Tom Clancy's Rainbow Six® Siege X News

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

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

[h3]Glossary [/h3]

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

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

[h3]The Siege Team’s Approach Towards Cheating[/h3]



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

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

[h3]2020 in Numbers[/h3]



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

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





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

[h3]1. IMPROVED CHEAT DETECTION[/h3]

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

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

[h3]1.1. USING DATA-BASED DETECTION MODELS FOR EARLY DETECTION AND FLAGGING CHEATS[/h3]

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

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

[h3]1.2. IMPROVING BATTLEYE IN SIEGE[/h3]

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

[h3]2. INCREASED BARRIERS TO ENTRY AND CHEAT PREVENTION[/h3]
Cheat detection is only one piece of the anti-cheat puzzle in Siege. We are also working to increase barriers to entry for both cheat developers and their users. Our goal is to cancel any benefit that could be gained from this practice by making it costly for illegitimate players.

[h3]2.1. MAKING LIFE DIFFICULT FOR CHEATERS[/h3] 

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

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

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

[h3]2.2. MAKING LIFE DIFFICULT FOR CHEAT DEVELOPERS[/h3]

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

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

[h3]3. REDUCTION OF VULNERABILITIES, CHEAT OPPORTUNITIES AND IMPACT OF CHEATS[/h3]

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

[h3]3.1. VULNERABILITY ASSESSMENT[/h3]

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

[h3]3.2. VULNERABILITY FIXES[/h3]

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



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

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



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

Y5S4.3 will release the week of January 26th on all platforms. For additional information and further details on the changes listed below, please see our Y5S4.3 Designer's Notes.


Below you will find the download sizes for each platform.

- Ubisoft Connect: 1.09 GB
- Steam: 868.62 MB
- Xbox One: 1.57 GB
- Xbox Series X: 1.82 GB
- PS4: 1.31 GB
- PS5: 1.10 GB



[h3]ASH[/h3]

- Reduced Breaching Round explosive damage range to 2 meters (from 3.5 meters)

[h3]BUCK[/h3]

- Increased shotgun's total ammo to 30+1 (from 26)
- Added Hard Breach Charge (Removed Claymore)

[h3]ECHO[/h3]

- Reduced Yokai drone jump cooldown to 2s (from 3s)
- Reduced drone time-out failing to stick to the ceiling to 0.5s (from 2s)
- Reduced Sonic Burst cooldown to 16s (from 20s)

[h3]ELA[/h3]

- Removed resistance to Concussion effects
- Removed "extra" mine while in DBNO

[h3]KALI[/h3]

- Removed 1-shot-DNBO from CSRX300.
- CSRX300 now has base damage of 122 for 25 meters.
- 100% damage until 25 meters and linearly falls to 80% (97.6) at 35 meters
- Damage to the limbs has not changed.

[h3]LESION[/h3]

- Removed 1.5x scope from the T-5

[h3]LION[/h3]

- Added Claymore (Removed Hard Breach Charge)

[h3]MELUSI[/h3]

- Removed Angled Grip from the MP5

[h3]MIRA[/h3]

- Removed 1.5x scope from the Vector .45 ACP

[h3]ZOFIA[/h3]

- Removed resistance to Concussion effects
- Removed Withstand
- Reduced impact grenade explosive damage range to 2m (was 3m)

[h3]BALLISTIC SHIELDS[/h3]

- Removed (set to 0) the camera penalization during the Guard Break animation

[h3]HARD BREACH CHARGES[/h3]

- Reduced deployment time to 2s (from 3s)
- Reduced activation time to 5s (from 6s)

[h3]RECOIL (CONTROLLER ONLY)[/h3]

- Improved recoil for: ARX, C8, M1014, and TCSG12



[h3]GAME HEALTH[/h3]

Ranked Match Cancellation

- Timer has been extended to allow disconnected player more time to rejoin a match in progress.
- Fixing known abuses occurring when players end the first round prematurely, preventing the opposing team from cancelling the match.



[h3]GAMEPLAY[/h3]

- FIXED – Disabling Hostage in matchmaking preferences prevents users from matchmaking into a Road to S.I. match.
- FIXED – Players are having loadouts reset after playing an Event.

