In November, we released an article outlining the top issues and community concerns[www.ubisoft.com] among the Rainbow Six Siege community. Protecting our content creators from players using streamers’ public information to disrupt their experience was highlighted among our top priorities. With the release of Streamer Mode, creators will have more control over what information is publicly available, protecting them from Stream and Queue Sniping.

So, what are these disruptive actions and our efforts to stop them in their tracks? Read on for the details.

Queue Sniping—when players taunt or kill a streamer after they deliberately queue at the same time as them—has been a growing problem within the Siege community. Streamer Mode will give creators two forms of protection against Queue Sniping:

• Hide Region and Latency – This will allow users to hide all instances where region and ping are mentioned.
• Hidden Matchmaking Delay – This will offer a random, hidden delay to the streamer’s matchmaking. The streamer will be able to choose from several delay options. The delay will not impact a player rejoining a match if they are reconnecting.

Find these settings in the Options menu under “Streamer Mode preferences.” Utilizing these settings will greatly reduce the ability of players who are watching a stream to purposely queue into that streamer’s lobby. This isn’t the only issue facing content creators, though.

There are instances in which players also intentionally use another player’s livestream to gather information and get an unfair edge, or to act in a disruptive manner. This behavior, calledStream Sniping, is another issue we want to protect against. Our initial release of Streamer Mode will have three settings that empower creators in the battle against these disruptive actions.

• Hide Names – This option–listed as “Hide Usernames” for PC players, “Hide Online IDs” for PlayStation players, and “Hide Gamertags” for Xbox players–gives users the ability to hide their own name or the names of their entire team by replacing them with randomly generated presets taken from the NATO phonetic alphabet. This will be reflected not only in-game, but also across text and voice comms, the scoreboard, and Squad drop down.
• Hide Clearance Level – Hide the Clearance level on the after-match bonus screen and the contact panel by replacing it with a placeholder.
• Hide Avatar – This allows streamers to hide their avatar and replace it with a placeholder.

Currently, these settings will only impact the point of view from the streamer, limiting the information those watching have regarding the match. However, our team is hard at work on the next iteration of Streamer Mode. Our hope with the next version is the anonymization provided by these settings will be seen by all players in the match, not just the streamer.

Cheating and toxicity are subjects we are [committed to winning](http://rainbow6.com/anticheat_update) the war against. We understand that allowing players to activate these options may raise concerns regarding the process of reporting cheating and disruptive behavior. For this reason, we will add visibility of the Match ID on each match’s scoreboard. This not only gives players a reference point when reporting, but also increases our team’s ability to accurately investigate these reports.

Streamer Mode is just one step we are taking in our efforts to protect our players and is a feature we intend to keep building upon. This is just the first version. We are currently working on and will be releasing a second version that will strengthen and improve stream sniping protections. As we continue to listen to your concerns, our efforts to address those concerns will also continue. We look forward to sharing more updates regarding our work addressing issues facing content creators in the future.

Kompletter Artikel: Dev Blog: Streamer Mode

Kicking off 2021, all of us at Rainbow Six Siege are proud to introduce Crimson Heist, a season that gears players up for the ultimate heist. A new Operator is joining our ranks: the sly and tactical Flores, an Attacker from Argentina who knows how to mix precision and passion. He brings the RCE-Ratero Charge, a remote-controlled charge, with a timed explosion, that sneaks up on unsuspecting opponents.

Crimson Height is an action-packed season that offers reworks of the Border map and Newcomer playlist, a new secondary weapon, and plenty of other exciting additions. Are you ready to get the stash? Keep reading the Patch Notes below to discover more.

View Patch Notes[rainbow6.com]

Kompletter Artikel: Crimson Heist

In this latest edition of Designer’s Notes, we’ll go into more detail about the balancing changes that’ll come with the Crimson Heist patch and give you an insight into the reasons behind these changes.

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

• Increased CSRX 300 damage to 127 (from 122)
  • 1 body shot will kill a 3-speed Operator
  • 1 body shot will DBNO a 2-speed Operator
  • 1 body shot will DBNO a 1-speed Operator
  • Wearing Rook Vest:
  • 1 body shot will DBNO a 3-speed Operator
  • 2 body shots will DBNO a 2-speed Operator
  • 2 body shots will DBNO a 1-speed Operator

Population targeted by this change: Casual, Top Ranked and Pros.

Our main objective with Kali is to make her a viable and balanced operator. In general, this requires us to strike the right balance between ability (LV Explosive Lance) and loadout. For Kali in particular, this depends on two main elements. The first is that Kali brings a great amount of utility to the game. The LV Explosive Lance can deal with gadgets, including bulletproof gadgets and ones behind electrified reinforcements. The second element is the CSRX 300. This primary weapon is in charge of most of her killing potential, and keeping this weapon in line is key to avoiding an overpowered operator.

