Melusi

[e][h] Melusi

“"Understanding is the only tool that vanquishes ignorance.”

Operator Information

Affiliation:

ITF

Team Rainbow:

Wolfguard

Team:

Attack

Operator Role:

Crowd Control
Intel

Real Name:

Thandiwe Ndlovu

Birthdate:

(1988-06-16) June 16, 1988

Birthplace:

Louwsburg

Released:

Steel Wave (2020-06-16)

Renown price:

25,000
22,500 ^SP

R6 Credit price:

600
540 ^SP

Availability:

Casual
Ranked
Competetive ^SL

Base Stats

Armor/Health:

Heavy (125 HP)

Speed:

Slow

Difficulty:

Easy

Thandiwe "Melusi" Ndlovu (born in Louwsburg, June 16, 1988) is an defending operator featured in the Operation Steel Wave expansion for Rainbow Six Siege. Due to the introduction of an evaluation period in Operation Shifting Tides, both Melusi and Ace are unavailable in competitive play for the duration of Operation Steel Wave.

Unique Gadget

Banshee Sonic Defense
	The Banshee Sonic Defense is deployable on surfaces, much like Maestro’s Evil Eyes, but they don’t require any manual control, as soon as an opponent walks close enough to it, it will release its scream and slow them.
Quantity:  3

Weapons

Primary

MP5
	Short to medium range submachine gun. High rate of fire and mobility. Favored by GIGN.
Damage: Rate of fire: Magazine size: Total ammunition:  27  800 RPM  30  181 PVP

Super 90
	Compact 12-gauge semi-automatic shotgun. Effective as a breach tool.
Damage: Rate of fire: Total ammunition:  35  Semi-automatic  33 PVP

Secondary

RG15
	Customized 9mm semi-automatic handgun, equipped with a Romeo1 Reflex.
Damage: Rate of fire: Magazine size: Total ammunition:  38  Semi-automatic  15  61 PVP

Equipment

Impact Grenade
	Grenade that explodes on impact.
Quantity:  2

Bulletproof Camera
	A camera that can be deploy on surfaces to maintain surveillance. It can see through smokes and resist direct shots to its front.
Quantity:  1

Lore

Background

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.

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.

Psychological Report

Specialist Thandiwe “Melusi” Ndlovu strikes me as someone uniquely suited to carrying out South Africa’s ongoing conservation efforts – she is efficient, precise, and accepts that greed remains one of humanity’s greatest challenges. When I asked if she thought we would ever be rid of it, she smiled and said, “It’s good to dream, Doctor.” […]

Her relationship with Elna began the day they discovered that their names meant the same thing: “beloved”. It wasn’t always an easy friendship, but their shared adoration for the animals of the game reserve and propensity for exploring where they absolutely should not have been saw them through a lot of challenges. […] Ndlovu's stoic comparison between the wounded of the battlefield and the cries of poisoned elephants is in stark contrast to Elna’s compassion. It’s interesting that one focused on prevention, and the other on triage. In the end, their divergent paths create a complementary partnership. […]

Ndlovu refuses to speak about the ambush that decimated her unit. From the reports it’s clear the operation was a harrowing ordeal from which she was lucky to escape. I tried approaching the topic from the angle of latent survivor’s guilt, but she brushed off my attempts. She seems more affected by the tragedies she witnessed on the reserve – comparing land mines to snares, and mentally turning the the reserve into a warzone. […] Her profile indicates that any negative feelings have been transmuted into action, in the forms of training the women of her anti-poaching unit and the web of drone-based surveillance she has organized to oversee their operations.

On the topic of her work, she is effusive. Ndlovu believes strongly that there must be education and a shared responsibility within the community, that simply fighting poachers is not enough. She takes great pride in the accomplishments of the women under her command, and in their contribution to the well-being of the animals they protect. She cares, too, about improving the local economy, but this concern is secondary to providing what she calls “self-directed futures” – believing that these, above everything, will counter the lure of easy money.

-- Dr. Harishva "Harry" Pandey, Director of Rainbow

Version History

Version	Balance Changes
7.4.0
	Melusi now has 3 Health and 1 Speed (was 1 Health, 3 Speed).
7.1.0
	Melusi's Banshee now opens quicker when activated, exposing it's weak point earlier. The Bulletproof Camera will now lose signal after 10 seconds when placed outdoors.
6.4.0
	Defenders can now rotate the Bulletproof Camera and use it to fire EMP bursts that disable opponent devices.
6.3.3
	Replaced nitro cell with bulletproof camera.
6.2.0
	When Melusi's Banshee Sonic Defense is active, the core becomes vulnerable to bullets and melee attacks. The device now detects enemies' feet.
5.4.3
	Weapon Balance Changes Melusi's MP5 angled grip have been removed.
5.3.3
	Melusi's T-5 SMG as been replace with the MP5 with red dot, holographic and reflex.
5.2.1
	Lowered the penalty zone by approximately 33%. Reduced max range penalty radius from 6m to 4m (range in which penalty increases from 25% to 50% the closer you get to the gadget) Reduced critical Range penalty radius from 3m to 2m (range in which penalty is 50%) See diagram here for how Banshee's penalty ranges work. Lowered the sound of the Banshee effect in first person POV.
5.2.0
	New Operator

Useful links

• Official Melusi Overview