Two months after the release of Operation Twin Shells, players are already thinking of the updates that Ubisoft will bring to the game with Year 9 Season 4.
While all of the details regarding the game's upcoming season will be officially displayed during the BLAST R6 Major Montreal Finals, Ubisoft's official roadmap for Year 9 can give fans a solid idea of what's planned to come in Year 9 Season 4.
Keep in mind that any of these features could be pushed back if Ubisoft decides that more time is needed. With this being said, here's what should be coming Rainbow Six Siege with the release of Year 9 Season 4!
Year 9 Season 4 Operator Rework
Ubisoft has already confirmed that a new operator won't be launched to the game in Year 9 Season 4. The only new operators introduced in Year 9 have been Deimos and Spokós, with Ubisoft reworking Recruit in Year 9 Season 2.
In Year 9 Season 4, Ubisoft will rework an American operator. While the operator hasn't been confirmed yet, fans expect Blackbeard to be the reworked operator as his gadget is the weakest across all of the American operators in the game.
Major features
In Year 9 Season 4, Ubisoft will introduce a handful of new updates that should improve the players' experience, including:
Console to PC crossplay 1.0
Ubisoft will introduce crossplay between console and PC in Year 9 Season 4. However, this doesn't mean that, starting with the upcoming season, console players will have to deal with PC's mouse and keyboard.
This feature is being introduced exclusively for those players who want to enjoy the game with their friends from other platforms. Unfortunately, console players who want to do so will have to queue in PC lobbies, which puts them at a big disadvantage. Meanwhile, PC players won't be allowed to queue in console lobbies.
It's also worth mentioning that the introduction of this feature will work as a punishment for those console players who play the game with a mouse and a keyboard. Players who do so will be placed in PC lobbies automatically thanks to MouseTrap, according to Ubisoft's Player Protection update released in October.
Match Cancellation 3.0
In Year 9 Season 4, Ubisoft will implement Match Cancellation 3.0, a system that will automatically cancel a match if a cheater is detected.
Siege Cup full release
Ubisoft expects to fully release the Siege Cup in Year 9 Season 4. So far, Ubisoft has celebrated four Siege Cups: two in Europe and two in North America.
While the first edition of the Siege Cup went smoothly, players experienced issues in the second edition as invites couldn't be sent.
The third edition of the Siege Cup will be played on November 14 as European and North American-based players will be allowed to compete.
Badges and career
Ubisoft is introducing a badge system to showcase the players' skills in Rainbow Six Siege. While it's difficult to know what to expect from this system, the picture in Ubisoft's Roadmap displays a total of 60 badges.
Additionally, the player will have access to a bunch of stats about their career in Rainbow Six Siege, including hours played, matches played, K-D, and win rate.
Player Protection
As explained in Ubisoft's Player Protection update for October, Year 9 Season 4 will include a bunch of tweaks in the Reputation System, the addition of an automated text chat moderation, and more.
Here's everything you need to know about the upcoming Player Protection changes in Rainbow Six Siege:
Reputation System refresh
Ubisoft will refresh Rainbow Six Siege's Reputation System so it's easier to understand. However, the Reputation System won't exit its beta phase until, at least, Year 10.
Automated Text Chat Moderation
Ubisoft will introduce a new AI-text chat moderation tool to stop players from using negative vocabulary in the match's chat.
QB system expansion
Ubisoft will launch an expansion to the game's QB system. This is aimed at disrupting cheat developers and "limiting the availability of new cheats."
MouseTrap to be added to Reputation System
Ubisoft will add MouseTrap to console's Reputation System. Therefore, using mouse and keyboard on console will have an impact on console players' reputation.
Operator Balancing
While Ubisoft hasn't unveiled any operator balancing updates on the team's official roadmap blog post, players should expect, at least, an update to shield operators like Montagne and Blitz, as explained in Ubisoft's Y9S3.3 Designer's Notes.
Player comfort
A bunch of updates will be made to previsualization features, matchmaking, and playlists, so the players' experience in Rainbow Six Siege feels smother. These include the ones seen below:
Dynamic Matchmaking 1.0
Ubisoft will introduce Dynamic Matchmaking to Rainbow Six Siege for "improved server allocation based on a broader set of players' data."
Drone jump previsualization
Ubisoft will introduce a feature that will allow players to see where the drone will land before pressing the jumping key.
Deployable gadget previsualization
Ubisoft will introduce a new deployable gadget previsualization so players can see where the gadget will land.
Drone Drill and additional maps
Ubisoft will incorporate additional maps so players can have a better experience while training. Ubisoft will also introduce new drone drill modes into the Map Training playlist.