RainbowSix: Siege

Dortmunder Jungs Rainbow Six Siege

Y8S4.2 Designer's Notes

In this latest edition of Designer’s Notes, we’ll go into detail about the balancing changes that’ll come with the Y8S4.2 Update and give you some insight into the reasons behind them.

BALANCING MATRIX AND TOP OPERATOR BANS
WIN DELTA VS. PRESENCE




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.

OPERATOR BAN RATE




OPERATOR BALANCING

TUBARÃO

ZOTO CANISTERS

  • Decreased to 3 from 4.
  • No longer affect Maverick’s D.I.Y. Blowtorch.
  • Electrical Insulation effect extended by 1.5 seconds after Canister destruction.

We’ve seen how Tubarão’s Zoto Canisters can be used with great success during his time on the live server. Although we’re still monitoring his position within the meta as the season progresses and players learn to play and counter play him, we did want to quickly readjust an aspect of his ability following feedback we’ve received. Reducing the amount Zoto Canisters to 3 will mean players will need to use them more strategically throughout the round. The freezing effect will no longer cause any delay to Maverick’s D.I.Y. blowtorch to better position him as a counter to Tubarão. The powerful synergy between Tubarão and Ops like Bandit, or Kaid is something we strongly believe in as it’s an integral part of what makes Siege and its operators so interesting. That being said, we did observe that in his current state, those synergies left little room for counter play from attackers. The electrical insulation on metal objects affected by the Zoto Canisters previously lasted only as long as the Canister was active on a surface. The added 1.5 seconds of electrical insulation allow attacking teams with strong coordination a chance to respond and forces the defense to be much more precise in the execution of their strategy if they want to succeed in denying the breach.

ACE

S.E.L.M.A. AQUA BREACHER

  • Fuse time: Increase to 4 seconds (from 3.2)

Ace doesn’t have many downsides. The S.E.L.M.A. is safe to use, quick to explode, fast to use in succession, opens a relatively big hole, and can destroy bulletproof utility. Its main downside is that it can be destroyed during the breaching process to prevent it from creating a navigable hole. But when compared with the downsides of other Hard Breach Operators, this is clearly not enough:

  • Thermite: Only 1 at a time, must be close to the wall, is exposed while using the charge, but creates a bigger hole.
  • Hibana: Slow deployment, slow triggering, but can be used from very far and has a lot of flexibility.
  • Maverick: Requires quite a bit of time, must be close to the wall, is incredibly exposed while using it, but he doesn’t have counters.

By increasing the fuse time, we want to give defenders a better chance to prevent the breach when a lot of resources are dedicated to protecting the wall. The extra time will increase the synchronization required between the breacher enabler (Thatcher, Impact EMP, etc.) and Ace to open an actively defended wall successfully.

KAPKAN

LOADOUT

  • Added Bulletproof Camera.
  • Removed Impact Grenades.

Kapkan has a huge impact on every round regardless of the number of traps triggered. The way attackers must approach the map changes after spotting him or triggering one of his traps. They have to slow down and start paying attention to every window and door frame to ensure they won’t blow up. The last buff to the EDDs made this psychological effect even stronger because you may not get a second chance.

We considered that he already has enough tools to make attackers lose time and the Impact Grenades are helping him be more elusive, allowing him to create rotations on the fly and make attackers invest even more time hunting him through a minefield.

MAVERICK

LOADOUT

  • Added Smoke Grenades.

We are aware that Maverick is a bit situational without Frag Grenades, and despite not having hard counters, there are not too many situations that justify bringing him over other Hard Breachers and an EMP source. It is dangerous to rely on him as the main breacher because of the time and danger he is in while doing the job. And as a secondary breacher, someone more flexible, such as Ace or Hibana (even the Hard Breach Charge), is usually a less limiting choice for the team.

We hope that the Smoke Grenades can help him be more appealing as a secondary breacher and increase his flexibility, so he can also help with site execution, or even cover himself while breaching through reinforcements.

THUNDERBIRD

LOADOUT

  • Added Deployable Shield.

We finished her transition to a more supportive role with the latest tweaks to the Kona Station and loadout changes back in S2.0 but it seems like her utility is not appealing enough.

The addition of the Deployable Shield will allow her to create genuine strongholds for defenders by herself. The protection from the shield and the backup from the Kona Stations can make any defender in these positions a hard target to deal with. You can add a few Active Defense Systems or Mag-Net Systems to prevent the shield from getting destroyed too easily and attackers will have a tough time trying to move you out of position.

Additionally, the SPAS-15 is also improved to encourage her to contribute to site setup.

We believe that these changes can make her more appealing to players who like to experiment with different setups and help their teammates from the backline.

WEAPON BALANCING

SPAS-15

RECOIL (PC & CONSOLE)

  • First shot kick reduced.
  • Lateral recoil increased.
  • Elastic time increased.

OPERATORS AFFECTED

  • Caveira
  • Thunderbird

Automatic Shotguns were left on the sidelines during the Shotgun rework. We were aware that some of the changes introduced could be a bit scary at first sight, so we wanted to be sure that we didn’t enter a new Shotgun meta era by buffing the automatic ones too much.

Despite this, we don’t have plans to touch them again in the near future (we want to see how everything settles), As we wanted to buff Thunderbird, we found it a good opportunity to make a slight tweak to the SPAS-15. Depending on the effect of these changes, we might give similar treatment to the other automatic shotguns.

We are reducing the first shot kick, which eases landing consecutive shots on the target and taking full advantage of the automatic mode. On the other hand, we are increasing the lateral recoil and adding a clear tendency to the left, which also reduces its tendency upwards.

G36C

RECOIL (PC & CONSOLE)

  • Vertical recoil increased.
  • Horizontal recoil increased.

