Shadow Legacy is coming out of the dark. Discover one of the biggest season Rainbow Six has ever seen with the introduction of Sam "Zero" Fisher and a ton of new update including the rework of Chalet and the map ban option.

View Patch Notes

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

• Increased number of Gas Canisters to 6 (from 5).

Population targeted by this change: Casual and Top Ranked.

Currently, Maverick needs 2.3 canisters to open a hatch with the Suri Torch.

The previous number of Gas Canisters left very little margin of error to open two hatches, even for pro players.

By increasing the number of Gas Canister at his disposal, we would like to give him a slight Presence bump in the Casual player spectrum.

This change will not allow Suri Torch experts to open more than two hatches, which was already the case in Y5S2. However, resource management should now be easier to handle for everyone.

• The Gemini Replicator (Iana's hologram) is now able to use the Ping 2.0 system.

The hologram is a carbon copy of Iana and controls related to the Ping System are the same as well.

We hope that this change will reinforce the level of synergy and cooperation that Iana brings to the attacking team, we also hope that it will also rationalize and streamline her ability.

• EMPs will now disable gadgets instead of destroying them.
  
• Thatcher's EMP effect increased to 15s (from 10s when applicable).
  
• Picking up a disabled gadget will remove the EMP effect.
  
• The EMP effect will not affect gadgets within the Operator's inventory.

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

Too often, Thatcher's EMPs ended up destroying Defender gadgets by accident or without real intention to do so.

The following gadgets affected by Thatcher's EMP are now disabled for 15s instead of being destroyed prior to Y5S3:

• Nitro Cell
  
• Kapkan's Entry Denial Device
  
• Jäger's Active Defense System
  
• Lesion's Gu Mines¹
  
• Ela's GRZMOT Mine
  
• Mute's Signal Disruptor
  
• Smoke's Remote Gas Grenade
  
• Kaid's Rtila Electroclaw
  
• Mozzie's Pest Launcher
  
• Bandit's Shock Wire
  
• Echo's Yokaï Drone²

Note¹: When affected by Thatcher's EMP, Gu Mines will now lose their cloaking ability, and won't be triggered nor destroyed when stepped on.

Note²: The Yokai Drone was already disabled by the EMP Grenade, however, the Sonic Burst Charge refilling was still happening. It is no longer the case in Shadow Legacy as the refilling will be suspended during 15s as well.

Bandit Tricking (and other similar techniques):

Now, a disabled battery can be picked up to remove the disabled state. However, this takes more time to perform than deploying a new battery after the first one had been destroyed.

Bandit tricking should remain very efficient against slower hard breachers like Hibana, Ace or the new Hard Breaching Charge.

EMP Effect and IQ's Electronics Detector:

In addition, we have updated IQs gadget feedback when she locates a disabled electronic device.

The white outline around the electronic gadget is still present but the pulse animation around the gadget is not displayed.

Thatcher mains will have to think a bit more and increase synergy with their teammates, before spending their ressources.

We are aware that this is a big change for Thatcher which should lead to more consistency around the EMP effect in Siege.

It may improve Defender performance as a consequence, but we'll monitor the impact of this change and react as we feel necessary.


Almost our entire pool of weapons is going to be changed with the addition of new sights.

Given how important these changes are, a dedicated blog with additional detail and information will be made available soon.

• Adding a new Secondary Gadget: Hard Breach Charge

Operators affected:

• Montagne instead of Stun Grenades.
  
• Ying instead of Breach Charges.
  
• Fuze instead of Smoke Grenades.
  
• Finka instead of Breach Charges.
  
• Amaru instead of Claymore.
  
• Nokk instead of Breach Charges.
  
• Capitao instead of Stun Grenades.
  
• Lion instead of Claymore.

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

With the addition of the Hard Breach Charge, our goal is to provide the attacking team with more tools against their opponents.

Picking a hard-breacher is often a must for many bombsites. It reduces the flexibility of the attacking team's composition and increases pressure on the Operator tasked with opening reinforced walls and hatches.

The gadget will not perform as well as pure hard-breachers. It takes 3 seconds to deploy and 6 seconds to explode and the activation of the charge will be automatic.

The breach created will be too small for players to run their way through it and will require player to either crouch or vault their way in.

This new gadget could open a window of opportunity for Teams willing to adopt a more versatile approach and reduce the pressure on Hibana, Maverick, Ace and Thermite mains.

This is quite an important change, and results will be monitored closely. We would like to see if the presence of Operators listed above will increase as well.



Multiple hard breach devices can be combined to destroy a reinforced hatch.
Population targeted by this change: Top Ranked and Pro League.

With Y5S3, we are introducing a change that will enable attackers to effectively destroy a reinforced hatch, combining different hard-breaching devices.

If an Operator does not fully open the hatch, another one will be able to finish the job and invest ressources proportionally to what was already done.

Before Y5S3, opening a reinforced hatch required one Exothermic Charge, or 4 X-Kairos, or 116 Breaching Torch impacts, or 2 Selmas.

Hatches were destroyed only when one of those conditions was met. When enough X-Kairos were destroyed to deny the destruction of the hatch, Maverick still needed to invest 2.3 canisters (or 116 Suri Torch impacts) to open it.

With the introduction of the new Hard Breach Charge, as we are having more and more hard breaching tools, we also felt that we needed be able to combine them.

Now, reinforced hatches will have a health-pool of one million points and each device will deal damage as follows:

• 1 Exothermic Charge: 1M
  
• 1 X-Kairo: 250k
  
• 1 Breaching Torch impact: ~87k
  
• 1 Selma: 500k
  
• 1 Hard Breach Charge: 1M (3 or more Conical Shaped Charges have to be on top of the hatch)

With this change, you will be able to combine your resources more efficiently to reach the one million damage necessary to destroy the reinforcement.

We have not changed the way each device works by itself, we are just opening the door to more strategies and synergy.

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Try out the latest Rainbow Six updates on the Test Server and earn an exclusive charm through the BugHunterProgram.

Follow us and share your feedback on Twitter, Reddit, Facebook and on our forums.

