With Y5S3 we'll make changes to our weapon optics by adding new sights and scopes, modifying existing scopes and redistributing them across all operators and weapons. On top of that we'll also provide you with more accessibility and customization options.

In this blog article we'll look into all the upcoming changes to optics, the motivations behind them and how they might affect the balancing of the game.


Throughout this article we'll be using the following terms:

• Optics: The general term used for any aiming devices.
  
• Sights: Aiming devices that provide no particular zoom level, such as the Red Dot or Holographic.
  
• Scopes: Aiming devices that provide a zoom level, like the ACOG.
  
• Reticle: The pattern of lines or markings built into the eyepiece of an aiming device.

We'll be modifying two existing scopes as well as introducing four new sights and scopes to Siege: a new Red Dot option, a new Holographic option and 2 new scopes with different zoom level, a 1.5x and a 2.0x.

Due to these changes we'll also redistribute optics across the board, meaning with Y5S3 almost all operators and their guns have other options than before. You'll find more details on these changes and the redistribution further down this article.

The main driver of making the changes to Siege's optics was to provide more choices for you, our players. While not every weapon has access to every optic, we wanted to have a wider variety with more options to choose from. These changes will also bring a breath of fresh air to our gameplay – creating new experiences for all our players. With more options and new combinations available per operator and weapon we also hope players will try out weapons they might have discarded before and maybe even find new favorite guns or optics!

The changes will not only bring more variety for our players, they will also provide us with a new balancing tool for operators and weapons. Previously we only had one choice when it came to scopes: either the weapon gets an ACOG or not. But with the modifications to our existing scopes and through adding additional ones we will now have 4 scope options with different magnification to distribute to operators and their weapons: A 1.5x, 2.0x, 2.5x and a 3.0x. With more options overall, we'll also have more levers for some weapons that can be hard to balance, and they can also help us with creating even more unique roles for operators.

The initial redistribution of optics is a first proposition based on balancing and gameplay needs for the operators and their weapons. Certain weapon types will only have access to certain optics as well, the Scope 3.0x for example will be distributed to DMRs while the Scope 2.5x will be given to LMGs and Assault rifles. There are also some technical limitations we have to consider. The goal is to stay agile with the distribution and it can we tweaked depending on data and player's feedback from the Test Servers, so make sure to try it out and tell us what you think!




The Scope 2.5x in Y5S2.3 (left) and Y5S3 (right).

For both versions of the ACOG, the NATO and the Russian one, we will change the zoom level from 3.0x to 2.5x. With Siege being more focused on short range kills and some players mentioning the ACOG feels a bit too zoomed in, we felt like reducing the magnification will be an improvement for this beloved scope. Nothing else will change for the ACOG, except that it will be referred to as the Scope 2.5x in the selection menu and it will also become less available. Check the new distribution further down the blog for more information on this.



The Scope 3.0x in Y5S2.3 (left) and Y5S3 (right).

This scope, previously available on Capitão's and Gridlock's LMG, will keep its zoom level at 3.0x and therefore become the scope with the highest zoom level among the non-unique optics. In the menu it will be referred to as the Scope 3.0x. What we have modified on this scope is the reticle, we gave it a cleaner look which will make aiming at targets easier for players. Its distribution will change as well – it will become more available, mainly to operators with DMRs.

All the other optics not mentioned here won't be changed and therefore remain the same as before.





The M4S, our new Red Dot has a 1.0x zoom level, so it functions as a "no zoom" sight like the other Red Dots as well. It was added to provide our players with more options and we also see it as a quality of life change; the M4S is higher than the NATO Red Dot in-game, so we hope the Picatinny rail of the weapons receiving this new option won't show up on screen as much when ADS. For now, we'll only give it to some operators and weapons, but depending on its reception we might distribute it more broadly in the future.




The MH1, our new Holographic Sight has a 1.0x zoom level as well, but it offers a fresh, clean look and a different reticle. Given how many of our players love the NATO Holo Sight, we wanted to provide them with another Holographic option that feels comfortable for them. We are quite interested in the performance of the new MH1, and while it will only be distributed to some operators and weapons at the beginning, we will distribute it more or less based on player feedback in the future.




This new scope provides a 1.5x zoom level, therefore it will be referred to as the Scope 1.5x in the menu. It will bring a whole new magnification into Siege – a compromise between longer and shorter angles. We expect the Scope 1.5x to become one of the most favorite optics of our players, allowing them to engage in close quarters while still providing a comfortable zoom level to fight at the 10M range. (This is still the average value for engagement distances in Siege).




This new scope brings a new medium range magnification into the game: A 2.0x zoom level, which will be referred to as the Scope 2.0x in the menu. This new option features a much slimmer frame compared to the overall thicker Scope 2.5x but it is trading this advantage for a blind spot on the top left. It will be distributed on longer range weapons like LMGs and Assault Rifles.




Each weapon will have their own sights and scopes distribution, and not only per weapon but a combo of weapon and operator. You find an overview of the new distribution further down this article.

The Red Dot, Holographic and Reflex Sights will remain under their respective categories in the selection menu. Like before, the name of their tiles will stay the same while the icon will change to indicate which of the multiple options is available and will be equipped on the selected weapon.