OPERATORS AFFECTED

  • Ash
  • Iana

Both the R4C and ARX-200 have received balancing changes to reduce their power level in the last few years, this has made players gravitate towards the G36C. That combined with Ash and Iana being two of the strongest fraggers on Attack have made the G36C the weapon with the highest Kill Death Ratio on Attack. This alone isn’t an issue; it is a strong weapon in the hands of Operators dedicated to "kills", but the difference between this weapon and other high KDR weapons in the game is too high. Access to the 1.5x sight is an element that strongly affects this weapon’s power level, but also differentiates it from its Loadout competitors the R4-C and ARX-200.

With all of that in mind we’ve decided to modify its recoil. It will be harder to control on every axis which will require players to use more "recoil control" attachments and increase the difficulty of long-range engagements while using the 1.5x.

SMG-11

BASE STATS

  • Damage: Reduced to 32hp (from 35).

OPERATORS AFFECTED

  • Amaru
  • Mute
  • Smoke
  • Solis

For a very long time, the SMG-11 has been the weapon with the lowest Time to Kill among all automatic weapons by far. The change in damage will put it more in line with all the other weapons, while remaining among the fastest. The change will increase the bullets required to kill 1-armor operators by 1, rewarding precision and punishing spraying and praying.

We could have reduced the damage even more without affecting the TTKs, but we want it to remain appealing enough to pair with primary shotguns.

Follow us and share your feedback on Twitter and Reddit.

Kompletter Artikel: Y8S4.2 Designer's Notes

Welcome a new Operator to your squad with the free Holiday Pack!

Happy Holidays from the Rainbow Six Siege team! We have got a surprise for you!

The free Holiday Pack is available from December 22nd 2023 through January 3rd 2024!

The Holiday Pack contains 1 random unowned Operator or a Bravo Pack if all Operators are already owned. To get your pack go to the shop and claim the “free gift” item. The in-game news bulletin should also direct you there.

We hope you enjoy and have a great time heading into your new year.

Enjoy the Holiday Season with the Limited-Time Freeze For All Event!

The festivities continue until Jan 5th and winter descends upon Siege as Attack and Defense sides cease to exist with only a Free For All in the cold.

Prepare to survive the thrills of the Holiday season in a brand-new limited-time Event as we ship Team Rainbow members to the fresh Arctic Workshop map. You will be able to stalk your fellow Operators in a Free(ze) for All where even death won’t be the end as you respawn on the rooftops to rain down snowballs on your enemies!

Join Jäger, Ace, Flores, Valkyrie and Ying with their new Freeze for All bundles along with returning Snow brawl collections for your favourite Operators and a chance to gain exclusive skins through Event packs! Grab a free Collection pack upon login from the store during the event!

Discover the new Operation Deep Freeze features!

Siege continues to evolve in its brand-new season: Operation Deep Freeze!

Control the pace of battle with latest Portuguese Operator, Tubarão, and his new Zoto Canisters which are throwable devices which can stick to any surface, freezing it. They temporarily disable all gadgets while slowing and revealing their location to Defenders.

Deep Freeze also introduces a brand-new Ranked map, Lair, item trading with the Marketplace (beta), an updated Reputation system, balancing updates, and a new Versus AI playlist to polish your tactics and aim!

Get the most out of the last season of Year 8 by purchasing R6 credits in-game to acquire cosmetics for your newly unlocked Operator or to get these exclusive limited-time Freeze for All bundles!

Kompletter Artikel: Welcome a new Operator to your squad with the free Holiday Pack!

Reputation System: Activation & More

REPUTATION SYSTEM: ACTIVATION & MORE

Operation Deep Freeze has brought with it the full release of the Reputation System in a grace period. Here we’ll be covering what the full release means for players, how it will continue to improve, and the actions we’ve recently taken to further protect players.

PHILOSOPHY & GOAL

With the Reputation System, we are staying true to our core pillars:

  • MITIGATE & DETER BEHAVIOR
  • PREVENT & ADDRESS
  • FEEDBACK & GUIDANCE


Following our core principles, we aim to shield our players against toxicity, curb in-game disruptions and negative behavior, encourage "pro-social" behavior, reform or remove toxic players, and more, while ultimately reinforcing the cooperative nature of Siege.

Our guiding philosophy with the Reputation System itself is that each player should know why they have a particular Reputation Standing, what they can do to modify their playstyle or interactions and improve their position in the Reputation System. We want to ensure that players have the proper tools available to them and the opportunities to make any necessary adjustments. This release of the Reputation System marks an essential step for us, and with player feedback being a crucial part of our strategy, we will be listening to your thoughts and concerns.

SEASON 4 – WHAT’S NEW?

REVEAL RECAP

Before we delve into the latest Reputation System update, if you didn’t see our Operation Deep Freeze reveal panel, we’ve got a recap covering what’s been added in Y8S4 and what to expect in the future.

GRACE PERIOD

The Reputation System has been released with updated features and UI, and an ongoing grace period. This grace period means that there will currently be no impact based on a player’s Reputation Standing alone, giving players an opportunity to become accustomed to the updated system and to adjust any behaviors before the impacts go live. In the meantime, we will be monitoring the system, collecting feedback, and performing calibrations, ensuring the Reputation System is ready before the grace period is lifted. Note however, that this grace period does not affect currently implemented penalties such as communication penalties and reverse friendly fire that are already live.

REPUTATION CENTER UPDATE

We’ve updated the Reputation Center to bring even more information to players. Now you’ll be able to see your biggest opportunities for improvement, the impacts that your Reputation Standing could have (after the grace period), and more.

Two new sections in the updated Reputation Center are Tips and Guides. Here we’re sharing tips that can help players to improve their Reputation Standing and on their way to becoming great Siege community members and players.

With this release you’ll start to see notifications with information about changes to your Reputation Standing. Players will be notified of Reputation Standing adjustments, as well as any possible effects current behavior could have on their Reputation Standing in the future. As part of these notifications, we’ll also share the impacts that a player could face once the grace period has come to a close.

NEW IMPACTS

Once the grace period has ended, there will be a range of positive and negative impacts depending on a player’s Reputation Standing. We will share further updates in the future regarding when the grace period will end.

