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"Being afraid of a disease is sometimes worse than the disease itself. There is no cure for fear, so either you surrender to it or you fight it until one of you wins."
— Finka


Lera "Finka" Melnikova (Russian: Лера Мельникова) is an Attacking Operator in Tom Clancy's Rainbow Six Siege. She was introduced in the Operation Chimera expansion alongside Lion.[1]

Biography

Lera was nine when she was diagnosed with a neuropathy that included the slow degeneration of muscles and the loss of sensation in the limbs and extremities. Born three years after the Chernobyl disaster in the irradiated city of Gomel, Belarus, she grew up around children already suffering from birth defects. Her diagnosis was the realization of her fears, so when her parents encouraged her and her younger siblings to be physically active, she pushed herself even harder, determined to keep her body in peak condition to weather the neuropathy. She could not be sick if she stayed healthy, her young mind reasoned.

All three Melnikova children grew up playing sports, with Lera excelling at those requiring agility and finesse but there was always the knowledge that the neuropathy would worsen unless someone found a more permanent solution. She decided that someone was herself.

Lera moved to Novosibirsk to study at Novosibirsk State University and graduated with a PhD in Microbiology and Immunology. She remained at NSU in the Biotechnology and Virology Laboratory, her research uncovering treatments for a variety of pathogens and neuropathies including her own through drugs and self-dissolving nanites. While she hadn’t found a cure, she had found remission.

Lera might have stayed in Academia had she not received a visit from the Federal Security Service of the Russian Federation (FSB). Russian Spetsnaz operators and special agents faced the ever-growing danger of exposure to hazardous materials including organophosphorus agents like VX gas. For the first time in her life, Lera began thinking outside of her own concerns. Her research had saved the lives of perfect strangers, and now they were reaching out to her, sending grateful postcards and photos and letters. She could have a greater impact still. Lera jumped at the chance to work with Spetsnaz volunteers in a variety of conditions as she adapted the nanobots to their high-performance physiologies. Quickly, she came to enjoy the sense of competition, camaraderie, and the mental toughness of the Russian Special Forces members. She joined the Army with an eye on becoming a Red Beret herself, on the front lines of saving lives as a Chemical Biological Radiological Nuclear (CBRN) specialist.

Serving in the Russian Army, Lera rapidly proved herself physically and mentally tough enough to try out for the Spetsnaz. It was a brutal course, culminating in Close Quarter Battle (CQB) knife training with Kapkan. A misstep and a flourish from Kapkan, however, opened her face from brow to cheek, but Lera went for a series of bone-breaking punches to his nose and ribs before the pain overwhelmed her. They spent the night in the med tent, neither of them speaking, but enjoying a new, unspoken respect between them. From that day forward, she'd earned her moniker, Finka or "Knife."

Lera became the Spetsnaz CBRN Specialist, joining the Vympel Unit under the FSB and using her nanobots to help her unit survive hot zones; she was one of the only people capable of tailoring the nanobots to specific operators.

Her work in restructuring Russian battlefield protocols in the handling and neutralization of dangerous payloads earned her notice, and she became the go-to expert when it came to joint exercises with other CTUs. Six invited Lera to help Rainbow Six put together a CRBN unit of their own with Olivier "Lion" Flament as her first pick.[2]

Psychological Profile

Lera discovered that her neuropathy was slowly growing resistant to treatment. The old fears returned, every ache and pain analyzed and scrutinized as she pushed herself even harder to peak performance.

Now, she constantly tweaks and modifies her formula to stave off twinges and numbness that she imagines might be the onset of decline. She pushes herself to the point of throwing up after workouts with IQ and Valkyrie, though only Valkyrie understands that punishing limit of physical fitness. Lera unable to distinguish between the disease and normal fatigue and is driven by her fears and made excellent by them in the same maddening moment. She is not young anymore, though, but more desperate than ever to hold on to her life. She is trying to find a new treatment while keeping it a secret, but Doc knows and is closely monitoring her CMT in case it begins to affect her performance. She has not shared this with anyone else, not Kapkan who is her no-nonsense mentor, and not Tachanka with whom she drinks and flirts.[3]

Gameplay Description

A Medium Armored Operator, Finka comes equipped with her specially-designed nanobots. Having them injected into each of her teammates prior to each mission, her Adrenal Surge allows affected allies to gain a temporary boost in health and a reduction in recoil, on top of other small benefits.

  • Three times per round, Finka is able to activate the "Adrenal Surge" buff for 20 seconds. Adrenal Surge has a 20-second cooldown between activations.
  • Adrenal Surge grants the following benefits:
  • A temporary 20 health buff.
  • Even when this health buff is depleted, the other effects of Adrenal Surge will continue for the full duration.
  • When Adrenal Surge's duration is over, any temporal health will be removed, but won't reduce Operator's health below what they had initially.
  • Reduce recoil while Aiming Down Sights by about 45%.
  • Reduce time to Aim Down Sights by half.
  • Reduce reload time (including gadgets, such as Ash's M210 CREM) by about 15%.
  • Move through Barbed Wire ~40% faster.
  • Reduce the effects of Blinding Gadgets like Stun Grenades and Ying's Candelas effects by ~50%.
  • Reduce the effects of Concussing Gadgets like Ela's Grzmot Mines and Zofia's Concussion Grenades by 70%, as well as override them if activated after being concussed.
  • Adrenal Surge can also be used on downed allies, reviving them with 5 health, alongside the temporary 20 health boost. The revival process takes the same duration as the revival by Doc's Stim Pistol, which is 2.75 seconds.
  • Due to it being delivered to only the Attackers on-site, Adrenal Surge will not affect the Hostage.
  • Finka cannot self-revive, as she is unable to activate it while downed.

