Image via Ubisoft/Joao Ferrerria
Yesterday, there was a massive ban wave on consoles for "toxic behavior," according to several posts on the official Rainbow6 Reddit forum.
Console players have been pleading for anyone to do anything about the sheer amount of toxicity on their platforms for some time. It's not uncommon to see Quick Match games featuring abundant team killing or other griefing behavior, not to mention abusive messages sent to anyone who attempts to actually play the game.
Ranked isn't much better. XIM tech abusers plague the lobbies of nearly every high-elo Ranked game. A XIM is a controller adapter that allows the user to play on inputs other than controller, thereby unlocking the ability to play on a mouse and keyboard against aim-assistless controller players. By the letter of Ubisoft's rules, utilizing mouse and keyboards on console is cheating.
Currently, there isn't a tried and true method to send reports to Ubisoft straight from consoles. The "report" function sends the player to the Microsoft or Sony live service report function, which can be unreliable and is surely overwhelmed with thousands of false reports.
Ubisoft has teased the implementation of a "Reputation System" for Rainbow Six Siege, claiming that the system is already running in the background. This recent ban wave could be an indication that the Reputation System is inching closer to being ready to reveal publicly.
While nothing has been done to mouse and keyboard users yet, it's good to see something being done to address the sheer amount of toxicity and hate on console platforms. Console players feel neglected — whether they are or aren't — and even if it hasn't completely eliminated toxicity from the platform, it's a good start.