Tom Clancy's Rainbow Six Siege News

In this latest edition of Designer's Notes, we'll go into detail about the balancing changes that'll come with the Y8S3.3 Update and give you some insight into the reasons behind them.

[h2]BALANCING MATRIX AND TOP OPERATOR BANS[/h2]
[h3]WIN DELTA VS. PRESENCE[/h3]


Please note that we are using presence to gauge the popularity of an Operator. This notion had to be introduced to reflect the implementation of the pick & ban.

Presence definition: pick rate of an Operator when not banned. Win Delta: The Win Delta is aggregated from Operator's Win Deltas per Bomb Site.

[h2]OPERATOR BAN RATE[/h2]


[h2]OPERATOR BALANCING[/h2]

[h2]FROST[/h2]
An earlier iteration of these changes was released on the Lab Test Server and two main lines of feedback were identified from the community:

Players don't want to lose the ability to bait extra attackers into reviving the victim trapped in the Welcome Mat.
Players are afraid that these changes will make the game more run & gun oriented.
We have heard your feedback and made some tweaks aimed to tackle these issues:

Teammate Revive: Players caught in the Welcome Mat can choose to wait for a teammate to perform the revive, if they do so, they will not receive the debuff when leaving the trap. This should grant Frost opportunities to hunt teammates willing to help trapped players while attackers are rewarded for playing as a team.
Stronger Debuff: In addition to not being able to sprint we've added a movement speed reduction of 20% and increased the duration of the effect to 1 minute. This will cripple the run & gun capabilities of reckless players that separate from their teams and fall into Welcome Mats.
Slower Revive Animation: Trapped players will now need 4 seconds to exit the trap regardless of the revive method. This should grant extra time for defenders to finish off trapped enemies before they can stand up.

[h3]WELCOME MAT[/h3]

• Welcome Mat Removal by Teammate takes 4 seconds (was 4.3 seconds). No debuff applied.
  
  
• Welcome Mat Removal by Self takes 4 seconds (was 2.5 seconds).
  
  
• If players remove the trap by themselves, a debuff will be applied to them. The effects are as follow:
  
  
• Duration is 60 seconds (Was 20 seconds on the Lab Test Server).
  
  
• Will move 20% slower
  
  
• Won't be able to sprint.
  
  
• Will leave a trail of blood behind them.
  
  
• Health is set to 20 hp.
  
  
• Being caught by a Welcome Mat is considered entering the Down But Not Out state. R6 allows DBNO only once per round, this means players that have already been DBNO will immediately die if they fall into a Frost trap.
  

We have two main objectives with this set of changes, the first is to make the placement of Welcome Mats more strategic and less "deploy and forget." The second is to make being caught by Welcome Mats less frustrating by giving more options to players.

Players will have now two options to escape from a Welcome Mat, they can wait for a Teammate to help them, or they can release from the trap by themselves at the cost of receiving a penalty with several negative effects that will impact their movement speed.

[h3]FRAG GRENADES[/h3]

As mentioned in the Y8S3 Designer's Notes, the next few changes are in preparation for a more definitive solution that intends to address the Frag Grenades issue.

[h2]IANA[/h2]

[h3]LOADOUT[/h3]

• Gadgets: Stun Grenades will replace Frag Grenades.
  
• Secondary Weapon: Added Gonne-6.
  

Iana has been the top Attacker for almost a year since we removed Frag Grenades from Finka and changed Sledge's and Zofia's armor rates. It is time for a change that leaves more space for other Operators to excel. We are replacing the Frag Grenades with Stun Grenades to retain Iana's aggressive playstyle and adding the Gonne-6 to keep a bit of her destructive power.

[h2]FINKA[/h2]

[h3]LOADOUT[/h3]

• Gadgets: Added Frag Grenades as 3rd option.
  
• Secondary Weapon: Removed Gonne-6.
  

We needed to add another 'competitive' operator to replace Iana during this transition period. We already know that Finka is a good fit and could take this spot. Now that the LMG-meta has been adjusted, we believe that she can have Frag Grenades again.

She won't keep the Gonne-6 however, as the combination of it and Frag Grenades will be limited to special cases.

