Rainbow Six Siege Year 8 has officially been announced by Ubisoft and I had the chance to take a special look at what is coming down the pike. It’s hard to believe that Rainbow Six Siege is already eight years old now, but the hit tactical shooter from Ubisoft is determined to keep the game at the forefront of online tactical shooters.
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Rainbow Six Siege Year 8 Season 1 brings Brava to the battlefield, a Brazillian Operator ready to lead the attack with the help of her Kludge Drone gadget. She is definitely more equipped for counteracting defenders, given her rank three speed rating and rank one health, but her technological skills can quickly turn the tide of battle. I was given a chance actually to play as Brava during a special preview event and was really impressed at how well she operates. The Kludge Drone is extremely useful for disrupting the defenders’ tech since it can take them over and make them usable by the attacking team. There were several games we played where this was instrumental to our success.
While the introduction of Brava in Year 8 Season 1 is the keynote, it was the under-the-hood updates that really have me intrigued. One of the biggest updates is a penalty system for players using mouse and keyboard while playing the game on consoles. Players will be hit with increasing amounts of input lag, which can only be gradually reduced by switching back to a controller. This might be a somewhat controversial move, but I am glad to see a system put in place to benefit console players and help keep them from facing unbeatable odds when it comes to using a controller versus players on mouse and keyboard.
Ubisoft are also taking a more serious stance against toxic behaviors in voice chat. A new Reputation Penalty system will be put in place that mutes repeat offenders by default. I appreciate the willingness to try to tackle an issue that is so pervasive in video games, especially competitive ones. Hopefully, this system can also lead to more consistent bans for serious offenders, but it’s a good start to try to help limit the toxicity.
Among the rest of the updates coming to Rainbow Six Siege Year 8 Season 1 are several balancing measures to help tune the gameplay to make it even more precise and tactical. Operators like Zero as well as weapon attachments are being rebalanced and a new immersive reload system is being introduced. The goal for Ubisoft here is to solidify Siege’s position as a high-intensity tactical shooter, and I’m looking forward to seeing these changes play out with the community at large.
Finally, Rainbow Six Siege Year 8 Season 1 is making changes to the onboarding process for new players. It can be really daunting for new players to hop into a competitive game, but new Beginner Challenges and Specialty Challenges will help ease the learning process. These are designed to help introduce players to the different Operators and their abilities in order to best contribute to their teams in-game. These challenges can also help unlock the Operators themselves or their value in renown if they are already unlocked. These challenges are open to new and experienced players alike.
Rainbow Six Siege is now available to play on PlayStation 4, PlayStation 5, Xbox Series X | S, Windows PC, including on Ubisoft+, Ubisoft’s subscription service.
