Before the start of the BLAST R6 Major Montreal grand finals, Ubisoft unveiled all of what's coming to Operation Collision Point. This will be the fourth and final season of Rainbow Six Siege's Year 9.
Keep on reading to know more about Operation Collision Point!
Blackbeard rework
Check out our Blackbeard rework for Operation Collision Point guide here.
Blackbeard will be reworked in Operation Collision Point as the American operator is losing his rifle shield. Instead, Blackbeard will get a ballistic shield, becoming the fourth attacker operator in Rainbow Six Siege with a shield as he's joining Montagne, Blitz, and Fuze.
Blackbeard's new shield, known as H.U.L.L. Adaptable Shield, includes an extension made of bulletproof glass that covers his head. When deployed, the shield covers most of his body, but not his legs. He will protect most of his body when proning, though.
However, Blackbeard's ballistic shield has other uses other than protecting its owner. The American operator will have four charges which he will be able to use to breach soft walls. The effects are similar to Oryx's ability, although Blackbeard will remain concussed for a couple of seconds after breaching a surface.
To aim with his primary weapon, Blackbeard presses a button that makes the bulletproof glass fold down. In other words, Blackbeard's head won't be covered by the bulletproof glass while shooting. Phew.
At this point, players may be wondering if Blackbeard can rappel while using his shield. Well, the answer is yes, Blackbeard can rappel. The American operator could be a nightmare for the defenders, as he could get plenty of information from behind his shield. Remember, yellow pinging is always great to provide your teammates with information!
Last but not least, let's have a look at Blackbeard's loadout. In Operation Collision Point, Blackbeard will become the first Rainbow Six Siege operator to be able to equip a shield and a rifle at the same time.
With Blackbeard getting a shield, the American operator kept his primary weapons but lost his D-50. However, Blackbeard's MK17 CQB has been buffed as Blackbeard's Assault Rifle's damage has been improved (from 40 to 44) and the magazine size has been increased (from 20 to 25 bullets).
Operator balancing changes
Check out our guide regarding the balancing changes introduced in Operation Collision Point here.
With Operation Collision Point, Ubisoft is introducing a handful of nerfs to tweak the shield meta. Additionally, Ubisoft has decided to tweak Sens and Ying's gadgets. Here's more information about these:
Shields
Ubisoft is introducing changes to shields. Starting from Operation Collision Point, shields have been nerfed. The tweaks include:
- Melee priority will now be properly respected.
- Consecutive guard breaks will have a stacking benefit. The more hits, the more body will the shield operator show.
- Shields do not deal damage when meleeing a defender. The damage has been reduced from 65 HP to 0 HP.
- Supression will be easier to trigger, from ten to five bullets.
With these changes, Ubisoft's expects to lower the importance of shields in the game, as well as helping defenders to not experience so much frustration while playing against them.
Sens' changes
Ubisoft will buff Sens in Operation Collision Point as two changes have been made to their unique gadget, the R.O.U. Projector System.
Here's a quick look at the changes made to Sens' R.O.U. Projector System:
- Sens' R.O.U. Projector System can be turned on and off
- Bulletproof cameras and Warden's abilities can't see through Sens' R.O.U. Projector System wall
Firstly, Ubisoft has decided to give Sens the ability to turn the R.O.U. Projector System on and off as they please. Activating and deactivating the gadget is extremely easy as players will do so by pressing one key.
With this change, Ubisoft allows players to create different strategies with the R.O.U. Projector System. They will be able to use it to bait the defenders or to preplace it to use it later in the round.
Secondly, defenders won't be able to use Warden's ability and Bulletproof cameras to see through the R.O.U. Projector System wall. This buff finally creates a rock-solid difference between regular smoke grenades and Sens' gadget.
Ying's changes
Ubisoft will introduce a two-second delay to Ying's Candelas in Operation Collision Point. Therefore, even if the attacker cooks the gadget before throwing it, defenders will have two seconds to shoot Ying's Candela. Keep in mind that Ying's Candelas aren't bulletproof!
Operation Collision Point's major features
These are the most important features that Ubisoft will introduce to Rainbow Six Siege in Operation Collision Point:
Console to PC crossplay 1.0
Check out our guide to know more about the crossplay feature included in Operation Collision Point here.
Ubisoft is launching crossplay between console and PC to Rainbow Six Siege in Operation Collision Point. Don't get too excited, PC players, because there's a twist: only console players can crossplay to PC. Instead of allowing both platforms to crossplay, only console players who accept the downsides of playing against mouse and keyboard players will be able to crossplay with PC.
This is because mouse and keyboard players have the upper hand against a console player as they have it easier to move around maps and aim at opponents. While this type of crossplay may look pointless to some, it will allow players to enjoy casual Rainbow Six Siege with their closest friends.
Additionally, console to PC crossplay will play an important role in MouseTrap as mouse and keyboard players detected on console will automatically be sent to PC lobbies. If a player is detected using mouse and keyboard in three different matches, the player will be moved to PC lobbies for 90 days.
Cheater Match Cancellation
Ubisoft is introducing a Cheater Match Cancellation feature in Operation Collision Point. When a cheater is detected in your game, the system will automatically cancel the match. This will considerably reduce the time players spend in "useless" games, where sometimes teammates end up killing the cheater which hands them multiple team-killing warnings.
Badges and career
Ubisoft is introducing Badge Milestones to Rainbow Six Siege. Players will be able to add badges to their operator cards to indicate some of their best qualities or most outstanding achievements in the game. The badges will be ready to be equipped once unlocked and players will be able to upgrade them by improving at the game.
Siege Cup to be released on all platforms
Check out more information about the future of the Siege Cup here.
Ubisoft is releasing the Siege Cup to all of Rainbow Six Siege's platforms in Operation Collision Point.
The Siege Cup was first released in Operation Twin Shells exclusively for European and North American players. So far, three editions of the Siege Cup have been playing since its debut.
Keep in mind that the Siege Cup is still in its beta stage. Therefore, be patient and provide Ubisoft with feedback in R6Fix if you experience a problem!
Reputation System refresh
Ubisoft is introducing a refresh to the Reputation System as they will introduce units. Players will be able to get negative and positive units, which will affect their position in the Reputation System.
With this system, Ubisoft expects small mistakes like an unintended team kill won't affect massively the players' position on the Reputation System standing. With the launch of this system, everybody's score will be reset.
Automated Text Chat Moderation
Ubisoft is introducing a feature that will check every comment written on the text chat. The message will be flagged or removed to protect other players from it.
Maestro Elite
Maestro's Elite Bundle is finally here! The Italian defender is getting an Elite Bundle, which was unveiled during the Operation Collision Point presentation.
Matchmaking Improvements
Here's more about Ubisoft's matchmaking improvements that will be made in Operation Collision Point:
Phantom Player and Team re-balancing
The Phantom Player is a feature that will be introduced in Operation Collision Point. This feature acts like a sixth player and it's used to balance the two squads in the server.
Some aspects that the Phantom Player takes into account are if the team includes two, three, four, or even five players playing in a squad and the difference of skill inside the squad. For example, it's not fair for a team when they face a squad that includes a Copper and a Platinum. The Phantom Player makes those types of squads play in a lobby where the game will be more fair for everyone.
Additionally, Ubisoft is adding Team re-balancing. Team re-balancing is a feature that looks at all of the players in each team and re-balances them to put them as close as possible in terms of skill.