Having positive and good behaviour could bring:

  • Improved Renown gain.
  • Increased experience points.
  • Bonus Alpha Pack progress.
  • Unique rewards.

Alternatively, negative and unwanted behavior could lead to:

  • Reduced experience and rewards.
  • Ranked rewards locks.
  • Playlist locks.

These negative impacts have been specifically chosen to help players to rehabilitate and adapt their behaviors in order to have those effects reversed or removed later in their journey.

PLAYLIST & RANKED REWARDS LOCKS – [NOT ACTIVE DURING CURRENT GRACE PERIOD]

Players who find their playlists restricted will need to increase their Reputation Standing in order to make them available once more. This means that players who have the lock enabled will actively need to change their behaviors in the remaining game modes, resulting in those good behaviors being reinforced.

The Ranked rewards lock will behave similarly to the playlist lock, and those who receive a lock on the upcoming Ranked rewards will also have opportunities to rectify the situation. In the following season players who increase their Reputation Standing to Respectable, will have their previous rewards granted.

PROTECTING PLAYERS AND CREATORS FROM REPORT ABUSERS

In-game reporting is incredibly helpful to our Player Protection team. Your in-game reports help to make our automatic detection more robust; they assist in investigations carried out by our Player Protection team, and aid in creating a safer playspace for everyone.

We do also want to reiterate to players that while in-game reporting continues to be an invaluable tool for our Player Protection team to leverage, players will not be sanctioned based on in-game reports alone.

We want players to know they can make use of the in-game reporting system, though we know that there are others looking to misuse these reporting tools as a method of abuse. Following your feedback, we’ve updated our system to better account for and to prevent report spamming. Critically however, players with poor behavior will still be able to be reported correctly, resulting in possible Reputation Penalties or game sanctions. In the future, we will continue to strengthen our validations while building upon and creating new safeguards, further increasing the robustness of our systems.

REPUTATION STANDING ACCURACY

Currently, the Reputation System already takes advantage of a whole host of positive and negative stats including in-game reports, Commendations, Reverse Friendly Fire, abandon abuse, and more, with the use of safeguarding logic. While these have given us enough data overall to provide a fair representation of a player’s behavior, we know that we can further increase precision with additional data points covering other common player behaviors. To this end, we’re working on including more granular data to define a player’s Reputation with even more accuracy.

CONCLUSION

The new improvements we are introducing this season should greatly reduce occurrences of players finding undeserved reports on their Misconduct page, while also stopping illegitimate Reputation Penalties in worst case scenarios. If you continue to experience any issue with the Reputation System after this update, please report it via {LINK REMOVED}R6Fix.

You should expect to see additional adjustments and communications in the months to come around balancing, additional actions and protections, and Reputation Standing impacts, as we work to create a system that works best for everyone. We are always listening to your feedback and working on improvements to better reflect our goals; we want to make sure we’re achieving the right results by rewarding positive and reputable players, while helping other players to improve their behavior.

As we continue into Y8S4 Operation Deep Freeze, keep in mind that the Reputation System will remain in a grace period. During that time, you’ll get to see the impact of your in-game actions in the Reputation Center without having the effects applied. None of the impacts highlighted in the Reputation Center will be activated until this system is fully balanced and officially released, however, Reputation Penalties which are already live such as voice or written chat Penalties will continue to work as usual.

We want Siege to not only be a game of competitiveness and strategy, but also of joy and comfort. The Reputation System forms an essential component of our strategy to protect players, and we remain dedicated to our mandate of creating a welcoming environment for all.

Kompletter Artikel: Reputation System: Activation & More

Operation Deep Freeze Live!

Operation Deep Freeze sees new Defender Tubarão keep the competition hot. He stays cool-headed with his Zoto Canister gadget, which releases a freezing compound that will impair Operators movement and any other gadgets in its area of effect. Due to the “cold zone” left behind, any Operator footprints passing the area will be recorded. This gadget can disrupt both enemy and friendly gadgets, but with strategic placement, offers players an opportunity to regain control of a round. Tubarão is a two speed and two health Operator, with a loadout featuring an MPX or AR-15.50 as his primary weapon and a P226 MK 25 as his secondary weapon.

Get instant access to Tubarão and other rewards with the Deep Freeze Battle Pass including: a Bravo ticket, 18 Bravo packs, Operator and weapon skins, and 600 R6 credits back. If you are short on credits, look no further than the Premier or Signature packs for the best deal on R6 credits.

The Signature and Premier packs are the best way to acquire the Battle Pass for Operation Deep Freeze alongside exclusive skins and a 7-day Renown Booster! The Signature Pack provides you with 7,560 R6 Credits, exclusive signature skins while the Premier Pack grants you 2,670 R6 Credits to ensure swift progression through the Battle Pass and all the offerings of the season.

Competition heats up this season with the new Ranked map Lair. Lair is the base of operations for Deimos, and the map is designed for players to experiment with different playstyles as they navigate its multiple entrances and three floors. Each floor has a distinct and the exterior has unique entry points to all three floors. Just as Deimos created this facility to calculate his operations against Rainbow, players can strategize their navigation of Lair for success during matches.

Player protection efforts continue to grow with a Reputation System update, providing more information on what impacts player standing. This season introduces the Grace Period phase where players will be onboarded, learn more about player standing, and give everyone a chance to improve their standing without any penalties before the Reputation System fully launches. This builds on the Commendation System, which allows players to commend each other after a match and rewards players with increased Alpha Pack drop rates. For more information on the Commendation System, please visit: RainbowSix.com/Commendations

Players can go to https://rainbow6.com/marketplace/register to register for a chance to access the Beta of the Rainbow Six Siege Marketplace to sell or buy in-game items with R6 Credits. Additionally, two new features arrive this season: Versus AI and Map Training. Versus AI will allow players to do a match a against AI defender bots that mimic real players, while Map Training is an innovative tool to learn and master maps. Map Training will launch with seven maps to start, including the brand-new Lair map. For player comfort, the update will also add full controller remapping, controller deadzone customization, including Lean Behavior, a big feature for controller players coming later this season. Also coming to Operation Deep Freeze is balancing for Operator Mira, major updates to the Frag grenade, and two new Elite skins.