Updated: August 13th 2020

We will be updating the following list regularly to outline the status of certain issues that are currently pressing for our community. Please note that this list is not exhaustive, and should only be used as a reference to give a general idea of where our focus currently is.



Description: Our priority on that front is to first repackage the way sounds are stored and connected to the game.

We currently have a limited ability to fix specific issues and this improvement should make it easier for us to work on the audio aspect of the game.

For more information on this topic, please refer to the Status Report blog.

Status: (Target: Y5S3)


Description: Audio can sometimes be inverted leading to extremely confusing situations and feedback.

We are looking into a new way to gather information from instances where the issue appears.

We hope that it will provide us with more clarity and more reliable technical information to identify the issue and in turn, provide a solution.

Status: Ongoing


Description: We are working on mitigation plans with our partners and we are continuously monitoring the situation. We’ll continue to share updates on the situation until the matter is solved.

Status: Ongoing


Description: Season Y5S3 will continue to tackle the cheating issue, by including new tactics to our arsenal.

Our focus is to improve cheating detection, as well as strengthening our collaboration with BattlEye.

If you are curious to know more about our Anti-cheat strategy, please refer to the relevant blog.

We are also looking at reducing the frustration stemming from our current MMR Rollback system, for more information refer to our MMR blog post.

Status: Ongoing



Description: After five years of investigation, incredible headaches and countless reproduction attempts: Ladies & Gentlemen, we got him.

Most of you have encountered this issue, where drones refused to spot a specific bombsite.

We identified the source of the issue being linked to another player spectating the drone at the same time, when that player moved on to another camera, so did the ability to detect bombs.

We are fairly confident that this issue is now behind us and should not happen any longer.

Status: (Target: Y5S3)


Description: The current timer system could potentially lead to inconsistencies, we addressed this issues in the update Y5S2.1.

Additionally, we would like to move away from the timer to replace it by a gauge system, which is more accurate visually speaking.

We are also looking at potentially tweaking the duration of time of an undetected run-out, but we are still debating the option.

Status: (Target: Y5S4)


Description: There are inconsistencies in how gadgets interact/destroy props on maps.

Similar to how we implemented consistency on how props break on projectile trajectory in Y4S4, we are working on a system for deployable gadgets’ interaction with these props.

Status: (Target: Y5S3)


Description: We are adding the possibility to set a specific ADS sensitivity for each zoom level of our sights and scopes.

Status: (Target: Y5S3)


Description: The rework intends to make flash detection more reliable. Enemies are often not affected by flashes due to objects and obstacles. We want to simulate the light ricochet with the environment, to guarantee the effectiveness of flashbangs & other similar gadgets.

Status: (Target: Y5S4)


Description: We are currently looking at improving the vault detection code to make the action easier to perform and to be more reliable

Status: (Target: Y5S3)



Description: To address frustrations where players are placed into a game with incomplete teams on either side, we deployed the Match Cancellation feature.

We are currently working on an improved version of the Match Cancellation feature, taking your feedback into account.

Status: (Target: Y5S4)


Description: Improved in-game notifications and feedback for when an Operator has been deactivated.

Status: (Target: Y5S3) There have been times when we have had to deactivate an Operator in-game to better the play experience when exploits arise. We are working on better feedback to our players when such an occasion arises.


Description: Interactions with the defuser could often lead to some issues, in Y5S4 we’ll address the following ones:

Defuser plant prompt is sometimes missing when the player is on site Defusers can be planted outside of the site when the players sits on the edge of the area. Players could drop the defuser when attempting to plant.

Status: (Target: Y5S4)


Description: It is possible to drop the defuser in locations where it cannot be picked up again by running over it. Often outside of the map. Cracks, gaps between objects, holes, etc.

To fix this, we created a 'Pickup Defuser' interaction which works at a distance. Works just like picking up any other gadget.

Status:(Target: Y5S3.3)


Description: We are looking at making back end improvements to ensure that the information displayed is always relevant. It should reduce the number of older & irrelevant notifications showing up after an update.

We are also looking at streamlining our pop-up system to increase the in-game visibility of certain changes, we'll share updates on that specific topic in the future.

Status: (Target Y5S3)

NEW IN-GAME EVENT: M.U.T.E. PROTOCOL

The future may or may not be here, but one thing’s for certain: technology is changing. Mute has taken control of the Comm Tower, but dissenting forces are itching to take it back. In this all-new game, it’s robot against robot! Can you secure victory with gameplay modifiers thrown in the mix?

From now until August 24th, reinvent yourself with the M.U.T.E. Protocol!

PLAYABLE OPERATORS

For this event, most Operators will be available to play, with a few exceptions for gameplay reasons that deal with drones and cameras. We’ll explain in a moment but know that for the playable characters with customization exclusive to this event, their robotic appearances will be automatically equipped.

RULES OF THE EVENT

Whether or not you’re used to playing Secure Area, you’ll probably find this game mode quite unique. For starters, Attackers will have to secure not one, but two areas. Divide or unite your tactics accordingly, because Defenders will have to protect twice as many objectives!

However, the special thing about this event is the Operators’ use of technology. On the attacking side, you’ll be able to switch between Operator and Drone forms by entering and exiting Observation Tools. This means that while you’re controlling your drone, your Operator is nowhere to be seen. Then, when you switch back, your Operator will be where your drone was. You cannot control your teammates’ drones, but if you’re eliminated in Drone form, you’ll respawn in Operator form.

On the defending side, you can use indestructible cameras to travel digitally. Opening Observation Tools will make your Operator enter the network and exiting them will make the Operator appear in front of the last controlled camera. Navigate those electronic pathways, and victory could be yours!

THE COLLECTION

The M.U.T.E. Protocol event comes with its own Collection of 26 items, featuring exclusive customization for Jackal, Lion, Ying, Kapkan, Mira, Mute, Oryx and Vigil. These high-tech stylings are the same you’ll find in-game by picking these Operators to play the Event. Inside the packs, you’ll also find some signature items, including the event’s signature weapon skin, exclusive to this Collection.

You can earn M.U.T.E Protocol packs through a special Event Challenge. You can also purchase packs for 300 R6 Credits or 12500 Renown each in the Packs section of the Home screen.

