Rainbow Six Siege Y9S4 patch notes: Shield nerfs, operator balancing, player protection, and more

Rainbow Six Siege Y9S4 patch notes for Operation Collision Point are now out. Players can expect updates in various aspects that range from universal loadout changes to matchmaking improvements among others. Furthermore, players will now find themselves losing another API as Rainbow Six Siege Devs have reportedly made tweaks that cause concern in the playerbase.

In this article, we shall shed some light on the Y9S4 patch notes and everything there is to know about the upcoming season.

Rainbow Six Siege Y9S4 patch notes: All changes arriving on December 3, 2024

Blackbeard Rework in Rainbow Six Siege Y9S4 patch notes (Image via Ubisoft)

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Here's a list of all the changes that are going to be arriving with the new season and are included in the Y9S4 patch notes released just two weeks before Operation Collision Point release:

Operator Rework coming in Rainbow Six Siege Y9S4

Blackbeard is getting a rework in Operation Collision Point (Image via Ubisoft)

With the new season, Blackbeard will head into the battlefield equipped with the HULL Adaptable Shield. This shield can alter its shape to provide ample coverage when on foot or in rappel.

It also has a breaching mechanic that allows Blackbeard to make his own path by destroying soft walls, Armor Panels, Kiba barriers, or Deployable shields. Furthermore, Blackbeard will be able to equip both the HULL Shield and a primary weapon.

Base stats

3 Armor
1 Speed

Hull shield

Breaching Ability
Max. charges: 4
8 seconds Cooldown between each use.

Loadout

HULL Shield
Mk-17 (Damage increased to 44 from 40, Magazine Size increased to 25 from 20, Total ammunition increased to 226 from 181)
SR-25
Frag Grenades, Claymores.

Operator Balancing in Rainbow Six Siege Y9S4 patch notes

Operator receiving changes in Rainbow Six Siege Y9S4 patch notes (Image via Ubisoft)

In Y9S4, R.O.U. Sens projectors will feature a battery that depletes while the projectors are turned on, as well as a switch that allows Sens to turn them off. This on/off switch will grant players greater freedom and control over how they utilize these visual barriers. Furthermore, thermal sights can no longer see through the screens, which includes Glaz and Warden

New Switch Ability Mode for turning on and off the projectors.
The projector's battery only drains when the walls are turned on.
Reduced the number of projectors to seven (from ten).
The wall now blocks vision at a distance of 0.75 meters (down from 1.15 meters), and Thermal View gadgets cannot see through it.

Also read: Rainbow Six Siege new season countdown

With a new update to Thunderbird's Kona Stations, players no longer need to stay within its range to gain full health. Upon initially entering its range, a healing bonus is applied, after which players may leave the radius. Health will continue to regenerate until it is full, or until a player takes damage.

New Health Regeneration bonus added.
Regeneration speed: 2HP per second.
Buff-end conditions include taking damage or reaching 100% health.

Ying will have the instant-trigger option removed on her Candelas. This change enables defenders to make tactical decisions quickly and devise ways to counter them. An instant-trigger setting lowered the skill ceiling, making it simpler but less strategic. The additional fuse time required will help teams coordinate and prevent themselves from being taken by surprise when a Candela appears.

Rolling distance:

0 charges: 10 meters
1 charge: 7.5 meters
2 charges: 5 meters (from 2.6)
3 charges: 2.5 meters (from 0)

Piercing time:

0-1 charges: 3 seconds
2 charges: 2 second
3 charges: 1 second

Game Balancing in Rainbow Six Siege Y9S4 patch notes

Shields are getting nerfed in the upcoming season (Image via Ubisoft)

Stun grenades

Reduced from 3 to 2 per operator.

Ballistic shields

The number of bullets required to activate the suppression mechanic has been decreased from 10 to 5.
The number of bullets required to achieve maximum suppressive fire intensity has been lowered from 40 to 20.
Melee damage decreased to zero (from 65).
Melee Priority: If the opposing player's melee hits first, the shield melee is canceled.
Melee Range: Shield melee range is more similar to knife melee.
Guard break intensity from a melee strike remains constant.
Consecutive guard breaks enhance the intensity of each melee strike, making the Shield Operator increasingly vulnerable.

PC-Console Crossplay 1.0 in Rainbow Six Siege Y9S4 patch notes

PC-Console crossplay will be available Y9S4 onwards (Image via Ubisoft)

Crossplay between PC and consoles is finally available. Players can now squad up with their friends no matter what platform they are on. Console players can join the PC player pool, but PC players cannot join console matchmaking pools. Any squad with a PC player must participate in the PC matching pool.

