The release of the Rainbow Six Siege Shifting Tides update is right around the corner. As the developers build toward its launch, they are incorporating a host of different changes and weapon balances. The latest Rainbow Six Siege patch notes for November 26, 2019 detail these changes in a set of new Pre-Season Y4S4 designer’s notes, detailing everything from weapon and operator balance to the new limb penetration mechanic.
Rainbow Six Siege Y4S4 | Shifting Tides Pre-Season Patch Highlights
The latest Rainbow Six Siege patch notes detail pre-season balances across essentially all of the game. There are a lot of changes to spell out, and we’ll give you the basic highlights below. For everyone else, the full patch notes can be found toward the bottom of this guide.
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The pre-season designer’s patch notes spell out for specific weapon balances: The M-12 SMG has had its base damage increased from 36 to 40, the FO-12 Shotgun has increased spread and accuracy but decreased ranged damage, the SASG-12 has increased spread and accuracy, and the BOSG 12.2 now has its very own Advanced Combat Optical Gunsight (also known as an ACOG).
There have been a few operator adjustments, too: Glaz sees an increase in the intensity of his scope’s highlight, Kaid’s Electroclaw radius has been increased and Barbed Wire have replaced the Impact Grenades, Warden’s Barbed Wire has been replaced with C4, and the development team have promised more balance reworks for Jackal ahead of the Shifting Tides release.
Finally, the team have given some more information concerning Limb Penetration. This system affects different guns in different ways; primarily, automatic rifles, submachine guns, light machine guns, and pistols now have simple limb penetration. Marksman rifles and sniper rifles have full penetration, while shotguns and machine pistols have no penetration power.
Rainbow Six Siege Y4S4 | Full Shifting Tides Pre-Season Patch Notes
Here are the full Rainbow Six Siege patch notes for the Y4S4 Pre-Season Designer’s Notes as provided by Ubisoft.
Weapon Balancing
- M-12 SMG
- Increased M-12 SMG damage from 36 to 40
- The M-12 is currently one of the lowest damages and slowest firing SMGs in the game. With most players favouring the Luison, there is currently very little reason to select the M-12. Our Devs are looking to give the M-12 a fairer chance during duels.
- FO-12 shotgun
- Decreased damage dealt beyond 10 meters
- Spread increase and accuracy reduction
- Ela’s FO-12 is very strong and frustrating, mostly for console players, but on PC as well. She is targeted by Operator bans by console players and when she is not, her pick rate is very high. This weapon should be more in line with other semi-automatic shotguns. We also want to reduce her ban rate and how frustrating Ela can be.
- SASG-12
- Spread increase and accuracy reduction
- The SASG-12 shares many similarities with the FO-12. A spread increase when shooting rapidly as well as an increased recoil will make it a bit less easy to control.
- BOSG 12.2
- #BOSGACOG is here
- Adding the ACOG to 707th SMB Operator shotgun was mostly motivated by the low performance of the weapon. Even if part of the community was also looking forward to the addition of the ACOG, it remained a pure balancing decision. This new sight should not affect the overall performance of this weapon.
- As usual, we will monitor its performance for Dokkaebi and Vigil and adjust whatever is necessary.
Operator Balancing
- Glaz
- Increased Glaz’s scope highlight base intensity
- We are giving our Russian sniper a bit more love to help him spot enemies even when the scope is not charged, thus making his scope useful in more situations.
- Kaid
- Increased Kaid’s Electroclaw radius from 0.75m to 1.3m
- Replaced Impact Grenades with Barbed Wire
- Kaid’s gadget leaves ample room for creativity. The feedback we gathered indicated that Electroclaws added variety to many situations but needed an extra edge. A wider radius instead of a third Electroclaw is more comfortable for attackers to handle, as it won’t require any extra gadgets to counter. The activation speed still allows for tricking and the return of his barbed wires should lead to more creative setups.
- Kaid’s loadout has gone through several adjustments. This more cautious and step by step approach gives enough time to our community to explore all its potential.
- Warden
- Replaced Barbed Wire with C4
- We want to increase his potential as a denial Defender for defuser plays. The C4 should give him more opportunity to defend a bomb site without exposing himself. In addition, we are still considering other options to make sure Warden is relevant, we will tell you more when ready.
- Jackal
- Jackal’s rework will be included in Operation Shifting Tides. As the most banned attacker, Jackal is a high source of frustration for many players and one of our top balancing priorities.
Limb Penetration
- The new bullet penetration system will impact every bullet you shoot. Our Dev Team is aiming at reducing confusion. A side effect of this change should increase the lethality of various classes of weapons in certain situations.