Kompletter Artikel: Operation Deep Freeze Live!

Y8S4 Streamer Charms

New Rainbow Six Siege Streamer Charms for Y8S4!
Announcing the next Streamer Charms!

Each season will bring the release of new charms, as well as the return of streamer charms from previous seasons!

New

{LINK REMOVED}Bravenika

{LINK REMOVED}Giselleglezv

{LINK REMOVED}Jenz

{LINK REMOVED}Scythe

Returning




{LINK REMOVED}Alfredoplays
{LINK REMOVED}AnneMunition
{LINK REMOVED}Beaulo
{LINK REMOVED}Bighead
{LINK REMOVED}BikiniBodhi
{LINK REMOVED}Bnans
{LINK REMOVED}Braction
{LINK REMOVED}Drid
{LINK REMOVED}FastAnne
{LINK REMOVED}Gabbo
{LINK REMOVED}Heideltraut
{LINK REMOVED}Interro
{LINK REMOVED}JerichoFive
{LINK REMOVED}JessGOAT
{LINK REMOVED}Jynxzi
{LINK REMOVED}Just9n
{LINK REMOVED}KingGeorge
{LINK REMOVED}KittyR6
{LINK REMOVED}LagonisR6
{LINK REMOVED}Lil_Lexi
{LINK REMOVED}Lt Custard
{LINK REMOVED}Lusorkoeffizient
{LINK REMOVED}MacieJay
{LINK REMOVED}Mag6
{LINK REMOVED}M3RYLAND
{LINK REMOVED}Matimi0
{LINK REMOVED}MrBboy45
{LINK REMOVED}Narcoleptic Nugget
{LINK REMOVED}Nesk
{LINK REMOVED}PaladinAmber
{LINK REMOVED}Patife
{LINK REMOVED}Pengu
{LINK REMOVED}RazaH
{LINK REMOVED}REMGURI / 렘쨩
{LINK REMOVED}Rubsarb
{LINK REMOVED}SexyCake
{LINK REMOVED}Sha77e
{LINK REMOVED}Shorty
{LINK REMOVED}shroud
{LINK REMOVED}SilphTV
{LINK REMOVED}Tatted
{LINK REMOVED}Tranth
{LINK REMOVED}Varsity
{LINK REMOVED}WhiteShark67
{LINK REMOVED}yo_boy_roy
{LINK REMOVED}z1ronic
{LINK REMOVED}Zander
{LINK REMOVED}ziGueira
{LINK REMOVED}GarfieldIsDoc
{LINK REMOVED}Supr
{LINK REMOVED}RyyFyy
{LINK REMOVED}FoxA
{LINK REMOVED}Nerdengenheiro
{LINK REMOVED}Rainbow6itacom
{LINK REMOVED}Minimichegga
{LINK REMOVED}JostRekt
{LINK REMOVED}JustRyuk
{LINK REMOVED}Paluhh
{LINK REMOVED}Poxonlox
{LINK REMOVED}TheLionerYT
{LINK REMOVED}itsSpoit
{LINK REMOVED}Retalha
{LINK REMOVED}FooYa
{LINK REMOVED}IceCold
{LINK REMOVED}Athieno
{LINK REMOVED}Marciu
{LINK REMOVED}Rembeey
{LINK REMOVED}rasco100
{LINK REMOVED}Vetelcito01
{LINK REMOVED}OneShooter

How to acquire charms

These charms are only available by subscribing to the respective streamer’s Twitch channel with a linked Ubisoft account. For more information on how to link your Ubisoft and Twitch account, as well as opt in for Twitch Drops, please refer to {LINK REMOVED}this FAQ.

How to get involved

We are always on the lookout for content creators that inspire and enrich the Siege community. If you would like access to the perks of being a partnered content creator, and your goal is to one day have a charm in the game, we would like to invite you to apply to the {LINK REMOVED}Ubisoft Creators Program.

Kompletter Artikel: Y8S4 Streamer Charms

CLASSIFIED: CONNECTIVITY

Whether you’re jumping into Arcade or getting your squad together for a Ranked session, the one thing that all players need is a reliable online experience. In this blog, we’ll shed some light on connectivity in 2023, look at what we’ve achieved, analyze any unplanned downtime, and take a peek at what the Connectivity team is working on.

A YEAR IN REVIEW

Firstly, let’s take a closer look at some of the changes brought to the game over the past year that had directly impacted Connectivity, so that we can deep dive into some of the solutions put in place to improve the overall player experience.

UNPLANNED MAJOR DOWNTIME

Downtime is likely to be the biggest concern for most players when it comes to connectivity. Downtime of a game’s online services can have a wide array of causes, many of which are not linked to the game’s servers themselves. Issues related to new features included as part of an update or the process and logistics behind patch deployment are just a couple of examples of triggers that could result in an online services outage. While our Connectivity team works to ensure our servers are ready for players at all times, we have multiple teams who are making improvements on their side too, with an aim to minimize these extra trigger sources as much as possible.

Below you will see the total unplanned major downtime for each month this year so far. We can see that while the most recent months of September and October have been a relative success, there are three main spikes throughout the year prior to this. Let’s inspect those spikes, why they occurred and how our teams responded.

JANUARY
January saw 15 hours and 54 minutes of unplanned downtime with a number of unique causes being identified, part of which was related to the release of Crossplay. The Connectivity team worked through both December and January bringing stability to the game and establishing areas where revisions or improvements were required. Each instance of downtime was also independently investigated by our teams, with steps taken on how to avoid or mitigate the effects of similar issues in the future. Changes made as a result of the investigations have since helped to reduce impacts from similar events.

APRIL
In April, we had 7 hours of unplanned outages across three separate incidents all again having a unique cause. In all cases, the Connectivity team was able to detect the point of failure which was causing players to be unable to connect, and was then able to make immediate or planned changes to our systems and procedures to remedy the issues going forward.