We have been listening to the community’s requests, so each Operator’s exclusive, time-limited customization items are also available for purchase as Bundles in the Shop section for 1680 R6 Credits each. Year Pass owners can purchase bundles and packs for a 10% rebate.

The M.U.T.E. Protocol event ends on August 24th @ 7 AM PST. For more information about the event, follow us on Twitter.

In the past, we have released a post touching on how the MMR system works. We are updating it to properly reflect the current system in Rainbow Six Siege.



Your skill represents your ability to win a game. Comparing two teams' skill gives you the probability that one team will win against the other. The higher the difference, the more likely a given team is going to win. When two teams with the same skill levels are matched up with each other, they both have an equal shot at winning. The algorithm used in Rainbow Six Siege assigns two values to each player: an estimation of their skill (μ) and the uncertainty of this estimation (σ). The players’ skills are distributed along a Bell curve, centered around 25 (High Silver – Low Gold).


The estimation of your skill is probabilistic. In general, the more games you play, the more information we have about you, and the more confident we are about this estimation. This confidence is represented by the uncertainty value sigma (σ). The lower the uncertainty, the higher the confidence.


Early on in the game’s first year, your rank was partially also determined by your engagement with the game. This led to confusion as the play experiences of players of different ranks would vary greatly.This has not been the case since Year 1 Season 4 and presently, your MMR only takes into account your skill (MMR = 100*μ). This also means that your clearance level has no impact on your MMR.


The MMR is updated solely on the outcome of your match. If this outcome is unexpected (for example, you lost against players with a lower skill than your team), the skill updates will be more substantial, and vice-versa. In addition to that, the more confident we are about your skill (i.e., if your σ is low), the smaller the updates will be.

Let’s take a simple example with only two players: Hibana vs Pulse. The values in this example do not reflect the actual updates that would happen with our system but it should give you an understanding of the situation. Hibana is a Gold player (μ ≈ 29), and has been playing at that level for quite some time. Hibana’s rank has a low uncertainty value attached to it, so σ ≈ 3. Hibana faces Pulse (a Copper ranked player, but he has a lot of heart), and loses. Due to the low uncertainty value, it is likely that Hibana just had a bad game, so her skill level would decrease, resulting in μ ≈ 28. This is due to the system taking into account the rank of the enemy you have lost to. If Hibana lost to someone that was Gold, the adjustment would be closer to μ ≈ 28.5. Losing to a Diamond would have resulted in a change to μ ≈ 28.9.

That being said, Pulse is still relatively new to the game, and our system is attempting to determine where he should be placed (μ ≈ 17 and σ ≈ 6). By Tachanka’s grace, Pulse won the match, so we would increase his skill level to 20. His victory against Hibana has helped us to determine that he may be a better player, so his uncertainly has dropped a small amount (σ ≈ 5.5). The large increase in skill level rating for is a result of Pulse being a fairly unknown player, and our confidence in Hibana’s placement.

In order to prevent matchmaking abuses while switching regions, we’ve changed our Matchmaking Rating system in Y5S2 to unified MMRs for each playlist. This means that you will not have different MMRs depending on the region you play in. However, your matchmaking ranking will remain separate in different playlists.

(formerly Casual)



This is the standard multiplayer playlist offering a fair environment for beginner and intermediate skill levels to play in.

Quick Matches are available for all players, do not affect the players’ ranking in Ranked and offer 3 game modes: Bomb, hostage and Secure Area.

Quick Matches and Unranked Matches use the same MMR. Therefore, winning/losing in one will affect your MMR in the other playlist as well.

However, MMR used in Quick Match is not linked to the MMR used in Ranked. Therefore players that mainly play Ranked, and rarely enter Quick Match have an MMR in QM that does not reflect their real ability. We think that that may be one of the reasons why QM is considered unbalanced. Unless they enter from time to time to update their QM MMR they will currently have this issue.

In the past we’ve tested several methods with the goal to provide all Quick Match players with a best possible matchmaking experience. Since Y2S3 the Quick Match matchmaking pairs players based on an independent and hidden Quick Match / Unranked Matchmaking Rating (MMR). This Quick Match / Unranked MMR is based on the same system described above, taking into account your performance in both, Quick Matches and Unranked. It is not tied to your Ranked MMR at all, nor visible to you or other players.

New players are provided with a base line MMR, which is more on par with where a beginner should be. A lower starting point for beginners means that they will be able to increase their MMR in a pool of players with a comparable skill level. This lower MMR rating will be erased over time as they win more matches, eventually placing them where they truly belong based on their skill level.




The leap from Quick Match to Ranked can be overwhelming due to the stark difference between competitive and casual players in terms of mentality, playstyle, and even personal comfort level. This gap was the driving motivation behind the creation of the Unranked playlist, which was implemented in Y4S3.

Unranked is a multiplayer playlist, available for all players with a Clearance Level above 10. It follows the Ranked ruleset, but has no Rank restrictions (which will be detailed further in this article) and doesn’t affect a player’s Rank or Ranked MMR. Unranked shares the same hidden MMR, which is used for Quick Match matchmaking as well and pairs players based on the same system. So whether you’re into competitive gameplay but would rather do without the pressure of a ranking system, or you want to get familiar with Pick & Ban and other associated features before heading into Ranked, this is the playlist for you.

Its advantage over Ranked is that you don’t need to meet the MMR Restriction as you do in Ranked. This, along with the lower CL compared to Ranked allows you to join a squad that do not meet the requirements for Ranked but still play with competitive rules.

Keep in mind, however, that Ranked policies also apply to this playlist, and any sanctions you incur in it will also apply to the Ranked playlist.



*The distribution above may vary depending on the Season.

Ranked is the competitive multiplayer playlist, which becomes available to players upon reaching level 50. Next to a smaller map pool and bomb being the only game mode available, this playlist features a ban phase, allowing both teams to choose and ban an Attacker and Defender.

Ranked features 23 skill ranks. These ranks are based on a players Matchmaking Ranking (MMR) which is derived from numerical scores generated by the TrueSkill algorithm as described at the beginning of the article. A player's skill rank is first obtained after successfully completing 10 ranked placement matches.


MMR changes are based on:

• The relative skill levels of the players/teams in the game.
  
