The long awaited Operation Blood Orchid is coming to Rainbow Six Siege next week and we finally have all the juicy details on balance changes, bug fixes, weapon skins, and more. Operation Blood Orchid will roll out on all platforms on September 5, acting as the first proper content update for Rainbow Six Siege following the launch of Operation Health.
Jumping into Siege for the first time? Here is our list of the best starter Operators.
For details on the two new Operators, along with the Theme Park map, make sure to check out our content rundown for Operation Blood Orchid. Otherwise, here are all the major balance changes, new features, and bug fixes coming in this gargantuan Rainbow Six Siege update:
Operation Blood Orchid
Upgraded server deployment
Following the fixes made through Operation Health, Ubisoft will now be rolling out Rainbow Six Siege’s improved servers in time for Season 3. These new servers hope to fix rubberbanding, stability, and connectivity issues, along with implementing a new physics system which should stop players teleporting around the map.
Improved lighting when peeking out or looking into a building
After much deliberation, Ubisoft have scrapped much of Rainbow Six Siege’s old lighting system and reworked how exposure is handled on all maps. This means Defenders shouldn’t be blinded when looking outside and bloom issues should be a thing of the past. Additionally, the sky model of all maps has been changed to improve the overall lighting quality.
Operator and map texture optimization
In a bid to make Rainbow Six Siege as optimized and smooth as possible, the team at Ubisoft Montreal are going through each map and Operator to improve the game’s memory usage. Kafe Dostoyevsky is the first map to receive this texture overhaul, with the team hoping to improve every map by the year’s end. Each Operator has also been given the once-over, to ensure each one uses the same amount of memory. As a result of meeting this consistent memory budget, some low-quality Operators like Sledge actually look a bit better.
Improved facial rigging
During the memory optimization, each Operator received a facial rigging pass. They now all have a consistent reaction with the shape of their face, meaning smoother facial animation.
Blood Orchid weapon skins
Along with four Blood Orchid weapon skins, this content update also introduces a special “Alembic” weapon skin to coincide with the reveal of upcoming Polish Operator Ela. The Dynasty, Red Silk, White Dragon, and Plinky’s Arcade skins can be applied to any weapon introduced in Season 3.
Operation Blood Orchid gameplay improvements
This Operation has had its gameplay improvements split into four main categories. Here are the highlights from each category:
Game health
- Smoke grenades and smoke darts now release an opaque cloud of gas, which displays exactly the same way on each client. Due to this new smoke being so powerful, Operators only get two darts or two grenades.
- Capito’s smoke is now grey, instead of blue.
- Jäger and Bandit no longer have ACOG sights, and only heavily armoured Defenders will receive ACOG sights.
- All weapons (besides Glaz’s rifle and shotguns) now have a standardised range for damage fall-off.
- Attackers can now deploy a second drone without destroying the first one.
- Debris will no longer block gadgets.
Player comfort
- Crosshairs no longer turn red when hovering over an enemy.
- The red vision filter has been removed when Defenders go outside.
- Enemy ID only triggers when a scan is successful.
Playlist changes
The Season 3 Ranked playlist has been reduced to:
- Bank
- Clubhouse
- Oregon
- Kafe
- Consulate
- Chalet
- Border
- Skyscraper
- Coastline
The Ranked playlist will now mirror the maps selected for the Rainbow Six Siege Pro League, with new playlists being introduced upon a rank reset.
The Season 3 Casual playlist has been changed. It now consists of:
- Bank
- Clubhouse
- Oregon
- Kafe
- Consulate
- Chalet
- Border
- Skyscraper
- Coastline
- Kanal
- Hereford
- University
- House
- Plane
- Theme Park
Game balance
- Barbed wire is now easier to walk through and takes two melee hits to destroy.
- Jackal’s Hunter Mark now marks a target’s position every five seconds over a 20 second period, for five position pings.
- Bandit can now destroy Hibana pellets.
- Bandit’s batteries now one-shot drones.
- IQ no longer detects friendly gadgets, with the Yokai now detecting Echo’s arm pad.
- Fuze’s cluster pathing is more predictable.
- Hitting Blackbeard’s shield doesn’t issue a hit marker.
- All drones (including Twitch’s shock drone) are easier to aim upwards.
- Sledge’s hammer is easier to connect.
Operation Blood Orchid bug fixes
As with the gameplay improvements, there is a giant list of bug fixes in this patch. Here are some highlights from the patch notes:
- Defenders can no longer spawn kill from window sills.
- Players can no longer be killed through walls by a melee attack.
- Fall damage cannot be cancelled by firing your gun on impact.
- The movement sensors on claymores are no longer blocked by dead bodies.
- Doc can no longer add additional charges to his Stim pistol.