AUGUST
Y8S3 Operation Heavy Mettle was released on August 29th, and with this we encountered a major outage with overall downtime totaling 17 hours and 49 minutes. In essence, this outage was caused by a specific group of conditions arising, which led to our services being unable to handle the high amount of players attempting to connect at season launch.

To alleviate the issue, the team disabled systems that would deliver Rank information to players, while still allowing Rank calculations to take place in the background. This allowed players to connect, matchmake, and complete meaningful Ranked matches while the team continued their work to get the game services fully operational once more. The team was then able to reinstate the delivery of Rank information to the game once conditions were stable.

In response to this situation, teams were able to make both specific and systemic changes to help ensure that the same outcome would not be repeated under similar circumstances.

DDOS (GAME SERVER)

When talking about game server DDOS, we’re looking at DDOS that directly affects players as well as a group of matches hosted on the targeted game server. The team have previously implemented a feature to reduce the number of matches affected by these attacks, resulting in less players being ejected from matches.

Although the team has made progress in this area this year, we know that players still experience some issues with this. We see your feedback; we want to share that our work continues in this area and that the team will be making further changes in the future to help improve this situation.

SERVER REGIONS & PING TESTING

When a player boots up Siege, it checks to find the server which will provide the lowest ping based on the player’s current location. This functionality has allowed us to run live tests using new data centers, while gathering performance data. These tests are helping us to understand how activating new locations can not only improve connectivity for certain communities, but also impact the experience of all the other players.

During 2023, after such tests had been completed, the Connectivity team made two new server regions available (one for Korea and another one from Europe Central). We’ve found that these new locations have been a boost for many players, enabling them to play with decreased pings leading to an improved experience overall.

SERVER REGIONS – WHAT’S NEXT?
We’ve got nothing final to announce regarding additional new server locations as of right now, though we can confirm that it’s an area the Connectivity team is putting a lot of resources into. In the coming seasons, the team will be running new internal tests, and we’ll share more updates on this as soon as results become available.

In addition to testing new server locations, the Connectivity team is also working on updating and evolving its tooling. This will allow the team to pull more detailed information regarding their usage and ultimately facilitate decision-making when it comes to deciding which regions could benefit from additional resources the most.

CROSSPLAY

Crossplay was implemented back in December and has been one of the biggest online changes to come to Siege. The feature has been a great success, though it’s important to highlight just how this affected our online services in the weeks following release. During this time, we did experience issues leading to downtime which ultimately stemmed from the Crossplay feature. These issues were due to the challenges of deploying such a game-changing feature, while ensuring that all of our systems were ready to provide a stable experience with this additional load. Crucially however, the team was able to ensure that the feature remained live, while bringing stability to the game’s online services, providing a highly awaited change that many players had been asking for.

TECHNOLOGY REPLACEMENT

Over the last few seasons, our teams have been working iteratively to replace older technology which is integral to our online services. Some of this technology has been in place since Siege’s early development, and as the game continues to evolve, there is a need to ensure that we still have state-of-the-art systems in place. Once complete, our team and players alike will be looking to gain multiple advantages, including decreased maintenance downtime.

COLLABORATION

At Ubisoft we have a wide range of titles, each with their own Programming, Art, and of course, Connectivity teams. In the last year, our Connectivity team has found new ways to collaborate with such teams from other titles, including For Honor and Roller Champions. Since the new efforts were established, the data being shared has enabled us to mitigate online issues that might have otherwise affected players and has resulted in a significant positive impact overall.

LOOKING FORWARD

The team has made multiple learnings over past seasons and applied a number of changes while working on others which will be implemented in the future. While some of these changes only represent remedies for a fraction of causes, there is no doubt that the steps taken will be beneficial moving forward.

To sum-up, here’s a look at some of the areas the Connectivity team is currently working on:

  • Putting strategies in place to minimize unplanned downtime.
  • Reducing the impact of game server DDOS.
  • Tightening collaboration with other titles including For Honor and Roller Champions.
  • Testing for possible new data centers.
  • Removal and replacement of old technologies used throughout the game’s life.
  • And much more behind the scenes.

This is just a brief overview of what the Siege Connectivity team has been up to, we hope that this article provides useful insight into some of the topics that are being looked at. We want to add that this is only a snippet of what this team is working on, and we’ll share more on this topic in the future.

We thank you for providing feedback on your online experience as it’s extremely helpful to the team and we couldn’t make improvements without you!

Kompletter Artikel: CLASSIFIED: CONNECTIVITY

Y8S4 DESIGNER'S NOTES

Y8S4 DESIGNER’S NOTES

In this latest edition of Designer’s Notes, we’ll go into detail about the balancing changes that’ll come with the Y8S4 Update and give you some insight into the reasons behind them.

BALANCING MATRIX AND TOP OPERATOR BANS
WIN DELTA VS. PRESENCE




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.

OPERATOR BAN RATE




GADGET BALANCING

FRAG GRENADES

GADGET STATS

  • Fuse system: Removed ability to cook the grenade. Added fuse time reduction after the first bounce.
  • Initial fuse time: 4 seconds (from 5).
  • Reduced fuse time: 2 seconds.

We want to bring down the power level of the Frag Grenade to be in line with all the other Secondary Gadgets. Like all the others, it should be a weaker version of a Primary Gadget, such as the Hard Breach Charge for the Hard Breachers or the Bulletproof Camera for the Intel Gatherers. The secondary utility should not compete with or drive more attention than the main ability of an Operator. This change will put the spotlight back on Operators’ abilities, and we will have more margin to make them excel in their roles.

We also want to increase the population of Frag Grenades, so more operators can get them without severely affecting their presence. We won’t keep this utility as limited as it is right now forever because it conflicts with our intention to give as many options as possible to players to foster creativity.

To that end, we will remove the ability to cook grenades. This change removes a skill component when using them, but this aspect has been identified as the main reason why they are too powerful. Player ability can turn Frag Grenades into a better version of most operator abilities. Skilled players have reached a level that even ignores the correct counters for grenades, by killing defenders from below without warning.