• Whether or not the player won the match.
  
• Large skill difference between teams has a dramatic outcome based on who won the match as per the previous Hibana/Pulse example.
  
• Prematurely exiting a ranked match always counts as a loss toward skill ranks, even if their team won
  

• Abandoning a match or inactivity are all included.
  
• Connection issues do count as a loss but not as a win if their team won.
  
• When internet connection is lost then restored, the player is given an option to re-join the match instead of taking the penalty.

Your personal performance as your score or your kill/death ratio does not impact the number of points you get.

If you get 15 kills per game but lose all of them, then your ability to win a game is very low, hence you should be ranked very low too. Conversely, a player that does not land kills, but still wins often, should be ranked quite high (maybe they make excellent callouts, which is an important factor in a team’s ability to win). The idea is that if you play well, and are an asset to your team, you will naturally win more matches in the long run. This positive influence on winning matches is what we measure.


If you both have the same skill, the update will depend on how confident our system is regarding where you are placed. Let’s say that you are both Gold IV but your friend has played a lot more games than you (they have a low uncertainty), you will gain/lose more points than they will.


In Y4S3 we’ve implemented a limit to the MMR gap between party members. There cannot be a bigger gap than 1000 MMR between the players with highest and lowest MMR in the squad in order to play Ranked. Players can check their squad members' MMR in the Side Panel Profile. For players above 4400 MMR (Diamonds), you are able to group with any player above 3400 MMR (Platinum). Players below 1200 MMR can group with players below 2200 MMR. This was partially done to reduce the impact of boosting, but, of course, to also encourage a more balanced matchmaking environment.


Once a player reaches 5000 MMR, and has completed a minimum of 100 matches, they’ll enter the Champions rank. While it mostly functions like other ranks, it has something that ups the ante: individual rank numbers. The top 9999 players with the highest MMR within the Champions rank will have their standing displayed on their rank, which means that whichever players have the highest MMR in the game will be recognized as the #1 Champions.

This doesn’t mean, however, that Champions who aren’t currently in the top 9999 will be taken down to Diamond. As long as you remain above 5000 MMR and have more than 100 completed matches, you are a Champion.


At the beginning of every new Season we perform a so-called Soft MMR Reset. This means we are resetting the ranked MMR of all players between the “middle” (2500 MMR) and their rank from the previous Season, with extremes above 3500 and below 1500 clamped to those respective values. This also applies to placement matches.

Before Y4S2, we reset all players to a 2500 MMR at the beginning of the new Season. We changed this in order to improve the matchmaking experience at the beginning of a Season. This change leads to players reaching their “true skill” faster; players that should be Diamond will reach Diamond faster. We understand that some players, particularly those at the extreme high end of Diamond, would like more of a “grind” implemented for attaining the higher ranks. We have heard these concerns and are working on how to provide that type of experience for those who want it in the future.


At the end of every season, players receive a charm based on the highest rank they’ve managed to achieve during that season. For example, if you reached the Diamond rank but finished the Season with a Gold rank, you will receive the Diamond charm. Please note that if your MMR has been reset due to drastic MMR changes, you will not receive the seasonal ranked charm for your highest rank prior to the reset.



This feature’s goal is to help reduce the long-term impact cheaters may have on other players’ seasonal rankings.

When a cheater is sanctioned, the feature will roll back any rating gains and losses for all players from matches that the banned player took part in for that season. This cancels all games that the Cheater played for all parties.

Please note that you cannot go beyond your maximum MMR for the current season as a result of a roll back.

More information on the MMR Rollback feature can be found in this article.


Part of the reason we are doing this is also to push back against boosting services or players that use cheats to boost accounts or exploit the integrity of our ranked system in other ways. After those cheaters are banned the boosted accounts would receive drastic MMR changes through the MMR Rollback, which is a sign of massive irregularity and a red flag in our system. This is why we started resetting MMR for players with drastic MMR changes since Y4S3.3.

This means that instead of undergoing a significant change in MMR, players will have to redo their placement matches to get back appropriately on the ladder. Players who have their MMR reset will also not receive the seasonal ranked charm for their highest rank prior to the reset.


The current Roll Back feature will roll back all games (victories and defeats) the banned cheater participated in. We also explored a few other options, but based on the results of the data, rolling back all games will help to maintain a stable MMR environment, while still reducing the impact of cheaters on games.


Due to our process of detecting cheaters, and then the subsequent banning process, there is no way for us to identify which specific matches a person cheated in accurately (such as when players toggle their cheats on/off prior to being caught). With this in mind, we also explored the possibility for limited MMR resets based on recency, and tested MMR resets for the last 7 days vs the entire Season.

However, the results were too random, and there was no way to determine if we had actually reduced the entire footprint of their negative behavior. So in order to confidently ensure that we maximize our removal of the impact of a cheater, we are resetting the MMR from matches that player participated in from the entire Season.


We have noticed that the system itself induced quite a lot of frustration for our most dedicated players.

Therefore, we have decided to tweak the system at some point during Y5S3 and to expand the highest seasonal MMR value up to a fixed number of points. This means that you should still receive meaningful adjustments even if you are at the highest MMR value of your Season. This should lead to a significant reduction of neutral MMR adjustments (receiving 0 points).

If we define the additional fixed number of points you can earn above your maximum MMR value to 10 (disclaimer: it’s not). And if 3000 is your current and highest MMR ranking this season, any positive adjustment will still increase your MMR value beyond 3000 and up to a maximum 3010 MMR points.

We will monitor closely the impact of this change on the MMR economy and adjust the fixed number of MMR points (10 in the example above) based on your feedback and on our data.

An update will be shared as soon as we have a more definitive date to announce.


We want to let you know that we have heard some frustrations around the current MMR Rollback feature. We understand that losing MMR due to winning against cheaters or not gaining more MMR than your seasonal peak can lead to some frustrations for players. We are currently planning to revisit the MMR Rollback feature to explore if we can reduce these frustrations for our players in the future while still effectively cancelling out any effect cheaters have on matches.

