Rainbow Six Siege Year 7, Season 1 Patch Notes Revealed

Ubisoft Montreal has released the full patch notes for Rainbow Six Siege Year 7, Season 1. The seventh year of Siege kicks off with new defender operator Azami joining the fray, while also introducing changes to Goyo, a brand-new Team Deathmatch playlist, and a whole lot more.

Year 7, Season 1 also makes it required for all players to link a phone number to their Ubisoft account in order to participate in Ranked. “This security measure is intended to help slow cheater re-entry after being banned, as well as curb smurfing,” Ubisoft Montreal writes in the season patch notes.

As with all new seasons, older operators are being discounted. So if you’re jumping back into Siege at the start of Year 7, you can take this opportunity to catch up on operators you may have missed out on.

Mozzie and Gridlock are dropping to 10,000 Renown or 240 R6 Credits each (about $2 USD); Oryx and Iana are dropping to 15,000 Renown or 360 R6 Credits (about $3); and Flores is dropping to 20,000 Renown or 480 R6 Credits (about $4).

For the full list of changes coming to Siege at the start of Year 7, check out the patch notes. We’ve detailed them below.

Rainbow Six Siege Year 7, Season 1 Patch Notes

Deathmatch Playlist

The arrival of Demon Veil brings a new playlist featuring the classic game mode, Team Deathmatch. The Deathmatch playlist was created to provide the perfect environment for players to warm up and practice their aim before competitive matches, as well as offer a more casual gameplay experience within Siege.

• Rules
  • Matches last 5 minutes or until one team reaches 75 eliminations.
  • Limited time outdoors (Operators are eliminated after 10 seconds).
  • Ability to change Operators during the match.
  • Respawn is enabled.
  • In-game chat is disabled.
  • Join in Progress enabled.
  • No abandon sanctions.
• Gameplay
  • Players can pick an Attacker or Defender regardless of their team.
  • Multiple players can pick the same Operator.
  • Unique abilities are unavailable (with the exception of Glaz’ Flip Sight).
  • Shield Operators (Blitz, Montagne, and Clash) and Fuze’s Ballistic Shield are unavailable.
  • Both teams have the same gadgets: frag, stun, and impact grenades.
  • Barricades, Reinforcements, Observation Tools, Drones, and Rappel are unavailable.
  • Map pool: Theme Park, Villa, and Favela.

Attacker Repick

Attackers now have the ability to change their Operator and loadout during the Preparation Phase. The change aims to bring more impact to droning during the Preparation Phase by allowing Attackers to use the intel gathered and adjust their strategy. In addition, the match header has been updated to show more information about your teammates in order to help make informed decisions when changing your Operator or loadout.

Attacker repick is available for all game modes in the Quick Match, Unranked, Ranked, and Pro League playlists.

Universal Weapon Sights

Primary weapons and select secondary weapons have been given access to all non-magnifying sights, with the exception of the DP27 custom Reflex. Weapons with access to the 2.5x scope now have access to both variants.

• The Sights section of the Loadout menu has been updated with new categories:
• Magnifying: 1.5x, 2.0x, 2.5x, and 3.0x scopes.
• Non-Magnifying: Red Dot, Reflex, and Holographic sights.

Goyo Volcán Canister

Goyo is now equipped with the Volcán Canister, a slightly modified version of the incendiary bomb that no longer attaches to a Deployable Shield.

Volcán Canisters are partially shielded and can be deployed on surfaces such as walls and floors. Their explosive damage has been reduced but the flames burn for longer than they did before.

Player Protection

Beginning this season, all players will be required to link their phone number to their Ubisoft account in order to join Ranked matches. This security measure is intended to help slow cheater re-entry after being banned, as well as curb smurfing.

You can link your phone number via: Ubisoft Connect > Account Information (https://account.ubisoft.com/)

Match Replay (Consoles)

Match Replay is now available on consoles and will save 2 hours of latest gameplay or up to 12 matches. In addition, Replay controls have been added as a controller layout for easier navigation within Match Replay.

R6 Fix Incentive Program

As previously announced, the team has been working on a program to reward players for reporting bugs on R6Fix, and the first iteration of this program will be available starting with the Y7S1 Test Server.

