Tom Clancy's Rainbow Six® Siege X News

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.


[h2]WIN DELTA VS. PRESENCE[/h2]



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.

[h2]OPERATOR BAN RATE[/h2]




[h2]FUZE[/h2]

• 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.

[h2]GRIDLOCK[/h2]

• 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.

[h2]ORYX[/h2]

• 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.

[h2]AMARU[/h2]
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.

[h2]ORYX[/h2]
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.

[h2]ECHO[/h2]
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.

[h2]KALI[/h2]
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.


[h2]PLAYER REPORTING PANEL[/h2]
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.


[h2]GAMEPLAY[/h2]
FIXED – Issues with launching when AntiVirus protection is on.
FIXED – Gadget does not always properly deploy if the button is released right before completion.

[h2]LEVEL DESIGN[/h2]
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.

[h2]USER EXPERIENCE[/h2]
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.


[h2]NEW SOUND PACKAGING SYSTEM[/h2]
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

[h2]DDOS ON CONSOLES[/h2]
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

[h2]CHEATING & HACKING[/h2]
Description: 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

[h2]PROFILE PANEL & REPORTING[/h2]
Description: 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


[h2]BALANCING[/h2]
Description: 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.

[h3]Melusi[/h3]

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

[h3]Ace & Hibana[/h3]

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

Status: Target: Y5S2.1

[h2]CONSISTENCY ON GADGETS DESTROYING PROPS[/h2]
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

[h2]SENSITIVITY PER ZOOM LEVEL[/h2]
Description: We are adding the possibility to set a specific sensitivity for each zoom levels / sights.

Status: Target: Y5S3

[h2]IMPROVED FLASH DETECTION/CONSISTENCY[/h2]
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

[h2]VAULT DETECTION CODE[/h2]
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


[h2]MATCH CANCELLATION[/h2]
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

[h2]IMPROVED NOTIFICATION AND FEEDBACK FOR DEACTIVATED OPERATORS[/h2]
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

[h2]DEFUSER PLANTING DETECTION IMPROVEMENTS[/h2]
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

[h2]NOTIFICATION SYSTEM[/h2]
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

[h2]KNOWN BUGS / ISSUES[/h2]
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.

[h2]LOBBY FREEZING[/h2]
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.

[h2]DOS ON CONSOLE[/h2]
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.

[h2]HACKING/CHEATING[/h2]
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.

[h2]INCREASED RANKED + CHAMPION RANK REQUIREMENTS[/h2]
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.

[h2]DAILY LEVEL XP CAP IN PVE[/h2]
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.

[h2]INCOMPLETE TEAMS AT THE START OF RANKED GAMES BUG[/h2]
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.

[h2]BATTLE PASS "COMING SOON" COMPLETED COMMUNITY CHALLENGES BUG[/h2]
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.

[h2]MMR ROLLBACK POPUP BUG[/h2]
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.

[h2]INCOMPLETE TEAMS AT THE START OF RANKED GAMES[/h2]
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.

[h2]IMPROVED NOTIFICATION AND FEEDBACK FOR DEACTIVATED OPERATORS[/h2]
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.