Due to the different magnification of our scopes we'll have one dedicated tile for each zoom level in the selection menu. These tiles with their unique icons will be visible or not depending on if this zoom level is available on the selected weapon or not.

Here's an overview of all the tiles in the selection menu and which non-unique optics they will include:

Those are iron sights; they don't have an icon in the menu as their look changes depending on the selected weapon.

This tile will be for the 1.0x Red Dot Sight options.

Possible cases:

• NATO
  
• Russian
  
• M4S

This tile will be for the 1.0x Holographic Sights.

Possible cases:

• NATO
  
• Russian
  
• Razor
  
• MH1

This tile will be for the 1.0x Reflex Sights.

Possible cases:

• NATO
  
• Russian

This tile will be for the 1.5x Scope only.

This tile will be for the 2.0x Scope only.

This tile will be for the 2.5x Scope.

Possible Cases:

• NATO
  
• Russian

This tile will be for the 3.0x Scope only.








Please note:

• This optics redistribution will only affect the primary weapons and not the secondary ones.
  
• A few operators are not included in these assets: Kali as she only has her unique scope on the CSRX 300 and Blitz, Montagne & Clash as their only primary option is their shield.

Click here to download high res PDFs of the new optics distribution.


Player accessibility is important to us and the continued growth of Siege, as we want it to be a game anyone can enjoy.

We are aware that players who are colorblind or visually impaired might encounter difficulties with focusing and targeting when shooting. Through adding a new feature which allows to change the reticle color and opacity of our optics we want to improve the shooting experience and increase player comfort for all our players. This is a first step in our vision for greater accessibility and we intent to develop and implement more options and features like this in the future.

In the options menu of the game we are going to have a new tab called "ACCESSIBILITY". Under this tab you'll find the new optic color feature.



Choose one of five settings which include several predefined color options adapted to different forms of color blindness, a default option and a custom option to adjust the reticle color of all your optics*:

Default
• Optic Color: Default
  
• Optic Opacity: 100%
  Deuteranopia
  
• Optic Color: Predefined (Blue)
  
• Optic Opacity: 100%
  Protanopia
  
• Optic Color: Predefined (Yellow)
  
• Optic Opacity: 100%
  Tritanopia
  
• Optic Color: Predefined (Turquoise)
  
• Optic Opacity: 100%
  Custom
  
• Optic Color: Choose your preferred color from a selection of 12 colors
  
• Optic Opacity: Adjustable in a range from 20% to 100%

*The optics on Kali's CSRX 300 and Capitão's Crossbow will be included in this feature at some later point.

We aim to increase the comfort level for all our players and ensure everyone has the best experience possible. Because of that we also intend to implement an option in the menu which will allow players to preview their chosen color settings to get a better look and feel of the optic variables before making their choice. We currently plan to include this in a future update, so stay tuned!


We've heard your feedback about the feeling of inconsistency between different optics when aiming down sight and the wish for more control over your ADS Sensitivity settings. To address this, we're going to make some changes to the Aim Down Sights (ADS) Sensitivity system with Y5S3:


The inconsistent feeling when using different optics was caused by different sources of FOV that affected the player's aim with sights and scopes. We've now made a gameplay change to compensate these FOVs, which will result in a more consistent movement across all FOVs and magnification level of our optics when aiming down sight.

(For the more technical players who are interested in what exactly has been changed: the zoom level are no longer based on a FOV ratio, but on focal length instead.)


To give our players more control over their ADS Sensitivity settings when it comes to the different zoom level of Siege's optics, we've made some changes in the Controls tab of the Options menu.

Depending on the platform, players should now see a button with either "Mouse ADS Sensitivity" or "Controller ADS Sensitivity" through which they can access the game's ADS Sensitivity settings.



In this new panel you'll have the option to choose between Standard or Advanced ADS Sensitivity settings.




The Standard setting will allow you to apply one ADS Sensitivity in a range from 1 to 100 (or keep the default setting of 50) for all the sights and scopes, no matter their magnification.




In the Advanced settings you'll now be able to change the ADS Sensitivity for all the different magnifications independently from each other through different sliders as shown in the asset above.

With these additional customization options, you'll have much more control over your preferred experience when aiming down sight.

Please note: Players with existing profiles will have their ADS Sensitivity settings automatically adjusted to preserve the feeling they were used to have prior to the patch. In order to benefit from the gameplay improvement for more consistency across all zoom levels that was mentioned above, they have to reset their ADS Sensitivity settings to default.


We are aware that these are some big changes for Siege, and we understand they might feel a bit overwhelming at the beginning. Nevertheless, we believe they will truly improve the game, its gameplay and the experiences of you, our players.

We hope this article helped you to familiarize yourselves with the upcoming changes to weapon sights and scopes; all of them are available on the Y5S3 Test Servers – make sure to try them out and play around with them!

We're looking forward to reading your feedback and thoughts about each of those changes on Twitter, Reddit, Facebook and on our forums.

• R6 Siege Core Gameplay Modifications Cell
  
• R6 Siege Balancing Cell
  
• R6 Siege PC & Accessibility Cell
  
• R6 Siege Operators Cell
  
• R6 Siege Community Team

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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.

---

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.