Updated October 24, 2026 for the Y11S3.2 mid-season update. This guide applies to Tom Clancy's Rainbow Six Siege, Year 11 Season 3 (Operation Split Fire), from October 15, 2026 until the next balance patch. The first version of this page covered Noor's September 1 launch kit.
Quick answer: Noor is a defender who counters shield operators with the Horus Lance Launcher: 5 projectiles that pierce shields and destructible surfaces, then erupt into flames. The Y11S3.2 update on October 15, 2026 made him much stronger: lance impact damage went from 50 to 80, drilling time from 2s to 1.5s, Guardbreak on a ballistic shield from 30% to 100%, and the launcher now equips in 0.4s instead of 0.9s. Run the Commando 9, Bailiff 410 and Barbed Wire, fire lances at shield pushes and plant spots, and pair him with Castle or Azami. To counter him, don't feed shields into his chokepoints, bait his 5 lances early and destroy the Armor Panels and Kiba Barriers he fires into.
Who is Noor in Rainbow Six Siege?
Noor is Ahmed Murad, a defender who joined Rainbow Six Siege with Operation Split Fire on September 1, 2026. He is Egyptian, a Unit 777 veteran, and the second Murad in Rainbow after his father, Gamal Murad. Ubisoft built him for one job:
"Noor is designed to counter Shield Operators by disrupting Attacker momentum and forcing players to rethink shield-led pushes." — Ubisoft, Noor operator page
His official specialties are Anti-Entry and Crowd Control.
| Noor at a glance (Y11S3.2) | |
|---|---|
| Side | Defender |
| Speed / Armor | 2 / 2 |
| Added | Y11S3, Operation Split Fire (September 1, 2026) |
| Unique ability | Horus Lance Launcher, 5 projectiles |
| Primary | Commando 9 (assault rifle) or ALDA 5.56 (LMG) |
| Secondary | 1911 TACOPS or Bailiff 410 |
| Gadget | Deployable Shield or Barbed Wire |
| Current tier | Top of A-Tier (our Y11S3.2 tier list) |
How does Noor's Horus Lance Launcher work?
The launcher holds 5 projectiles per round. According to Ubisoft, each lance can "pierce shields and destructible surfaces before erupting into flames," and the projectiles "work through floors and ceilings and from adjacent rooms." You can fire them straight at a shield, into a wall or floor, or into other devices such as Castle's Armor Panels and Azami's Kiba Barriers.
What happens depends on what you hit, per Ubisoft's Operation Split Fire announcement:
- A ballistic shield. The lance burrows in and ignites, "spouting flames directly towards the Attacker." The attacker has to move the shield to the side to remove it, and that is the window your team shoots into.
- A soft or reinforced wall, a hatch, a soft floor or a defender device. The lance sticks in and spouts flames in two directions, "creating a fiery hazard on both sides of the barrier." This works on deployable shields, Osa's shields, Castle's barricades and Azami's barriers too.
- A surface that can't be penetrated, like a door or window frame. Flames only come out of one side.
Ubisoft also says the gadget can "even destroy hard-breach gadgets if timed correctly." That makes Noor a breach-denial option on top of shield denial.
Fire got stronger for everyone in Y11S3.2: Ubisoft raised the listed fire damage value from 12 to 14 HP across Capitão, Dokkaebi, Goyo, Noor, Tachanka and gas pipes. Every second an attacker spends in Noor's fire now costs more.
What did the Y11S3.2 buff change for Noor?
Noor launched underpowered, and Ubisoft said so itself in its October 15 Designer's Notes:
"Noor's ability felt a bit short on multiple fronts, so it is receiving some follow-up changes in order to double down on his shield countering capabilities as well as his survivability." — Ubisoft, Designer's Notes: Y11S3 Mid-Season Update
Here is every Horus Lance change from the official Y11S3.2 patch notes:
| Horus Lance stat | Before (launch) | After (Y11S3.2) | What it means in a round |
|---|---|---|---|
| Impact damage on an operator | 50 | 80 | A direct hit now takes a big chunk of an attacker's health |
| Guardbreak on a ballistic shield | 30% | 100% | One lance fully breaks a shield operator's guard |
| Drilling time (shields, soft and solid surfaces) | 2s | 1.5s | Less time to react before the fire starts |
| Equip time | 0.9s | 0.4s (Quickdraw) | You can pull the launcher out in reaction, not only pre-aimed |
| Removal animation | Safe | Takes damage | Pulling the lance off a shield is no longer free |
| Hitbox | Too large | Fixed | More consistent hits, not more forgiving ones |
One note so you don't misread the patch: the 80 damage is impact damage on an operator. A lance that lands in a shield does not hit the person behind it for 80. It breaks the guard and burns, and the shield operator now takes damage while pulling it out.
