Rainbow Six Y6S1 patch notes: Crimson Heist launch, Blackbeard & Kali changes, more

Ubisoft have dropped their patch notes for Rainbow Six Siege’s Year 6 Season 1 update, bringing the start of Crimson Heist, as well as a number of operator changes. 

Just like any other multiplayer game, Siege has undergone its fair share of updates – be it to introduce new content, balance operators, change weapon, and more.

With the start of Year 6 Season 1, the Crimson Heist expansion will introduce brand-new operator Flores, a rework to Border, as well a new secondary weapon.

Though, the existing operators and weapons won’t be forgotten about. The developers have rolled out their patch updates ahead of the update, highlights changes to Blackbeard, Kali, and more.

Blackbeard nerfed yet again

Some things change, but some things stay the same. Ubisoft has been forced to nerf Blackbeard again after the attacker’s dominance in ranked. He has lost even more damage on his shield, down to just 20 HP before breaking.

That alone is a hefty nerf, but his trusty MK17 is also being targeted with a big damage downgrade too.

• Read More: Rainbow Six & Rick and Morty crossover teased for Year 6

“Given that the majority of the time, Blackbeard ends matches with shield economy to spare, this change should be fair to both sides as it brings him more in line with other Attackers,” the devs said in a February blog post.

Kali buffs make sniper more potent

Kali is getting a pretty nice change to kick off Rainbow Six Year 6. The sniper hasn’t really fit in to the meta, but a damage bonus to her CSRX 300 could change that.

Since changing the sniper to work like a normal weapon, the weapon values and balancing has been a bit off. Now, if they are a one-speed, it’ll instantly kill. It’ll also DBNO two and three-speed operators.

• Read More: Operation Crimson Heist battle pass details

However, if defenders have Rook plates, two and three-speed operators will survive the first shot.

The devs are looking to tinker with this even further to try and make Kali a “viable and balanced operator.”

“Unsurprisingly, finding the right balance for a one-shot-kill weapon can take a number of iterations,” they admitted.

On top of those two, changes will also be coming to Dokkaebi, Finka, Mozzie, and Twitch. There are weapon changes and bug fixes as usual as well.

Operation Crimson Heist now live

Of course, we can’t talk about Y6S1 launching without mentioning Operation Crimson Heist. Siege’s first expansion of Year 6 is now live, featuring Argentinian attacker Flores.

He deploys explosive RCE-Ratero drones that blow holes in walls — or enemies if you so wish. He gets these gadgets on top of regular drones.

• Read More: Flores guide for Rainbow Six

Border has also been reworked, and a host of other changes were added — including the launch of Match Replay.

You can check out the full Rainbow Six Y6S1 patch notes below.

Full Rainbow Six Y6S1 patch notes

Operator changes

Blackbeard

• Reduced Shield HP to 20 (from 50)
• Reduced MK17 damage to 40 (from 49)

Dokkaebi

• Added Gonne-6 (Removed C75)
• Added Stun Grenades (Removed Frag Grenades)

Finka

• Added Gonne-6 (Removed GSH-18)
• Added Stun Grenades (Removed Frag Grenades)

Kali

• Increased CSRX 300 damage to 127 (from 122)
  • 1 body shot will kill a 3-speed Operator
  • 1 body shot will DBNO a 2-speed Operator
  • 1 body shot will DBNO a 1-speed Operator
  • Wearing Rook Vest
    • 1 body shot will DBNO a 3-speed Operator
    • 2 body shots will DBNO a 2-speed Operator
    • 2 body shots will DBNO a 1-speed Operator

Twitch

• Added Smoke Grenades (Removed Stun Grenades)

G36

• Improved recoil

Game balancing

Defuser Priority

• In Bomb, if the defuser has not been picked up at the end of the Planning Phase, it will be given to the Operator who prioritizes the defuser the most.
• For example, Thermite will always get the defuser over Ash, given the nature of their respective roles.

Gadget Forced Unlean

• On PC, activating or equipping a gadget will no longer force the player to unlean.

Situations

• Progression locks have been added to Situation difficulties.
• Difficulty of Normal and Hard Situations is reduced.
• Weapon Attachments have been adjusted.
• Other quality of life changes have been made.

Player comfort

Playlist Parameters Coherence

• Reduced the round duration in the Newcomer and Quick Match playlists to 3 minutes.
• Increased the defuse and planting time to 7 seconds from the previous 5 seconds for both Newcomer and Quick Match.
• Added the defuser carrier selection for the Newcomer and Quick Match playlists to empower players who want to carry it and reduce friction among teammates.

Kapkan

• Improved the deployment of Kapkan’s Entry Denial Device to make it feel more intuitive and reliable.

ADS Toggle

• Players using the ADS Toggle option are no longer forced back into ADS after performing an action that puts them out of it.

Spectator Mode

• Added multi-kills feedback and team loadout.

Achievements/Trophies

• The titles of some achievements/trophies have been updated.

In-Game Tips

• In-game tips have been added to the HUD.
• In addition, some warning messages and in-game feedback have been reworked.

Game Health

New Voice Actors

• The Operator voices for IQ and Capitão have been re-recorded with new voice actors.

Red Ping Support

• Support for Lion, Alibi, and Jackal’s red ping in Replay/EOR.

Challenges

• Removed the Ubisoft Connect Daily Challenges. The tile with the trophy icon in the Home section now redirects to Battle Pass Challenges.

Map Rotations

• Removed map rotations for Quick Match.
• To increase variety, all maps (except Bartlett U.) are now included in the Quick Match map pool.