Rainbow Six Siege Nerfing New Operator Before Release

Turns out Rainbow Six Siege’s new operator, Maverick, needs some major changes before the official release of the Operation Grim Sky update. Shortly after appearing on test servers, players pointed out numerous balancing issues with the game. Developer Ubisoft has responded, announcing plans to nerf (weaken) some of the operators, including Zofia, Glaz, and Dokkaebi. But the biggest fixes will happen to Maverick to ensure he doesn’t give players too big an advantage.

While Tom Clancy’s Rainbow Six Siege faced numerous problems in the beginning, struggling with staff turnover, internal battles, and initially weak sales, the game has since exploded into an immensely successful tactical shooter. Rainbow Six Siege is gearing up for Year 3, Season 3 with the release of Operation Grim Sky. The update includes two new operators (Maverick and Clash) as well as a reworked Hereford base map.

According to Ubisoft, players can expect a number of balancing changes between now and Grim Sky’s release with Maverick’s being the most severe. Maverick’s blowtorch is good at destroying barbed wire, too good, apparently. Ubisoft plans on increasing the time and fuel required to destroy a single barbed wired. The weapon's volume will be increased. Feedback said the blowtorch was too quiet for even the most attentive of players to hear and the developer agreed. Players suggested decreasing the weapon’s range and upping fuel costs as well but there are no current plans to adjust for the those concerns. Ubisoft would prefer not to change the range at all, writing “This is an extremely delicate aspect of his gadget, and will require months of work to adjust to ensure the gadget still works properly in all situations. If this is absolutely necessary, we will discuss it further down the line, but this will be a last resort adjustment.” Maverick’s secondary weapon, the smoke grenade, will be changed into a stun grenade, leaving him without one of the most sought-after gadgets for attackers and making matches a little less one-sided.

Along with Maverick, at least three other operators are also facing alterations. Zofia will be getting 3 instead of 4 concussion grenades for KS79 Lifeline so she will have to be more selective as to when she uses them. Glaz won’t be able to destroy Castle’s Armored Panels with the OTs-03. Dokkaebi’s phone calls will get a time limit (7-8 seconds) but this change won’t appear until after Grim Sky. Ubisoft will be making an alteration to Hibana as well but hers will be an upgrade of sorts. She will need 4 instead of 6 bullets to destroy a hatch, adjusting for a previous bug that resulted in some bullets missing their target. The developer addressed the issues with shotgun and machine pistol recoil but stated that any fixes will occur at a later date and not with the launch of Grim Sky.

Rainbow Six Siege’s popularity only shows signs of growing, thanks in part to its involvement in the esports scene. Ubisoft’s decision to take player feedback seriously has only helped with the game’s success. If the current patch notes are any indication, the developer is working hard towards some long-term goal, meaning fans should expect more enjoyable and surprising content in the future.