Rainbow Six Siege’s latest Test Server (TS) update is ushering in a series of significant tweaks today. Jäger arguably bears the brunt of the impact, but Buck, Mozzie, Caveira, and Ying also received tweaks to their kits.
In total, five operators were directly affected by the update. The changes to the TCSG12 also indirectly affected Kaid and Goyo.
Here’s how the patch will impact each operator.
Jäger
Jäger mains may have to relearn how to play the character. The latest TS patch will turn him into a two-speed, two-armor operator. Jäger is a three-speed, one-armor operator well-suited for roaming and the adjustments aim to reduce his capacities.
“Jager is a very strong roamer and multiple data points demonstrate his huge presence in-game,” Ubisoft said. “To make his presence a bit less oppressive in-game, we’re looking to moderate that by reducing his roaming potential.”
The Y4S4.3 Midseason Designer’s Notes listed that Jäger was present in over 90 percent of ranked matches in Platinum or above, almost 40 percent more often than the second most-picked operator. His useful gadget, coupled with roaming capacity and one of the best defensive weapons in the game, made the character nearly ubiquitous in Siege.
Buck
The TS update adjusts Buck’s kit, with extra ammo for his underbarrel shotgun at the expense of his impact grenades. His Skeleton Key will hold six shots per magazine and a maximum of 26 shells in total.
That’s not the only change to Buck’s kit, however. His Skeleton Key makes Buck one of the best soft breachers in the game. Ubisoft said that “we feel having Frag Grenades on top of that is a bit too much.” The operator can’t use frag grenades anymore, but instead gained access to Claymore mines, which should “reduce the punch in his kit from the frags, but do more to provide cover while he is soft breaching,” according to the patch notes.
Mozzie
The drone-stealing operator is also losing part of his kit. The TS patch removed Mozzie’s Super Shorty shotgun, which gave him an extra avenue for map manipulation and creating new paths.
“He is currently a powerful intelligence-counter and is a great roamer in the same breath,” Ubisoft said. “Altogether, this gives him very high game presence as a single Operator and we’re looking to tone down just how much he brings to his team.”
Ying
Ying gained an unconditional buff. The update gave the operator an extra Candela, to a total of four, and increased the firepower in her weapon. Her T-95 LSW deals 46 damage, up from 43. The operator also gave up on her Claymores to carry Smoke grenades.
Ubisoft hopes that “giving her kit some more juice in her gadgets and weapon” will help Ying’s pick rates, which were close to zero, according to the Y4S4.3 Designer’s Notes.
TCSG12
The slug shotgun is getting a significant firepower nerf. The TS update reduced its damage to 55, down from 84. To offset the change, Ubisoft gave the weapon an extra magazine. The extended ammo capacity aims “to give more firefight stamina without being overly punishing” following the damage nerf.
The TCSG12 could kill any operator with two shots but had tremendous recoil. The firepower reduction aims to make it a more forgiving weapon for the opposing team, but the addition of an extra magazine intends to mitigate the effects of the damage nerf on Kaid and Goyo, the two operators who have access to the shotgun.
Caveira
Unlike the other operators in the TS update, Caveira didn’t suffer significant changes. The BOPE agent gained access to the Razor holographic sight on her M12 submachine gun. “We feel like the Razor is a great addition for the M12 due to the good visibility it grants while aiming and gives it more customization options,” Ubisoft said.
The Y4S4.3 Designer’s Notes say that Caveira is in the “underpicked, too weak” category. The operator’s pick rate is close to five percent and her win delta is a negative half percent, which means that Ubisoft could take further steps to improve the operator.
The latest update is available on the TS, Siege’s experimental platform. Ubisoft can push fixes and changes to the TS without affecting the live build to allow players room to test features early and respond to preliminary player feedback before pushing the changes live. The TS is only available on PC.
