Caliber’s new operator collection is based on a rather peculiar Brazilian unit — BOPE.

You can’t just casually apply to serve there. Each operative has to serve in the police for at least two years, then pass a long and arduous selection process to get there. Candidates must be in peak physical and mental condition. Both are vital, for they are going to work in one of the most dangerous places in the world: Brazilian favelas.

The unit’s logo speaks for itself.

The military police’s legendary special operations unit, created to combat the various armed criminal gangs hiding in the favelas, and to free their hostages.

The BOPE got their country-wide acclaim after the Pope’s visit in 1997. The pontiff could leave the car at any time, so the special service of Rio de Janeiro had to take great pains to ensure the absolute safety of John Paul II. This story served as the basis for the cult classic film, Tropa de Elite (The Elite Squad), which won the Golden Bear Award at the Berlin International Film Festival.

The unit gained their worldwide fame after the 2014 FIFA World Cup in Brazil, where BOPE supervised the safety of millions of tourists, conducting lightning-fast preventative peace-keeping operations in the favelas.

When creating the BOPE operators, we made sure to emphasize their notorious ferocity. Just like in real life, these operators are tailored for storming, sweeping premises, and effective combat against enemies in deep cover.

The operators are at their best when constantly engaged in combat. Thus, they have a lot of HP and Armor and are also immune to the Bleeding effect.

Not counting the Single Strike Allies collection, BOPE is the first unit to use 3D optical sights.

As mentioned in the roadmap, all the operators will have the 3D optical sights in the future.

Martelo is an Assault with high survivability who can tear down any destructible obstacle with his Ram special gear. The Ram doesn’t have any charges, so it can be used as many times as needed. But his heavy gear does take a toll: it slows Martelo down, though not to a snail’s pace.

Without upgrades, the Ram is not very effective against numerous enemies. You can slam an enemy, inflicting the Suppressed, Slowed and Disoriented effects on them. When fully upgraded, however, the Ram becomes a force to be reckoned with. Hits with the fully upgraded Ram will inflict the Stunned effect. When destroying an obstacle that has several enemies hiding behind it, the effect will be inflicted on all of them.

After the announcement, players immediately theorized that Martelo would become the new Starkaðr. They were wrong, however.

Martelo only lands a single machete strike per ability usage. It is possible to use it even while firing.

Just like the Ram, the Machete reaches its full potential with wisely chosen upgrades.

The level 6 upgrade grants temporary bonuses for executing enemies without using an ability. Players can choose between +10 to damage, 40 Armor points or reducing Stamina depletion by 95% while Sprinting. The level 15 upgrades allow choosing one of these to be granted after executing an enemy with an ability.

Martelo isn’t very fast and is ill-suited for ranged combat. Try to eliminate him from a distance. Be wary of an ambush — this Assault can easily stun you with his ram from a blind spot.

Some abilities can be effective against Martelo, including Armor-piercing rounds and R&R. The former can be used to faster pierce his armor, while the latter grants immunity to the Stun effect.

The Fresh Forces ability is an invaluable skill for operators with long ability cooldowns. It is especially useful for Medic Freyr and Support Odin.

Barreira’s survivability is reinforced by the shield that protects his chest. As one might guess, this operator favors low covers that protect all but his head.

The Sieve primary ability can be used to force the enemy out of their cover. While the ability is active, his machine gun starts firing 3 shots bursts and can destroy covers. It inflicts 30 points of damage without any upgrades.

The Stimulant box special gear will be an asset to the entire team.

The level 4 upgrade can add additional effects to the special gear. The upgrades are:

The revolver is also a viable choice for upgrades, including accuracy and damage increases, as well as damage resistance after eliminating an enemy. Barreira is Shielded when firing his revolver. The Personal Priorities ability can also be useful.

His primary weapon has a large spread and is unsuited to ranged combat. Try to eliminate him before he can close in on you.

If you see Barreira behind a cover, use a grenade.

Aim at his exposed spots — his head and his legs.

The Enhanced Protection skill will prove useful to operators who are willing to sacrifice their movement speed for toughness.

It has good synergy with abilities that increase movement speed, such as Fully-Equipped Run and Lightweight Chest Rig.

Medic Açaí is a master of long-distance healing, similar to Travnik’s Bandaging skill. He uses the Pneumatic Ampoule Launcher special gear to heal his allies. Any shots landed on the enemy inflict 15 damage.

It is possible to heal and poison through thin covers. If an enemy is hiding behind a cover, you can just keep firing at the cover itself. The Ampoule Launcher’s capsule will burst near the enemy and damage them.

He is good at close quarters combat:

The choice of upgrades is up to you.

Your playstyle will determine the choice of upgrades for Açaí. You can try to become a useful asset to your team by healing them more efficiently, extinguishing teammates on fire and recovering their stamina. Or, you might want to become more of a threat to your enemies by slowing them down with hits from your Ampoule Launcher and reducing the reload times for all weapons after executing an enemy.

He is also the first one who can grant an incapacitated teammate the ability to continue crawling. It can be especially useful for modes without respawning.

Açaí cannot take on several enemies simultaneously.

His shotgun has low armor penetration capacity, so well-armored enemies will be difficult to deal with. His low ammo won’t let him sustain fire for long.

His special gear inflicts poison damage. So any operator with an immunity to the Poisoned effect won’t be threatened by his shots.

The Shared First Aid Kit is a skill for team players. It will be useful for those operators who always keep close to their teammates. Or for Medics with long ability prep times.

Caçador is the only BOPE member who prefers to play it safe.

He is an irreplaceable member of the team. By efficiently using his Eagle Eye ability, he can keep enemies Marked for a good portion of the match.

His AM-637 special gear can be used to secure a certain direction, or to deter the revival of a fallen enemy. The net can inflict debilitating negative effects and weaken an enemy or inflict the Bleeding effect on them.

The net can be picked up from the ground, restoring ammo for AM-637.

Level 2 unlocks a five-shot magazine linear upgrade for the HK PSG1. It allows the operator to move much faster. And more importantly, it also allows him to shoot with instant hit-scan, as well as lowered recoil and spread.

So, at the start of the match you can choose between the increased ammo or effectiveness of the operator and his shots.

Caçador is weak in close combat, so try to get closer to him. But do keep your eyes peeled for nets.

Caçador’s mortal enemies are Marksman Avalanche and Medic Freyr. Their abilities can clear their entire teams of the Marked effect.

The net, similar to Fortress’ mines, can be activated without harming your operator. Just step on it and then quickly leave the trigger zone.

Caçador, the master of the Marked effect, can teach some of his skills to other operators. His Priority Target skill will come in handy during PvP modes to keep track of the enemy’s movement and avenge your fallen teammates.