To qualify for a reward, report an issue during the season (on either the Test Server or Live) and have its status reach “Under Investigation”. You will receive one reward per season, determined by the highest severity issue out of all your reports. Each season’s reward will be granted to your account on the Live game during the following season’s Test Server.

• Rewards
  • Cosmetic: 3 Alpha Packs (1 Rare, 1 Epic, 1 Legendary)
  • Playable: 6 Alpha Packs (2 Rare, 2 Epic, 2 Legendary)
  • Hardly Playable: 9 Alpha Packs (3 Rare, 3 Epic, 3 Legendary)
  • Critical: 12 Alpha Packs (4 Rare, 4 Epic, 4 Legendary)

Seasonal Weapon Skin

Demon Veil brings with it a stealthy new addition to your seasonal weapon skin selection. Obtain the Covert Ending Bundle to unlock the Sleek Lethality weapon skin and attachment skin, as well as the Yakuyoke charm. The seasonal weapon skin will be released at season launch and is available for purchase throughout the season. Once unlocked, it remains in your inventory indefinitely and can be applied to all available weapons.

Operator Balancing

• Camera Loses Signal Outside
  • 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.
• Valkyrie + Zero
  • Valkyrie’s Black Eye and Zero’s ARGUS camera can now be accessed while in the air, but the video feed does not begin until the camera attaches to a surface.
• Echo + Mozzie
  • Both Echo and Mozzie’s drones can now be used outside for longer (10 seconds) to match the time it takes for cameras to lose signal.
• Melusi
  • Melusi’s Banshee now opens quicker when activated, exposing it’s weak point earlier.
• Kali
  • Kali’s movement is no longer penalized when equipped with her marksman rifle.
• Thunderbird
  • Thunderbird’s Kóna Station will only heal players below 100% health.

Tweaks & Improvements

• YEAR 7 PASS + BATTLE PASS
  • Year 7 Premium Pass
    • Back by popular demand, the premium Year 7 Pass will be available to purchase, granting access to the following benefits and VIP perks:
      • 4 new Year 7 Operators
      • 4 headgears and uniforms (included in Battle Passes)
      • Access to the 4 Year 7 Battle Passes
      • Unlock the first 20 tiers on each Year 7 Battle Pass as part of the Premium Bundles
      • An exclusive Exotic Weapon Skin for the MPX
      • Exclusive Valkyrie Byte Set
      • Ash Chilled Bundle
      • 14-day early access to each season’s new Operator
      • 30% bonus Battle Points (not applied to Challenges or Achievements)
      • Persistent Challenges
      • Challenges will continue to unlock along a set time frame but will no longer be time-limited, allowing players to finish them at their own pace until the end of the Battle Pass.
• MATCH REPLAY
  • Replay Compatibility
  • Replays are now compatible through the entire season and will not be deleted when patches or hotfixes are released.
  • Replays will be available to play back until the final day of the season.
• ELITE CUSTOMIZATION
  • Customizable Ability Skins
  • Players are now able to choose between different ability skins that they own as long as they are both owned and belong to the same Operator.
• PLAYER COMFORT
  • Melee Animation
    • Knife melee animation changed from a slash to a stab motion to match in-game hit detection.
  • Gadget and Ability Models
    • Updated the model of Ela’s Grzmot Mine to display an LED when armed that matches the player’s Team Colors choice.
    • Changed the model of the Breach Charge to display an LED that matches the player’s Team Colors choice.
    • Updated the model of the Bulletproof Camera to better support last season’s gameplay rework of Bulletproof Cameras (camera rotation and EMP burst).
  • Speech to Text
    • New option to enable Speech to Text functionality added to the Options menu.
  • Operator Models
    • Improved the facial animation rigs, shaders and meshes used on current and future Operators.
  • Match Timer
    • Match timer will now display times with milliseconds included during the last 10 seconds of the Action Phase.
  • HUD Adjustment in Support Mode
    • Added ability/gadget status to player portrait when spectating in Support Mode and removed KDA.
• GAME HEALTH
  • Griefing and Players Disconnecting
  • Harmful gadgets no longer damage players if the player who threw them disconnects, preventing toxic players from exploiting disconnections to grief and avoid sanctions.
  • Map Rotations
    • Added Chalet map and removed Bank map from the Newcomer playlist.