Unsurprisingly, finding the right balance for a one-shot-kill weapon can take a number of iterations. We noticed that on release, Kali was perceived as overpowered, but the power perception has been slowly drifting towards "underperforming." In the previous patch, we took our first step in finding the sweet spot for the CSRX 300. We have looked at your feedback and we are making new changes.

What we’ve done so far:

We started by identifying the 1-shot-DBNO mechanic as one of the main issues. The mechanic was perceived as frustrating and it did not allow us to tweak the weapon power level, so we decided to transform the CSRX 300 into a normal weapon. Now, we can modify the weapon damage and iterate until we find the sweet spot.

With this change, we’ve also tackled the lack of counter for Kali’s CSRX 300. For example, now, wearing Rook’s Armor Plates can now help Operators to survive a body shot.

We also wanted to keep the damage modifiers caused by bullets getting through walls or hitting Operators limbs’, as this helps to prevent lucky shots that can kill or put Operators in to DBNO. This also ensures good aim is rewarded.
The first iteration set the damage at 122. With this value, we had a compromise where 3-speed Operators would die from a chest shot and 1-speeds would survive it. This compromise took into account that 1-speed Operators do not represent a majority in a defensive line-up, especially on Pro League. This approach has been perceived as too weak, though, and we are making new changes to address that.

What we’re doing now:

Our next step is to increase the weapon damage to make 1-speed Operators also fall into DBNO. Like last time, we will be monitoring your feedback and the game data to ensure we continue tracking towards finding that sweet spot for Kali. For some Operators, balance is a process that takes iteration, so we appreciate the feedback and insight the community has shared here!

Additional insight into Kali’s interaction with Rook’s Armor Plate:

With the above change in mind, we want Rook’s ability to be relevant against Kali’s CSRX 300. We are not creating any specific rules for the interaction, but we want to clarify how Rook’s Armor works:

When an operator is wearing Rook’s Armor Plate, their armor gains an extra 15% protection. This means that:

• A 3-speed Operator will have 15% damage reduction.
• A 2-speed Operator will have 25% damage reduction.
• A 1-speed Operator will have 35% damage reduction.

This means that with the new damage value, only 3-speed operators will fall into DBNO when receiving a CSRX 300 body shot. The rest of the 2 and 3-speed Operators will survive that shot.

• Reduced Shield HP to 20 (from 50)
• Reduced MK17 damage to 40 (from 49)

Population targeted by this change: Casual, Top Ranked and Pros.

According to the Balancing Matrix, Blackbeard continues to be a force to reckon with, sporting the highest Attacker win delta. Between the great utility afforded by his Rifle Shields and a loadout with strong damage capabilities that has earned him a high K/D, he is a point of frustration for Defenders.

By reducing the HP of his shields and damage of his MK17, this will slightly reduce both his killing potential and survivability. Given that the majority of the time, Blackbeard ends matches with shield economy to spare, this change should be fair to both sides as it brings him more in line with other Attackers.

• Added Gonne-6 (Removed C75)
• Added Stun Grenades (Removed Frag Grenades)

Population targeted by this change: Casual, Top Ranked and Pros.

Dokkaebi is the first of two Operators who will be encountering a loadout shakeup this patch to make way for the newest gun in the Siege armoury. The Gonne-6 will replace the C75 as her secondary weapon, providing highly accurate explosive utility for dealing with gadgets, abilities and Operators. As a result, her gadgets have also been tweaked to limit the number of explosives at her disposal.

It’s no secret that Dokkaebi has received a number of loadout changes in the past year. The initial intention for giving her Frag Grenades was to offer more utility against bulletproof devices rather than to increase killing potential. By switching to Stun Grenades, she will retain this utility against bulletproof devices while also empowering her with a wider range of tools to better adapt to her surroundings while disrupting Defenders.

• Added Gonne-6 (Removed GSH-18)
• Added Stun Grenades (Removed Frag Grenades)

Population targeted by this change: Casual, Top Ranked and Pros.

Like Dokkaebi, Finka is also receiving an update to her loadout, gaining the Gonne-6 secondary weapon and replacing her Frag Grenades with Stun Grenades. Given her strong win delta compared to other Attackers on the Balancing Matrix, the slight reduction in AoE damage capabilities is not expected to have a significant effect on her performance, particularly now that she is able to accurately deny many Defenders’ tools with the Gonne-6.

• Warning will hint at the distance to Pests by modifying its blinking speed

Population targeted by this change: Top Ranked and Pros.