We have not taken this decision lightly because of its impact on the skill ceiling when learning and mastering the use of Frag Grenades. We have adopted the fuse system from the Stun Grenade which means that the fuse time will be reduced to 2 seconds after the first Bounce (if the time is higher), so you’ll still retain some control over the gadget. Reducing that skill ceiling is our last resort when tweaking a gadget, as we generally aim for the opposite.

We have tested multiple ideas looking for the right solution for the Frag Grenade’s power level while keeping its identity intact. Here are a few of the changes we explored but ultimately did not implement:

  • Damage through surfaces: Here, we wanted to fix the competitive issue with a direct approach. We tested several options, from only reducing the damage below the lethal threshold to completely removing it along with the destruction. This solved the usage from the floor below against operators, but it didn’t affect their power level for the majority of the population, so we wouldn’t be able to give them to more operators.
  • Non-lethal: The most appealing aspect is the lethality, so we tried to reduce it directly. We tested reducing the base damage to non-lethal, so you’d have to land several Frag Grenades to kill your target. Not being able to guarantee the kill with a single throw achieved most of our objectives, but it also destroyed part of gadget’s personality.
  • Reduce amount: We evaluated reducing the amount to only 1 per operator to see if it was enough to make the other options more appealing. Unfortunately, this change made them too binary; we only removed the ability to try again if you missed the target. If you were accurate, you could still achieve the same results, and this potential was deemed enough to favor selecting a single Frag Grenade over any other gadget.
  • Random fuse time: With this prototype, we tried to add a bit of uncertainty to discourage players from cooking the grenades too accurately. They are super dangerous, so it is not a device you should want around when the detonation mechanism is triggered. We changed the fuse time to be between 3 and 5 seconds. This version achieved several of our goals because the players weren’t as accurate with them as they were with the live version and gave defenders time to react, which made them more interactive. But despite being a fun prototype, adding more randomness into the game while we are trying to remove it from other areas didn’t convince us.

OPERATOR BALANCING

IQ

LOADOUT

  • Secondary Gadgets: Added Frag Grenades.

552 COMMANDO

  • Damage: 43hp (from 47).
  • Stronger vertical and horizontal recoil.

Finally, IQ gets Frag Grenades back. We will see if she can keep them depending on the power level of the new version and how her having them affects other interactions in the game. She is an intel gatherer, and her intel can help attackers use resources and time more efficiently. We don’t want her increased utility to overshadow the team play.

We love her relationship with the EMP Impact Grenade. Having her on the team avoids putting drones in danger or wasting EMPs trying to hit an electricity source. She can also help the team use anti-utility gadgets more efficiently by seeing which ones are protected. She can find electronic gadgets that are normally hard to locate and track enemies using them.

Because of the increased utility and versatility, we must reduce the 552 Commando’s fire power. We will reduce its damage to make the Extended Barrel combo weaker. With the new damage, 1-armor operators will take 3 bullets instead of 2 to get downed. We’ve also made its recoil more challenging to control, which will bring it in line with other Assault Rifles.

IQ is a team player. She helps the team be more efficient and is one of the best representations of the essence of Siege.

LION

LOADOUT

  • Secondary Weapons: Removed Gonne-6.
  • Secondary Gadgets: Added Frag Grenades, Removed EMP Impact Grenades.

Lion and Frag Grenades were previously incompatible as the EE-ONE-D forces defenders to stay still giving the defender no options against a cooked grenade.

We are reconsidering his candidacy now because of the new synergy with the detonation system. The new Frag Grenade will force targets to move instead of killing them right away, pushing defenders into the EE-ONE-D’s detection. The defender will have to think fast to evaluate the different options and decide the best course of action.

We are swapping them for the EMP Impact Grenades because they are the least picked option, and of course, removing the Gonne-6.

SENS

LOADOUT

  • Secondary Weapons: Removed Gonne-6.
  • Secondary Gadgets: Added Frag Grenades.

You must master the R.O.U. Projector and the new Frag Grenade to make use of Sens’ full potential. They have the ability to block multiple lines of sight, pressure enemies out of strong positions, and even force them to cross the light screens. This will increase Sens’ skill ceiling even more.

Sens has a projectile as their main ability, and it goes against a rule we broke with Gridlock in Y8S3.3 (allowing both a throwable unique ability and Frag Grenades). We will test if this rule should remain in place with the updated Frag Grenade, or if it allows more flexibility with the distribution.

OSA

LOADOUT

  • Secondary Gadgets: Added Frag Grenades. Removed Smoke Grenades.

The new Frag Grenades will replace Osa’s Smoke Grenades, as it was her least picked secondary gadget option (only 15% of the rounds).

Osa allows attackers to create a setup, something that was exclusive for defenders until she arrived. She approaches the assault in a more methodical way, gaining terrain from defenders, but she cannot do it without help. This makes her a good candidate for this extra utility, as it is gameplay we want to encourage, but she still has good synergy with all the other secondary options, so we hope all of them will remain interesting.

BLACKBEARD

LOADOUT

  • Secondary Gadgets: Added Frag Grenades. Removed EMP Impact Grenades.

Blackbeard is the last attacker receiving Frag Grenades. His low presence made him an easy selection and since the Claymore is still a good option, we hope choosing between the two isn’t easy or at least depends on the way you intend to play the round.

CAPITÃO

LOADOUT

We have decided to give Capitão EMP Impact Grenades to compensate for their removal from other operators and make choosing between him and Osa a bit tougher. Having Hard Breach Charges and EMPs to choose from can allow him to fit into more attacking compositions.

GRIM

LOADOUT

  • Secondary Gadgets: Added EMP Impact Grenades. Removed Breach Charges.

552 COMMANDO

  • Damage: 43hp (from 47)
  • Stronger vertical and horizontal recoil.

