We’re wrapping up the Salt Lake City Major today, with the ultimate North America showdown – DarkZero vs Shopify Rebellion. Of course, right before we get into the action and see who will be crowned victorious, we were dished the deets of what’s coming in Operation System Override, Siege Year 11 Season 2. There’s some notable changes coming, including the full removal of Dual Front after only one year in the game. After speaking with Creative Director Joshua Mills and Live Content Director Christopher Budgen, they said these changes, while steep, are meant to help reinforce the core 5v5 Siege experience. There’s a lot coming in the next season of Siege, which we’ll explore more of as the season moves forward, but I wanted to give you the lowdown on some of the biggest features of the season, starting with a rework to an iconic operator.
DOKKAEBI 2.0
Dokkaebi has been through it, having been taken hostage by Phobos and the Keres Legion before being rescued by Team Rainbow, as seen in the 6v6 mode Dual Front. But she learned a lot during her time in captivity and has taken it as an opportunity to strengthen herself and better support her allies. This season, she is getting a big update that will make her an even stronger asset on the attacking team while also removing some particular pain points for defenders.
She’s known for calling you at the most inconvenient times, revealing your location to nearby attackers when she deploys her Logic Bomb, a virus that’s sent out to defender phones, causing them to emit a loud buzz. The Logic Bomb is a global attack, affecting all defenders who aren’t within the protective sphere of one of Mute’s Signal Disruptors. The ability has its pros and cons. Obviously, being able to target all living defenders is a pro for the attackers, especially when trying to roam clear, but the drawback is that it can be harder to act on depending on the situation, especially when all defenders are on site, making it serve as little more than a noise distraction. Taking inspiration from Deimos, Dokkaebi’s gadget has been updated for a more targeted approach. The new Jegeo Payload is a stronger virus uploaded to a single defender’s device, causing it to emit the loud buzz but also causing the phone to overheat until it actually explodes, giving a loud sound queue for attackers and injuring the defender.
Much like with Deimos’ tracking of defenders with his DeathMARK Tracker, the payload can only be sent to identified defenders. Dokkaebi can cycle through her targets and send the virus in the hopes that it will not only reveal their location but also give them an explosive surprise. Defenders will have 7 or 8 seconds to disable the virus before the phone will literally blow up in their hands, dealing an immediate 40 damage and also unleashing a small ball of fire on their position. This is a very short window that will put extra pressure on defenders who may already be engaged in a gunfight with an attacker, as they’ll need to quickly take cover to disable the virus or risk taking the hit. On the flipside, the drawback of this virus is that it’s very easy to disable, taking maybe 1.5 seconds for defenders to clear. The buzzing is also not as audible, though definitely still noticeable at close proximity with a very distinct buzzing pattern.
Defenders can prevent the virus from hitting their phones by remaining unidentified or staying within range of Signal Disruptors. However, once the signal is sent, disruptors are not able to stop the timer. It must be disabled manually.
Communication is key, as any good Siege-ist will know. If the phone does detonate, that defender will no longer be able to access cameras to give comms to the team regarding attacker positions. On top of that, Dokkaebi will now be able to hack phones of eliminated defenders from wherever she is on the map, thanks to some upgrades to her tech. Unfortunately for Dokkaebi and the team, the hack is no longer permanent as defenders have been putting in some work of their own to strengthen the network. Hacking a defender phone will only grant temporary access to defender cameras. This means hacks will need to be more strategic, better timed for the most opportune moment, maybe to deny a post-plant retake by defenders or help isolate gunfights in an unfortunate 1v3 situation, as long as your dead attacking teammates actually get on cams and communicate.
Her tech isn’t all she’s been working on. She has added a new weapon to her arsenal, the XK23 assault rifle. Dokkaebi will now have a full-auto primary, alongside still having the MK-14 EBR and BOSG. This gun’s design takes inspiration from the bullpup, like the F90 and the Steyr AUG A2, reliable in close to mid-range gunfights, shredding through defenders in just a few rounds. Sens and Rauora will also be adding this weapon to their loadouts, giving them more options for the attack.
CALYPSO CASINO & Modernized Maps
Fans of classic Rainbow Six games should be excited for the next map to join the pool. Calypso Casino, first seen in Rainbow Six: Vegas in 2006, makes its full debut in Year 11 Season 2, retrofitted for the Siege experience. If you’ve played the Vegas games, you’ll remember the intense gunfights and the chaos from both the campaign and its introduction to multiplayer. In Rainbow Six Siege, Calypso takes on a whole new life, featuring three floors, many short and long-range sitelines, and insane verticality.
An overhead view of Calypso looks like a casino boat has been perched atop a Vegas highrise, however the main structure is a massive square full of smaller square areas. Thinking in terms of the primary competitive mode, Bomb, there is a site on the top floor, two on the main floor, and another in the ‘basement’ level, which really isn’t a basement considering it’s on the top of a very tall building, but I digress. There are two attacker spawn points on the main level, a rooftop spawn, and a lower-level spawn, and a ton of access points all round, including a three-level rappel accessible from a crane outside the structure that will take you all the way to the lower level. Drones can also go on a crazy vertical adventure through a vent that also traverses all three levels of the casino.
