Operation Shadow Legacy, the third season of Tom Clancy’s Rainbow Six Siege Year 5, is now available. This new season brings innovation with the addition of Sam Fisher from the Tom Clancy’s Splinter Cell saga as a new operator, a rework of the Chalet map, an improvement of the ping system and many other key updates.
Owners of the Year 5 Pass can play with Zero aka Sam Fisher immediately, while other players can unlock him with Renown or R6 Credits starting September 17. New seasonal content, including the Chalet map rework, are available for free to all players. Year 5 Season 3 also welcomes the Battle Pass, available now through October 19.
Sam Fisher is equipped with a new gadget called the Argus Launcher, a two-way drill camera. The cameras are launched to pierce soft or reinforced walls, windows and hatches, and can stick to any surface. The attacker can rotate the camera to see the other side of the wall and each camera is equipped with one laser charge, used to deal damage to defenders or destroy gadgets. Sam Fisher also comes with his unique weapons, the SC3000K and Karambit.
In addition to this new operator, players can explore a reimagined Chalet map, which is newly reworked. The first and the second floors are improved and the roof is now traversable, among other features. Objectives have been the focus of this rework, with a hallway added to improve rotation in the Basement, and the Trophy site has been switched for a new one in Dining.
These charms are only available by subscribing to the respective streamer’s Twitch channel with a linked Uplay account. For more information on how to link your Uplay and Twitch account, as well as opt in for Twitch Drops, please refer to this FAQ[support.ubi.com].
HOW TO GET INVOLVED
Given the length of our production cycle for in-game content, the participants for Y5S1 S2, S3 & S4 have already been determined. We are always on the lookout for additional content creators to add to the program and will be exploring new candidates in 2020 & 2021. If your goal is to see your charm in game, we use the following criteria to begin the selection process for potential candidates:
Requirements to be considered
Approximately 350+ concurrent viewers – preferable.
Average of 10 Rainbow Six streams per month.
Average of 20 hours of Rainbow Six streamed per month.
Positive standing with Ubisoft/Rainbow Six Siege.
High quality level of content.
Rainbow Six Siege reserves the right for final decision.
Consideration for Removal
Less than 10 Rainbow Six Siege main streams over 3 months.
Level of quality dropping below an acceptable level.
Standing with Rainbow Six Siege/Ubisoft compromised.
Any actions that may negatively affect the R6S/Ubisoft brand.
Rainbow Six Siege reserves the right for removal of any charms.
Another year, another Call of Duty–such is the video game landscape. This year’s Call of Duty: Black Ops Cold War is trying some new things on the single-player campaign side, but in terms of the multiplayer component, you might be wondering what’s in it for you this time, and whether you should leave Modern Warfare‘s robust multiplayer suite and breadth of content updates behind for something different.
I was able to experience Black Ops Cold War’s multiplayer alongside other members of the media through an online hands-on preview event held by Activision. We played multiple matches that included the new VIP Escort mode and a 12-on-12 Domination mode called Combined Arms on a seafaring map. This is in addition to the expected suite of modes like Hardpoint, Team Deathmatch, Control, and Kill Confirmed. I also got a look at how loadouts have changed this time around with its roster of guns, perks, attachments, scorestreaks, and wildcards.
With all that in mind, let’s dig into what’s new with Black Ops Cold War’s multiplayer, how it changes up the experience, and if it’s worth jumping into (you can also watch the video above).
Ocean Warfare
The aforementioned Combined Arms mode was a major focus during our multiplayer session since we played it three times, specifically on the map Armada. This is the map set in the ocean between battleships, where teams of 12 fight Domination-style. Here, you have sea-based vehicles like jet skis and patrol boats that help you get to and from several points on the map, otherwise you’d have to swim to traverse the waters. You can also go between ships quickly through ziplines, which is where most of the firefights take place, although there are two capture points at sea where you can expect some underwater shootouts.
It’s almost like a mini-Battlefield, akin to Modern Warfare’s Ground War mode (but on water and not on the ground of course). The map isn’t necessarily large, but it does feature multiple layers that make matches more enticing than simply holding down certain sightlines or lanes. It’s a bit more chaotic in that regard. For example, holding down capture point C is indicative of that, as it sits atop a submarine nestled within the main ship. You’re vulnerable since enemies can pick you off from the ship decks above, assault you on boats, or emerge from the water unsuspectingly.
