Everything we know about R6 Siege Year 7 Season 1 — release date, content

Rainbow Six Siege announced the start of Year 7 at the beginning of 2022. Year 7 Season 1 is heavily anticipated by the FPS community thanks to a new operator, new content, and important balance changes. 

What is Year 7 Season 1?

Rainbow Six Siege's newest season is called Demon Veil.

Each season in Rainbow Six has been given a name so far. The first few years had "Operation" at the start of the title but the names have become more varied as of late. Year 6's four seasons were called: 

• Crimson Heist
• North Star
• Crystal Guard
• High Calibre

When is R6 Siege Year 7 Season 1 coming out? 

The newest season is currently on test servers for some PC players to experience. But if you don't have access to the test servers, you can expect Year 7 Season 1 to officially launch mid-March. So far, there is no exact release date but fans have speculated based on R6 Siege's usual schedule that it will be March 14. 

R6 Siege Year 7 Season 1 new operator

The new operator coming with Demon Veil is Azami, a defender with a Kiba Barrier that has a unique ability. The Kiba Barrier is thrown at surfaces, resulting in it expanding and solidifying, creating a bulletproof barrier. It's a great way to patch up holes and build up a defense. 

To learn how to properly use Azami's Kiba Barrier, check out our operator guide on Azami here. 

Kana "Azami" Fujiwara is a Japanese operator born in Kyoto. She quickly progressed through the ranks of the Aikido, then moved to Tokyo to join the Metropolitan Police Academy. But Azami faced suspension after multiple violent outbursts. 

After that, Azami decided to become a bodyguard. She exclusively worked for Masayuki Yahata. That's when she got in touch with Yumiko "Hibana" Imagawa, bringing her to Rainbow Six Siege. 

R6 Siege Year 7 Season 1 Premium Pass

Year 7 Season 1 is bringing back the Premium Pass. This has some exclusive perks for Rainbow Six Siege players, first reported by RealSports101. Here are the benefits of the Year 7 Premium Pass: 

• 4 new operators
  • 14-day early access to each season's new operator
• 4 headgears and uniforms 
• Exclusive Exotic weapon skin for MPX
• Exclusive Valkyrie Byte set
• Ash Chilled Bundle
• 30% bonus Battle Points
• Persistent Challenges
• Challenges no longer limited time, allowing players to finish at their own pace until the Battle Pass ends

R6 Siege Year 7 Season 1 Deathmatch Playlist

Demon Veil is bringing a brand new playlist that features Team Deathmatch, a classic and highly anticipated game mode. Ubisoft described this playlist as the "perfect environment for players to warm up and practice their aim before competitive matches." Deathmatch will be considered more casual. 

Deathmatch rules

• Matches last five 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

Deathmatch 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

Demon Veil attacker repick update

Some big gameplay changes are coming in Year 7 Season 1. One of the most anticipated is known as "attacker repick." Attackers will be given the ability to change their operator and loadout during the Preparation Phase, allowing attackers to use gathered intel to adjust their strategy. 

Added Ubisoft: "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. 

Operator updates and balances in Year 7 Season 1

One of the biggest changes is to Goyo. This operator is now equipped with the Volcán Canister, a slightly modified version of the incendiary bomb that no longer attaches to a Deployable Shield. These canisters are partially shielded and can be deployed on surfaces like walls and floors. The explosive damage has been reduced but the flames burn longer. 

The Goyo update is already shaking up the test servers. Here is everything you need to know about these impactful operator changes. 

Here are the other operator updates: 

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 and 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 and 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.

R6 Siege Year 7 Season 1 patch notes

There are even more important gameplay changes coming to Demon Veil, many of which address concerns players have voiced in the past. Here are some of the most interesting ones to keep in mind: 

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

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

For the complete list of patch notes and updates, check out Ubisoft's update blog here. This includes the R6 Fix Incentive Program, match replay, player protection, and universal weapon sights.