[h2]SENS[/h2]

[h3]POF-9 (PC & CONSOLE)[/h3]

• Reduced vertical recoil.
  
• Reduced lateral recoil.
  
• Reduced recoil increase after long bursts
  

We believe that Sens is an operator with great potential, but it looks like they'll need a push to shine. We made them a 1-Armor and 3-Speed operator back in Y7S4, and softened the POF-9 recoil for Gamepad in Y7S3, but that wasn't enough. Operator weapons have a lot of weight on their performance, so we are taking a second look at the POF-9, but this time for both Mouse and Gamepad.

This weapon has been considered challenging to operate for a long time, and we've decided to soften its recoil. With this change we are aiming to have a weapon that feels way more forgiving to use. This should allow players to perform better with the POF-9 at longer distances and grant them more freedom to pick its weapon attachments.

[h2]TACHANKA[/h2]

[h3]DP27[/h3]

• Damage: Increase to 60 (from 49)
  

Despite the high damage, the time to kill is much higher than average regardless of enemy armor because of the low rate of fire. We never increased it because we didn't want to go lower than 3 bullets to down a player with any automatic weapon, but the recent changes on the Extended Barrel have proven that this is fine for certain operators.

So, with this change, the DP27 will be closer to other weapons with higher rates of fire in terms of time to kill a full health operator, especially against high-speed operators.

• 1-armor: 0.218ms (faster than average)
  
• 2-armor: 0.218ms (faster than average)
  
• 3.-armor: 0.327ms (slower than average)
  

[h2]WARDEN[/h2]

[h3]OPERATOR STATS[/h3]

• Armor: 3 (from 2)
  
• Speed: 1 (from 2)
  

We changed Warden to 2-Armor and 2-Speed by the end of Y4 to increase his mobility and allow him to react faster to the Attacking team. With the evolution of the game, and defenders playing more loosely than back then we will drop his speed to reduce his roaming capabilities.

We believe the 1.5x on the MPX, synergizes well with his kit to counter Smokes from far away, so rather than change that we are going to reduce his speed. He will be slower and louder while running around the map, which will make him an easier target to take down by more coordinated teams.

We want to encourage players to play him closer to the site, where he can use his ability more effectively because flashes and smokes are easier to predict. He should be a critical operator to keep alive until the end of the round because can counter most of the attacking strategies. He shouldn't be the one to go for roaming and dying too early.

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It’s time to siege the day and finish the fight as Rainbow Six Siege introduces a new Halo crossover featuring an Elite set for Sledge that outfits him in the armor of the Master Chief. Included in the set are the Spartan-117 headgear and uniform inspired by the Master Chief’s armor in Halo Infinite, as well as a gadget skin that reimagines Sledge’s breaching hammer as a Banished Gravity Hammer. There are weapon skins for Sledge’s primary (M590A1 shotgun and L825A2 assault rifle) and secondary (P226 MK25 pistol) weapons, as well as Operator cards, a victory celebration, and the Cortana Chibi charm. The Elite set can be purchased with R6 credits and is available now in the in-game store.

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Find the download sizes for each platform below.

• Ubisoft Connect: 5.82 GB
  
  
• Steam: 16.9 GB
  
  
• Xbox One: 3.09 GB
  
  
• Xbox Series X: 3.27 GB
  
  
• PS4: 3.99 GB
  
  
• PS5: 3.26 GB

[h2]GAMEPLAY[/h2]

FIXED – Operators can’t escort the hostage using the controller input if they’re holding a deployable device.

FIXED – Devices placed on the ceiling are detected outside in 2F Red Stairs on the Kanal map.

FIXED – Wrong VFX is triggered when using Oryx’s Remah Dash against an opponent standing next to an indestructible wall.

FIXED – Players get an advantageous line of sight when using Azami’s Kiba Barrier.

FIXED – Various advantageous position issues when using Azami’s Kiba Barrier.



[h2]LEVEL DESIGN[/h2]

FIXED – Red barrier is missing during the Preparation Phase after destroying barrel wall in B Tasting Room on the Villa map.

FIXED – Operators are able to go out of bounds at the west wall of EXT Tunnel on the Bank map.