Each level of the casino has a different aesthetic. The basement level is where security and servers are located, featuring a lot of cold colors and hard surfaces. The main level houses the bulk of the casino’s main elements, like slots and table games, and a warmer color palette. The top level takes on a heightened and more grand look, with fancy finishes, a full aquarium hallway, and luxury furnishings. There are several points where players can traverse between the floors inside and out, including exterior breach walls, a wraparound balcony, and that rooftop rappel. The map’s overall layout reminds me a lot of Lair, with similar site layouts, flank routes, and the overall structural design.
Of course, this season also brings three more modernized maps, which just so happen to be some of the most banned maps in Ranked; Kanal, Emerald Planes, and Outback. These maps are all being fitted with exploding pipes, fire extinguishers, and updated textures and lighting. I haven’t been able to see them myself quite yet, but the test server goes live this week, so hopefully we’ll get a good hands-on look soon, as well as more time with Dokkaebi and Calypso Casino.
RANKED 3.0
The update that I think will be competing with Dokkaebi for being the most anticipated, Ranked is getting another overhaul. Ranked 2.0 came out about three and a half years ago, taking away placement matches and introducing hidden MMR on top of your displayed rank. This became a major pain point for players as they were no longer being put into matches based on their actual rank, instead being matched into lobbies based on an algorithmic assumption of skill. Ranked 2.0 also didn’t distinguish between the top-of-the-top Champs versus someone who only just hit Champ or hit Champ 2 years ago but has been in Diamond ever since. Ranked 3.0 is going to clean up the mess and give us all a soft reset.
First and foremost, hidden MMR is going away. The rank you see is the real you. In terms of matchmaking, players will yet again be placed in matches with players of the same visual rank instead of a mixed bag of those who made it to their real ranks versus those still climbing. Additionally, matchmaking restrictions are also coming back to ranked to prevent lower ranked players from getting into higher ranked lobbies, and vice versa. For most ranks, the queue range is restricted to three ranks. For example, you can have a Silver queued with a Gold and a Platinum, but no one higher than Platinum or lower than Silver would be able to queue as part of that squad. For Diamonds and Champs, this is reduced to a range of two ranks, so Champs can only play with Champs and Diamonds. Of course, these restrictions can result in longer queue times while the system works to create lobbies of balanced teams, however after so much time has passed, some of the matchmaking conditions may be loosened to get players back into the game. Queue rank range is, of course, excluded from this.
The Champion rank is also getting a little update, being divided into the same five divisions the other ranks have, making for a more constructive distribution outside of just assigning a number. It is fun, I’m sure, to be in the top ‘X’ number of Champ players, but this will add more depth and, in my opinion, meaning to achieving the different levels of the Champ rank (which I will never achieve regardless).
Placement matches are also coming back. We no longer have to start from the literal bottom and climb the ladder to get back to where we belong. There will only be 5 placement matches, down from 10 in Ranked 1.0. These are meant to be high-impact matches to determine a player’s skill before they are assigned their rank. From there, players will earn rank points based on the outcomes and their performance in every match. Base point loss or gain will be determined by the strength of the enemy you lost to or defeated. If they’re a higher-skilled crew, you’ll lose less or gain more. If you’re the higher-skilled crew, you’ll earn less or lose more. Rank points will be more dynamic, taking into account more than just wins or losses. While the specifics haven’t been fully revealed, modifiers are being introduced to reward players with additional rank points for clutch plays and other contributions. I imagine this will also mean that players will lose fewer rank points per loss if they still gave the other team a hard time, getting a high k/d and making great use of their utility. Every match, every encounter, will be that much more meaningful, and also be a great relief to players who still frag out on a loss instead of it just being a punishment.
A separate rewards track was introduced alongside Ranked 2.0 to give players something to really work towards aside from ranking up. This track has included things like cosmetics and competitive coins to unlock special packs. This ranked rewards track is getting an update, no longer just being tied to your rank progression, though there will still be rank-specific rewards for each season. Players will now be able to earn additional rewards for completing ranked matches, earning two points for every match victory and one point for every match loss, with a new reward unlocked after every ten points earned. I like that losses are still earning a point towards the rewards in this track, giving players at least a small incentive even when they’re having a rough day in Ranked.
The Ranked badges are also getting a redesign, which I am admittedly not as impressed with. We’re still keeping the banner style, but they’ve been redesigned to look more minimalist-techy. It also looks like the Emerald rank is absent from the lineup, which was another addition from Ranked 2.0. Is the rank being removed?
Of course, there’s a lot more coming this season with tweaks and updates for balancing, including some adjustments to several attacking and defending operators, like the ongoing changes for Zofia, who has sorely needed the attention. We’ll have full impressions coming soon after the season’s launch once we’ve had more time with the rest of the new content.
