Rainbow Six Siege Year 5 Season 1 is now available to play on the Test Server. The update adds tons of new content to the game, including the two new operators Iana and Oryx, a reworked Oregon map, updated physics for debris from wooden barricades, nerfs for Twitch and Lesion (again), and finally Ash getting a third Elite skin.
The update went live on February 17 at 1:30 p.m. EST. Anyone who bought the game will have access to the Test Server. You can read the entire patch notes below or on the official site.
Rainbow Six Siege Y5S1 Patch Notes
Two New Operators
Things are starting to change, and Operation Void Edge is sure to throw you for a loop. Two Operators, as different from each other as can be, join Harry’s roster and bring with them talents that stand at polar opposites. Iana is the brain and the technology, while Oryx knows the raw power that the human body can carry.
Many novelties are coming with this unique season, with a rework to the Oregon map and a very special Elite set. Take a look at the many gameplay changes as you scroll through these patch notes, and don’t miss out on the Year 5 Pass!
MAP REWORK: OREGON
The map reworks keep coming, and with Operation Void Edge, Oregon gets its turn. With this one, big changes come in small packages, so you’ll have no trouble recognizing the map while you adapt to the balancing.
With an updated look, most areas are more open and structured, but there are also new points of access and rotation. Big Tower now also connects directly to Kitchen on the first floor thanks to the Kitchen Corridor, and a new area in the basement called Freezer leads to the first floor with the Freezer Stairs.
Other access point changes include the removal of the door between Kitchen and Bathroom Corridor (now called Security Corridor), as well as the one leading into Dining Hall from the outside, which is replaced by a connection between Dining Hall and Small Tower. Attic has also changed, opening into Dorm Main Hall with a doorway, but losing its ladder down to Meeting Hall.
All of this serves to make rotations easier and safer for both Attackers and Defenders. Stay alert though, as many more breakable walls have been introduced all over the map.
There are a few more things to take note of when learning the ins and outs of this new iteration, but most notably: the Tower bomb site has been replaced with the new Meeting Hall and Kitchen alternative.
Check out all these changes and more on the test server, and feel free to submit your feedback on R6 Fix.
BARRICADE DEBRIS CONSISTENCY
One of the more impactful changes to note this season is how we approached the behavior of barricade debris. Previously, when partially breaking barricades, there would be a piece of debris that could get stuck in the remainder of the barricade and since this is done client-side, it could put a player at a significant advantage toward their opponent, due to a line of sight being blocked for one player but not for the other.
To avoid this situation and the frustration that comes with it, partially breaking a barricade with a weapon or a melee hit will now create much smaller debris. Additionally, when completely destroying a barricade, the behavior of the debris is improved to minimize occlusion caused by stacked debris on the top of a window sill and the base of a door frame.
ATTACKERS’ DRONE SPAWN
Attackers drone spawn is not random anymore. When playing on attack, your drone will now always spawn on the same side of the building as the one you first chose your operator to spawn from. We expect this change to simplify orientation for new players and to give more control on droning to veterans and organized teams. You can still change your operator spawn point afterwards, based on the intel you gathered during the prep phase.
PLAYER HUB CHANGES
On the menu side of things, the Play Section is getting revamped. The new, reorganized look is meant to makes things easier for you when choosing a Playlist to queue, and the new Playlist Guides will help you understand what every one of them entails.
LESION AND TWITCH CHANGES
Lesion was in need of some balancing, and with Operation Void Edge he gets just that. He will no longer be able to see his GU Mines through obstructions of any kind, or from a certain distance. Most importantly, though, when an opposing Operator steps on a GU, there will no longer be any initial damage, giving them time to take it out before it becomes a problem. However, we have increased each tick’s damage from 4 to 6. Finally, downed operators will not take any damage anymore from Gu Mines, triggering them to no effect.
Twitch is also getting some changes. Her Shock Drone will now start with three shots, but it will have a cooldown system similar to Echo’s Yokai drone. Its firing power has also been reduced to 1 point of damage. All this serves to turn Twitch’s focus to Defenders’ utility, while keeping her drone relevant over the duration of the round.
ASH ELITE SET: LARA CROFT
This season’s first Elite set is a special one. Ash is not in the habit of exploring old, decrepit ruins, but occasionally she’ll don the identity of Lara Croft, and she’ll do the work that entails: jumping headfirst into danger for the greater good.
