Rainbow Six Siege Y11S1 Designer's Notes: Operator Balancing & Meta Shifts

Ubisoft has released the Y11S1 Designer's Notes for Rainbow Six Siege, outlining significant operator balancing changes and insights into the current meta. The update focuses on refining gameplay, enhancing tactical choices, and improving overall quality of life.

Balancing Matrix and Top Operator Bans

The development team provided detailed balancing matrices and operator ban rates for both Attack and Defense, offering a clear picture of operator performance and player preferences across different ranks.

Operator Ban Rate

Operator Balancing

Skopós

Skopós is receiving significant changes to sharpen her identity as a fast-but-fragile operator. Her Shells' health is reduced, but their speed is increased, rewarding precise positioning and tactical movement. To improve fluidity, shell transfer and activation times are reduced, along with the cooldown between swaps. Additionally, Skopós now gains Aruni's punch melee for enhanced soft destruction and map interaction.

• BASE STATS
  • Speed: 3 (from 2)
  • Health: 1 (from 2)
• V10 PANTHEON SHELLS
  • Transfer time: Reduced to 1.3 seconds (from 1.5)
  • Activation time: Reduced to 1.3 seconds (from 1.5)
  • Swap cooldown: Reduced to 0.5 seconds (from 3)
• LOADOUT
  • Melee: Creates a bigger hole and destroys wood studs (same behavior as Aruni)

Flores

Flores' loadout is expanding with the addition of the T-95 LSW as a primary weapon option. This aims to broaden his tactical choices and provide new flexibility without altering his current healthy spot in the meta.

• LOADOUT
  • Primary weapons: Added T-95 LSW

F2

The iconic F2 weapon is receiving a usability buff with the addition of Grip attachments (Vertical, Angled, and Horizontal). This change aims to make the weapon feel more rewarding to use, addressing its difficulty despite high pick rates. This could notably impact the meta.

• ATTACHMENTS
  • Grips: Added Vertical, Angled, and Horizontal
• OPERATORS AFFECTED
  • Twitch
  • Solid Snake

Ballistic Shields

Ballistic Shield operators can no longer break through full-HP barricades by simply pushing them. This change is designed to slow down shield pushes, creating more opportunities for defenders to react and counter, making shield advances more deliberate.

• MOVEMENT
  • Cannot break through full health barricades
• OPERATORS AFFECTED
  • Blackbeard
  • Blitz
  • Fuze
  • Montagne
  • Clash

Refinement Changes

Several operators are receiving minor quality-of-life adjustments to polish gameplay without significantly altering their power levels.

Alibi

• PRISMA
  • Tracking: The last ping is not removed when the debuff finishes

Amaru

• GARRA HOOK
  • Max resources: Increased to 5 (from 4)

Ela

• GRZMOT MINE
  • Concussion: Increased duration to 9 seconds (from 7)

Ying

• CANDELA
  • Cluster Flash: Increased flash duration to 1.6 seconds (from 1.4)

Observation Blocker

The Observation Blocker's deployment time is reduced to 1 second (from 2.5). The developers clarified that the gadget is not intended to be throwable, emphasizing its role as a proactive tool for intel denial and strategic placement rather than reactive concealment.

• BASE STATS
  • Deployment time: Reduced to 1 second (from 2.5)
• OPERATORS AFFECTED
  • Alibi
  • Caveira
  • Denari
  • Fenrir
  • Jager
  • Kaid
  • Lesion
  • Maestro
  • Pulse
  • Sentry
  • Warden

Rank Distribution

The update also includes a visual representation of the current rank distribution within Rainbow Six Siege.

Players are encouraged to provide feedback on these changes via X and Reddit.