Ubisoft will release Rainbow Six Siege X Year 11 Season 4 on Dec. 1, introducing a major Ranked overhaul alongside operator remasters, a new weapon, defensive equipment and other live-service changes. The update’s test server is scheduled to open Nov. 16.
The season’s central feature is Ranked 3.0, which divides the current competitive environment into two queues. The new Solo/Duo queue will allow players to enter alone or in groups of two, while the Flex queue will support squads of one, two, three or five players. Four-player groups will not be supported in either queue.
Separate progression and cross-queue matchmaking
Players will have independent rank progression in the Solo/Duo and Flex queues. Their initial progression will be seeded from their rank at the end of Season 3. Ubisoft is also changing squad-size matchmaking so that five-player groups will be matched against other five-player groups whenever possible, while solo and duo players will be placed against opponents with similar group sizes.
To manage the matchmaking pool after the split, Ubisoft is adding Cross-Queue Matchmaking. The system will continue to treat Solo/Duo and Flex as separate queues for ranking purposes, but a unified matchmaker will manage the wider environment. Its matchmaking calculations will consider factors including region, time zone and the distribution of players across the available queues.
New weapon and operator changes
Y11S4 will also include the final remaster for Doc and an ability overhaul for Thunderbird. Ubisoft is adding the MBZ-19 submachine gun and experimental Half-Wall Reinforcements, while also making weapon-balance adjustments and improvements to maps.
- Ranked 3.0: Solo/Duo and Flex queues with separate rank progression.
- Operator updates: Doc receives his final remaster and Thunderbird gets an ability overhaul.
- New equipment: The MBZ-19 submachine gun and experimental Half-Wall Reinforcements join the update.
- Additional content: Map improvements, limited-time events and weapon-balance changes are planned.
Ubisoft also described a change to its planned content during the season’s media presentation in Osaka, Japan. The Bulletproof Drone was canceled over concerns about how it would fit with the existing combat environment. The Half-Wall Reinforcements, Doc remaster and new submachine gun remain part of the Y11S4 plans.
The update follows 11 years of live operation for Rainbow Six Siege. Ubisoft said the new matchmaking structure is intended to address the disadvantage faced by solo players when they were placed against five-player squads while avoiding the queue-time problems that could result from separating the player pool. The Y11S4 test server begins Nov. 16, followed by the full release on Dec. 1.
