Rainbow Six Siege is about to start its Year 8 with Operation Commanding Force, which is introducing some exciting updates, including new operator, reload rework, anti-cheat features, and more.
New Operator ‘Brava’
‘Brava‘: the newest Rainbow Six Siege operator to be added in Y8S1 Operation Commanding Force. The 3-Speed 1-Health Attacker from Brazil is bringing the unique Kludge Drone primary gadget into Siege’s tactical battleground.
The KLUDGE DRONE connects to opponent devices from a distance and allows BRAVA to use them for her own means. If the device can’t be converted, it’s destroyed. Brava has access to the PARA-308 and CAMRS as primary weapons, and USP40, Super Shorty as secondary.
Read the full Y8S1 Patch Notes below (source: Ubisoft)
MOUSETRAP (MOUSE & KEYBOARD PENALTY ON CONSOLE)
Coming in the middle of Operation Commanding Force, players who use mouse and keyboard on consoles will activate a penalty that adds lag to their inputs. The goal of this penalty is to encourage fair gameplay by removing the unfair advantage that mouse and keyboard players have on consoles.
While active, continued use of mouse and keyboard gradually increases the lag over several matches, making it harder to aim and shoot. Completing matches with a controller will gradually reduce the lag back to normal.
Read More: Rainbow Six Siege Mousetrap Anti-Cheat: How does it work to discourage MnK users?
PLAYER PROTECTION
NEW REPUTATION PENALTY: ABUSIVE VOICE CHAT
This season introduces a new Reputation Penalty for abusive voice chat. While active, this penalty mutes repeat offenders by default to prevent hateful and disruptive content in voice chat. Muted players can still use voice chat but will only be heard by players who unmute them.
At launch:
- All players will have a grace period to adapt to the new system.
- After the grace period is over, players who’ve frequently abused voice chat will get an active penalty for 30 matches.
BALANCING
RELOAD REWORK
Reloading has been reworked so that interrupting the animation will leave the player without a magazine, but closed bolt weapons will have a single round for the player to use at any point during the reload.
ZERO UPDATE
Zero’s Argus camera has some new behaviors. Zero can command his cameras to pierce through surfaces while controlling the Observation Tool. Once the camera has pierced a surface, teammates and Zero can swap to surveil either side at will unless they’re eliminated.
OPERATOR SPECIALTIES & CHALLENGES (ONBOARDING)
OPERATOR SPECIALTIES
Operator Specialties identify an Operator’s playstyle in-game. All Operators have one to two specialties which can be checked during the Planning Phase, in the Operators section, and in Operator Guides.
SPECIALTY CHALLENGES
Specialty Challenges aim to help beginner players learn the various Operator specialties and what they contribute to a match.
By completing challenges, players can earn a variety of rewards, including an Operator after finishing all challenges for a single specialty. If the Operator is already owned, players will earn their value in renown instead. All players can be complete the challenges and earn all rewards, not just beginners.
PLAYER COMFORT
PLAY SECTION UI CHANGES
Playlists are now divided into 3 separate categories: Competitive, Quick Play, and Training, alongside the already-existing Custom Game section.
- Each category has a quick select button to launch the last played playlist.
- Quick Match now has a shortcut to change the matchmaking game mode without going into the Options menu.
BOOT THE TEST SERVER FROM LIVE GAME
For convenience, the live game now notifies players when the Test Server is live and has a shortcut that lets players quickly boot it.
BATTLE PASS UPDATE
BRAVO PACK TICKET
This season introduces the Bravo Pack Ticket, a rare item that lets you pick an exclusive reward from the latest Bravo Collection. This ticket will be awarded to Premium players who reach level 100 in this season’s Battle Pass as a reward for their dedication.
OPERATOR PRICE DECREASE
It’s a new Year and as per usual Operation Commanding Force brings its own batch of Operator price decrease. Dropping to 10,000 Renown or 240 R6 Credits are Operators Oryx and Iana. Flores’ price is decreasing to 15,000 Renown or 360 R6 Credits, and finally, Azami is now priced at 20,000 Renown or 480 R6 Credits.
SEASONAL WEAPON SKIN
Travel to the luscious and vibrant landscapes of Brazil with the seasonal skin collection included in the Lush Foliage Bundle. It comes with the Tropical Underbush weapon and attachment skins, the Flowery Relaxation charm, as well as the Thunderous Nature operator card background! The seasonal weapon skin will be released at season launch and available for purchase throughout the season. Once unlocked, it remains in your inventory indefinitely and can be applied to all available weapons.
OPERATOR BALANCING
TWITCH
- Twitch’s Shock Drone deceleration power is increased, making it stop sooner after releasing the inputs.
TWEAKS & IMPROVEMENTS
GAME BALANCING
One in the Chamber
- When you remove a magazine from a weapon, you will not be able to shoot. If it is a closed bolt weapon, you have one round that you can fire at any point during the reload animation.
Attachments Changes
Muzzle Brake
- First bullet kick reduction increased to 50% (from 45)
Compensator
- Horizontal recoil reduction increased to 35% (from 15)
PLAYER COMFORT
Ranked Match Cancellation
- If a vote occurs at the end of a round, votes are tabulated during the end of round replay. If the vote is in favor of cancellation, the match will be cancelled before entering round 2.
HUD Updates
- UI design for Caster/Spectator Mode has been updated.
- Gadget status is now represented by three types of icons for each charge.
- Empty circle means gadget is available.
- White circle means gadget is deployed.
- X means that the gadget charge is used.
Shooting Range Updates
- Navigation tab is added in Shooting Record to notify the player which lane the current menu is displaying.
- For keyboard players, HUD Callout interaction changes from press-hold to press-down, keeping the same as controllers.
- Small size attachments icons replace the original one in Shooting Record.
Gadgets VFX
- Added lights on electronic gadgets that previously did not have any.
- Position of VFX for gadgets more centralized.
- Changed VFX affecting gadgets to look less like electricity.
Operator Guide Improvements
- Operator Guide are implemented into Match Replay mode and Operator Specialties can be found on the Operator Guide page.
GAME HEALTH
Playlist Update
- The Newcomer playlist is being removed this season while the team focuses on developing a new onboarding experience for new players for a future season. In the mean time, new players can learn the basics of Siege with the existing tools available to them.
- A time-limited Discovery playlist will be available at the beginning of the season — play bomb on Emerald Plains and earn 2x the Battle Points for the match.
Respawn Based Game Modes
- Changed the respawn mechanic so that players should now spawn in safer places more reliably
- Adding infinite ammo cartridges to all operators on respawn based game modes
Unbannable Y8S1 Operator
- Brava will be unbannable in regular matchmaking (ranked/unranked) for the first two weeks after the release.
Read More: Rainbow Six Siege Y8S1 Designer’s Notes: Reload Cancellation, Zero Buff, and More