In its current state, Mozzie’s Pest lacks clear counters and often forces Attackers to waste time and resources in order to avoid or mitigate obvious traps. The difficulty countering him has made Mozzie a particularly useful Operator, and has contributed to driving up his presence in the Balancing Matrix.

By adding a proximity warning to Pests, this provides Attackers with a tool to more effectively avoid or deal with clear traps. While this change will not fundamentally change Mozzie’s moment-to-moment actions, it will encourage more creative placement of Pests to get the jump on Attackers.

• While HEL Presence Reduction is active, Nøkk won’t activate proximity-based gadgets
  • Gadgets affected: Ela’s Grzmot Mine, Melusi’s Banshee, Kapkan’s Entry Denial Device, Proximity Alarm, and Metal Detectors
• Nøkk’s glitch effect will cancel the proximity immunity, resulting in the activation of any gadget in range
• The color of the HEL device on Nøkk’s hand will change colour when bypassing any proximity device

Population targeted by this change: Top Ranked and Pros.

Nøkk was initially designed as a counter-intel Operator, but not every intel tool is a camera. Devices triggered by proximity give very useful information as the activation’s sound cue provides information without requiring players to lower their weapon. We want to make Nøkk’s gadget more interesting to play and useful against more defensive setups.

Please note, this is a TEST SERVER ONLY change. We will turn it off before releasing the new season to continue working on her. We have tested this change internally and while we feel it adds an interesting dynamic to her play, there are still some unanswered questions. Therefore, we would like to hear your feedback and iterate before deploying this to the wider community.

• Added Smoke Grenades (Removed Stun Grenades)

Population targeted by this change: Top Ranked.

Twitch continues to have a high presence in the Balancing Matrix. This is due in part to her high killing potential and aggressive playstyle as a secondary entry fragger.

By replacing her Stun Grenades with Smoke Grenades, this removes one of the tools that empowers such aggressive play and opens up additional role opportunities for players who would rather hang back and provide support. We will continue to monitor how this affects her playstyle to ensure any changes retain the core of why players love Twitch.

• Improved recoil

Population targeted by this change: Casual, Top Ranked and Pros.

It’s no secret that the G36 has been overshadowed by the R4C and ARX and is in need of a tweak. In order to make it feel better to use while bringing it more in line with the effectiveness of its contemporaries, this assault rifle’s recoil has been updated.

Players should notice an immediate change in its handling. Specifically, recoil will no longer drift horizontally, making it more reliable. Like anything relating to the handling of weapons, though, it’s important to note that we are continuing to look at how we can further improve the feel of different weapons in players’ loadouts.

With Year 6 Season 1, when a gadget is disabled by Mute, there will be proper feedback showcased to players.

Expect feedback when the following gadgets are disabled while in play:

• Attacker drones
• Breach Charges
• Hibana’s X-Kairos
• Fuze’s Cluster Charge
• Thermite’s Exothermic Charge
• Zero’s ARGUS Cameras
• Claymores
• Nomad’s Airjabs

—

Try out the latest Rainbow Six updates on the Test Server and earn an exclusive charm through the Bug Hunter Program[rainbow6.com].

Follow us and share your feedback on Twitter, Reddit, Facebook [www.facebook.com]and on our forums[forums.ubi.com].

Kompletter Artikel: Y6S1 PRE-SEASON DESIGNER'S NOTES

It’s been about half a year since our last dev blog[www.ubisoft.com] on the Rainbow Six Siege war against cheats. For the last six months, the team has continued the fight and we would like to share with you a bit about what’s been happening behind the scenes. While we would love to be fully transparent, doing so could hinder our efforts as it could aid in the creation of new cheats.

Most of our changes will be made on the backend, so you may not see them. To summarize our current status, we are actively reinforcing cheat detection by adding to existing security measures and lessening the overall ability to cheat in Rainbow Six Siege.

Throughout the blog we’ll reference a few different groups of exploiters:

– Cheaters: Players using a 3rd party application, script, or macro to obtain an unfair advantage in-game or in a manner that violates the Terms of Service for Rainbow Six Siege.
– Cheat Developers: Those developing cheat applications which they then use, sell, or give to cheaters.
– Hackers: For the context of this article, these are malicious individuals/groups who are taking over accounts that are not theirs and re-selling accounts they do not own.

In our never-ending cat and mouse game with cheaters and cheat developers, we continue to focus our efforts on 3 core points:

– Detection Improvement
– Increased Barriers to prevent cheaters and novel cheats
– Reduction of Impact of cheats in-game

By the end of 2020, we confirmed we exceeded our previous annual ban number record by 44.73%. Improved detection, detailed reporting, and data sharing with BattlEye were big factors in this ban increase. With a continually growing population and the increased availability of cheats, new cheats and cheaters regularly keep us on our toes.