For the full list of mid-season changes, including Tachanka's new impact mode and the Solid Snake nerf, see our Y11S3.2 patch notes explainer.
What is the best Noor loadout in Y11S3.2?
Best Noor loadout: Commando 9 + Bailiff 410 + Barbed Wire.
| Slot | Pick | Why |
|---|---|---|
| Primary | Commando 9 | Easy recoil and good close and mid-range damage. Noor fights in hallways and doorways, and this gun wins those fights |
| Primary (alt) | ALDA 5.56 | Huge magazine for spraying through soft walls and holding long lines. Slower handling hurts when you swing from the launcher to the gun |
| Secondary | Bailiff 410 | Opens soft floors and walls, so you get new angles to fire lances through |
| Secondary (alt) | 1911 TACOPS | A normal pistol if you never use the shotgun utility |
| Gadget | Barbed Wire | Slows attackers inside your fire. Since Y11S3.2 it also stops Ram's BU-GIs, which get stuck and self-destruct |
| Gadget (alt) | Deployable Shield | A lance surface you can place anywhere, with no teammate needed |
Barbed Wire is the better pick in Y11S3.2. An attacker slowed in wire stays in 14 HP fire longer, and the new BU-GI interaction gives you a reason to wire Ram's path even when you're not burning it. Take the Deployable Shield only if nobody on your team runs Castle or Azami and you need your own lance surface.
Watch out for electrified wire. Ubisoft's Y11S3.2 bug-fix list mentions Horus Lance projectiles being destroyed by electrified Barbed Wire. If your Bandit or Kaid has electrified a wired doorway, fire your lances somewhere else.
For every other operator's build, see our best loadout for every operator guide.
Where should you fire Noor's 5 lances?
You get 5 lances per round, so every shot should have a job. These spots pay off on most maps:
- A hard-breach charge on your reinforced wall. Ubisoft says a timed lance can destroy hard-breach gadgets, and a lance in the reinforced wall itself puts fire on both sides. Listen for the charge being placed, then fire.
- The shield's push lane, the moment it appears. With 0.4s Quickdraw you no longer need to sit pre-aimed. Hold your gun, swap when a Blitz or Montagne commits through a single doorway or stairwell, and fire. At 100% Guardbreak, one lance opens the shield up for your teammates.
- The default plant spot, from the floor above or the room next door. The lances work through floors, ceilings and adjacent rooms, so you can set the plant spot on fire without exposing yourself. Save one or two for the last 30 seconds, when attackers have to commit to the defuser.
- A Castle Armor Panel or Azami Kiba Barrier on a chokepoint. These are official lance surfaces. A lance in a panel turns the doorway into a fire hazard attackers have to clear before they can push through.
- A stairwell or hatch line that attackers must cross. Fire plus Barbed Wire on a single entry is the best use of the 14 HP fire buff.
- One spare for the retake. If attackers plant, a lance on the defuser area forces them to pick between standing in fire or giving up the angle.
Do not waste lances on the first drone or a random wall at 2:30. A common Noor mistake is burning lances in prep and having nothing left when the shield push arrives.
Who are the best teammates for Noor?
- Castle. Armor Panels slow entry and are official lance surfaces. Castle plus Noor turns doorways into fire traps.
- Azami. Kiba Barriers can go almost anywhere, which gives Noor lance surfaces in places attackers don't expect. On our tier list Azami is S-Tier anyway, so this pick is rarely wasted.
- Pulse. Heartbeat tracking tells Noor exactly when a shield is about to push, so he can swap and fire on time instead of guessing.
- Clash. Her Taser now slows attackers who run away by 10% (up from 5%). An attacker backing out of Noor's fire stays in it longer.
