Osaka Major Teams Agree to Avoid Tubarão–Noor Combo

The 20 Rainbow Six Siege teams at the Osaka Major agreed to avoid the Tubarão–Noor wall-denial combination after an unexpected interaction appeared on the tournament’s opening day. The agreement applies to competitive use of the interaction, while both operators and their gadgets remain available.

Team Liquid player FelipoX announced the agreement on Nov. 7. He said several teams had asked BLAST whether the behavior was intentional. BLAST consulted Ubisoft and received confirmation that it was, although players had not been informed in advance and the interaction was not included in the latest patch notes.

FelipoX described the arrangement as a gentlemen’s agreement rather than an official ban or rule change. He said he expected every team to follow it. BLAST has not announced a penalty for teams that use the combination.

The agreement concerns the way Tubarão’s Zoto Canister and Noor’s Horus Lance interact with hard-breach gadgets. Teams can still select both operators and use either gadget separately.

Tubarão’s Zoto Canister creates a freezing area that pauses gadgets instead of destroying them. The effect can stop Thermite, Hibana and Ace breach devices. Destroying the canister ends the freeze early.

Noor’s Horus Lance embeds in a surface and releases flames on both sides of a penetrable barrier. The flames can destroy hard-breach gadgets when activated at the right time.

The combination allows defenders to freeze an attacking breach device while Noor’s Lance is positioned on the other side of the wall. The interaction reported at the Osaka Major involves the Lance continuing its drilling process during the freeze and becoming ready to release its flames when the freeze ends. This can give defenders a short window to destroy the attacking gadget before the attackers respond.

The combination had been tested before the Osaka Major. Earlier tests found that freezing the Lance could stop its drilling and that it would resume from the same point after the freeze ended. Other tests showed that the setup could affect Thermite, Ace, Hibana and secondary hard-breach charges. Tests also found that freezing active Noor flames could pause them.

The dispute at the Osaka Major concerns the timing of the interaction, rather than the general ability of the two operators to work together. The reported sequence allows Tubarão to hold a breach device in a frozen state while Noor’s Lance continues drilling, then activates the flames immediately after the freeze ends.

Noor’s ability to deny hard breaches had raised balance concerns before the operator’s release. Ubisoft previously adjusted the Lance’s activation timing on reinforced walls after concerns that Noor could serve as an alternative to established wall-denial operators such as Bandit, Kaid and Tubarão.

The combination remains available in the game, but the teams have agreed to avoid using it during the Osaka Major. Ubisoft has not publicly explained the interaction, and neither Ubisoft nor BLAST has published a formal ruling covering the agreement.

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Reviewed and fact-checked by Alex Panasenko on November 7.