In August, we started issuing a new type of cheating sanction based on player data—something we will go into more detail on below. We used this new data detection model to ban over 4500 players between August and December. Adding this to our cheating sanctions brings us to a total of 52,69% increase in cheating bans.

The June Dev Blog[www.ubisoft.com] described three important topics for 2020: Detection, Blockers, and Vulnerabilities. These continue to be our focus and we have some updates to report.

Cheat detection will always be a work in progress, as well as a ‘’hunting’’ process. As cheating is ever-evolving thanks to changing behaviors, the continued bypassing of systems, and more, it will always be impossible to detect 100% of cheaters.

That’s why we are building new cheat detections based on statistics to uncover our most disruptive cheat users.

Bans based on player statistics are still new to Rainbow Six Siege. One of the major goals of data-based cheat detection is to sanction cheaters faster. We are happy with the accuracy of our first model, but we are still operating the ban waves manually. This is causing the process to be slower than we would like. Automation for this first model is planned for the beginning of Year 6.   

New detection models will always launch manually. We start by identifying data that will make our detection model relevant. Next, we launch it on the backend and make sure we are comfortable with the results. The first ban waves are done by hand, allowing us to review each impacted player. This helps us ensure the detections are identifying concrete proof of cheating. We will continue to develop new models that give us better visibility on what is happening live in order to expedite the identification of cheaters and sanctioning them.

For the last six months, we have been working with BattlEye to improve cheat detections in Siege. We will continue to ensure that our partnership with BattlEye has a positive impact on the Rainbow Six Siege community.

Cheat detection is only one piece of the anti-cheat puzzle in Siege. We are also working to increase barriers to entry for both cheat developers and their users. Our goal is to cancel any benefit that could be gained from this practice by making it costly for illegitimate players.

 

In our quest to make cheaters’ lives as difficult as possible, we included APAC regions in the 2-Step Verification Ranked Lock[www.ubisoft.com]. This not only deters cheating, but it helps secure a wider array of accounts from being hacked. Increasing the overall security of accounts is an effective way to help fight instances of account stealing or selling, and makes it harder for Cheaters, Hackers, and Cheat Developers alike.

Another tool in the arsenal of cheaters and cheat developers is the creation of burner accounts. To combat this, we have linked BattlEye bans with Steam Vac bans, which prevent banned players from receiving game refunds.

In the upcoming months, we’ll also be keeping a closer eye on leaderboards. We are aware that cheaters are appearing in the highest rankings and will dedicate efforts to manually cleaning the leaderboards periodically.

While we can’t offer specifics on this topic, please know we are working to make it harder for cheat developers to analyze and modify our game. With every update we’ve launched for the past few seasons, we have continued to further secure code, making it more difficult for cheat features to keep up.

Cheat Developers may only be one part of the equation, but they are the source of the problem. We will continue securing our code and eliminating vulnerabilities in order to make the upkeep of cheats more costly and time-consuming.

We are continuing to learn a great deal from our battle against cheating as we fight on multiple fronts, from live issues and fires, to planning the future of Siege’s anti-cheat responses, through to making sure we maintain visibility on our vulnerabilities.

Cheat developers take advantage of vulnerabilities to create their cheats. For this reason, we assess our vulnerabilities every season to not only detect current vulnerabilities, but also to predict what new loopholes could be found in the future. We keep the Ubisoft game security team close and use their knowledge to plan our initiatives and understand past and present errors.

In addition to using software to discover potential risks, we actively keep an eye on social media and work closely with the community team and customer support to concentrate our efforts on issues that matter to our players.  As soon as we discover vulnerabilities, we get to work on fixing them. In some instances, there are no simple solutions, so we complement prevention with detection.

We have big plans on the horizon for our team and for the game, and have no intention of slowing down. While we can’t go into full detail at this time, we hope this Dev Blog has helped you understand some of the work we do behind the scenes. This work is rarely user-facing and can be overthrown by new cheat iterations, but we’ll keep pushing to improve on all fronts.

In the future, the anti-cheat team plans to remain transparent by publishing Dev Blogs when we have notable updates to share.

For every wall reinforcement that we deploy, Cheat Developers are trying to breach in another room. But it far from deters our will to rid the game of as many opportunists and cheaters as we can. We are dedicated to making Siege secure and fair for everyone. We look forward to sharing exciting new releases in future Dev Blogs. Until then, keep reporting cheaters in-game and stay safe out there.

Kompletter Artikel: Dev Blog: Update on Anti-Cheat in Rainbow Six Siege