FIXED – Defenders are detected outside when standing next to a wall in 1F Trophy Room on the Chalet map.

FIXED – Barricades float when placed at 2F Master Bedroom on the Oregon map.

FIXED – Operator becomes stuck when going on top of the white chair nexsxt to the fruit stand in EXT Market on the Favela map.

FIXED – Operators can get stuck in the barrel located on the Clubhouse map.

FIXED – Ace's S.E.L.M.A. Aqua Breacher doesn’t detonate a second time when throwin on the destructible wall of the Consulate map.


[h2]AUDIO[/h2]

FIXED – VFX does not match with the timer when joining a match in progress.


[h2]USER EXPERIENCE[/h2]

FIXED – Operators have improper idle animations in the Operator album.

FIXED – Commendation system is occasionally greyed out.

FIXED – Teammate outlines are inconsistently displayed.

FIXED – Devices are detected as outside when deployed inside 2F Piano Room on the Chalet map.

FIXED – The Maps tab for the Standard playlist is empty while playing in offline mode.

FIXED – Crosshair disappears aiming down sight multiple times after respawning.

FIXED – Operator Portraits and Card Backgrounds rewards are not displayed after opening a pack.

FIXED – Match options only available to the host when in Custom Match lobby.

FIXED – Placeholder text is present for the defuser location when planted at 4F Cockpit on the Yacht map.

FIXED – Language packs missing for Ukraine region.

FIXED – Multiple LOD issues on various maps.

FIXED – Various shop and Customization issues.

FIXED – Various Localization issues.

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Y8S3.1 brings the latest update from the Player Protection team, the Commendation System. The Commendation System gives teammates a new avenue to share their thanks and appreciation with one another, while showing how they've added to the experience. In Siege your team matters, and any team member can be key to your victory and enjoyment. With this update, you can show players your gratitude and allow them to shine.

[h2]HOW IT WORKS[/h2]

[h3]COMMENDING OTHERS[/h3]
Players will be able to give Commendations at the end of a Quick Match, Standard, or Ranked game, via the Commendation screen. Each session, players can commend up to two teammates by selecting one of three categories.

As well as showing your appreciation to teammates, you can vote to commend the opposing team. In order for the vote to be successful, a majority "YES" vote will be required.

RESTRICTIONS:

• Players who abandon the match won't be eligible for Commendations.
  
• A player cannot give both of their Commendations to the same person.
  
• To prevent abuse of the system, a player cannot award more than one Commendation to the same player within a 7 day period.
  

[h3]COMMENDATION TYPES[/h3]
When it comes to giving out your Commendations to your teammates, you'll have 3 options, and choosing the right one will help players know how their efforts have added to your experience.

• Valor: A great teammate who stays cool and is fun to play with.
  
• Dedication: A reliable teammate who stays engaged, fills in roles, and actively relays intel.
  
• Guidance: A teammate who takes on a leadership role, helping the others by sharing knowledge and developing strategy.
  

[h2]WHAT COMMENDATIONS MEAN FOR YOU[/h2]
Receiving Commendations can result in rewards being given at certain points in a season, as well as a temporary passive bonus. Note that right now, it will not affect your Reputation Standing.

[h3]STREAKS[/h3]
If a player receives Commendations consistently, a Streak bonus will be activated, giving a +1% drop chance on their Alpha Packs. The Streak status will be reflected in the in the Reputation Center, in the main menu squad panel, and in matches for other players to see. Of course, if a player wishes to protect their privacy, this icon can be disabled as part of Privacy Mode.

RESTRICTIONS

• Players who have a sanction or reputation penalty will have their Streak stopped and will be unable to attain a new Streak.
  

[h3]REWARDS[/h3]
As well as an increased Alpha Pack drop rate, if you meet the right requirements, you could qualify for more rewards.

• At mid-season, any player who has received a Commendation in the current season, will receive an Alpha Pack of Epic rarity.
  
• At the end of a season, players in the top 25% of Commendations for that season, will receive an Alpha Pack of Legendary rarity.
  

RESTRICTIONS

The following players will not be eligible for mid-season or end of season rewards:

• Players who are under sanction of any sort.
  