- Melusi and Tubarão. Ubisoft names both: Melusi's Banshee Sonic Defense and Tubarão's Zoto Canister "can slow Attackers caught in the Horus Lance's flames, maximizing the burn damage."
Avoid stacking Noor with Bandit or Kaid wire on the same doorway, for the electrified-wire reason above.
Is Noor good in ranked after the buff?
Yes, he is now a real ranked pick, but he is still a counter-pick, not a blind first pick.
He sits at the top of A-Tier in our Y11S3.2 operator tier list, below S-Tier defenders such as Mira, Kaid, Azami and Thorn. Ubisoft's latest ranked ban chart (Platinum and above on PC, Y11S3.1, published October 15) has Mira banned in 89% of matches and Kaid in 50%. Noor isn't in the top 10 defender bans. That data is from before the Y11S3.2 buff, so expect his pick rate to rise in the next chart.
Players are still split on him. In a recent r/Rainbow6 thread, one player said they can "rarely justify it over Clash or Tachanka" because those two "counter shields just as well and also have other uses." That's fair. Tachanka also got an impact-trigger fire mode in Y11S3.2, and the fire buff helps both of them. Pick Noor when:
- The attackers still have Blitz, Montagne or Blackbeard available after bans.
- The site has one or two narrow entries a shield must push through.
- Your team already runs Castle or Azami for lance surfaces.
Against a no-shield, vertical-heavy attack, Kaid, Mira or Azami usually give you more. For ban priorities, see our best operators to ban guide.
How do you counter Noor as an attacker?
Noor is strong against one style of play: a shield pushing in a straight line through a chokepoint. Take that away and his kit loses most of its value.
- Don't feed shields into his lanes. If Noor is alive, push shields through wide rooms or several entries at once, not single doorways and stairwells. A shield that takes a lance now loses 100% of its guard and takes damage while removing it.
- Bait the 5 lances. Show a shield at an entry, back off when the lance comes, and push for real once he is low on lances.
- Destroy his lance surfaces first. Clear Castle's Armor Panels and Azami's Kiba Barriers on your entry with explosives or breaching tools before you commit, so he has nothing to burn on your path.
- Place hard-breach charges fast and blow them right away. A timed lance can destroy a hard-breach gadget, so the longer a charge sits on the wall, the more time Noor has to answer it.
- Drone the plant room from above. Noor's best spots are the floor above and the room next to the plant. Drone and clear those positions before you plant.
- Get out of the fire, then trade. Fire's listed damage is 14 HP in Y11S3.2. Don't fight from inside it. Step out, let your teammate hold the angle, and push again.
If you need more on beating trap and denial defenders, our how to counter every defender guide covers the rest of the roster.
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FAQ
Is Noor good in Rainbow Six Siege right now? Yes. After the Y11S3.2 update on October 15, 2026, Noor sits at the top of A-Tier. The buff raised lance impact damage to 80, cut drilling time to 1.5s, raised Guardbreak on shields to 100% and cut equip time to 0.4s. He is strongest when the attackers still have shield operators available after bans.
What is the best loadout for Noor? Commando 9, Bailiff 410 and Barbed Wire. The Commando 9 wins the close fights Noor takes, the Bailiff 410 opens soft floors for new lance angles, and Barbed Wire keeps attackers in his fire. Since Y11S3.2, Barbed Wire also stops and destroys Ram's BU-GIs.
How many lances does Noor have? Noor has 5 Horus Lance projectiles per round. Save at least one or two for the shield push and the plant.
Do Noor's lances work on reinforced walls? Yes. According to Ubisoft, a lance sticks into soft or reinforced walls and hatches and spouts flames in two directions, making both sides of the wall a fire hazard. On door and window frames the flames only come out of one side.
Does the Horus Lance do 80 damage to shield operators? Not directly. The 80 is impact damage when a lance hits an operator. A lance that lands in a ballistic shield breaks the guard (100% Guardbreak) and now damages the shield operator during the removal animation.
Who is Noor's father in Rainbow Six Siege? Noor's real name is Ahmed Murad. His father, Gamal Murad, was the first member of the family recruited into Rainbow, according to Noor's official biography.
