The Y6S4.2 Balancing Test Server is currently underway, giving Rainbow Six Siege fans a chance to experience the changes to Ela, Aruni, and Zofia, as well as give feedback before the changes go live.
A Muzzle Brake was added to Aruni's MK14 to make the operator a bit more viable — Dokkaebi's MK14 has three barrel attachments — and give her more options.
Ela's FO-12 was the focus of her update. The weapon's damage was reduced from 35 to 25. The reduced extended barrel attachment damage modifier was reduced to be consistent with other weapons.
"It's little surprise that three-speed operators with shotguns can be a force to be reckoned with in the right hands, but we've found that this is even more true on console with players using controllers. Between its power, Ela's speed, and a forgiving spread, the FO-12 can be a frustrating weapon to come up against on console, so we've tweaked its damage values on all platforms," developers explained.
Ela's Grzmot Mine and Zofia's KS79 both slowed a players' movement when hit. But the changes had the movement speed reduction removed. The slowed movement caused a lot of frustration amongst Siege players, leading to the removal.
"While we know this will sting for Ela and Zofia mains, we don't expect it to be as significant of a change as it might feel at first glance, especially given both of them have a slightly above average win delta," developers explained, a bit apologetically.
R6 Siege players debate changes to game during Six Invitational
While the changes were largely accepted by the Rainbow Six Siege community, players were more concerned with the number of changes that the game has. It's just not often enough, some players have expressed.
On Twitter, Fnatic streamer BikiniBodhi expressed that Ubisoft just wasn't updating the game often enough, causing it to become a bit stale. They suggested buffing a "slept on" operator to breathe new life into the game or improve an underwhelming weapon.
Some players did point out, however, that Ubisoft has purposely held off on changes due to the fast-approaching Six Invitational. In the official update about the operator balance changes, developers said that they didn't want to cause "major shifts in the meta so close to the event."
But BikiniBodhi and others said that almost every other competitive game has changes before and during tournaments. While some argued that this could ruin the "competitive integrity" of the event, others responded that it would actually shake up the gameplay and improve viewership.
Streamer Pengu agreed: "I honestly think making major changes right after regional finals, would lead to a very interesting SI, as teams would have had two to three months of prep work with 'unknown/unseen' strats that could be very different/unique rather than same/same as past three months."
Ubisoft has yet to expand on the most recent update or the idea of adding even more balance changes close to important esports events.