We are pretty happy with the results of all of Grim’s buffs. Unfortunately, he shares the 552 Commando with IQ, so the changes made to it will also affect him. To compensate for that, and recoup some of the EMP Impact Grenades removed, he will also get them, replacing the Breach Charges. We believe it is a fair exchange; losing some frag potential but gaining flexibility now with the Bailiff 410 for soft destruction.

MIRA

BULLETPROOF GLASS

  • The bulletproof glass will be shattered if a Drilling Projectile explodes successfully after drilling into it.
  • This change affects all bulletproof glass: Black Mirror Window, Evil Eye, Talon Shield, Bulletproof Camera, Deployable Shield.

ASH’S BREACHING ROUND

  • The Breaching Round is considered a Drilling Projectile.

KALI’S V-LANCE

  • The V-Lance is considered a Drilling Projectile.
  • Note that the V-Lance doesn’t drill through gadgets; it only drills through surfaces (the Black Mirror Window is considered part of the wall).

Mira is a game-changing operator. If you spot her during the Preparation Phase, you know that something will have to change in the way you execute the attack. We love the effect she has in game, but we believe the reason for her high ban rate is purely strategic. You don’t want to deal with her in situations where she alone defines the pace of the round.

We introduced the Shattered Glass system back in Y6S3 to give attackers more ways to deal with the Black Mirror Windows and penalize bad usage. We are very happy with the results, so we are going to expand that system by adding new sources, so attackers have more flexibility when spotting a Mira.

We have defined a new projectile category; "Drilling projectiles". These projectiles drill into the surface they impact to apply their effect. They’ll explode from the inside of the surface to deal more damage and will now shatter bulletproof glass. For instance, if Ash’s Breaching Round sticks to the Black Mirror glass and explodes successfully, the glass will be shattered.

MAESTRO

LOADOUT

  • Main Ability: 3 Evil Eyes (from 2)

EVIL EYE

  • Battery: 6 seconds (from 5)
  • Overheat: 6 seconds (from 5)

Maestro has been indirectly nerfed repeatedly since the release and introduction of new systems (Shattered Glass, Outside Cameras), new operators (Flores, Brava), new gadgets (Gonne-6, EMP Impact Grenades), and tweaks to operators (Dokkaebi) and now again with the increased population of Frag Grenades. Because of all this and the current meta, his presence has understandably gone down to be one of the least-picked defenders.

The changes to Evil Eyes should make attackers treat them with more respect. The new battery will allow Maestro to kill 1-armor operators with a single turret and down 2 to 3-armor operators. Increasing the number of Evil Eyes to 3 will increase his flexibility, requiring at least two operators with the proper secondary utility to deal with all of Maestro’s utility, helping him become the master of intel that he should be.

PLAYLIST ECOSYSTEM CHANGES

QUICK MATCH AND STANDARD

We feel confident about the Quick Match changes introduced last season. The faster match time provides players a much faster paced experience. Attacker Vanguard allows players a safer approach to the action and Pre-Setups let defenders play fast without having to forfeit the strategic element of reinforcements.

Having said that, we are aware of the community’s concerns regarding the new playlist ecosystem, and we realize that we made changes to the Standard mode before having the completed map pool available in Quick Match. Therefore, we are making the Standard map pool the same as Ranked while we dedicate our efforts to adding all the maps back to Quick Match as soon as possible. Once the map pool is completed, we will allocate some time to revisit Standard’s map pool and provide more options for players to enjoy the maps that they want. We are working on a proposal to bring back player agency by allowing you to enjoy Standard’s map pool with some control over it.

QUICK MATCH MAP POOL UPDATE
ADDED:

  • Hereford Base
  • Plane
  • Presidential Plane
  • Yacht
  • Fortress
  • Emerald Plains
  • Stadium
  • NightHaven
  • Lair

STANDARD MAP POOL UPDATE

  • Oregon
  • Club House
  • Consulate
  • Bank
  • Kanal
  • Chalet
  • Kafe Dostoyevsky
  • Border
  • Skyscraper
  • Coastline
  • Themepark
  • Villa
  • Outback
  • Emerald Plains
  • NightHaven
  • Lair

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Kompletter Artikel: Y8S4 DESIGNER'S NOTES

Y8S3 MID-SEASON ROADMAP UPDATE

Every season when we roll out fresh content, we also provide an updated Roadmap to ensure transparency on upcoming features. When making those adjustments, we take various elements into account, including your feedback. Furthermore, we aim to offer additional insight into what you can anticipate from the upcoming Operation.

Now let’s delve into the mid-season Roadmap update.

ROADMAP UPDATES

[MAIN FEATURE] NEW MAP
  • Status: Confirmed for Y8S4

Y8S4 will bring an exciting addition to the Rainbow Six Siege map lineup. We have been building a new map on the foundation of verticality with carefully designed layouts and fresh avenues for strategic possibilities like never before! Make sure to watch the Y8S4 reveal panel to discover more!

[MAIN FEATURE] NEW VERSUS AI PLAYLIST

  • Status: Confirmed for Y8S4


This season will keep on delivering with the incorporation of a new versus AI Playlist tailored to let new players sharpen their skills against specially AI trained Defender bots to become the best operator they can be. Practice, strategize, and dominate like never before in this dynamic training environment.

[BALANCING] [BETA] REVAMPED SHIELD MECHANISM
  • Status: BETA confirmed during Y8S4

Shields have been part of Siege since the beginning and have sometimes seemed unbalanced with the current playstyles. As a game striving for tactical depth, we’re committed to integrating shields seamlessly into gameplay without compromising immersion. We have been working on this strategy from the ground up, redesigning ballistic shields while retaining a unique playstyle which is both balanced and immersive. Brace yourselves for the first iteration of this revamped mechanism, available later during Y8S4 on the Lab TS.

[PLAYER COMFORT] CONTROLLER REMAPPING
  • Status: Confirmed for Y8S4

We are actively working on improving our players’ comfort on consoles. In Y8S4, we will be providing an easy way to completely customize your controller inputs. This long-requested feature is dedicated to ensuring it answers all our console players’ needs. Taking your feedback into account, we will also implement a new action to allow leaning while hip-firing on Consoles later in the season!

