The state of R6 Siege and #SaveSiege explained

As the pandemic continues, Ubisoft forges ahead with revamping their esports scene and continuing with their Year 5 roadmap. Though shelter-in-place orders forced employees to work at home, Ubisoft has rolled out patches and a new game mode during these uncertain times. Despite their efforts, however, the community is still unsatisfied with the state of Rainbow Six: Siege. G2 Esports’ Niclas “Pengu” Mouritzen leads the #SaveSiege movement to bring attention to the problems that plague the beloved Tom Clancy title.

#SaveSiege for Rainbow Six: Siege

On May 11, 2020, Pengu released a YouTube video laying bare all the issues the game currently has. After Ubisoft’s announcement of redoing Rainbow Six: Siege esports, Pengu consulted the community as he made the list on stream, providing a stance that is both professional and casual. The breakdown of the major points in his 2-hour long video makes up the bulk of the R6 community’s thoughts.

R6 Community

The one problem that all online multiplayer games constantly fight is the existence of cheaters. In higher ranks, cheaters run rampant, giving professional players and streamers alike headaches as players server-hop for fairer games. But for console players, the problem is different. Mouse and keyboard users on game consoles destroy the experience for many non-PC players.

Engine Mechanics and Client-side Bugs

Pengu moves on to talk about engine mechanics and the consistency of client-side bugs. He wants Ubisoft to emphasize skill by addressing the usage of bullet holes and headshots through multiple walls and barricades. Rather than slam those who intentionally shoot through walls, Pengu brings up the point that players could die unexpectedly due to lucky hipfire shots through walls or barricades. Client-side debris and dead bodies also absorb shots that should have otherwise hit. With debris, dead bodies, and even drones being client-side, the same round can look different to everyone, with some players more riddled with bugs than others.

Accessibility and Quality of Life Changes

Pengu also addresses accessibility and quality of life changes, suggesting a colorblind mode as part of #SaveSiege. He cites a moment in the Pro League where his colorblind teammate, Joonas “jNSzki” Savolainen, couldn’t see the lasers of a claymore, forcing teammates to adapt around him for a retake later in the round. Lighting is a huge issue in the game as well, with operators blending in with brighter or darker surroundings. So far, the only solution to poor lighting is to adjust the brightness settings. Being shot until 20 health or less only makes these problems more apparent since sound and color are disoriented for a considerable amount of time.

Alpha Packs recently become a hot topic with how often duplicates come up. Especially during events, the only way to acquire all the cosmetics is to keep buying packs. Because there’s no guarantee to get the desired cosmetic, and with the rate of duplicates being so high, players need to make the decision between spending more money or foregoing specific event skins.

Balancing Guns and Operators

In addition to revisiting how certain operators’ gadgets work, Pengu also calls for recoil changes, increasing it on some guns and reducing it on others. Changing how recoil works will increase the skillcap and reward better recoil control.

Pengu also comments that despite the three-month grace period to observe how new operators perform in ranked gameplay before being released in Pro League, they rarely get balanced in a healthy way in time. He makes an example of Kaid and Maverick, who both took a long time to be nerfed. Another issue with new operators is that Ubisoft recycles guns, constantly taking older weapons to new operators.

#SaveSiege Responses

Since the video was released, the player base took to Twitter with #SaveSiege to express their opinions. As the leader of this movement, Pengu has stated that the hashtag is not meant to harass the Ubisoft developers. The movement’s purpose is to show support and encourage them to fix the game to run as smoothly as possible.

If I see or hear of anyone dming members of Ubisoft / devs negative things then you outright have lost your way, the #SaveSiege was never a negative thing so don’t you dare make it one. Attacking the people that you rely on to fix the game is probably not gonna make them do it

— Pengu (@G2Pengu) May 12, 2020

Caster Interro, among others, shows his support in the movement.

#SaveSiege because the problems we face can be fixed. There's no other game like Rainbow 6 Siege.

— Parker Mackay (@INTERRO) May 12, 2020

“BikiniBodhi” reminds people that bug-fixing takes time. Just because the player base asks for it, solutions cannot be delivered right then and there. This is especially true as COVID-19 continues to force work-from-home policies.

I agree that Ubisoft needs to improve their communication with us.

But we as a community will also need to understand them, if they give you an explanation why they can't do certain things, and especially as fast as we want them to

You want them to speak, We need to listen.

— BikiniBodhi ? FNATIC (@BikiniBodhi) May 12, 2020

So far, there is no official comment from Ubisoft on the #SaveSiege movement. Ubisoft’s Year 5 roadmap already shows that they are working on the core gameplay and mechanics as the seasons pass. All fans can do is watch through Year 5 and trust Ubisoft will deliver on their promises. With Rainbow Six: Siege Operation Steel Wave arriving soon, fresh gameplay will soon enter the R6 esports scene.

Written by Emily Tang