[h3]LEVEL DESIGN[/h3]

- FIXED – Various LOD issues present on Bank and Stadium maps.
- FIXED – Zero's ARGUS Camera can pass through an indestructible floor at EXT Construction Site on Clubhouse map.
- FIXED – Shooting the bottles and spinning a player character around quickly in a specific location at 1F Pantry can cause FPS drops for everyone in the match on Skyscraper map.
- FIXED – Multiple collision issues present across various maps.
- FIXED – Exploitable line of sight present in gaps visible across various maps.
- FIXED – Desk panels in INT Office on Skyscraper map are not currently breakable.
- FIXED – Various gadget deployment and clipping issues present across maps.
- FIXED – The light source on the south-west wall of 2F Penthouse can be seen on the bottom of the north-east wall in 2F VIP Lounge on Penthouse map.
- FIXED – Unnecessary vault prompts are currently present on exterior garage roof near EXT Garage of Kafe Dostoyevsky map and on a police truck at the main entrance of Coastline map.
- FIXED – A container in 1F Bedroom on Skyscraper map appears positioned off of the ground.
- FIXED – Defenders that stay in the doorway at 1F Back Stairs will be detected by Attackers and receive a "You are detected" message on Villa map.
- FIXED – Breach Charges will sometimes not destroy the floor in 2F Master Bathroom on Villa map.
- FIXED – The defuser can get stuck in 2F Front Office on Consulate map after destroying the floor or if it's dropped between the electrical generator and metal pole in EXT West Spawn on Stadium map.
- FIXED – Players can go out of bounds after climbing the ventilation units and dropping near EXT Ventilation Stairs or when fast rappelling down a particular tree on Skyscraper map.
- FIXED – Grills above the AC unit on the 3rd floor in the Cigar Room on Kafe Dostoyevsky map are unable to be pinged.
- FIXED – Attackers can be knocked back by Oryx's Remah Dash through the bulletproof transparent glass in 1F Main Lobby on Stadium map.
- FIXED – Bullets can penetrate through the blue barrel located at 4F Tractor Storage on Hereford Base map.
- FIXED – Under specific circumstances, Operators can float above the ground in EXT Main Entrance on Bank map.
- FIXED – The Secure Area objective clips with nearby furniture in Kids Room on Hereford Base map.
- FIXED – Operators can spawn with their back to the house at EXT Side Street on House map.

[h3]OPERATORS[/h3]

- FIXED – Maestro's Evil Eye turret used in quick succession is occasionally causing issues with gameplay.
- FIXED – The Bailiff .410's crosshair elements are clipping while Operator is crouching or prone.
- FIXED – Improper hand animation is visible after Caveira activates Silent Step and performs a melee attack.
- FIXED – Sprinting with Warden does not leave footsteps for Jackal's EyeNox.
- FIXED – Zofia has additional resistance to her concussion projectile and Ela's GRZMOT Mine in Road to S.I. 2021 sessions.
- FIXED – Melee butting with Tachanka's Shumikha Launcher causes both hands to clip into the grenade launcher.
- FIXED – Maestro's Evil Eye can be deployed midair by placing it on Goyo's Volcan Shield and then removing the Volcan Shield.
- FIXED – Tachanka's DP-27 LMG will only destroy one layer of destructible walls that have multiple layers.
- FIXED – Audio sounds muffled when deploying a secondary Hard Breech Charge while crouching on barricades.

[h3]USER EXPERIENCE[/h3]

- FIXED – Weapons customized during the Operator Selection Phase are not visually updated in the menu.
- FIXED – The "Cosplay Guide: Operation Void Edge" Reward is currently displaying a placeholder image in the Ubisoft Connect launcher.
- FIXED – A pop-up will appear after each game session when the player returns to the main menu.
- FIXED – Minor visual issues are present in relation to the "Road to S.I. 2021" event.
- FIXED – Risen Headgear syringe glows intensively.
- FIXED – Welcome pop-up message for users is not always displaying consistent messaging.
- FIXED – The hands on Mute's Swamp Trek uniform have a visual issue while holding a weapon.
- FIXED – Inviting players to a Custom Online Game creates a Squad instead of adding players to the Custom Online Lobby.
- FIXED – Several Renown Booster packs are missing the R6 Credits button in the purchase confirmation side panel.
- FIXED – Players are reporting that despite winning a match, it is counting as a loss and the player can be de-Ranked.
- FIXED – If a player leaves a Road to S.I. session, the Dynamic Play button from the Player Hub will instead initiate a new search for the event.
- FIXED – During the MVP screen on Stadium map, minor flickering and visual issues are present.
- FIXED – The playlist name is missing when a player attempts to reconnect to a previous match.
- FIXED – When hovering on 1F, the icons of the Operators, objective markers, and bomb sites are visible from 2F as a Caster on Stadium map.
- FIXED – The Ubisoft Connect weekly challenges are not updated from "Terrorist Hunt" to the current title of "Training Grounds".