Furthermore, the Matchmaking Ranking system as a whole is quite a complex system. We know that it can cause frustration amongst our players, when they feel like the matches are unbalanced and not fair for them. It is difficult to find the sweet spot between short queue times and balanced matches on all playlists and we always work on improving our system and its functionalities to give you all the best possible matchmaking experience.

Your feedback is – and always has been very important to us. Therefore, we want to encourage you once more to share your feedback on the Matchmaking Rating system and the MMR Rollback feature, and what kind of improvements you’d like to see.

We are looking forward to reading your thoughts on Twitter, Reddit and on our official forums.

Y5S2.3 will release the week of July 27th for PC.


Some updates to the notifications system to help make future popups less spammy.

After August 11, 2020, 2-Step Verification will be mandatory for ranked on PC in APAC. If you have not activated 2SV prior to this date you will be locked out of the Ranked queue until 2SV is activated on your account.

Go activate 2SV under the account management section at https://account.ubisoft.com/!

For more information on balancing changes, see our Designer's Notes.



If you've ever stepped on a Lego...this hurts worse.

By making her gadget a bit more enjoyable to use, we're looking to make Gridlock players' lives a bit easier.

• Lowered Gridlock's Caltrop deployment time to 9s (down from 13s).
  
• Lowered the individual Caltrops deployment time to 0.45s (down from 0.7s).
  
• Lowered the range of random deploy variation to 0.05s (down from 0.1s).
  
• Added a delay of 0.45s before the deployment sequence starts (previously no delay).

The Rainbow 🐐 has goat to dash.

We want to let Oryx make more use of his dash, and added mobility and durability will hopefully make him a bit more fun to play.

• Using his dash through a soft wall will not deplete all the dash charges.
  
• Increased Dash refresh time to 12s (up from 8s).
  
• Dash recovery time for all dashes is now 0.5s. (Previous recovery times: soft wall = 1s, enemy = 0.7s).

Hide the hostages! Giving Fuze a bit more presence and utility with an additional charge.

• Increased the number of cluster charges to 4 (up from 3)

To maintain consistency with softwall interactions, we're giving enemies that are pushed through walls the same feedback as when Oryx dashes through them.

When pushed through a wall by Nomad's airjabs or Oryx's dash, players will receive the same feedback and rtake the same damage (5 hp) as when Oryx dashes through a soft wall.

• FIXED – Missing anchoring decals from Ace's SELMA.
  
• FIXED – Ace's SELMA can get stuck when thrown in a certain way at some beams, becoming unrecoverable.
  
• FIXED – While grappling through a window or hatch, Amaru can aim faster with her LMG if she times her sprint and ADS buttons just prior to landing.
  
• FIXED – IQ's gadget will not display the outline and distance of Melusi's Banshees.
  
• FIXED – Zofia's concussion grenades are impacted by external explosions and can bounce away from the target location.
  
• FIXED – Flattening the doorframes and windows on all maps.
  
• FIXED – Floating and indestructible wooden squares after destroying some walls on Yacht.
  
• FIXED – Gunshot sounds are muffled when shooting from inside 1F Technical Seating of Plane.
  
• FIXED – Various menu/UI fixes.
  
• FIXED – Various cosmetics fixes.
  
• FIXED – Various Lighting issues on maps.
  
• FIXED – Various shop visual and cosmetic fixes.
  
• FIXED – (PvE) Interaction between Ace's gadget and AI.

In this latest edition of Designer’s Notes, we'll go into more detail about the balancing changes that’ll come with the 2.3 patch and give you an insight into the reasons behind these changes. We'll also take a look back at the previous changes detailed in the Y5S2 Designer's Notes and the impact they had on several of the operators.





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.

• Increased total number of Cluster Charges to 4 (from 3).

Population targeted by this change: Casual and Top Ranked.

We are investigating several ways to look into increasing Fuze's presence and usefulness. After looking into his overall performance, we noticed that the number of uses of his charges is fairly low. (Below 2 charges per round on average).

We suppose that Fuze mains are trying to optimize their charges and may sometimes be reluctant to deploy them. By increasing the number of Cluster Charges, we would like players to use those resources more aggressively.

Fuze can be quite efficient at destroying bulletproof gadgets deployed on Bomb Sites, given the number of pellets in each charge, he is often able to effectively destroy Defender gadgets, even with the presence of Wamai or Jäger.

• Increased general Trax Stingers deployment speed (from 13s to 9s).
  
• Decreased individual Caltrops deployment time (from 0.7s to 0.45s).
  
• Added small delay before Trax Stingers start deploying. (from 0s to 0.45s).

Population targeted by this change: Casual and Top Ranked.

By increasing the deployment speed of Gridlock's gadget, we hope to make this gadget a bit more comfortable to use. We do not expect this change to have a significant impact on her Presence or Win Delta.

We were initially thinking about making the deployment even faster. The feedback we gathered pushed us to find a more reasonable middle ground, as it could become quite hard for Defenders to effectively counter the gadget deployment.

We are going to monitor the effect of this change and see if it influences her overall playstyle.

• Using the Remah Dash through a soft wall does not deplete dashing charges.
  
• Increased Dash charge refill to 12s (from 8s).
  
• Unified recovery time after dashing set to 0.5s (from 1s after dashing through soft walls and 0.7s after colliding with an enemy).

Population targeted by this change: Casual and Top Ranked.

Oryx's Presence is lower than expected. Our goal is to increase his mobility to make him more popular and fun to play, while increasing his survivability.

Our goal is to make Oryx a better Roamer and we are exploring ways to make his ability more efficient in that regard.

Unifying the Remah Dash recovery times should also help understanding and streamline the ability.

The changes detailed in the Y5S2 Designer's Notes had some significant impact on several of the Operators.

Thanks to our data analysts, we are now able to share this information, as well as some of the key learnings from the Y5S2 patch.

Some statistics may have evolved following the Y5S2.1 patch, but this should still provide an overview of the impact of the previous changes.

This Season's changes brought to Amaru have led to some significant improvements, both in terms of Presence and Win Delta.

At both Top and Regular levels of play, Amaru's K/D following a use of her Garra Hook has significantly improved, from 0.45 to 0.90 for Top Ranked players, and from 0.45 to 0.96 for casual players. The Garra Hook is now used on Barricaded Windows the majority of the time (from 38% to 60% at both Top and Casual levels of play).

