Rainbow Six Siege mid-season patch out today, Technical Test Server coming soon

Rainbow Six Siege is getting its own test server, just as a new patch goes live.

Ubisoft has announced that a new mid-season patch for Rainbow Six Siege is dropping today. The patch brings some balance changes for operators Buck, Doc, Glaz, Raven, and Glaz.

The developer also announced that Siege is getting its own Technical Test Servers (TTS), an environment where new additions and changes can be tested before they go live. The TTS will launch in the weeks ahead, and the first order of business is testing the new One-Step Matchmaking feature.

To start with, the patch will go live following one hour maintenance on all platforms. PS4 is up first with servers going offline at 6am PT, 9am ET, 1pm GMT/UK. Xbox One server maintenance starts 7am PT, 10am ET, 2pm GMT/UK. As for PC, servers go offline beginning 8am PT, 11am ET, 3pm GMT/UK.

Here are the headline changes, followed by the full change log.

Glaz's Flip Sight gets an upgrade. It's now able to outline defenders using thermal vision. This works even through smoke grenades. The patch brings a new Elite Skin, this time it's the French Resistance-themed Maquis set for Twitch.

Doc's overheal effect has received a buff, increasing the limit to 140. The developer felt that 120 wasn't enough to make a difference.

Buck's Skeleton Key gadget now has one extra magazine. This change was made following feedback that the gadget ran out of ammo quickly.

Weapon balance

-Red dot, reflex, and holo sight reticle size increase - Due to the realignment of sights in the Velvet Shell update that brought many of the sights closer, we saw immediate feedback from the community that the reticles of many sights were back to being too large. We have corrected this and the reticle sizes will now be less obstructive when ADS’ing to allow for better precision and vision.

-Trigger rate change for DMRs to prevent rapid firing - The DMRs’ maximum “trigger” rate has been lowered to prevent very rapid firing. This change was made because the maximum trigger rate was too high. Some people were able to click so fast on their mouse that it turned the DMR into a fully automatic AR. We felt like this was too strong.

-Echo's MP5SD2 damage increased at medium range - We have buffed the MP5SD2’s damage at medium range. We felt like the weapon’s damage was subpar because of its integrated silencer. Before the patch, the gun dealt 25 damage from 0 to 10 meters, then fell to its lowest damage at 14. It now has 29 damage from 0 to 15 meters then falls off to 14 damage at 20 meters.

-Thermite's 556XI is now easier to control - The 556xi’s recoil has been tweaked to make it easier to control. The weapon’s personality has not been changed, but you should have an easier time at being more precise with it.

-Caveira's Luison damage dropoff change - Caveira’s Luison damage has been buffed at medium range encounters. Pre-Patch, the damage went from 70 damage at 7 meters down to 20 damage at 18 meters. Now it goes from 70 damage at 7 meters to 35 damage at 18 meters. It then falls of to 20 damage at 24 meters. We felt like Caveira’s signature weapon damage dropoff was too sharp and made it hard for players to understand what range is lethal and which isn’t. It is now as good, or better, at all ranges than the standard PRB92.

-Jackal's C7E recoil balance - We have increased the recoil of the C7E. We felt like it was way too accurate and had no downsides. It is now harder to control for prolonged full automatic fire.

-Capitao's PARA-308 recoil buff - We have buffed the PARA-308’s recoil. A lot of the Pro League players expressed how hard to control this weapon is and we felt they were absolutely right. It should be easier to control over fully automatic fire and should sway a little less to the sides.

Gameplay fixes

• FIXED – There is an exploit that results in Ranked games awarding 0-5 MMR after a win.
• FIXED – Hit registration and kill cam show a headshot without the proper bonus point with a neck shot.
• FIXED – The player cannot detonate a Nitro Cell if they are put in a DBNO state while holding it and then revived.
• FIXED – Weapons will become invisible when the revive animation of a player or hostage is interrupted.
• FIXED – The feedback for cooking a Frag Grenade is not replicated in support mode.
• FIXED – The camera clips through an Operator when they go down stairs while in prone.
• FIXED – The compass does not move, or shows the wrong direction, while the player is rappelling.
• FIXED – Crouching under a deployable shield while it is being placed will allow the character to sometimes clip through it.
• FIXED – The smoke grenade effect passes through floors.

Game mode fixes

Ranked
• FIXED – In some cases, playing placement ranked matches do not count towards total placement matched needed to obtain a rank.

Terrorist Hunt
• FIXED – Jackal will sometimes not activate a Nitro Cell when walking near it.
• FIXED – Extraction animation played at a specific point causes AI to remain stuck running in place.

Operator fixes

Shield operators
• FIXED – Shields are not protecting Operators from explosive damage.

Blitz
• FIXED – Blitz has spent additional time at the range, thus reducing the draw time on his weapon after triggering his Shield Flash. There is no longer a 2 seconds delay before Blitz can fire his weapon.

Frost
• FIXED – Frost is unable to place her traps near a window.

Echo
• FIXED – When hit by a Yokai sonic burst, the camera mode can't be used for the duration of the disorientation effect.
• FIXED – The Yokai drone resets its initial camera direction every time Echo accesses it.
• FIXED – The Yokai drone will sometimes experience the wrong collision detection when it is sticking to the ceiling and will result in a "losing signal" erro

Mira
• FIXED – Breaking reinforcement panels placed around indestructible pillar will leave gaps between the wall and reinforcement.
• FIXED – The One Way Mirror plant event is triggered twice, making the sound too loud.
• FIXED – Sometimes Mira cannot place Reinforcements next to the One Way Mirror.
• FIXED – The frame of the One Way Mirror switches to the place where the second Mirror is being deployed for a player who has joined in progress.
• FIXED – Breach Charges and Exothermic Charges are not destroyed if a One Way Mirror is placed on the opposite side of the same wall.

Sledge
• FIXED – Sledge's model is corrupt during gameplay when viewed by other players.

Montagne
• FIXED – It is possible to shoot Montagne's pistol with his shield extended while doing a specific action.

Level design fixes

Bartlett University
• FIXED – Destruction on the ceiling of the Piano Room above the fire place can only be seen from one direction.
• FIXED – Players can clip through the 1F Dining Room outside door and can be killed by enemies.
• FIXED – A player will get stuck in a wall when entering from rappel in 1F Dining Room.

Clubhouse
• FIXED – Defenders are able to clip into the outside shed by vaulting over a deployable shield.

Bank
• FIXED – Objects on shelves disappear and deform upon LOD drop.

User experience fixes

• FIXED – The Square button on PS4 loses functionality on the highlighted items on the Shop tab if the user tries to buy with square button and returns.
• FIXED – The screen remains in continuous loading when accessing the Ubisoft Club Challenges in-game and in the Uplay client.
• FIXED – Full screen mode on a customization item can only be accessed once per item.
• FIXED – Certain charms contain placeholder icons.
• FIXED – Some Operators have lower resolution texture in their headgear pictures and in the character model preview mode. (This is an ongoing process, and additional Operators will be touched on in future updates.)