At a preview event for the “BLAST R6 Osaka Major” held in Osaka, Ubisoft announced the details for “Year 11 Season 4,” the final season of Year 11 for *Rainbow Six Siege*. The new season kicks off on December 1.
Game Director Christopher Bagen and Creative Director Joshua Mills took the stage for the announcement.
The highlights of this season include the “Doc” remaster and “Ranked 3.0,” which splits Ranked Matches into two modes: “Solo/Duo” and “Flex.” Other announcements included the introduction of an in-game social hub, a revamp of the “Bank” map, and a collaboration with *DOOM*. This article summarizes the details revealed during the event.
◆ Ranked Matches will be split into “Solo/Duo” and “Flex”
Ranked Matches will be divided into two queues. “Solo/Duo” is for players or teams of two, while “Flex” is for solo, duo, trio, and full-squad teams. Each queue will have its own separate rank system.
Four-player squads will no longer be able to play Ranked Matches, and solo players will no longer be matched with five-player squads. To maintain matchmaking quality and reduce wait times, Duos may be moved from “Solo/Duo” to “Flex,” but Solo players will not be moved.
Rank progression occurs in the queue you initially selected. Even if a Duo is moved to “Flex,” progression continues in the queue they were in before the move. Additionally, neither rank starts from zero; instead, they begin with a soft reset of 500 RP from the player’s current rank.
The goal of this overhaul is to reduce disparities in team composition. Matchmaking configurations will be adjusted based on region and time of day.
The two queues will be operated using “cross-queue matchmaking,” where a single matchmaker monitors both queues and assigns players accordingly. The matchmaking technology for balancing team sizes has also been reworked, making it easier to set up matches between full 5-player squads.
Mills explains, “There are many players who play solo, and facing a 5-player squad isn’t a good experience.” He says that Year 11 has been a year focused on competitiveness, and Ranked 3.0 is being introduced to cap off that year.
◆ A Social Hub Arrives, Allowing Invites via Code—A Bit More Convenient
The new Social Hub consolidates friends from Ubisoft Connect and each platform into a single location. It does not use an overlay.
In the friends list, friends you play with frequently or who have recently gone online are displayed first, and it’s now easier to see the status of your friends and squads. You can invite players to your squad, send friend requests, and search for friends—all within *Siege*.
With the newly introduced invite codes, you can join a squad simply by sharing the code—no need to search for usernames. Since codes can be generated without displaying them on screen, you can even share them with viewers during a livestream. A “Recently Played With” feature has also been added, displaying a list of players you’ve faced in the past, and you can send invitations directly from there.
◆ The “Bank” map has been revamped, and three other maps—including “Yacht”—have also been improved
Adjustments have also been made to “The Bank.” New entry points, stairs leading to the balcony, and cover have been added to the entrance where the attacking team enters from the alley.Attackers now have more ways to advance without using rappelling. On the other hand, defenders can no longer defend the entire balcony from the windows, so they’ll need to rethink their setup in the objective area and how to defend the space between the square and the windows.
Additionally, the map modernization project we’ve been working on over the past year will conclude with “Yacht,” “Favela,” and “Tower” as the final three maps. These maps will receive improvements, including new art textures and gameplay elements (such as gas pipes and fire extinguishers).
◆Doc: Now able to heal allies from a distance
In Doc’s remaster, the Stim Pistol is replaced with the “E-Heal Monitor.” This increases his ability to support allies and eliminates the risk of missing with healing darts.
Defending teammates wear a healing device that notifies Doc of their health. Through this, Doc can check teammates’ health from anywhere on the map and heal them remotely. It’s also possible to revive downed teammates remotely.
Self-healing remains available, but since healing allies is faster, gameplay will emphasize teamwork. Additionally, Doc can now equip a deployable shield, further strengthening his role as an anchor. His available weapons, health, and speed remain unchanged.
When you activate the E-Heal Monitor, your allies’ health will be displayed on the screen, and allies on the brink of death will flash red to alert you. You can still revive yourself as before.