This has been a very solid improvement for Amaru. For Top players, her Pick Rate has increased from 4% to 10%, which makes her a Top 15 attacker in terms of Pick Rate. Her Win Delta went from 0.2% to 1.5%. For Casual players, her Pick Rate has increased from 5% to 11% and her Win Delta went from 0.8% to 1.7%.

Y5S2.1 Update: Amaru has stabilized at a 10% Pick Rate at the Top level of play with a positive Win Delta of 0.7%.



The Graph above is an analysis of the use of the Garra Hook. "Fight%" represents situations when in the 5 seconds following the use of the gadget Amaru entered a fight against a Defender.

The addition of the Angled Grip has provided Oryx players with a stronger option - although it seems this has not been fully accepted amongst the community: The Vertical Grip is still picked 59% of the time. In the current season, Oryx has a slightly higher Win%, 7% higher kills per round, and a better K/D ratio that exceeds 1.0!

It looks like players have responded well to the Remah Dash Damage reduction. At both levels we see significant increases to the number of wall dashes per round (+16% for Top Ranked, and +26% for Casual). We have also seen a nice reduction in rounds during which the Remah Dash is not used. In both Top Ranked and Casual - Regular players did not dash during 22.5% of rounds in Y5S1.2 (down to 17.2% in Y5S2.0).

Oryx has seen solid increases to his Win Delta as a result of these changes, but he still needs more help from -2.3% to -2.0% for Casual players, and from -3.8% to -3.0% for Top Ranked after the changes. His Pick Rate remains low at both levels with 4%.

Y5S2.1 Update: Oryx has an improved Win Delta, moving from -3.0% to -0.2% at the Top level of play but we are still monitoring this - the size of data we have on him this season is relatively low.

As a result of the disorientation effect changes, Echo players at both the Top Ranked and Casual level have seen a reduction in the percentage of kills they score on disoriented targets. For Top Ranked players, the percentage of kills under the effect of the Yokai Drone went from 0.478% to 0.400%, and for Casual players from 0.464% to 0.401%.

Echo players at the Top level have experienced a solid Win Delta increase from (from 0.4% to 0.9%), while his pick rate and win delta for the Casual population haven't moved. Echo is banned much less at Top Ranked (from 68% to 38%) and Casual (from 59% to 37%) levels. The addition of Melusi probably had a direct effect on Echo's ban rate.

Y5S2.1 Update: Echo has a lowered Win Delta, moving from 0.9% to -0.2% at the Top level of play and a slightly reduced presence compared to Y5S2.

Changes brought to Kali's Lance has led to 13% reduction in Lances Destroyed per round at Top Ranked level and a 10% reduction for Casual levels of play. It seems that the fuse time reduction is making it a bit harder for defenders to counter-play, but not overwhelmingly so.

We have noticed a ~10% increase to Gadgets Destroyed per round at both levels due to more Lances detonating successfully. Lances are also used a bit more often than during the previous patch with a 7% increase at both levels of play.

The CSRX 300 recoil reduction is likely a small positive change (although follow-up shots by Kali are much weaker than a first shot).

The number of kills per round with the CSRX is on the decrease, because of the addition of the SPSMG9.

In Y5S1.2 35% of Kali's kills at the Top level came from her C75 Auto (the remaining 65% coming from the CSRX 300). In Y5S2.0, we see the SPSMG9 accounting for 49% of Kali's kills (for both levels of play). As a result of these changes, Kali is seeing small but noted Pick Rate increases at both Top Ranked (from 3% to 7%) and Casual (from 8% to 11%) levels.

Her Win Delta saw a small increase for Top players (from -2.0% to -1.6%) but no change for Regular players, holding steady at -1.9%

Y5S2.1 Update: Kali has experienced an increase in her Win Delta since Y5S2 - moving from -1.6% to -0.6% with a similar presence (8%).

The Y5S2.2 update will soon deploy to PC with the updated Player Reporting Panel. For Console, the 2.2 patch will be bundled alongside the 2.3 release.

The Reporting Panel is getting an upgrade! Building upon the last addition of more reporting categories to improve the granularity of in-game reports, we've added a new player-reporting panel. This new panel will provide you with more information on each type of reporting category so you can make an informed decision about which report type best fits the situation. More accurate reports from you and other players, means we can make sure we're handing out the appropriate sanctions to players that deserve it.



Access the Report options via the Player Profile Panel. Each report type has a description to help you choose the most appropriate report type. Once the report is made, you'll receive a confirmation message that we received the report . Players can only be reported once per match per player.

FIXED – Issues with launching when AntiVirus protection is on.
FIXED – Gadget does not always properly deploy if the button is released right before completion.

FIXED – Various clipping issues on maps.
FIXED – Various visual texture issues on maps.
FIXED – Various issues with vegetation on maps.
FIXED – Echo's Yokai can hide in certain spots on Bank due to missing collision with map assets.
FIXED – Uneven floor in Coastline.
FIXED – Defenders are not detected as being 'Outside' when in the window frame of 2F Control Room on Theme Park.
FIXED – Missing compass location on minimap on Tower.
FIXED – Some lower sections of soft walls on Kafe can act as unbreakable surfaces.
FIXED – Unbreakable sign in 1F Office Hallway of Bank.
FIXED – Gadgets can be deployed in out of reach areas in 2F Control Room on Theme Park.
FIXED – Defuser can't be picked up after being dropped in the fountain in EXT Fountain on Villa.
FIXED – Ace's SELMA can get stuck on the cupboard of 1F Kitchen on Oregon and become unrecoverable.
FIXED – Attackers can be spawn killed from EXT Warehouse on Cluhouse.
FIXED – Gadgets can be deployed in out of reach areas in 2F Cash Room on Clubhouse.
FIXED – Attackers can be spawn killed at EXT Warehouse.
FIXED – Drones can clip through the furniture in 3F Bathroom on Yacht.

FIXED – Various Menu/UI issues.
FIXED – Various visual cosmetic issues.
FIXED – Various cosmetic clipping issues.

