What you need to know
- Ubisoft has detailed efforts to address an increase in DDoS attacks affecting Tom Clancy's Rainbow Six Siege.
- An upcoming ban wave will target identified attackers, while the studio has committed to gameplay, technical, and legal action.
Tom Clancy's Rainbow Six Siege recently received Operation Ember Rise, the latest of seasonal updates, bringing new content to the hit multiplayer shooter. Two new Operators and a promising map rework headline the changes, while also delivering the latest iteration of the game's competitive Ranked scene. However, a rise of distributed denial-of-service (DDoS) attacks has overshadowed the launch, with significant implications on the state of Ranked play.
Ember Rise has seen an uptick in DDoS attacks on game servers, manipulating the skill-based ranking system, opening new avenues for malicious play. Overloading servers with superficial requests, attackers can quickly bring matches to a halt. In the wake of widespread community concern, Ubisoft has outlined plans to combat DDoS attackers, with the first wave of action slated for this week.
Ubisoft will soon kickstart a ban wave across Xbox One, PlayStation 4, and PC, striking users identified with triggering DDoS attacks since the Ember Rise launch. The studio claims to have classified the "worst offenders" across platforms, with action scheduled for next week. Legal efforts are also planned, via cease and desists targeting DDoS services.
In the meantime, this week brings changes to backend systems, shifting from three matches per server, down to one. The move aims to reduce the impact of DDoS attacks as they occur, slicing the pool of affected players by two thirds per instance. The game will simultaneously "reduce impact" of abandon sanctions enforced on players in Ranked if booted due to a DDoS strike.
Broader changes are planned moving forward, adapting how Rainbow Six Siege handles networking and server stress. Working alongside Microsoft who provides its cloud hosting, the duo aims better handle and filter future attacks.
Operation Ember Rise is now available for free on Xbox One, PlayStation 4, and PC, providing the first chance to get hands-on with Amaru and Goyo.
Addictive, challenging shooter action
Ubisoft's hit shooter is hotter than ever, touting tense tactical gameplay, and regular free updates. With millions of players in 2019, Rainbow Six isn't slowing down.
