Rainbow Six Siege Update Tests New Features, Reworks

Rainbow Six Siege’s latest test server update has arrived to give players a chance to preview some of the new features, reworks, and other types of content coming to the game whenever the Year 6 Season 2 update fully releases. A schedule for the content was shared as well to show what was planned for things like the armor rework and the post-death gameplay changes that’ll be live for the next couple of days.

For those who’ve been paying attention to past Rainbow Six Siege developments, you’ll know that one of the biggest changes in this test server update deals with how players are able to interact with the game after dying. On the test servers now is a “Gameplay After Death” feature where players are able to control drones and unique abilities to assist their teams after being eliminated. That along with reworks for Nøkk and the game’s armor system make up the bulk of the patch notes.

Those core notes for the test server can be found below and adhere to the schedule outlined in the video above. For the bugfixes included in the patch notes, you can find those through the full rundown here.

Nøkk Balancing

• When HEL Presence Reduction is active:
• Proximity-based gadgets are not triggered.
  • Includes: Ela’s GRZMOT Mine, Melusi’s Banshee Sonic Defense, Proximity Alarm, and metal detectors.
• Laser-based gadgets are triggered.
• Sounds made by Nøkk are no longer muffled.
• Glitch effect cancels proximity immunity, resulting in the activation of any device in range.

Gameplay After Death

Attackers

• Eliminated players can control and drive their own drones, including Twitch. You cannot drive the drone of another operator.
• Eliminated player drones have antennas, in order to help opponents know if the drone belongs to a eliminated Operator.
• Unique abilities that are used as Observation Tools can also be used after elimination.
  • e. Twitch and Zero’s lasers.
• If you are eliminated with regular drones in your inventory, they will spawn at your original spawn location.
• Unused unique abilities do not spawn after elimination.

Defenders

• Bulletproof Camera Rework
  • It now rotates.
  • It can now shoot an EMP burst that disables Attackers’ electronic devices and drones for 6 seconds.
  • The first player to enter the camera view can shoot the EMP bursts. Unlike Operators’ unique abilities, no one has singular ownership over the use of the camera.
• Drone Counter
  • A drone counter is exclusively displayed to Defenders to help them track the number of regular drones their team has destroyed or captured.
  • This is intended to incentivize Defenders to be aware of the importance of destroying drones, especially in a context where eliminated players can still use them.
  • This counter is not meant to reveal extra intel to Defenders. It reflects Defenders’ actions and only takes regular drones into account.
• Echo, Maestro, and Mozzie can control and use their unique abilities after death.
• Note for Maestro: Teammates can rotate the turret like any other Observation Tool, but Maestro can take control of it.

Armor Rework

• Operator armor is converted to HP:
  • 3-armor operators have 125 HP.
  • 2-armor operators have 110 HP.
  • 1-armor operators have 100 HP.
• Rook’s Armor Plates grant a permanent HP buff:
  • Picking up an Armor Plate will buff an Operator’s maximum HP by 20 until the end of the round.
• Heals can reach this new maximum value for the duration of the round.