Getting between capture points efficiently in Armada will require using sea vehicles and ziplines.
It’s good to see risks being taken, or at least a distinct change of pace. We also tried Combined Arms on Crossroads, which had a few tanks and snowmobiles on this more traditional style map with some open areas and bunkers–but this experience, while good, was quite familiar to your standard Call of Duty fare and a bit cramped for vehicles. I hope that the complete Black Ops Cold War package leans more into approaches like the fresher Armada map when it launches or as it evolves with it’s free ongoing support and content updates.
VIP Access
The other notable addition coming in this year’s game is VIP Escort, a six-on-six, one-life per round style of mode–one team transports the VIP (a player on the team who’s chosen at random) to one of two exfiltration sites, and the other team has to hunt down the VIP. Players can be revived after being knocked down, but once the VIP dies, it’s over–keep in mind that the VIP only carries a pistol and is easily identified wearing civilian clothes, too. Sides switch each round and the first team to four wins takes the match.
I found this mode to be yet another good change of pace from the chaotic big-team Domination, since VIP Escort is much more calculated and slower-paced. It’s reminiscent of Counter-Strike style of play, which requires more coordination and situational awareness. The Miami map was best suited for this mode, too; it sports an urban design washed in neon lights to emphasize the ’80s setting, but the tight corners and buildings provided more tactical considerations.
The other map, the aforementioned Crossroads, wasn’t exactly great for VIP Escort since snipers can sit in safe spots and watch exfiltration points to either take out the VIP target or call out enemy movement for quick team rotations. I did exactly that when on the offensive team and found assured success in my experience.
This is the kind of mode that lives or dies by the quality of the maps designed for it. And if there are more down the line like Miami, then this could certainly be a mode worth putting time into.
The Standard Warfare
As I mentioned, the suite of standard issue modes are featured in Black Ops Cold War as well. Kill Confirmed, where you have to collect the tags of those you kill before counting towards your team’s score, provides familiar and reliable thrills. Hardpoint, which has constantly shifting control points a la King of the Hill, makes for some really intense, hard-fought battles. Control, where respawns are limited and one team has to hold onto two capture points, gets you those butt-clenching moments if you’re not completely overrun by the enemy team.
They’re all safe bets if you just want straight-forward FPS multiplayer action. It’s Call of Duty’s bread and butter, but it’s nothing we haven’t seen before. One standout map was called Satellite, which takes place on a desert with caves, trenches, and open areas which was a bit different from basic Call of Duty designs, and the city-based Moscow map has a dense atmosphere.
Loadouts Of The Era
Your arsenal of weapons to create a class with are reflective of the era in which Black Ops Cold War takes place, with low-tech being front and center. The AK-47, XM4, M16, AK-74u, and Type 63 rifle, among many others, make up the core firearms, but it’s the dynamic range of attachments that will make your guns a deciding factor in a match. By default, you can select five attachments from the eight slots available; scopes, grips, stocks, magazines, sights, and barrels are among those options. Each attachment has their specific stats communicated in-menu with percentages on how much it affects attributes like ADS speed, effective range, recoil, stability, reload speed, magazine capacity, etc. With clear gains and trade-offs, leaning into the Gunsmith meta in loadouts could be a fun aspect for tinkering.
Furthermore, wildcards return to grant players one passive ability for their class. From what I saw, you have options to carry two primary weapons, open all eight gun attachment slots, or even equip six perks in total. Speaking of perks, series staples like Cold-Blooded, Ninja, Ghost, Scavenger, and are also mixed into the fold to help customize your playstyle further.
And the last notable feature included in your loadout options is scorestreaks; the other form of killstreaks but instead tied to the match score earned to encourage objective play. From what I saw, these were your standard set of streak-style abilities like the Spy Plane (basically a UAV), Artillery, Attack Helicopter, and Napalm Strikes (the inclusion of which will no doubt require further scrutiny given Cold War’s post-Vietnam War setting for multiplayer).
The Smaller Details And The Big Takeaway
With all that said, Black Ops Cold War is, well, reliable–it’s Call of Duty with some new features and a few twists backed by a solid FPS foundation. Its audio/sound cues for enemy activity seem sharper than Modern Warfare, while offering similar quick time-to-kill that feels tuned for a slightly more tactical approach to combat. Health regeneration is part of the game, but without a stim-like ability. You also have unlimited sprint at all times, there’s no mounting your weapon on corners, and you won’t be peeking through or kicking down doors. It’s as if the game is streamlining gameplay variables to place a bit more emphasis on how you build your guns and class abilities.