[BALANCING] [NEW] UPDATED FRAG GRENADES

  • Status: Confirmed for Y8S4


As announced in the last Siege Classified: Balancing, Frag Grenades have risen to an overpowered position in the current meta. They currently heavily influence Operator choices, tilting the balance between primary and secondary gadgets in an unbalanced way. With our commitment to providing the best FPS competitive experience, we have thoroughly examined Frag Grenades and rebalanced their impact to be more in line with all the other Secondary Gadgets. More information on this balancing change will be shared during the reveal panel, so everyone can have a blast playing Siege, so stay tuned!

[PLAYER PROTECTION] NEW RANKED REQUIREMENTS
  • Status: Coming in Y9

Ranked is the most popular competitive mode in Siege. Hence, it’s no surprise that it’s always in our line of sight in terms of priority, ensuring that players can enjoy a balanced competitive experience, both with and against similarly skilled players. We are committed to making sure Ranked is a fair environment and are adding more Ranked requirements to reinforce the core experience.

[PLAYER PROTECTION] PRIVACY MODE ON CONSOLES
  • Status: Cancelled

The work required to deliver Privacy Mode on consoles has brought up external challenges that came up late in the process. As well as this, new privacy features have been made available inside of the console ecosystem itself. For this reason, we’ve made the tough decision to stop the development of this feature on consoles specifically for the time being.

As you know, Player Protection remains a top priority, and we are committed to improving your experience and making Siege an even safer and fairer game to play on consoles. Discover more on our plans in the coming weeks.

FULL REVEAL

Stay tuned for the upcoming Year 8 Season 4 Reveal coming on November 12th and join the discussion on Twitter, {LINK REMOVED}Instagram, Reddit, {LINK REMOVED}Discord, {LINK REMOVED}Facebook, and {LINK REMOVED}TikTok.

Check out the {LINK REMOVED}public Roadmap for more information on the changes coming your way!

Kompletter Artikel: Y8S3 MID-SEASON ROADMAP UPDATE

Tune in for the Blast R6 Atlanta Major, starting Oct 31 to Nov 12!

With the last BLAST R6 Major of 2023 on the horizon, all eyes are firmly fixed on Atlanta as the battle for the trophy is set to get underway. The world’s best Rainbow Six Siege esports team will head to Atlanta, Georgia, USA in the coming days to compete for the title, their share of the USD $750,000 total prize pool and a chance to finish the year on a high. Here’s all you need to know about the event.
Follow the latest results and the matches calendar on R6esports.com

Watch the action live on https://www.twitch.tv/rainbow6

DATES & LOCATION

  • Phase 1 – Play-In: October 31 to November 1 – not open to public.
  • Phase 2 – Playoffs: November 3 to November 7 – not open to public.
  • Phase 3 – Finals: November 10 to November 12 – open to the public at the Gas South Arena, Atlanta


Venue: Gas South Arena

Tickets are available here to purchase: http://www.axs.com/series/19003/blast-r6-major-atlanta-gas-south-arena-tickets?skin=gassouthdistrict

PARTICIPATING TEAMS & COMPETITIVE FORMAT

Phase 1: October 31 to November 1

Here are the 16 teams qualified for Phase 1 of the BLAST R6 Major Atlanta:

The 16 teams will compete in 4 groups of 4 in a GSL groups format:

This phase will be played across 2 days with a combination of Bo1 and Bo3 for elimination matches. The top two teams from each group will move forward into Phase 2 of the BLAST R6 Major Atlanta.

Phase 2: November 3 to November 7

Phase 2 will feature 16 teams, the 8 teams that have directly qualified through their regional programs and the 8 teams that battled their way through Phase 1.

Here are the 8 teams already qualified for Phase 2 of the Major:

Phase 2 will run for 5 days and will follow a Swiss tournament format, with matches played in a combination of Bo1 and Bo3 for elimination matches. After each match during this phase, teams move on to play against teams that have the same win/loss ratio, until only 8 teams remain.

The 8 surviving teams from Phase 2 will move on to Phase 3.

Phase 3: November 10 to November 12

Phase 3 will take place in front of a live audience at the Gas South Arena. The top 8 teams so far in the competition will face off in a Bo3 single elimination bracket.

The Grand Final will be a Bo5 match to decide the champions of the BLAST R6 Major Atlanta.

BROADCAST TALENT

WATCH PARTIES

The BLAST R6 Major Atlanta will feature online Watch Parties. Stay tuned on Twitter at @R6esports for more information on the list of selected streamers and content creators broadcasting the event.

TWITCH DROPS

Tune in on our channels and earn Twitch Drops for the Blast R6 Major Atlanta! There will be no duplicates and viewers will earn Battle Pass points for the currently active Battle Pass instead.

Packs will drop accordingly:

  • Phase 1
    • From October 31 to November 1, viewers can earn 1 pack after 3 hours of watch time, with a max cap of 1 pack per day.
  • Phase 2
    • From November 3 to November 7, viewers can earn 1 pack after 3 hours of watch time, with a max cap of 1 pack per day.
  • Phase 3
    • On November 10, viewers can earn 1 pack after 3 hours of watch time, with a max cap of 1 pack on that day.
    • On November 11, viewers can earn 1 pack after 3 hours of watch time, with a max cap of 1 pack on that day.
    • On November 12, viewers can earn 1 pack after 1 hour of watch time, and a second pack after 3 hours of watch time, with a max cap of 2 packs on this day.

Here are the details on how to redeem them:

Register your account by heading over to https://drops-register.ubi.com and link your Twitch account to your Ubisoft account. You will then be prompted to opt into the drops feature. Please make sure that your account is linked before you tune in to the broadcast.

STAY IN TOUCH

Don’t miss anything about the upcoming BLAST R6 Major Atlanta by following us on Twitter, Instagram and on our website.

Kompletter Artikel: Tune in for the Blast R6 Atlanta Major, starting Oct 31 to Nov 12!