Ubisoft has revealed the full list of changes coming in the latest season of Rainbow Six Siege. Dubbed “Operation Phantom Sight,” the second season of year 4 content brings two new operators, a reworked map, and a slew of balance changes. Last night, Ubisoft debuted the season with a overview video, and today they released their full patch notes.
First up is the most eye-catching changes (pun intended): the two new operators. We met Nøkk earlier this week. She is a member of the Danish Jægerkorpset. Her ability combines Vigil’s camera evasion with Caviera’s silent step, making her a ghost on the field. The HEL, Nøkk’s cloaking device, will glitch out when she performs any action other than walking at normal speed, which should keep her from being overpowered. Her counter-intelligence role should also help attackers make the most out of a split push.
Dressed to kill
The second operator coming with Operation Phantom Sight is the impeccably dressed Warden. Warden is a member of the US Secret Service and the latest defender to join Team Rainbow. His gadget, The Glance, serves as a pair of smart glasses and allows him to actively prevent being flashed or clear the effects if he has already been hit. Additionally, these supped up lenses allow him to see through smoke.
Crucially, these effects only work when Warden is standing still and diminish the more he moves. In effect, The Glance functions similarly to Glaz’s scope and Ying’s glasses. Warden looks to be a strong anchor for the defenders.
New operators aren’t the only thing coming this season. The map Kafe Dostoyevsky has been reworked to “improve replayability and gameplay opportunities.” In effect, several bomb locations have moved, stairs have been moved, and a few long angles have been cut. This reworked map is currently live on the Rainbow Six Siege Test Server, so you can check it out in action now.
Pick & Ban
Rainbow Six Siege‘s ranked multiplayer is also receiving a shake-up. The Pro League style pick and ban system is coming. Players will now be able to apply their knowledge of the current meta to eliminate strong operators before they even get a chance to roll out. This system should feel familiar to anyone who plays MOBAs like League of Legends or Dota 2.
Additionally, 3-Round Rotations will now be standard. This means that if you start on attack, you won’t switch to defense at the end of your first round. Rather, you’ll have to stick to your side for three rounds before trading with the opposition. Lastly, and possibly one of the biggest changes, Ranked will only feature the ‘Bomb’ game mode. Secure Area and Hostage are disabled for Operation Phantom Sight’s ranked season.
Changes on the move
A few other operators have also seen rebalances. Sniper Glaz’s thermal imaging scope has been nerfed. Similar to Warden, his scope will now lose effectiveness in relation to movement. At full effectiveness, enemy operators will still light up like the Griswold house at Chrismas, but they will start to desaturate the more Glaz moves. Attacker Finka can now counter disorientation caused by nearby explosions with her Adrenal Surge ability. Defender Smoke is getting the vortex optic for his submachine gun. Lastly, the D-50 pistol is getting both the muzzle brake and suppressor attachments.
Other changes include revisions to the newly implemented reverse friendly fire system, a change to how ranked MMR is calculated, a new storefront, new seasonal skins, and a snazzy new elite skin for defender Echo.
There are dozens of other tweaks, refinements, and changes coming this seasons. If you’d like to read up on every change, you can find the full patch notes here.