Additionally, when playing Ranked with crossplay enabled, console players will keep and advance a PC rank separate from their console rank based on the matchmaking pool they join for the match.

Siege Cup Beta Update in Rainbow Six Siege Y9S4 patch notes

Siege Cup Beta in Rainbow Six Siege Y9S4 patch notes (Image via Ubisoft)

When a Siege Cup tournament begins, anyone who has reached Clearance Level 50 and meets the eligibility requirements can organize a Squad to compete. Players will battle for Competitive Coins, which will unlock new and exclusive skins. Remember that teams in this playlist are not established through matchmaking, thus players must have a full squad.

Matchmaking Improvements in Rainbow Six Siege Y9S4 patch notes

Phantom Player

With Operation Collision Point, a new mechanic is being introduced to the matchmaking system dubbed the Phantom Player, which aims to address the issue of Squads consisting of people with vastly different skill levels generating unbalanced lobbies when queued together.

With the help of the Phantom Player mechanic, the matchmaking system adds a mathematical value dubbed "6th player" to any Squad that queues. This "6th player" takes into account the skill differences among the Squad members. It also considers the number of players in the squad, ensuring larger squads will encounter tougher opponents.

Team Rebalancing

In the next season, R6 devs have focussed on refining the process that is used to generate more equitable matchups. Before a match begins, the algorithm will evaluate the difference in team skill ratings and then reshuffle players to make matches more fair. Players in Squads, however, will not get shuffled through this update.

Long Term Progression in

Rainbow Six Siege Y9S4 patch notes

Career

A new player hub is being introduced in Y9S4 Operation Collision Point that collects all account-related information in one location, allowing insight into an individual's Siege career statistics. This includes information such as rank, reputation standing, account stats, and more. Match replays are now available here as well.

Badges

Badges are being introduced with the latest season wherein completing a new set of tasks designed will award players with unique badges. These are made to recognize player achievements, abilities, and commitment to the game. These can be shown off on top of existing Operator Cards. A Badge can be leveled up by completing each of its difficulty stages, and its appearance will change each time.

Additionally, an Operator Card allows you to equip up to three badges.

Player Protection in Rainbow Six Siege Y9S4 patch notes

MouseTrap Update

With the introduction of PC and console crossplay, players with an active Mousetrap penalty will be forced into the PC matchmaking pool for 90 days. This replaces the previous penalty that required extra latency. Additionally, if mousetrapped players disable crossplay, they will be unable to join matchmaking until the option is enabled again.

Cheater Match Cancellation

Cheaters identified and banned by the moderation team or the automated ban system will now instantly be thrown out of their current match. This will result in the immediate termination of the ongoing match. This update eliminates the requirement for players to vote on cancellation, avoiding the accompanying MMR rollbacks.

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Reputation Center Overhaul

The Reputation System has been completely redesigned, with new actions added to its calculations that keep a counter for both positive and negative standings. Player reports have been excluded from the system's computations.

Transparency is critical in the latest Reputation Center design, which shows players how actions translate into standings and whether one is approaching an action's warning and/or punishment threshold. When the season begins, all player actions and standings will be reset to provide for a fresh start with the new reputation system.

AI Text Moderation in Rainbow Six Siege Y9S4 patch notes

An AI moderation service now assists with text chat monitoring by analyzing messages in real time to delete particularly toxic messages and flag disruptive ones.

Player Comfort in Rainbow Six Siege Y9S4 patch notes

Match replays tab is being relocated in the new season (Image via Ubisoft)

Operator's Guides

Sens and Thunderbird have been updated with balancing tweaks.
Drones now feature a drone jump trajectory.
Updated to reflect Blackbeard rework modifications.

Match Replays Relocation

Match replays were moved to the Career tab.
A new widget in Career provides important information such as game score, win/loss record, and map name.
The "Watch" tab has been removed.

Match Replays Highlights

Kill occurrences are shown on the replay timeline. Clicking on the timestamp allows you to navigate to those critical occasions quickly.

Drones Jump Trajectory

Previsualize the jump trajectory of your drone by toggling the ability while controlling your drone and keeping still for a brief moment.
Toggle the ability off when you don't need the assistance to free up screen space in the HUD.
Works with all drones except for Echo's and Flores's.

Drones QOL

Drone jump landings are now sticky to stop them from sliding after, making jumping more reliable.
Allow jumping to occur for a few frames after running off a ledge to make jumping off objects less frustrating.
Applies to all drones.