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Since she was introduced to the game, Ying has been a monster. She has been asleep for the last months, but the recent changes to her gadget with the launch of the new patch might have awakened her.
Ying is back.
If you are an OG of the game, you will probably remember Lucas "Hungry" Konstantin Ying play against the Japanese roster NORA-Rengo. PENTA was in a 3v5 situation on Border with the team's only hard breach dead.
That didn't seem to be a problem for Hungry, who threw all his Candelas all over the site. His first kill came with 46 seconds left to the round. Seven seconds later, the round was over. Just like that, Hungry got what's still known as the fastest ace in a Siege international competition.
About a year ago, Ying experienced a buff that saw her number of Candelas increase to four, and also got a pair of Smoke Grenades. Ying was incredibly powerful — so powerful that the operator was eventually nerfed.
But after a year, Ying is being tweaked again.
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Ying is back after buff in Rainbow Six Siege
Ying is back. Well, she had never left. Utility-wise, her set is pretty strong. Before the patch, Ying brought three Candelas and two Smoke Grenades. That's a lot. She also has the LMG T-95 LSW, a weapon with 80 bullets. She is strong.
However, Ubisoft's designer notes from two weeks ago showed that Ying's presence in Ranked Platinum and above in PC games was less than 10%.
Even double-world champion Niclas "Pengu" Mouritzen admitted that "Ying has been overpowered for so long but never played."
Well, Ying is getting what seems to be a buff in Y7S1.2. Another Candela to her pocket means she now can throw up to six pieces of utility, which can trigger Wamai gadgets or Jäger ADSs. She can also be very powerful at pushing the site with her Candelas.
But, will the addition of a single Candela make a huge impact? Last time, it actually made a difference.
Ying can initiate a reign of terror thanks to Y7S1.2 buff
Rogue's IGL Leon "LeonGids" Giddens already calls it: "Who thought giving Ying another candela AGAIN was a good idea? It was awful last time and she's in a good spot with repick."
Meanwhile, MIBR's coach Guilherme "Guille" Scalfi went a bit further. Perfect usage of the Mr. Incredible meme.
Ying was already at a good spot and the only reason why she isn't played a lot is because she doesn't fit the majority of lineups used in Siege. She can always be brought when teams want to go with a different play, typically a rush, or a take where she can be brought with her hard breaching charges.
As LeonGids also mentioned, she is also a very good operator to bring after using the attacker repick. There's no apparent reason to give Ying a Candela, a reason to bring her to competitive play.
Ying Candela duration has been decreased in R6 Siege
While she has now four Candelas, the duration of these has been decreased from 2.8 seconds to 1.4. This means that defenders (or attackers) that have been flashed won't have to wait that much to fully see again. That's the downside behind her change: more Candelas, less effect.
So, is the change going to be a buff, or a nerf? Will more players start picking her? Only time will tell.