Rainbow Six Siege Y9S1 patch notes, from Azami nerfs to ADS adjustments

Big changes are on their way in Y9S1 of Rainbow Six Siege, as ADS adjustments look to tackle the dominant 'TDM Meta', and nerfs to Azami might challenge her status at the top of our Operator tier list.

These aren't the only adjustments coming at the start of the game's ninth year though - far from it - with other balancing revisions to other Operators, revisions to the various optics, and even a number of changes to the many LMGs too.

Patch notes for Y9S1 in Rainbow Six Siege

Operator balancing

Azami

• Kiba Barrier
  • Barriers now have 999hp
  • Barriers are now vulnerable to bullet damage
  • Damage dealt to the barriers depends on the weapons' calibre or destruction output

This is a big change to negate the overwhelming power of Azami on Defense. Previously her barriers could only be removed by explosives, which meant that Attacking teams had to cater their approach and selection around this.

They will still be a pain to take down, and something that could reveal your position and expend your resources, but I'll now feel a lot more confident running a flank without any explosives.

Finka

• Adrenal Surge
  • Weapon reload speed increase bonus removed
  • Clears the sheilds' Suppressive Fire debuff, and reduces its effect by 50% if applied while affected by Adrenal Surge

This has less to do with Finka and more to do with the new attachments, as it highlights the effectiveness of the new Angled Grip. Furthermore, it ties in nicely with the Shield rework - and something that I'll be trying to coordinate as someone who enjoys picking up the Russian Operator.

Weapon balancing

General

• New classes:
  • Revolver
  • Sniper Rifle
  • Slug Shotgun

Light Machine Guns

• Movement speed reduced by 10%

ADS transition

• Normalised and simplified ADS curve transitions:
  • Fast:
    • Handguns, Revolvers, Shotguns
  • Medium:
    • Marksman Rifles, Sniper Rifles
  • Slow:
    • Machine Pistols, Submachine Guns, Assault Rifles, Light Machine Guns, Slug Shotguns

ADS speed

• Reduced ADS speed from idle/walk stances:
  • Handgun: 240ms (from 200)
  • Revolver: 240ms (from 200)
  • Machine Pistol: 380ms (from 280)
  • Submachine Gun: 460ms (from 300)
  • Assault Rifle: 520ms (from 400)
  • Light Machine Gun: 560ms (from 450)
  • Marksman Rifle: 520ms (from 400)
  • Sniper Rifle: 520ms (from 400)
  • Shotgun: 340ms (from 250)
  • Slug Shotgun: 520ms (from 400)
  • Hand Cannon: 240ms (from 200)
  • Reduced ADS speed from sprint (same proportion)
  • Launchers are also affected. The ADS Speed depends on the type of sight

This is a significant nerf to run and gun playstyles that have been at the forefront of the meta for a while now. You'll now have to be much more intentional about when you aim down sights and might find yourself caught out if you try and aim reactively under pressure.

Sights

• Iron Sight
  • Category: No sight
  • Magnification: 1.0x
  • Added +10% ADS speed bonus
• Sight
  • Category: Non-magnifying
  • Magnification: 1.0x
  • Added +5% ADS speed bonus
• Magnified
  • Category: Magnifying
  • Magnification: ~2.5x
  • Available on every Attacker weapon
  • Available on the following Defender guns:
    • 9mm C1 (Frost)
    • P10 Roni (Mozzie)
    • 9x19SVN (Tachanka)
    • ACS12 (Alibi, Maestro, Azami)
    • AR-15.50 (Tubarao)
    • BOSG.12.2 (Vigil)
    • Mk 14 ERB (Aruni)
    • MP5K (Wamai)
    • MP5 (Doc, Melusi, Rook)
    • P90 (Doc, Rook)
    • TCSG12 (Goyo, Rook)
    • UMP45 (Castle)
    • UZK50GI (Thorn)
    • Vector .45 (Goyo)
• Telescopic
  • Category: Magnifying
  • Magnification: ~3.5x
  • Available only on Attacking DMRs
• Reticles
  • Increased middle dot size for the following optics:
    • Holo A
    • Holo C
    • Red Dot C
    • Magnified A
  • Reduced middle dot size:
    • Holo B
    • Magnified C

Under Barrels & Grips

• Laser
  • Removed Hip Fire bonus
  • Added +10% ADS speed bonus
• Angled Grip
  • Removed ADS speed bonus
  • Added +20% weapon reload speed
• Horizontal Grip
  • Added +5% movement speed bonus
• Vertical Grip
  • Bonus reduced to +20% vertical recoil control from +25%

This should make all of the underbarrel attachments viable and relevant to each specific weapon, giving you an actual decision to make when kitting out your gun.

I love the ADS speed increase being tied to the laser, as it's what many players will want to go for but comes at the downside of having a visible laser in-game.

Ballistic Shield rework

• Movement:
  • Every Operator equipped with a Ballistic Shield will keep it in front while sprinting
  • They can also push through a barricade without having to hit them twice. Does not work from rappel
• Weapon handling:
  • The ability to hip fire has been removed
  • Reduced accuracy during the shield unequip animation
  • Reduced the ADS time to 0.5 walking and 0.55 seconds sprinting from 0.6
  • Reload animation is now performed behind the shield
  • Reload will now be triggered automatically when you run out of bullets
• Melee:
  • New defensive melee animation
  • Melee now deals pushback and 65hp damage
• New gadget throw animation from behind the shield
• New gadget trigger animation from behind the shield
• Ballistic Shield remains equipped when escorting the hostage
• Touching fire will trigger the guard break with 40% intensity
• Free look:
  • Can hold the Free Look button to check your surroundings while keeping the Shield aimed forward
  • Can throw gadgets in the direction that you are looking
• Suppressive Fire:
  • Operator will now be unable to sprint and have reduced visibility when suppressed by bullet impacts
    • Triggered at 10 bullets, max intensity at 40 bullets, 7 second fall off

LMG recoil adjustments

• LMG-E
  • Reduced first kick
  • Reduced vertical recoil
  • Recoil will remain stable for longer during a sustained fire burst
• 6P41
  • Reduced first kick
  • Reduced vertical recoil
  • Reduced lateral recoil
  • Recoil will remain stable for longer during a sustained fire burst
• M249
  • Reduced first kick
  • Reduced vertical recoil
  • Reduced lateral recoil
  • Recoil will remain stable for longer during a sustained fire burst
• M249 SAW
  • Reduced first kick
  • Reduced lateral recoil
  • Recoil will remain stable for longer during a sustained fire burst
• G8A1
  
  • Reduced vertical recoil
  • Recoil will remain stable for longer during a sustained fire burst

Make sure to check out our full preview of the new Season to see what we thought, alongside a rundown of the new Operator Deimos. For everything else, head to our dedicated Rainbow Six Siege homepage, as we've got the tips you'll need to master the ranking system.