Rainbow Six Siege Operation High Calibre patch notes: Y6S4 Thorn Operator, map rework, more

We’re now onto the final season of Rainbow Six Siege’s sixth year, titled Operation High Calibre. Here’s everything you can expect to find in the Y6S4 update, including the new Operator Thorn, the Outback map getting reworked, as well as buffs and nerfs.

Rainbow Six Siege is just about to wrap up its sixth year, bringing Y6S4, titled Operation High Calibre. Over the course of these six years, Ubisoft have introduced over 50 Operators, taking the total up to 62.

Operation High Calibre brings in the 62nd Operator, Thorn, and also makes changes to Outback, and introduces significant buffs and nerfs to Operators.

Here’s everything included in the Y6S4 Operation High Calibre update.

• Operation High Calibre release date
• New Thorn Operator
• Outback map rework
• Operation High Calibre patch notes

Rainbow Six Siege Operation High Calibre release date

Rainbow Six Y6S is set to officially go live around three weeks after the TTS’ November 9 release, so expect the season to kick off at the end of November 2021.

• Read more: Rainbow Six Siege Mobile: Release Date, survey, and more

The update is now live on the Technical Test Server, so anyone with access to the TTS can try out the new content.

New Rainbow Six Siege Y6S4 Operator: Thorn

Of course, a new season of Rainbow Six brings a brand-new Operator and in Operation High Calibre, it’s Thorn.

• Read more: Is Rainbow Six Siege cross-play? PC, Xbox & PlayStation guide

Thorn is the Rainbow Six Siege’s 31st Defender, and also the 62nd Operator overall. Hailing from Ireland, Thorn brings the brand-new UZK50Gi SMG and the Razorbloom Shell Unique Ability.

The Razorbloom Shell “sticks to a surface after it’s thrown by Thorn” and once it’s triggered, it “automatically propels a set of sharp blades in all direction,” killing anyone nearby. Thorn can also run a Deployable Shield or Barbed Wire Gadgets, the M870 Shotgun, and the 1911 TACOPS or C75 Auto handguns.

Rainbow Six Siege Outback map rework

Outback, set in Australia, has also undergone renovations with the Y6S4 update. Bomb sites have been moved and both the main building and exterior have been modified “to allow Attackers to create and execute more effective strategies.”

• Read more: Rainbow Six Extraction: Release date, gameplay, trailers & platforms

Also, the devs explained that “new exterior soft walls have been added to the building, and some areas have been refurbished and cleaned up to remove junk and provide better lines of sight and balance.”

Here are the full changes to Outback:

• 1F Convenience Store, 1F Compressor Room, 1F Gear Store, and 1F Beer Fridge have been combined into 1F Bike Repair and 1F Mechanic Shop.
• 2F Office Supply is larger and has an exterior soft wall.
• 1F Restaurant has been split into two rooms: 1F Restaurant and 1F Shark.
• 2F Covered Terrace is now an interior area that connects 2F Mezzanine and 2F Piano Room. The 2F Piano Room stairs have been removed.

Bomb sites have been moved:

• The bombsites that were previously in 2F Dorms and 2F Laundry have been moved to 2F Laundry and 2F Piano Room.

Rainbow Six Siege Y6S4 patch notes

Operator Balancing

Finka Changes

• She can now use the Adrenal Surge to revive herself, which is more consistent with other devices in-game, like Doc’s Stim Pistol.
• Her recoil boost has been removed.
• The Adrenal Surge cooldown has been increased to 20 seconds (was 10 seconds).

Echo & Mozzie

• Increased drones’ time outside the building to 10 seconds (was 3 seconds).

Bulletproof Camera Rework

• Defenders can now rotate the Bulletproof Camera and use it to fire EMP bursts that disable opponent devices. EMP bursts cannot be fired by Attackers when the camera is hacked.

Cameras lose signal

• When placed outdoors, Valkyrie’s Black Eye, Maestro’s Evil Eye, and the Bulletproof Camera will now lose signal after 10 seconds. The player must pick up and redeploy the cameras elsewhere to regain signal.

Weapon Balancing

Angled Grip

• The increase to ADS speed provided by the Angled Grip is now 20% less than it was before.

Gamepad Recoil Comfort

• Reduced lateral recoil on:
  • Jager – 416-C
  • Ash – RC4
  • Vigil – K1A
  • Zofia – M762
  • Ace – AK-12
  • Warden, Dokkaebi, Vigil – SMG-12
  • Mozzie, Aruni – P-10 Roni
  • Alibi – Mx-4 Storm

Player Comfort

Drone Counter

• Defenders now have access to a drone counter in the HUD to help them keep track of the number of regular drones they’ve destroyed. This feature can be turned off in the HUD section of the Options menu.

HUD Rework

• Visuals for the HUD have been updated to be more in-line with the game’s art direction.
• Compass now displays pings and other marker locations, as well as feedback for height differences.
• Loadout (weapons, gadgets and unique abilities) was regrouped together to follow more consistent display rules.
• Text action reminders (ex: Press [SPACE] to Vault) have been replaced with icons to take up less space.

Player Privacy

• A new Privacy section in the Options menu allows players to adjust settings related to in-game privacy.

Tweaks and Improvements

Battle Pass

First Win of the Day Bonus

• Earn extra Battle Pass Points when winning any PVP playlist game within 24 hours of the first matched played.
• Time starts at the first match played and resets each day.

Battle Point Booster Update

• Boosters now give a 30% bonus for you, a 10% bonus for your teammates, and a 30% bonus for a team with at least 3 active Boosters.
• The bonus can be stacked for up to 100% bonus points.

Game Balancing

DSEG – Disabled State for Electronic Gadgets

• Created more consistent Scoring and Warning messages.
• Operators’ access to Observation Tools while being affected by DSEG has been normalized. Previously the access was only blocked for Attackers, and now it is blocked for Defenders too.
• Iana, Finka, Lion, Dokkaebi and Warden’s unique abilities cool down timer is now paused while affected by DSEG.
• Jackal’s Eyenox automatically deactivates when affected by DSEG
• Dokkaebi’s Logic Bomb ability can be interrupted by DSEG during its casting.
• Attackers affected by disabled state won’t receive Finka’s adrenaline boost anymore.

Testing Grounds Playlist (TS)

• No Squad MMR Restriction.
• Join in Progress enabled.
• No leaving penalty.
• Pro League map pool and New/Reworked map with a higher chance of appearance.
• No map ban.
• Operator ban enabled. New and reworked Operators can’t be banned.
• Mix of Unranked and Quick Match settings (3 rounds role swap and one round Overtime).

Player Comfort

Grenade Indicator

• Changes made to the UI so it is more reliable.

Operator Autopick

• While AFK during the Planning Phase, the Operator selected will be based on the player’s personal statistics.
• This does not affect the behavior of the Random button.

Esports

• Live notification added when there is an ongoing match.

Alpha Packs

• New visuals for Alpha Packs.
• Behavior of Siege Esports Packs has been adjusted so that, instead of duplicates, it will give out Battle Pass Points.

Switch Firing Mode

• Switch Fire Mode was removed for weapons, but the function (now called Switch Ability Mode) was kept for Operator’s that have unique abilities with different modes (Ex. Zofia, Capitao).

Game Health

Player Privacy

• New Privacy tab in the Options menu.
• Prevent Queue Sniping options moved to this new section.
• Options are: Hidden Matchmaking Delay and Hide Region and Latency.

Map Rotations

• Added Outback map and removed Border map from the Newcomer playlist.
• Added Outback map to Ranked/Unranked.
• Added Playlist Presets when creating a Custom game.

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Image Credit: Ubisoft