Synergies

  • Finka's Adrenal Surge works well with Attackers who work best in active gunfights, allowing someone like Blackbeard to prevail due to the Adrenal Surge's ability to increase recoil control and reduce ADS time.
  • This also applies to Operators with conventional gadgets (eg. Hibana's X-KAIROS, Buck's Skeleton Key, etc.), as their weapons will reload slightly faster.
  • Because Adrenal Surge is also able to grant an increased resistance to Blinding and Concussion effects, Ying and Zofia work well with Finka.
  • While Ying is already immune to her own Candelas, allied Attackers can make use of Adrenal Surge to recover faster from the Blinding effect as well.
  • In Zofia's case, due to her innate resistance to Concussion Effects, the combined resistance causes her to recover from the effects in around a single second.

Counters

  • The Adrenal Surge can be halted outright by certain Defenders.
  • Echo's Yokai can use its ultrasonic blasts to halt an active Adrenal Surge. However, this interaction is mutual as the Adrenal Surge will override the disorienting effects of the Yokai drone if activated afterwards.
  • Lesion's Gu Mines will halt an active Surge, but it also cannot be overridden with another.
  • Adrenal Surges can't be used to revive players caught in one of Frost's Welcome Mats.
  • Finka's activation method for her gadget is signal based. Naturally, being within the range of one of Mute's Signal Disruptors will prevent Finka from activating the device.
  • The Adrenal Surge also has some downsides when encountering certain Defenders.
  • Pulse's Cardiac Sensor detects Attackers boosted by Adrenal Surge from further away (Up to 14 meters compared to the usual 9 meters) due to their heart beating at a faster rate.
  • Smoke's Remote Gas Grenades deal twice the damage as an affected Operator will be breathing harder and faster during that time, inhaling in more gas.

Loadout

Loadout
Primary
Secondary
Gadget

Unique Gadget

Unique Gadget
Finka icon

Adrenal Surge x 3

"The nanobots give the team a brief gain in HP and revives allies in a DBNO state."
— Adrenal Surge Description


Finka delivers a nanobot shot to each operator before an operation. The nanites are made of zinc with the pharmacological cocktail laced into the nanobot’s construction. When she activates her signal, the nanobots disintegrate with the zinc being treated as a nutrient by the body and facilitating the absorption of the drugs. The operators receive a short boost of health to get them back on their feet, to give them an extra push, and to steady their aim.[1]

Quotes

Finka's Quotes
Outbreak: Sierra Paradise
  • "I thought they would react to the helicopter but... no. Nothing."
  • "As long as we're faster than they are, who cares?"
  • "Some questions can't be answered by idle chatter alone."
  • "There are so many of them. This really is an infestation."
  • "Nothing is ever simple, is it?"
  • "This is one hell of a way to meet. Are you alright?"
  • "Stay focused. We need all of us if we're going to make it out of here alive."
Outbreak: Sierra Veterans Wing
  • "We're not really hanging on our entire plan on one researcher, are we?"
  • "As a specialist, Mackintosh could be the only one who knows how to fight this thing."
  • "Waiting here won't change anything. We keep moving."
Outbreak: The Nest
  • "Is this where you say something like 'expect the unexpected?'"
  • "A fight like that, really gets the blood pumping."
  • "Some people can't face the world. It doesn't mean they're weak, just scared."
Activating Adrenal Surge
  • "Activating Adrenaline Surge!"
  • "Surge incoming!"
Friendly Fire
  • "Cease fire! Cease fire!"

Trivia

  • The term Finka (Russian: Финка) refers to a specific type of knife, specifically Finnish ones.
  • Finka and Lion's codenames were first revealed on February 1st, 2018.[4]
  • Finka has recently taken to creating a wall of letters and photos in her workspace as a reminder that her treatments are more than just about helping herself. She still fears that the wall might get ahead of her.[5]
  • Finka's Operator card shows her Spear .308 equipped with the standard Holographic Sight model despite using the Russian models in-game.

Gameplay Video

Rainbow_Six_Siege_-_In_Depth_How_to_Play_FINKA_-_Operator_Profile

Rainbow Six Siege - In Depth How to Play FINKA - Operator Profile

Patch Changes


References

  1. 1.0 1.1 Operation Chimera: Finka's Story
  2. Finka's In-game BIO > BACKGROUND Section
  3. Finka's In-game BIO > PSYCHOLOGICAL PROFILE Section
  4. Rainbow Six Siege: Operation Chimera, Outbreak Co-Op Event Coming in March
  5. Finka's In-game BIO > NOTES Section
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