kills are mainly an addition to roaming – not the only reason for roamers to exist!
The main point of roaming is to waste attackers’ time and make them feel uncomfortable pushing the site before dealing with you.
Roaming role is filled usually by more advanced players as it requires:
- advanced map knowledge
- mobility
- creativity
- good game sense
If you want to learn more about roaming, we recommend visiting the section dedicated to this role by clicking the below button.
Difficulty
- Melusi’s utility is easy to use but requires map knowledge to place correctly
- Good gun
- Roaming requires map knowledge and game sense
- The passive utility does not force the player to stay alive to benefit the team
Loadout guide -
Melusi R6 Siege
Available options
Primary weapons
Secondary weapons
Universal gadgets
Nitro Cell
The throwable explosive detonated remotely by the user. It can be pre-placed or used similarily to grenades.
The best counter to Shield operators and preventing defuser plant.
Impact Grenade
A grenade exploding on impact. It is primarily used for opening holes in surfaces.
Loadout suggestion
Loadout choices are an individual aspect, and rarely there is a “go-to” loadout in R6 Siege.
Sight choices are purely personal and depend on the player’s playstyle, map, even objective & specific role.
Please treat the below suggestion as what it is – our preferences.
We encourage you to experiment to find your setup.
Remember, just because something works for someone else, does not mean it has to and will work for you!
Suggested loadout:
| Primary weapon | Barrel | Grip | Scope |
| MP5 | Flash hider | Vertical Grip | Reflex |
| Secondary weapon | Barrel | Grip | Scope |
| RG16 | Muzzle Brake | N/A | N/A |
| Gadget |
| Nitro Cell |
Why such loadout?
PRIMARY WEAPONS
SECONDARY WEAPONS
RG15 is a reliable pistol with a high ammo count and lower damage per bullet.
RG15 has a unique sight equipped by default and green laser sight.
We recommend using this pistol with a muzzle brake to decrease the recoil.
The choice of laser sight depends heavily on your preferences. We do not find ourselves in gunfights with a gun using hipfire often. Thus, our recommendation to leave the laser off on RG15.
UNIVERSAL GADGETS
Both universal gadgets can serve the Melusi very well.
The main recommendation here is to check your team’s composition and decide based on team needs, as well as your preferred playstyle.
Opening rotation holes is superior with Impact grenades. Grenades can also help with creating unpredictable lines of sights or new avenues for roaming.
However, the usual choice of the universal gadget as a roamer for us is the Nitro cell. To a lesser extend C4 can fill in a similar role as grenades but gives additional killing power to deal with shield attackers or deny defuser plants.
Community Videos -
Melusi R6 Siege
Instructional videos
Gameplay showcases
Other operators
Learn more about other operators in R6 Siege!
Or go to list of all available Guides