Updated: June 26th 2020

We will be updating the following list regularly to outline the status of certain issues that are currently pressing for our community. Please note that this list is not exhaustive, and should only be used as a reference to give a general idea of where our focus currently is.

Description: Our priority on that front is to first repackage the way sounds are stored and connected to the game.

We currently have a limited ability to fix specific issues and this improvement should make it easier for us to work on the audio aspect of the game.

For more information on this topic, please refer to the Status Report blog.

Status: Target: Y5S3

Description: We are working on mitigation plans with our partners and we are continuously monitoring the situation. We’ll continue to share updates on the situation until the matter is solved.

Status: Ongoing

Description: [/b] We continue working in close collaboration with all our partners to flag, report & identify cheaters as effectively as possible.

Steel Wave contained dissuasive measures such as rank lock below level 50, as well as a limit of 100 games to reach the Champion’s rank.

We are also working on other options to continue improving the situation on that front, we'll share a detailed overview on the topic very soon.

Status: Ongoing

Description: [/b] Additional context and explanations will be added to the in-game reporting panel. In an effort to effectively address the situation, having more accurate player reports will facilitate information gathering on our end.

Status: Target: Y5S2.2

Description: [/b] During the Steel Wave test server period we received a number of feedback requests for balancing tweaks to the new Operators. After evaluating feedback from players, and data from the TS, we plan to make a few balancing changes to the new operators with the 2.1 patch.

• Lowering the penalty zone by approximately 33%.
  
• Lowering the sound of Banshee effect in first person PoV.

• Remove the possibility of destroying Bandit's Batteries through reinforcements, by placing the charges on the floor

Status: Target: Y5S2.1

Description: [/b] There are inconsistencies in how gadgets interact/destroy props on maps.

Similar to how we implemented consistency on how props break on projectile trajectory in Y4S4, we are working on a system for deployable gadgets’ interaction with these props.

Status: Target: Y5S3

Description: We are adding the possibility to set a specific sensitivity for each zoom levels / sights.

Status: Target: Y5S3

Description: The rework intends to make flash detection more reliable. Enemies are often not affected by flashes due to objects and obstacles. We want to simulate the light ricochet with the environment, to guarantee the effectiveness of flashbangs & other similar gadgets.

Status: Target: Y5S4

Description: We are currently looking at improving the vault detection code to make the action easier to perform and to be more reliable

Status: Target: Y5S3

Description: To address frustrations where players are placed into a game with incomplete teams on either side, we are working on a Match Cancellation feature, that you may have tried on the Test Server.

The goal will be to allow players to cancel matches in the early stages of a game under the condition that their team is incomplete.

Status: Target: Y5S2.1

Description: Improved in-game notifications and feedback for when an Operator has been deactivated.

There have been times when we have had to deactivate an Operator in-game to better the play experience when exploits arise. We are working on better feedback to our players when such an occasion arises.

Status: Target: Y5S3

Description: Interactions with the defuser could often lead to some issues, in Y5S4 we’ll address the following ones:

Defuser plant prompt is sometimes missing when the player is on site
Defusers can be planted outside of the site when the players sits on the edge of the area.
Players could drop the defuser when attempting to plant.
Status: Target: Y5S4

Description: The in-game notification system often displayed outdated or already read alerts. It should guarantee that these notifications are relevant to the players.

Status: Target: Y5S3

Spinning on specific locations could lead to FPS drops for anyone in the same game.
The Banshee's hitbox is inaccurate and covers more than the model.
The defuser can be planted on the edge of the hatch in 2F Master Bedroom on House
Updated: May 27 2020

To follow up on our last Top Issues update below in April, we would like to give you all a status update on the hacking, cheating, and lobby-freezing issues. We'll go over some of the steps we have taken where we have found success, where we are still working to make improvements, as well as emphasize our continued focus on cheating and hacking as priority issues.

Lobby-Freezing: Lobby-freezing occurs while in menu or while loading into a round, and no connectivity icons will appear.

Update: After our April Top Issues blog, we made an update to the game that would allow us to gather more data to accurately track and identify lobby-freezers. We were able to successfully use that data to implement an auto-kick feature for individuals identified as holding up games through extreme loading times. Kicked players will receive an abandon sanction and be locked out of ranked/unranked until the match is over. We have been monitoring the automatic kicks for some time now on the live servers and have observed high success rates of detecting and only kicking players who are holding up lobbies to the detriment of the other players in the game. We are continuing to gather data on console lobby-freezing before we finalize plans to activate the lobby-freeze autokick detection on console as well.

DOS: DOS attacks can be distinguished from lobby-freezing as they typically occur during gameplay and the connectivity icons will appear.

Update: We have also observed some unusual network traffic and activity for Console players and suspect that some cases of lobby-freezing on Console may be tied to DOS attacks. We are currently pursuing this and investigating the issue and will update when we learn more.

Update: In our last update, we re-emphasized that we do not tolerate cheating in-game and were preparing a number of short and long term strategies to address the cheating frustrations. While we are aware this is still an ongoing issue, we believe these upcoming changes will help to mitigate some of the frustrations as we work internally on more robust long-term solutions.

Offline Bans (Target date: End of May): We will begin banning players offline. Previously sanctioned accounts were banned after logging back into Siege. Accounts will now be banned even if they remain offline. This will provide more clarity on the ban feedback loop and improve visibility on banned accounts.
Increased Clearance Level Requirements for Ranked (Target date: Y5S2): In Y5S2 we will be increasing the required clearance level for players to play Ranked. This is aimed at increasing the barrier to access for illegitimate accounts for Ranked to promote a better Ranked environment.
Increased Champion Rank Requirements (Target date: Y5S2): In Y5S2 we will be increasing the requirements for players to be eligible for Champion Rank. In addition to meeting the minimum 5000 MMR, eligible layers will be required to have played at least 100 ranked matches to qualify. This is also aimed at increasing the barrier to access for illegitimate accounts and maintaining a clean Champion leaderboard

XP level cap in PvE: (Status: Active) We have already put an XP cap in PvE in place in order to increase barriers to entry for Ranked for smurfs.

Updated: 23 April 2020

We will be updating the following list regularly to outline the status of certain issues that are currently pressing for our community. Please note that this list is not exhaustive, and should only be used as a reference to give a general idea of where our focus currently is.


