Tom Clancy's Rainbow Six Siege soon receives its third mid-season patch under Operation Shifting Tides, scheduled to introduce a vast lineup of balancing adjustments, bug fixes, and Vulkan API support on PC. The free update deploys title-wide this week, currently on track for January 28 availability on PC, and January 29 on Xbox One and PlayStation.
The broadest change under Patch 4.3 impacts gameplay balancing, with adjustments to all weapon aim-down-sight (ADS) times, alongside various Operator tweaks. For Rainbow Six's arsenal, that means up increased times from 12.5 to 175 percent, determined by weapon class. The change follows a notable ADS speed buff in Operation Ember Rise, reigning back times closer to initial values.
The update also debuts seven new Operator adjustments, impacting Blackbeard, Echo, Ela, Finka, Jager, Maestro, and Ying. Among the most significant player-facing changes is a nerf to Echo, soon hackable by Dokkaebi, with Yokai drone cameras accessible over phone hacks. Jager's 416-C will receive a damage reduction from 43 down to 38, while Maestro loses his ACOG sight on the ALDA LMG. Finka and Ela also receive buffs, improving Spear .308 damage, and reducing Scorpion recoil.
The implementation of Vulkan also treats PC players to a new graphics API, providing a DirectX 11 alternative that optimizes rendering, striving to reduce the usage of system resources. That could result in title-wide performance boosts for some setups, increasing the fluidity of tactical gameplay.
The full list of Rainbow Six Siege Patch 4.3 changes and bug fixes is located below, as provided by Ubisoft.
VULKAN API
The Vulkan API available to test on PC, for further details on what it is and how to activate it, check out our Vulkan blog.
BALANCING
ADS
- ADS time increased for all weapons.
- Assault rifles: from 0.30s to 0.40s
- DMRs: from 0.30s up to 0.40s
- SMGs: from 0.20s up to 0.30s
- LMGs: from 0.40s up to 0.45s
- Pistol: 0.10s up to 0.20s
- SMG in secondary slots: 0.10s up to 0.275s*
- Shotguns: 0.20s up to 0.25s
*(Modified based on feedback from Test Server)
BLACKBEARD
- ADS penalization will only apply when Blackbeard's Gun Shield is equipped.
- Weapons without the Gun Shield will maintain the same ADS timings as any other AR.
- Weapons with the Gun Shield will retain the same ADS timings from before.
- The Angled Grip will affect the SCAR with and without the Gun Shield equipped.
ECHO
- Echo can now be called by Dokkaebi.
- Echo now drops a phone when killed with Dokkaebi present.
- When hacked, access to the Yokai cameras is also granted for Attackers.
- Yokai now has lights that show only when NOT cloaked, and Yokai drone lights will change to reflect it is hacked.
ELA
- Reduced recoil on Scorpion Evo3 for the first 16 shots, any proceeding shots will retain previous recoil pattern.
FINKA
- Increased Finka's Spear .308 damage to 42 (up from 38).
JAGER
- Reduced Jager's 416-C damage to 38 (down from 43).
MAESTRO
- ACOG removed from Maestro's ALDA.
YING
- Candela's now have a new outline that is visible only to Ying.
- Improved distribution of Cluster Flashes to make the flash more reliable.
- Number of pellets per Candela increased to 7 (up from 6) - (1 at floor level, 3 at around hip level and 3 at head level).
- Pellets detonation time reduced to 0.3s (from 1s on throw and 2.5s on deploy).
- Pellets that bounce on environmental props maintain their velocity instead of falling and detonating on the floor.
- Candela explosion minor VFX improvements.
FMG9
- Increased FMG9 damage to 34 (up from 30) for Nokk and Smoke.
BUG FIXES
GAMEPLAY
- FIXED -- Attachers can sometimes go through barricaded windows while attempting to hotbreach without detonating the breaching charge.
- FIXED -- Crashing if Lesion is pushed back by an airjab while trying to pull out a GU mine at the same time.
OPERATORS
- FIXED -- Jackal can't scan footsteps while within the warning area of a Mute jammer. He can now scan footsteps while in the warning area - making it more in alignment with all other Operator gadgets and abilities that can be used while still in the warning area of a jammer.
- FIXED - A rolling Candela that stops on a staircase will slide downstairs before detonating. Candelas will now stop and stay in place where they activated, even on stairs or uneven surfaces.
- FIXED -- Glaz's Holographic Sight has a larger and thicker red reticle than other Russian Holographic Sights.FIXED --
- FIXED -- After being affected by Thatcher's EMP, Yokai's blue lights remain dark even when being operated.
- FIXED -- Castle's Nail Gun remains present and clips while deploying his Armor Panels.
LEVEL DESIGN
- FIXED -- Invisible collision at the skylight of EXT Roof Top of Kafe for sticky deployable gadgets.
- FIXED -- Wall studs are not destroyed when a reinforced wall is first broken by Maverick and then shot by Zofia's impact grenade.
USER EXPERIENCE
- FIXED -- Thunt matches count towards the "Match Win Streak" Battle Pass Challenge.FIXED -- Battle Pass progression does not update properly on end-match screen, but shows correct progression in the main BP HUD.
- FIXED -- Various minor HUD and menu visual issues.
- FIXED -- Various minor shop and cosmetic visual issues.
- FIXED -- If a player mutes a teammate, they can still hear muted teammates after switching sides, even though the HUD indicates they are muted.
- FIXED - In Caster or support mode, Nomad's warheads pops in her hand while switching/reloading.
- FIXED -- Bandit's shockwire gadget appears offset when he holds it in his hands.
- FIXED -- Incorrect animation for Ballistic Shield ops when being pushed back.
- FIXED -- Zofia's KS79 Lifeline grenade launcher's ammo faces the wrong side.
- FIXED -- Swapping weapons while vaulting will cause the operators arm to appear broken from a 3rd person POV.
- FIXED -- Weapons don't sway back and forth while in rappel and moving L/R.
- FIXED -- Operators can appear to be floating over a shield from 3rd person POV if they vault over a shield twice.
