Nests are biomass growths created by the Chimera Parasite with the sole purpose of producing Archæans as a defense mechanism against perceived threats.
Nests are featured in the Outbreak and Containment events in Tom Clancy's Rainbow Six Siege and return in Tom Clancy's Rainbow Six Extraction.
Background[]
Nests are large nodules produced by Sprawl within infested zones. They are formed when Sprawl enters a phase of less aggressive proliferation. Nests contain high concentrations of neurons, glial cells, neural stem cells and proteins. These fertile areas of differentiated Sprawl germinate several Archaean variants when threats are detected within infested zones, similar to an organism's autoimmune response during an infection. Considerable energy and biomatter reserves are required to synthesize Archaeans. This is accomplished bioluminescent photosynthesis by Nutrient Nodes and the surrounding Sprawl through the assimilation of organisms by the Parasite as evidenced by the presence of human DNA within Sprawl.
REACT research hypotheses suggest the Nests are acting as neural nodes. Each Nest provides functional connectivity from node-to-node to augment communication among the different variants. The mechanism that determines what Archaeans will germinate from Nests is unknown. REACT scientists have ruled out environmental factors such as thermosensitivity, photosensivity, and seismosensitivity as possible mechanisms. It is speculated that variant germination is determined in response to the Parasite's immunological memory when dealing threats in it's environment.
Several nest mutations have been observed. The presence of a Malignant Neoplasm will increase toxicity levels within an infested area and create Aberrant Nests. REACT molecular scientists suggest the Aberrant Nest is a composite of defective Archean variants. Tests on tissue samples indicate damaged DNA threads may occur during the incubation process resulting in malformations.
Extended periods of environmental stress have shown nests to sporadically develop an extra-resilient outer covering made up of a desiccate form of Sprawl colony. The Sprawl casing is much denser than normal. Impact studies of armored nests have revealed significant increase in kinetic energy absorption and dissipation which results in impressive resistance to ballistic damage.
Structural analysis and genetic sequencing of the casing by REACT scientists have revealed a 97% match with other Sprawl samples (environmental or Archean carapace), 2% closely resembles terrestrial silk, with 1% being unknown on Earth. Fractal globule analysis of silk-like DNA sequence closely resembles that produced by an extinct arthropod from the early Cambrian or pre-Cambrian period.
Gameplay[]
Siege[]
Nests appear as large biomass structures in the third mission of the Outbreak event. They serve no gameplay purpose and are merely aesthetic. They return in the Nest Neutralization gamemode of the Containment event on the map Consulate. They retain a similar appearance to their counterparts in Tom Clancy's Rainbow Six Extraction. Attackers are tasked with first destroying the two Nests which are located on opposite ends of the map. Once destroyed, players are then capable of destroying the larger Aberrant Nest which is located in the center of the map. Nests can be destroyed with a few hits from attackers. The round will be over once the Aberrant Nest is destroyed.
Gallery[]
Nest[]
Aberrant Nest[]
Extraction[]
Nests function as spawn points for Archæans in Tom Clancy's Rainbow Six Extraction. While dormant, Nests are harmless and can be easily avoided. Nests will remain dormant should players run or shoot by them. They will only become active once alerted by an Archæan howl and will start producing enemies and spread sprawl around the area. Active Nests will continue to spawn enemies until they are destroyed. Nests can be destroyed with a few shots or by performing a Takedown with the REACT Blade. Recon gear like the Recon Drone or Pulse's heartbeat sensor can detect and mark Nests within a subzone.
In the Nest Tracking objective, players must plant trackers in five dormant Nests in order to complete the objective. Trackers cannot be placed if Nests become active and the objective will fail if too many Nests become active or are destroyed. In Decontamination, a large cluster of Aberrant Nests must be located and destroyed in a subzone in order to take a sample from the Malignant Neoplasm and complete the objective. Aberrant Nests function the same as normal Nests but will produce a toxic gas that will damage players if they enter the cloud. In the Shutdown objective, Nests will spawn continuously after they are destroyed until the Nutrient Node is shutdown by planting canisters on it.
Higher difficulties feature the Armored Nest Mutation which causes armor-like sprawl to form around Nests. Armored Nests are resistant to gunfire but can still be destroyed with explosives or Takedowns. Players are given a small window to destroy Armored Nests with gunfire as their armor will momentarily retract when an enemy is produced.
Gallery[]
Concept Art[]
See Also[]
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