It doesn’t set out to reinvent the series, but in a world where Modern Warfare built itself as a strong service-style game, Black Ops Cold War has a lot of work to prove that it’s worth your time and money. Some folks play Call of Duty routinely every year like it’s Madden or NBA 2K, and that’s fine, but if you’re on the fence, Black Ops Cold War hasn’t provided a clear reason to leave last year’s experience behind just yet.
Keep in mind that while I had about 3 hours with the game, there’s still more in store for the full release. We still haven’t seen the objective-based Fireteam mode that pits 10 teams of four against each other in land-sea-air combat scenarios. And there are sure to be more maps that could bring out the best in its game modes. Currently, we’re a bit unclear on the details of how this new game will integrate with Warzone too, other than the fact that there is cross-progression, exclusive items, and narrative tie-ins for the free-to-play battle royale, but these could be neat incentives.
Call of Duty: Black Ops Cold War launches for PS4, Xbox One, and PC on November 13 and for next-gen Xbox Series X/S and PS5 sometime this Holiday as well. And we have much more coverage of the game to tide you over, such as all the details of the conspiracy-laden single-player campaign that looks to be doing some new, wild things for the franchise.
After a hands-on Call of Duty: Black Ops Cold War multiplayer gameplay session it’s time to see how Cold War stacks up to Modern Warfare and if both games can exist together in 2020.
Activision has detailed everything coming to Call of Duty: Modern Warfare and Warzone this week on PC, PlayStation 4, and Xbox One. This includes a new Operator, playlist updates, the return of a massive battle royale mode, and more.
New Modern Warfare Operator And Playlist Updates
The newest Operator to join Modern Warfare is the famous Italian rapper Fabio Rovazzi, playing a sharpshooter named Morte who loves Spaghetti Westerns. In the Morte Operator Bundle, players get the brand-new character, his “Sentenza” skin, and two Legendary Blueprints. Alongside Morte’s bundle is the Devourer package, which includes a Legendary Assault Rifle Blueprint.
On the multiplayer side, Modern Warfare received a playlist update filled with party games. Dubbed the Party Mode Moshpit playlist, players can experience a curation of more casual game modes like Gun Game. An additional playlist, titled 2v2 Gunfight, is also live and features the standard version of the mode and Gunfight On-Site Procurement (OSP). The latter disables the loadout, instead forcing players to rely on weapons found at random spots around the map.
Further playlist updates include Standard Ground War replacing Boots on the Ground War and Demolition being moved from the Quick Play menu to the Feature Playlist spotlight. Meanwhile, Shoot the Ship hasn’t gone anywhere.
Warzone Rumble And Vehicles Returns
Warzone sees some changes this week as well, including the return of Warzone Rumble. The massive 50v50 mode is back and will feature an experience based around Verdansk Stadium. Additionally, classic Battle Royale and Plunder modes will rotate throughout the week; King Slayer Trios and Plunder: Blood Money has been removed, while Plunder Trios was added.
Developer Infinity Ward confirmed that, alongside the playlist updates across both Modern Warfare and Warzone on all platforms, vehicles have been readded to the battle royale title. Vehicles were previously removed because of a game-breaking bug, in which they caused server crashes and booted players from Warzone matches by driving them into specific out-of-bounds areas on the map.
Call of Duty Mobile gets a brand-new map this week–though it’s not “new” to long-time Call of Duty fans. Terminal, from Call of Duty: Modern Warfare 2, will join the game’s map rotation. And at the same time, a cooperative, hoard-based game mode called Attack of the Undead will also go live.
In Call of Duty: Modern Warfare und dem Battle-Royale-Ableger Warzone feiert schon sehr bald ein neuer Operator sein Debüt. Es handelt sich dabei um den italienischen Kämpfer namens Morte, der übrigens von dem bekannten Schauspieler und Sänger Fabio…
The Operator is named Morte, and he is played by the Italian rapper Fabio Rovazzi. You can buy the character from the in-game store starting on September 8. Rovazzi documented his experience becoming the character in a YouTube video that you can watch below.