Explore every corner of every map with Ash’s Tomb Raider uniform, headgear, victory animation, gadget skin for her M120 CREM Breaching Rounds and Launcher and weapon skins for the G36C, R4-C, M45 MEUSOC and 5.7 USG, as well as the Elite Ash Lara Croft charm, all of which will be available soon after the launch of Operation Void Edge.
OPERATORS PRICE DECREASE
Another wave of price decrease is coming! This time, Mira and Jackal’s prices will now be 10,000 Renown or 240 R6 Credits, Lion and Finka’s go down to 15,000 Renown or 350 R6 Credits, while Mozzie and Gridlock’s costs will decrease to 20,000 Renown or 480 R6 Credits.
VOID EDGE WEAPON SKINS
Three new seasonal weapon skins will be available this season, each with their own unique style
First: the sleek Saber Carve, influenced by the historical weaponry of Oryx’s region of origin.
Second: the playful Clog Dance, modeled after the traditional wooden shoes of Dutch culture.
Third: the colorful River Scale, inspired by Dragon Boat Festivals.
Seasonal weapon skins are released upon season launch and can be purchased during that season. Once unlocked, the seasonal weapon skins can be applied to all available weapons and will remain in the player’s inventory indefinitely.
YEAR 5 PASS
And so, our fifth year of Siege is about to kick off. If you want even more content, the Year 5 Pass is for you!
The Year pass includes access to 6 new Year 5 Operators and 6 new exclusive headgears and uniforms for them, as well as multiple exclusive customization items. You’ll also get the same VIP perks as always.
As a thank you gift to Year 4 Pass owners who renew their Pass for Year 5, we also offer 600 R6 Credits, as well as 2 Legendary and 3 Epic Alpha Packs.
PLAYER BEHAVIOR
OPTIONAL CROSS-CHAT
As part of our continuous efforts against in-game toxicity, we are introducing the ability to select more private chat channels for live games.
Chat will be set to ‘Team Only’ by default with this update, but players can select to see All or No Chat via their in-game settings (this option has no impact on the Custom Games).
Our data consistently shows that a very high percentage of Abusive Chat reports are from cross-chat. Currently, in Ranked, Unranked and Casual, close to 85% of reports for Abusive Chat are made against a player from the opposing team. Our aim is to make games a more welcoming experience, and return the focus of the in-game chat to strategic team-based communications.
ABANDON PENALTY ESCALATION FOR RANKED/UNRANKED
As we’ve seen improvements in connection and server stability, we’ll be re-activating the escalating abandon penalty for ranked and unranked.
BALANCING
RECRUIT REWORK
To improve the Rainbow Six Siege onboarding experience, we’re re-assigning Recruit on a mission to lead and guide our new players. In Y5S1, recruit will have pre-set loadouts for ATT and DEF instead of CTU based loadouts. This will help ease the learning process and make recruit an ideal pick for new players familiarizing themselves with Siege.
CASTLE
- Removed M45 secondary weapon and replaced with Super Shorty
FROST
- Holographic scope added to Frost’s C1
GOYO
- Falling onto Goyo’s Volcan only causes it collapse, instead of explode and propagate fire.
IQ
- When objectives such as Bombs or Biohazard containers are still hidden during the action phase, if IQ detects them with her gadget she will reveal their location to her entire team.
LESION
- Gu mines visible to Lesion only when in direct LOS and within an 8 meter distance.
- Removal of initial Gu mine damage tick.
- Gu mine damage increased to 6 damage per tick (instead of 4).
- DBNO players now immune to GU Mines. Being DBNO will still trigger them but the GU mines effect will not apply.
TWITCH
- Twitch Drone: Twitch’s drone will now use a charge system similar to Yokai drones instead of a set ammo count. Drones will start with the maximum ammo count of 3 shots and it will take 30 seconds to recharge a new shot.
- Drone will start a round with 3 shots (instead of 5)
- It takes 30s to fully recharge a shot, with a maximum carrying capacity of 3 shots per drone.
- Drone shot cooldown reduced to 1s (from 2s)
- Drone taser damage reduced to 1 hp (down from 10). Evil Eyes and Jager’s ADS gadget health also reduced to 1 hp.
- Increased recoil for Twitch’s F2
WARDEN
Warden’s Smart Glasses will now run on a charge system and can be activated long as there is more than 20% left of his charge left. Activation lasts 10 seconds and needs 10 seconds for a full recharge.
