Expect some downtime later today.
Rainbow Six Siege, or R6 as you may prefer to call it if you’re typing in a hurry, is kicking off a new season of content today (Tuesday 12th March).
Fans in the UK and beyond are wondering when exactly they’ll be able to jump into the new R6 season, which has been given the rather dramatic title of Operation Deadly Omen.
Keep on reading and we’ll run through all the key details! Luckily, there is official information to go on this time.
When is the new R6 season? UK start time confirmed
The new R6 season is slated to begin at around 2pm GMT here in the UK on Tuesday 12th March.
One hour prior to that, at 1pm GMT, the game will be taken offline for some official R6 server downtime. This is when the new season will be patched into the game.
In the official social media post below, the developers have promised that the downtime will only take an hour, meaning that players should be able to jump into the new content at around 2pm.
😈 Y9S1 Maintenance 😈
— Rainbow 6 Siege UK (@Rainbow6_UK) March 12, 2024
Operation Deadly Omen will be deployed today, 12th March.
💻🎮 All Platforms: 09:00 ET / 13:00 UTC
⏲️ Downtime up to 60 mins
Check out the Patch Notes Addendum here 🔗 https://t.co/K4l9oigwCb pic.twitter.com/mcytniKzAm
Also in the official social media post above, the developers confirmed the patch sizes for today’s R6 update.
On PC, you’ll need 4.98 GB on the Ubisoft launcher, or 4.5 GB on Steam.
On Xbox, you’ll need 8 GB on Xbox One, or 8.4 GB on Xbox Series X/S.
On PlayStation, you’ll need 525 MB on PS4, or 5.38 GB on PS5.
R6 patch notes: What’s included in the new season?
The best place to look for official intel is always the Rainbow Six Siege website, where you’ll find an eye-catching overview of the new season.
To sum up the new content at a glance, per the official overview, this is what you should expect:
New Operator – Deimos
“Added to the roster this season is the infamous Deimos, one of the original pillars of Rainbow Six and now one of its most ardent detractors.
“Hailing from the United States of America, this operator brings his dreaded DeathMARK Tracker to the fold. With it, Deimos can mark an enemy on the battlefield and show them exactly how close he is to exacting lethal punishment.”
Attachment and Ads Upgrade
“We’ve made a lot of changes to weapons attachments this season including updates and improvements to grips, under barrels, and sights.”
New Management Menu
“The Locker is a new management system menu that keeps cosmetic items organized and makes browsing and exploring the player’s cosmetic collection more convenient by adding a favorites section.”
Ranked Restrictions
“Ranked is our most competitive playlist and players compete based on performance and skill level. Because of this we have added restrictions to ensure all players get an enjoyable experience.
“With the release of Operation Deadly Omen we are splitting Ranked Restrictions into two groups: Returning and New Players.
“Returning and new players will have restrictions on access to Ranked until requirements are met. Players who have been inactive in the game for a season will need to win 5 matches in Quick Match or Standard, and players who have not played Ranked before the release of Deadly Omens will require a Clearance Level of 50, and have at least 10 Attack and 10 Defense Operators. This does not affect players who already have Ranked unlocked.”
Data Bans on Machine Learning
“The new model has been implemented to detect a greater quantity of cheating behavior by taking a more in-depth look at Players. This will help us in keeping up to date with the evolving cheating landscape and limit the impact on non-cheaters.”
Rappel Improvements
“We have made changes to rappel to improve the time it takes to enter and exit this ability, making play more natural and responsive for Attackers. We’ve also added some new animations.”
Trajectory Previsualization
“Trajectory Previsualization gives players the option to see a visual representation of where their throwable device will end up, letting players set up devices more accurately, as well as providing a ghost for devices that stick to surfaces to show where it will end up. Trajectory Previsualization is available for all game modes. and can be toggled on or off in the settings.”
Onboarding Versus AI
“This season we’re adding more maps and Operators to this playlist, as well as improving the behavior of the AI.
“5 maps have been added to the VS AI Playlist: Chalet, Oregon, Consulate, Bank, and Kafe Dostoyevsky.
“Chalet, Oregon, and the existing map Club House are available on both beginner and advanced modes, while Consulate, Bank, and Kafe Dostoyevsky are available on advanced only.
“We’ve also added MELUSI and ALIBI to the roster of Operators available for the AI. Players going against AI as Attackers can now play as LION, JACKAL, IANA, BUCK, FINKA, and ASH.
“We have also fixed bugs and improved our models and behavior of the AI bots. In doing this we have trained our AI to be more aware of their surroundings and potential danger.”
Map Training Playlist
“This season we are adding Skyscraper, Coastline, Border and Nighthaven into the Map Training playlist.”
Seasonal Weapon Skin
“The Bullseye Bundle offers you the Dead Center weapon and attachment skin, the Ruthless Allegiance charm, as well as the Rupture operator card background.”
Balancing
Finka: “Finka’s Adrenaline Boost doesn’t increase Reload Speed. Cleans shields’ Suppressive Fire. Also reduces its effect by 50% if applied while affected by the Adrenal Surge.”
Azami: “The Kiba Barrier has health and is vulnerable to bullets. The caliber of the weapon will affect the damage dealt to the barriers.”
LMG: “The LMG weapon class will be receiving an overall reduction to their recoil. With the combination of their magazine size and this adjustment they will also have a 10% movement penalty.”
Operator Price Decrease
“Doom and gloom are not all there is to Operation Deadly Omen, select Operators are getting a price decrease!
“Going down to 10,000 Renown, or 240 R6 Credits, is Operator Flores.
“Azami’s price is decreasing to 15,000 Renown, or 360 R6 Credits.
“Finally, Brava is now priced at 20,000 Renown or 480 R6 Credits. Now is the perfect time to try them out if you haven’t already.”
Flashbang Customisation
“Feature allows players to select the type of visual and audio effect applied whenever the player is blinded by a flashbang or other blinding device.”
Quick Match Playlist update
Maps added to Quick Match:
- Kanal
- Kafe Dostoyevsky
- Border
- Outback
Arcade Playlist update
- The interior hatches of all arcades maps (Favela, Consulate, Close Quarters, Emerald Plains, Villa, Themepark, Lair, Nighthaven, Coastline, Skyscraper, Stadium 2021) are pre-destroyed.
- Arcade now supports spectator mode.
- Removed Impact Grenades from Free For All game mode.
Unbannable Operator
“Deimos can’t be banned in the Ranked playlist for the first two weeks after release.”
Ranked Exclusive Rewards
“Starting this season, players who reach Gold 1 in Ranked will receive an exclusive reward at the end of the season. For this season, players who reach Gold 1 in Ranked will receive an exclusive headgear for Thermite.”
Check out the developer blog for more info on balancing changes, and there’s also a long list of bug fixes in the full patch notes.
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