In a press release, Activision said Rovazzi is a “passionate gamer” and a fan of Call of Duty specifically. The character Morte is a former Italian special ops soldier who now has a Old West look that is meant to reflect Rovazzi’s love of Italian-Western films.
“Being a character in Call of Duty has always been a secret and impossible dream of mine,” he said in a release. “And there are no words to describe the excitement of the opportunity to give my voice and my appearance to an Operator. I also love the character tribute to the Italian Western tradition. When I think that millions of players will be able to play with my character, I feel flattered and satisfied beyond imagination.”
Rovazzi is the biggest celebrity that Activision has recruited for a Call of Duty: Modern Warfare/Warzone Operator, but he’s not the first real-life person that lent their likeness to the game. The character Ronin is based on a man named Tu Lam, who escaped from communist Vietnam in 1979, fleeing the country in a fishing boat. The Operator Lerch is based on the real-world soldier Tony Sentmanat, who served in the US Marine Corps and later as a SWAT team member.
Infinity Ward hat für das Season 5 Reloaded Update ein weiteres “kostenloses” Kampfpaket für Call of Duty: Modern Warfare und Warzone geschnürt. Mitglieder von PS Plus auf PS4 erhalten den DLC über den gesamten September hinweg exklusiv als Download. Im…
Let’s talk sensitivity. ADS sensitivity (not your feelings). Today we’re going to teach you how to convert your old sensitivity settings from the old sensitivity system to the new one in Y5S3.
Keep in mind that when Shadow Legacy goes live, it will automatically convert your old sensitivity settings into the new system! The automatic conversion should preserve the original ADS feeling you had before the new season when it goes to live. It will switch your ADS settings to "Advanced" mode and adjust the per-zoom sliders to replicate the previous sensitivity settings.
Table of Contents Context – – Issues with the old system – – Improvements with the new system Conversion Guide – – Conversion calculator – – ‘The Maths’ Example Calculation Getting Technical
CONTEXT
Previously, ADS sensitivity used constant multipliers. Every zoom level had their own constant multiplier which was used to adjust the sensitivity while in ADS. This caused a few issues we wished to address this season with the addition of new scopes.
A NEW ADS SENSITIVITY SYSTEM IN Y5S3
QOL and Improved Customization
The first issue with the old system was a straightforward QOL problem. With a single ADS sensitivity slider, it was difficult to have different sensitivity preferences depending on the zoom level. This forced some players to constantly adjust their ADS settings between rounds if they wanted to switch scopes with different zoom levels. To make everyone’s life better, the new "Advanced" settings allow players to customize sensitivity per zoom level with the new sensitivity sliders without having to adjust each time you change.
Improved ADS Sensitivity Consistency
The second issue is a bit more complex. We realized it was difficult for players to get a consistent feeling between zoom levels due to the fact that the constant multipliers differed from one zoom level to another, and because of other external factors not directly taken into account such as the field-of-view (FOV). This meant that players would often resort to third party calculators to achieve the desired effect. So, to improve consistency we looked at 360 Distance and Visuomotor Gain (scroll down for an in-depth explanation).
Method 2 – Hard Mode: If you want to ‘Do the Maths’. Look below.
🤓 Math time
INPUT VARIABLES:
OldADS = The old ADS sensitivity value in the options.
VerticalFOV = The FOV value in the display options for PC, or 60 degrees for consoles.
AspectRatio = The aspect ratio of the display. For most cases, the game resolution width divided by the height (e.g. 4/3, 16/9, 16/10) should be correct.
NewADS = The new ADS sensitivity value in Shadow Legacy (Y5S3).
ZOOM LEVEL MULTIPLIER LOOKUP TABLE:
EQUATIONS:
If HorizontalFOV > 150 degrees, recalculate the VerticalFOV:
EXAMPLE:
STEP 1: FIND YOUR SETTINGS
Look up your settings. A 16:9 aspect ratio will be 16/9, and 60 degrees will be 60.
In our example, we have:
Display aspect ratio of 16:9.
FOV setting of 60 degrees.
STEP 2: CALCULATE YOUR HORIZONTAL FOV (calculate new vertical FOV if Horizontal FOV > 150)
Take your vertical FOV and your aspect ratio and plug it into the Horizontal FOV formula. If your Horizontal FOV > 150 you need to use the Vertical FOV formula to recalculate the Vertical FOV.