- Cooldown removed on Warden’s use of his gadget.
- Warden can now control usage time and deactivate it manually, with a maximum activation time of 10 seconds.
- His ability recharges at the same speed than it depletes. When fully depleted, it takes 10 seconds for it to be completely recharged
DMRS
- Increased destruction for DMRs for faster destruction of barricades, hatches, and soft surfaces.
VECTOR .45
- Vector damage increased to 23 (from 21)
LOADOUT CHANGES
- Dokkaebi: Stun Grenades replacing Frag. Grenades
- Maverick: Frag Grenades replacing Stun Grenades
- Nokk: Frag Grenades replacing Claymore
- Ying: Frag Grenades replacing Claymore
- Compensator removed from DMRs
TWEAKS AND IMPROVEMENTS
GAME BALANCING
Explosions + Shrapnel Damage
We have reworked explosions and made changes some important changes to how explosion and the new shrapnel damage will work in Siege. This will make it clearer to players when they are damaged due to shrapnel damage from explosives. Damage taken by a player from an explosion is now determined by Shrapnel damage. The new Shrapnel damage will govern who is hit, and how much damage is taken given the player’s environment. It will apply reduced damage based on the number of objects it passes through from the origin of the explosion. Shrapnel damage should be more transparent in providing feedback to players on how they took damage or died. For a more detailed look at how explosions in Siege work, check out our Dev Blog.
Corner Explosions
We’ve improved how explosives interact in corners where there is both a hard and soft wall.
Indestructible Object Interference:
We’ve improved how explosives interact in situations where an indestructible object like a beam can block destruction damage on nearby soft walls.
PLAYER COMFORT
Stay in Drone After Prep Phase Option
Attackers will now have the option to stay in drone observation tools even when Prep Phase ends by selecting the “Drone after Prep” option in the Options Menu.
Drone random Spawn
Attacker drone spawn is now no longer random. Attacker drones will now always spawn on the same side of the building as your first selected spawn point. This change will give attackers more agency and coordination during prep phase, as well as help simplify orientation for new. You can still re-select your spawn point afterwards based on intel you gathered during the prep phase.
Caster HUD Updates
- Caster HUD Revamp: The new Caster HUD gives the casters the ability to expand all 10 players for a global overview of the game at any given moment, without the need to see the scoreboard or a specific player point of view.
- Player Cards: Cards can be toggled, allowing casters more flexibility for a specific situation, where they can choose between what we called condensed or expanded views. Condensed cards display the same amount of information as before, with added feedback for drones. You can follow a player point of view without missing any actions on the screen. Furthermore, expanded cards will allow all players’ statistics and operators’ loadouts to be displayed simultaneously.
- Round Header: By moving player information, we could get more space to keep improving the narration of the game. The header will now display team names and clear defusing states when it happens.
Game Mode Name Change
The Terrorist Hunt playlist will be renamed to Training Grounds to better reflect what our community uses the playlist for. Terrorist Hunt Classic will be renamed to Elimination to more accurately depict the game mode players can expect when entering those games.
GAME HEALTH
Player Report Notifications
Players will receive notifications when a player they have reported has had an action taken against them.
Data Consolidation
To consolidate and reduce the overall game size, we have made some more improvements with restructuring how game data is stored. This means the season patch will be larger than normal.
Player Loadouts
With the start of Y5S1, we're reworking how custom load-outs are saved in your player profile. If you log in at least once during Y5S1, we will be able to save and convert your custom loadout to the new load-out format. Players who don't log in at least once during Season 1 will find a default loadout upon logging in come Y5S2.
Night Maps Removal from Custom
To better focus our team’s resources on creating a newer and better Rainbow Six Siege experience, we’ll be removing support for Night Maps from Custom game modes.
LORE
Operator Bio Updates
We’ve updated more Operator bios! Go check out their new bios in-game!
- Y1S1: Buck, Frost
- Y1S2: Blackbeard, Valkyrie
- Y1S3: Capitão, Caveira
- Y1S4: Echo, Hibana
- Y2S1: Jackal, Mira
- Y2S2: Lesion. Ying
- Y2S3: Ela, Zofia
- Y2S4: Dokkaebi, Vigil
- Y3S1: Finka, Lion
