Rainbow Six Siege Update 4.1 Out Today on PS4, Xbox One, PC

Rainbow Six Siege update 4.1 is now live on PlayStation 4 following a short maintenance period, and should arrive on Xbox One at 11am ET and on PC at 12pm ET. According to reports, the update is a 928MB download on PS4, bringing the total size of all PS4 updates to 8.1GB.

The biggest changes with this update are Pulse rebalancing, semi-auto shotgun balancing, and a small UI improvement. You’ll also find lots of fixes for bugs, including an issue where Shield Operators movement speed was slower than intended.

Here’s a look at some of the patch notes for today’s Rainbow Six Siege update:

Pulse Rebalancing

Reduced range for Pulse’s gadget, and he can no longer quick swap out of his gadget.

The previous update that we did on Pulse’s Heartbeat Sensor not only made it more comfortable to use, but it also made him stronger since the frequency of the heartbeat detection updates became higher. Combined with the fact that it was possible to switch extremely fast from the Heartbeat Sensor to the main gun, this made him too strong – our gameplay stats and the community feedback made that very clear. As a consequence, we have opted to tweak him as follows:

Detection range of Pulse’s Heartbeat Sensor is reduced from 13m to 9m.

Pulse will no longer be able to instantly switch from his Heartbeat Sensor to his previously equipped weapon by pressing the weapon switch button. This means the delay before the player can shoot will increase by 0.8 seconds (from roughly 0.4s increased to 1.2s).

Semi-Auto Shotgun Balancing

Semi-automatic shotguns will be getting a few tweaks to make them less powerful at longer range.

Based on the data we collected and feedback from the community and Pro League players, we have opted to balance semi-automatic shotguns. Patch 4.1 will be introducing these changes:

We will be reducing short range and medium range raw damage by approximately 25-30%.

For both hipfire and ADS (Aim Down Sight), we will be making their cones of dispersion wider by 1.5 degrees, which is approximately 10% more than their previous state. This means that there will be a less concentrated dispersion of bullets.

Our intention is to make semi-automatic shotguns carry out incredible damage at short range, but lessen their impact significantly from medium to long range. The damage falloff from the original damage output will now be more noticeable. At longer ranges, the accuracy of the shots will also be harder to predict with precision, as players will have less gradually less control the further away they are from their target.

The shotguns that will be affected are the following:

SPAS-12 – Valkyrie

SPAS-15 – Caveira

Super90 – Frost

M1014 – Pulse, Thermite, & Castle

UI Changes

We’ve updated the dead Operator indicator by making the icon more transparent and the red ‘X’ more visible.

Gameplay Fixes

Fixed – Shield Operators movement speed is slower than intended. [They are now back to Season 2 speeds]

Fixed – When the middle beam of a trap door is destroyed, it can no longer be reinforced.

Fixed – When a player falls while rappelling and then climbs a ladder, they will float in the air.

Fixed – Some users found an exploit that would allow them to see through walls.

Fixed – Some Pistols have double the intended amount of recoil when fired while ADS and then switching to hip fire.

Fixed – If two Defenders are outside and one of them goes back inside, the “You are detected” message will disappear.

Fixed – The angled grip is not providing the proper benefit.

Fixed – A destructible wall can become invulnerable if the Attacker is killed while detonating a second Breaching Charge.

Fixed – Players are able to shoot through barricades without causing damage to the barricade.

Fixed – Enemy names can be seen through barricades.

Fixed – A model error occurs behind players that equip a Nitro Cell.

Operator Fixes

All Operators

Fixed – Missing customization menu for PBR92.

Fixed – If an Operator mounts Tachanka’s LMG with a Pistol out, their arms will be near their chest after dismounting.

Fixed – Attackers are not killed when triggering Kapkan’s EDD and Frost’s Welcome Mat at the same time.

Thermite

Fixed – Exothermic Charge does not destroy a reinforced wall in some instances.

Fixed – Thermites Exothermic Charge can be destroyed through a reinforced hatch.

Blitz

Fixed – Operators have a broken animation when viewing from 3rd person.

Fixed – Legs, arms, and the top of Blitz’s head are exposed when triggering his gadget.

Jager

Fixed – Jager receives twice the intended amount of points for disabling grenades.

Ash

Fixed – Some wooden walls require two breaching rounds to destroy.

Twitch

Fixed – After an Operator is killed by Twitch’s Shock Drone, they are able to see the drone highlighted while in support mode.

Fixed – Shock Drone is no longer available after being revived from a DBNO state and picking up your Shock Drone.

Caveira

Fixed – DBNO state’s blurred vision disappears when Caveira initiates an interrogation but cancels it.

Kapkan

Fixed – EDD will sometimes not destroy a barricaded door.

Sledge

Fixed – Enemy players are not killed when Sledge breaches a wall they are standing next to with his Sledgehammer.

Frost

Fixed – Welcome Mat texture is floating if it’s placed on a trap door and an attacker gets caught in it.

Valkyrie

Fixed – Black Eye Cameras pass through the frame of any window with aluminum shutters.

FBI Recruit

Fixed – FBI Recruit does not have heavy armor equipped.

Level Design Fixes

All Maps

Fixed – Players are able to place Breaching Charges, Cluster Charges, and other gadgets placed on the edge of a reinforced floor hatch.

Bank

Fixed – Defenders are able to easily spawn kill Attackers if they spawn in “Parking Front”

Border

Fixed – One spawn location is not localized in some languages, and appears in English.

Club House

Fixed – It is possible to vault on the Library Cabinet in Bar.

Fixed – Severe rubberbanding occurs when a user walks near the hostage in “B Church”.

Fixed – Biker’s flag falls down when the wall between 1F Bar and 1F Central Hallway is reinforced.

Chalet

Fixed – Sticky Gadgets do not collide with walls in lobby near Dining Room 1F as intended.

Favela

Fixed – Operators clip through the ceiling after a vault action over the wardrobe.

Fixed – Operator shields remain present in the air after dying when switching floors in the Caster Cam.

Fixed – Valkyrie’s Black Eye Cameras float when a wall object is destroyed.

Fixed – Attackers are vulnerable to being spawn killed at EXT Rooftops.

House

Fixed – When clipping through the map with a drone, players are able to see the entire map.

Yacht

Fixed – The user can shoot through a small gap in-between the unbreakable walls from 3F Poker Room, and 3F Casino.

Fixed – Players are able to vault over an engine in 1F Engine Room and shoot outside.

You can check out the full list of patch notes, as well as detailed changes to the semi-automatic shotgun balancing, by following this link.

As revealed by Ubisoft, Rainbow Six Siege hit its highest player total ever earlier this month thanks to the Operation Skull Rain update. The Japan-themed update should also help the player base rise when it arrives in October.

[Source: Ubisoft Forums, Reddit]

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