[h2]CONCLUSION[/h2]

The Player Protection team continues their work on both the Commendation System and Reputation System, helping to support and protect players' journeys in Siege. With this update, our aim has been to increase the opportunities for positive interactions in-game, with the ultimate goal of giving players a more positive overall experience. We look forward to players using the system, earning Streaks, and receiving their Alpha Packs!

See the upcoming changes to Rainbow Six Siege with the release of Y8S3.1.

[h2]Y8S3.1 Patch Size[/h2]

Find the download sizes for each platform below.

• Ubisoft Connect: 5.82 GB
  
• Steam: 16.9 GB
  
• Xbox One: 3.09 GB
  
• Xbox Series X: 3.27 GB
  
• PS4: 3.99 GB
  
• PS5: 3.26 GB
  

[h2]BUG FIXES[/h2]
[h3]GAMEPLAY[/h3]

FIXED - Ram's BU-GI Auto Breacher doesn't completely destroy first floor walls of 1F Strip Club on the Club House map.

FIXED - Ram's BU-GI Auto Breacher doesn't destroy Thunderbird's Kona Station if it's placed on a reinforced surface.

FIXED - Operators get stuck inside of a barrel when exiting rappel on the Fortress map.

FIXED - Defuser can't be retrieved if dropped when entering or exiting rappel stance at EXT North Rappel on the Tower map.

FIXED - Ram's BU-GI Auto Breacher can't go through the wall at 2F Infirmary on the Yacht map.

FIXED - Attacker drones can reach a spot with a useful line of sight and can't be destroyed on Nighthaven map.

FIXED - Third spawn location description is missing for Attackers on the Bank map.

FIXED - Fenrir's F-NATT Dread Mine doesn't open in the end of round replay when activated.

FIXED - Some gadgets are missing collision and can be deployed inside Ram's BU-GI Auto Breacher.

[h3]LEVEL DESIGN[/h3]
FIXED - Staircase connecting 1F Central Hallway to 2F Central stairs is labeled as B Central Stairs on the Clubhouse map.

FIXED - Indestructible windows can be barricaded during the Defense tutorial.

FIXED - Wall studs are visible in B1 Red Stairs of the Kanal map.

FIXED - Barricades float when placed in the doorway at 2F Dorm Main Hall on the Oregon map.

FIXED - Can't properly destroy the wall between 1F Bar and 1F Lounge on the Tower map.

FIXED - Operators can get out of bounds by using a space between a ladder and railing at EXT South Roof on the Tower map.

FIXED - Portion of the wall can't be destroyed at 2F Master Bedroom of the Chalet map.

[h3]AUDIO[/h3]
FIXED - Missing SFX when destroying the canister on Mira's Black Mirror.

FIXED - Missing VFX when Operator phones dropped for Dokkaebi are hacked by the Kludge Drone.

FIXED - Missing SFX when drones are destroyed while in support mode during the end of the round.

[h3]OPERATORS[/h3]
FIXED - Ram's BU-GI Auto Breacher laser is visible through walls with low quality settings.

[h3]USER EXPERIENCE[/h3]
FIXED - User doesn't receive a penalty when reported for voice abuse in multiple sessions.

FIXED - Warden's Smart Glasses thumbnail appears in low resolution in the Operators tab.

FIXED - Cursor doesn't appear in the Operator Guides while using free camera during Match Replay.

FIXED - Players aren't highlighted after swapping teams in a Custom Game lobby.

FIXED - Saved game mode settings for the Quick Match and Arcade playlists reset after restarting the game.

FIXED - Hot and Spicy attachment skin is missing from the exclusive set highlighted on the Intro section of the Battle Pass.

FIXED - Text for device name overlaps in Ram's Operator section.

FIXED - Interaction animation doesn't play when players spectate Fenrir.

FIXED - Missing reward image for when the free Alpha Pack reward popup appears.

FIXED - Compass appearance can't be changed while using the normal HUD preset.

FIXED - Dread Factor Ranked charms are displayed with Heavy Mettle rank information.

FIXED - Multiple LOD issues on various maps.

FIXED - Various Shop and Customization issues.

FIXED - Various Localization issues.