Rainbow Six Siege: Operator Balancing Changes

ByKyle Wilson Hours
Rainbow Six Siege Operator Balancing changes Finka

Last Updated on: 15th March 2021, 07:53 pm

Operation Crimson Heist is almost here and there’s a few Operator balancing changes being introduced into Siege that should help to balance the current meta.

Although we don’t have the complete Patch Notes yet, the Designer’s Notes from the previous Test Server update outline a lot of important Operator balancing changes that are coming to Rainbow Six: Siege

Below, we’re going to let you know what’s changing, why Ubisoft have decided to change it, and what this could mean going forward.

READ MORE: Operation Crimson Heist: Everything We Know About Rainbow Six Siege Y6S1

Of course, we won’t know if the current meta has changed until a little bit later but some of these are promising for particular players and some of them could prove problematic. We’re looking at you Blackbeard mains!

Siege Operator Balancing Changes

In the Rainbow Six Siege Y6S1 update, there are two Operators that are getting significant balancing changes: Kali and Nokk. We’re going to kick things off with those two first.

Kali Balancing Changes

  • Increased CSRX 300 damage to 127 (from 122)
    • 1 body shot will kill a 3-speed Operator
    • 1 body shot will DBNO a 2-speed Operator
    • 1 body shot will DBNO a 1-speed Operator
  • Wearing Rook Vest:
    • 1 body shot will DBNO a 3-speed Operator
    • 2 body shots will DBNO a 2-speed Operator
    • 2 body shots will DBNO a 1-speed Operator
Rainbow Six Siege Operator Balancing changes Kali
Credit: Ubisoft

When you think of Kali, you don’t really think “viable”. Well, this might change as Ubisoft are increasing her DBNO potential and forcing Rook back into the Defenders meta as an important counter to her higher damage output.

READ MORE: Rainbow Six Siege: Kali buffs detailed ahead of Crimson Heist

For Kali mains, her CSRX 300 is still in charge of her killing potential and the team behind Rainbow Six Siege has introduced these changes in an effort to find that “sweet spot” for her primary.

Nokk Balancing Changes

  • While HEL Presence Reduction is active, Nøkk won’t activate proximity-based gadgets
    • Gadgets affected: Ela’s Grzmot Mine, Melusi’s Banshee, Kapkan’s Entry Denial Device, Proximity Alarm, and Metal Detectors
  • Nøkk’s glitch effect will cancel the proximity immunity, resulting in the activation of any gadget in range
  • The color of the HEL device on Nøkk’s hand will change colour when bypassing any proximity device
Rainbow Six Siege Operator Balancing changes Nokk
Credit: Ubsifot

For Nokk players, these Operator balancing changes will change the way she’s used in Siege going forward. The fact that she can now avoid proximity-based gadgets makes her infinitely more viable in terms of recon and flanking.

READ MORE: Rainbow Six Siege: New Nokk buffs sound too good to be true

Now, Nokk can warn players of which routes to avoid quickly by looking at the colour changes on her HEL device and keep herself a little more hidden from the Defenders, provided she avoids cameras still!

These changes are going to be turned off when the update goes live and are only available in the Siege Test Server, but expect them soon.

Blackbeard Balancing Changes

  • Reduced Shield HP to 20 (from 50)
  • Reduced MK17 damage to 40 (from 49)

Clearly, people thought Blackbeard was too much of a driving force for the Attackers. So much so he actually has the highest Attacker win delta. So, rightfully so, he’s getting a nerf in an effort to balance him out.

” By reducing the HP of his shields and damage of his MK17, this will slightly reduce both his killing potential and survivability. Given that the majority of the time, Blackbeard ends matches with shield economy to spare, this change should be fair to both sides as it brings him more in line with other Attackers.”

Dokkaebi Balancing Changes

  • Added Gonne-6 (Removed C75)
  • Added Stun Grenades (Removed Frag Grenades)

There isn’t much changing with Dokkaebi, to be honest. She’s getting the Gonne-6 as a secondary instead of the GSH-18, but her explosive potential is being balanced by the swapping Frags for Stuns.

” By switching to Stun Grenades, she will retain this utility against bulletproof devices while also empowering her with a wider range of tools to better adapt to her surroundings while disrupting Defenders”

READ MORE: Resident Evil x Rainbow Six Siege Crossover On The Way

Finka Balancing Changes

  • Added Gonne-6 (Removed GSH-18)
  • Added Stun Grenades (Removed Frag Grenades)

Similarly, Finka is getting the same loadout changes so there isn’t much more to be said about it. This slight reduction in her AoE damage output should help to balance her given the fact that she has a fairly high position on the win delta.

Mozzie Balancing Changes

  • Warning will hint at the distance to Pests by modifying its blinking speed

Mozzie’s Pest is a pretty over-powered piece of kit that essentially wastes a lot of Attackers’ time during a game. The addition of the proximity warning should help to keep keen-eyed Attackers safe from his drone counters and force Mozzie players to get a bit more creative with their use of his unique gadget.

Twitch Balancing Changes

  • Added Smoke Grenades (Removed Stun Grenades)

It may seem like a small change but Twitch’s high kill potential and aggressive playstyle is being nerfed in an effort to balance her in the meta. Ubisoft are promising to continually monitor her playstyle and “ensure any changes retain the core of why players love Twitch”.

Although some of the Operation Crimson Heist content is only available to Battle Pass subscribers on March 16th, 2021, the in-game updates and Operator balancing changes are going live with the update. So… It’s important to know what’s changing if you main any of the above!