◆New Weapons and Thunderbird Balance Adjustments
The “MBZ-19,” an SMG with a 64-round magazine, has been added to the arsenals of the Thunderbird, Jäger, and Warden.
Additionally, shotguns will be significantly nerfed.The TCSG12’s damage will be reduced from 75 to 50. The ACS12 will receive a damage nerf, and its magazine capacity will also be reduced. Note that these adjustments to slug shotguns are considered “Stage 1”; to address their overuse, further adjustments are planned throughout Year 12.
Thunderbird will also undergo major adjustments. Corner Stations have been given the ability to remove stun and concussion effects. The system automatically prioritizes which effect to remove first, with the removal of stun or concussion from allies who are ready to fight taking precedence over reviving downed allies.
Additionally, the number of Corner Stations has increased to four, and their cooldown has been reduced by 5 seconds to 10 seconds. To make it easier to tell when a player has been healed, the activation conditions and visual feedback have been completely revamped.
Balance adjustments will continue to be implemented four times per season, at three-week intervals. This season, the team will reevaluate the adjustment policies for patches .1 and .3. They plan to reduce minor tweaks—such as “increasing magazine capacity by one round”—and focus instead on changes that will be noticeable to a large number of players.
◆ Half-Reinforced Walls Finally Arrive, Plus Events, the ‘DOOM’ Collaboration, Rewards, and More
We’ll also share other changes and collaboration details.
To allow players to try out the Lower Reinforced Wall in the Testbed
The “Lower Reinforced Wall” will appear in the Testbed playlist for a limited time of two weeks. This is not a permanent addition.
The Lower Reinforced Wall will appear as a secondary gadget for defensive Operators, offering a choice between it and other equipment like deployable shields. Reinforcing the lower half of the wall automatically destroys the upper half, providing cover for the defense while also opening up a clear line of sight for the attackers.
“Grand Larceny” Returns, Along with 3v3
The “Grand Larceny” event is returning for a limited three-week run.This marks its first appearance since Year 5, and the event has been revamped with new Attack and Defense Operators. Additionally, “3v3,” which was discussed in the Community Checkpoint, will return this season. “Free-for-All” will also make a comeback in the second event of the season.
‘DOOM’ Collaboration
The “Doomslayer” collaboration skin with 『DOOM』 will be available on December 22. Details will be announced closer to the release date.
Winter Daily Rewards and Pack Improvements
Winter Daily Rewards will be available from December 1 through January 15. There are 20 rewards in total, and no consecutive logins are required. The rewards include the “Celebration Pack,” which features past cosmetics and marks its return for the first time since Year 10 Season 1.You can earn five packs through the daily rewards, and if you have a Battle Pass, you can earn additional packs. The pack contents now include the popular “Gold Dust” and “Glacier” skins, and the first-ever animated “Glacier” skin for T5 SMGs will also make its debut exclusively in the Celebration Pack.
Additionally, since many players have hundreds of unopened Alpha Packs, the game will now support opening multiple packs at once. You can open up to 10 packs at a time and view the results either individually or all at once.
The shop design will also be revamped. You’ll be able to check your collection and ongoing events via tabs at the top of the screen, making it easier to find the bundles you’re looking for.
◆Four New Operators Per Year Starting Next Year
In 2027, we plan to return to a schedule of adding four new Operators per year. As for the remasters that were implemented frequently this year, the practice itself will not disappear; it will remain as a means to reevaluate Operators who no longer fit the meta and for whom other adjustment methods have been exhausted.
Additionally, regarding the postponement of features originally scheduled for this year, the overhaul of the competitive “Hostage” mode has been removed from this year’s plans and will instead debut in the Testbed during Season 1 next year. The bulletproof drone, which was planned as an attacker-side sub-gadget, has been postponed because it was determined to compromise competitive balance.“Operator Mastery” has also been removed from this year’s lineup so that its content can be revised to ensure the operational burden doesn’t become too great each season.
Rank 3.0 was made possible by the flexibility gained from these adjustments. Mills stated, “Competitive play is the top priority in ‘Siege.’”
The test server for *Rainbow Six Siege* Year 11 Season 4 will open on November 16, and the update will go live on December 1.