Here the HorizontalFOV <= 150 degrees, so you do not need to recalculate the vertical FOV.
STEP 3: CALCULATE YOUR FOV ADJUSTMENT
Lets’s say you had an ADS value of 30 from the old model and want to know how to set your 1.0x magnification settings.
Look up the FOV multiplier from the table above and plug in your Vertical FOV.
STEP 4: CALCULATE YOUR NEW ADS SETTING
Look up the ADS multiplier from the table above and plug in the FOV Adjustment you just calculated. Multiply by your old ADS setting.
STEP 5: WE MADE YOU DO MATH 😋
In this scenario, an ADS value of 20 should be used for the 1.0x slider of the new model, in order to replicate the feeling of an ADS value of 30 of the old model.
GETTING TECHNICAL
HOW WE IMPROVED CONSISTENCY WITH ADS SENSITIVITY IN SHADOW LEGACY
There are typically two ways to keep a consistent effect when changing zoom levels: maintaining the 360° distance and using visuomotor gain.
360 DISTANCE
A 360° distance system means the same physical distance on the mouse or gamepad stick will rotate your character by a constant angle. The unit of measurement to define this sensitivity is centimeters (or inches) per 360 degrees, which is the physical distance required to do a full rotation of the camera. Maintaining the same measurement means using a high magnification scope can be very disorienting, as the view will wildly change from one point to the next due to the zoom.
However, due to the disorientating effect, it is usually undesirable to make the 360° distance constant across zoom levels. While default adjustments can be set for different zoom levels to prevent this issue, there is no gold standard for determining what should be the default adjustment when zooming at various levels. Moreover, personal preferences and varying opinions make this a less ideal solution.
VISUOMOTOR GAIN
Visuomotor is the coordination of movement and visual perception by the brain. And a Visuomotor Gain system scales the rotation linearly in order to maintain better consistency and perception when rotating your view.
To break it down further, let’s start with an analogy. When you look at an image and move it around with the mouse, you normally expect the same physical distance on the mouse to always move that image by another constant physical distance on your monitor. When you zoom in on that image, you also expect the visual relationship between those distances to remain the same.
In Siege, the image is actually what you view through the player’s camera, and "moving it around" in that context means "moving the ‘panoramic view’ around". Once again, regardless of the zoom, a given physical mouse or gamepad stick distance will always match another physical monitor distance and scale linearly. So in practice, the more you zoom in, the less the camera will rotate in degrees, therefore automatically increasing the 360° distance.
Because of the consistent feeling visuomotor gain provides across all zoom levels, we decided to use it as the new ADS sensitivity model in Siege.
From now on, new R6 players will have an ADS sensitivity value of 50 for all zoom levels. This value of 50 gives a neutral and consistent transition between hipfire and ADS with regard to physical mouse/gamepad stick distance versus physical monitor distance. Other similar FPS games also use similar values to achieve the same effect.
Side Note: If you are on PC and have modified the XFactorAiming value of your GameSettings.ini file, this will unfortunately affect the neutral ADS value of 50. Instead, the neutral value will be (1 / XFactorAiming).
For players who would still prefer to use the previous model, use the guide above to convert the old ADS value to the new ones, which should allow you to replicate it with the new system.
To learn more about the new sights and scopes coming in Y5S3, you can also check out our Sights/Scopes Dev Blog[rainbow6.com]!
PlayStation 4 users can now grab some extra goodies for Call of Duty: Warzone, but only for a limited time. The “Warzone Combat Pack” is now available for PS Plus users on PS4.
The bundle, which is available all month, includes a series of cosmetic items like the Lock and Stock skin, the Drill Bit weapon blueprint, and the box cutter tactical knife. The bundle also comes with a Price Check weapon charm and a token for double XP, among other things.
You can see the Combat Pack in action in the video below, while we’ve collected some images of the items in an image gallery further down the page. Of note, the video displays some items that we did not come across in our own experience–for example, we found the Yellow Belly handgun blueprint instead of the Drill Bit, so your experience may vary.
Sony and Activision have a co-marketing deal for the Call of Duty franchise that often results in PlayStation owners getting preferential treatment and exclusive content like this.
After a hands-on Call of Duty: Black Ops Cold War multiplayer gameplay session it’s time to see how Cold War stacks up to Modern Warfare and if both games can exist together in 2020.