We have recently observed an increase in cheating mentions and reports from players. We want to emphasize that we do not tolerate cheating in game and are working on multiple strategies to address the cheating frustrations and uphold the competitive integrity of Rainbow Six Siege. Below are some of the strategies that we can share that are being worked on for the short-term.

LOBBY FREEZING
Description: We've seen an increase in incidences of lobby freezers seeking to disrupt games to their advantage. We will be releasing update(s) that will allow us to better monitor and more accurately track lobby-freezers.

Objective: The updates will allow us to gather necessary data points that we will use to accurately track and identify lobby-freezing. In future updates we will use this data to automatically detect and kick lobby-freezers.

Status: This is currently an ongoing process.

AUTOMATED DATA UPDATES TO BATTLEYE
Description: Due to the increased mentions and player reports of cheating, we are reinforcing the bridge between R6 and BattlEye.

Objective: Strengthen our collaboration with BattlEye by implementing automated processes and reinforcing data sharing to shorten the feedback loop on banned players.

Status: Ongoing.

Description: Increase Ranked and Champion Rank requirements.

Objective: Increase the barrier to access for illegitimate accounts to both Ranked and Champion rank to promote a better Ranked environment and a clean Champion leaderboard.

Status: (Target: Y5S2) We will have more specifics on the new requirements closer to S2.

Description: Daily level grind cap from PvE as a prevention tactic to make Ranked requirements less accessible to illegitimate accounts.

Objective: Our goal is to make Ranked less easily accessible to bots and smurfs by limiting the daily XP that can be earned in PvE. This will make it easier for us to spot and catch bots and smurfs before they are able to make their way into Ranked.

Status: We are aiming to have this completed as soon as possible.

KNOWN BUGS/ISSUES
UNINTENDED ABANDON SANCTIONS BUG
Description: An error was found in the matchmaking flow that was causing players to receive abandon sanctions if they left the Ranked queue right as a match was found. Players were already processed as being in the match when they had already backed out.

Objective: The game flow will be modified so that the penalty warning message for abandon can be displayed earlier, and coincide with the time when the penalty system will effectively apply.

Status: (Target Y5S2) A fix is scheduled for Y5S2.

Description: An error was found in the matchmaking flow that was causing matches to start with incomplete teams if a player exited the Ranked queue right as a match was found. These players were already processed as being in the match when they had already backed out, resulting in games starting with incomplete teams.

Objective: Part of the solution is to correct when the abandon sanction warning message popup is displayed to alert players that they have already entered a match and deter them from leaving. We are also working on a Match Cancellation feature which will allow players to cancel matches in the early stages of a game under the condition that their team is incomplete (this will come later to the PC TS in Y5S2).

Status: (Target Y5S2) A fix is scheduled for Y5S2.

Description: Past completed Community Challenges show up as "Coming Soon" in the Battle Pass menu after the challenge is over. This is purely a visual bug.

Status: (Target Y5S2) A fix is scheduled for this bug with the Y5S2 BP update.

Description: The popups notifying players of an MMR rollback after a cheater has been banned is displaying the incorrect values. This is a purely a visual bug.

Status: (Target Y5S3)__ This is currently under investigation.


Description: This feature improves the current PC Hardware Benchmark tool in Siege, giving detailed information and performance reports about their hardware specifications and resource usages.

Objective: We are working toward a new benchmark test that better conveys how Siege performs on different setups.

Status: (Target Y5S2).

Description: There are inconsistencies in how gadgets interact/destroy props on maps.

Status: (Target: Y5S3) Similar to how we implemented consistency on how props break on projectile trajectory in Y4S4, we are working on a system for deployable gadgets’ interaction with these props.

Description: Ranked games will sometimes begin with incomplete teams due to players leaving at the very start of the match.

Objective: To address frustrations where players are placed into a game with incomplete teams on either side, we are working on a Match Cancellation feature. The goal will be to allow players to cancel matches in the early stages of a game under the condition that their team is incomplete.

Status: (Target Y5S2 on the PC TS) Match Cancellation is scheduled to be released on the PC Test Server in Y5S2.

Description: Improved in-game notifications and feedback for when an Operator has been deactivated.

Status: (Target: Y5S3) There have been times when we have had to deactivate an Operator in-game to better the play experience when exploits arise. We are working on better feedback to our players when such an occasion arises.

Operation Steel Wave, the second season of Tom Clancy’s Rainbow Six Siege Year 5, is now available. Operation Steel Wave introduces Ace and Melusi, a new Attacker and Defender from Norway and South Africa, in addition to an entirely reworked House map and slew of gameplay changes.

Owners of the Year 5 Pass can play with the new Operators immediately, while the rest of the players will be able to unlock these Operators starting June 23rd using Renown or R6 Credits. Additional seasonal new content, including the House map rework, are available for free to all players. Year 5 Season 2 will also welcome its Battle Pass “Tour De Force,” on June 29th.

In Operation Steel Wave, players will meet two new Operators:

• Norwegian Attacker Ace is equipped with S.E.L.M.A., a throwable and stickable device that will stick to any vertical surface and slowly destroy up to 3 panels, one after the other. The S.E.L.M.A. gadget can also be thrown at almost any defensive gadget and destroy it with its arms or water explosive.

• South African Defender Melusi is equipped with Banshee deployable electronic gadgets. It applies a slowing effect to any Attackers that are in range and direct line of sight. The Banshee can also be used as an intel gadget as it produces an identifiable sound when an attacker enters its range.

In addition to these two new Operators, players will be able to explore a reimagined House map, which has been newly reworked. The homeowners have expanded their family and their floorplan, with a large two-story addition adding new objective sites and entry points for players to contend with. Additional changes can be experienced throughout the map, all with the intent of evolving the gameplay meta.

Operation Steel Wave also introduces a new Defender secondary gadget – the Proximity Alarm. The small, throwable sticky gadget is an essential intel-gathering tool that loudly alerts Defenders of an oncoming Attacker in its line of sight.

Additional game updates include the following:

• Unified MMR
  
• Amaru Buff
  
• Addition of Echo Elite set