Rainbow Six Siege Patch Notes - All About The Latest Updates

Seven years since its release, Tom Clancy’s Rainbow Six Siege still gets regular patch updates that freshen up the game and remove persistent bugs as well. The latest R6 patch update is the Y6S4.2 (Year 6, Season 4.2), and it’s a big one.

From fixing the Xbox audio issues to improving gameplay and certain UI aspects, the Y6S4.2 Rainbow Six Siege patch is a step in the right direction before the world championship starts in February.

The latest patch is now available for all the consoles, so we decided to make some handy Rainbow 6 Siege patch notes. These R6 patch notes are a guide to what you can expect from the latest Y6S4.2 patch update and decide whether you want it or not.

Spoiler alert: You do, especially if you are an Xbox player.

So, without further ado, let’s dive into the Y6S4.2 Rainbow Six patch notes.

Patch Notes – Rainbow Six Siege Y6S4.2 Update

The Y6S4.2 is the third R6 patch update for the High Calibre Rainbow Six Siege iteration.

It was released on 25th January and is now available for all new-gen and last-gen consoles and gaming platforms. The first release was for Steam and Ubisoft Connect (PC) users, as always, but the patch is now rolling out for PS4, PS5, and Xbox One as well.

Here are some of the major changes coming to Rainbow Six Siege after the Y6S4.2 patch update:

Mobile Phone Verification for Ranked Mode

This is something that should have been done a long time ago, but it’s still a more than welcome change.

Players will now have to provide mobile phone verification to create an account and enjoy Ranked Mode in Rainbow Six Siege.

Idea is to counter the smurf accounts. Lower ranked players will not have to face off pros anymore. We hope they bring more such features to even the playing field.

Privacy Mode (Beta)

Another welcome change in the latest Rainbow Six Siege patch is to the Privacy Mode, a.k.a Streamer Mode.

Ubisoft will trial new features in the game to hide the real identities of the players from one another. Some streamers and developers are giving it a go right now, and Ubisoft is expecting positive results.

This feature is only in its Beta version and will only roll out to the general public once the Ubisoft devs are satisfied with it.

Y6S4.2 Rainbow Six Siege Patch Notes – Patch Download Size

Here is the file size of the Y6S4.2 for every console and gaming platform as per the official R6 patch notes:

PS4 – 2.68 GB
PS5 – 1.99 GB
Xbox One – 2.14 GB
Xbox Series X – 2.58 GB
Ubisoft Connect – 2.49 GB
Steam – 1.01 GB

Y6S4.2 Rainbow Six Siege Patch Notes – Bug Fixes

One of the main purposes of patch updates is bug fixes. And no game is free from irritating bugs, so, naturally, the Y6S4.2 R6 patch update brings quite a handful of bug fixes too.

The latest patch also includes some gameplay tweaks to Operators and User Experience bug removal.

User Experience Bug Fixes

Miscellaneous User Interface issues
Miscellaneous Battle Pass issues
Miscellaneous Shop issues
Miscellaneous SFX and Audio issues
Miscellaneous Localization issues
Miscellaneous Customization issues
Miscellaneous HUD issues
Shooting on certain locations in certain maps causes a crash
Game soft locks when players try to change the mouse sensitivity after elimination
Player removed for inactivity glitch after disconnecting and reconnecting Xbox controllers
Missing 3D preview text in Packs after previewing several items
Redirected to home after pressing ESC to interrupt a Pack opening
When switching from one player to another in the first person, Compass orientation and location won’t update for a caster

Level Design Bug Fixes

Hidden devices behind the bookshelf in the Bank Map (2F CEO Office)
Level of Detail issues on some maps
Lighting, Clipping, and Destruction issues of some maps

Gameplay Bug Fixes

Out of bound camera glitch while an Attacker watches a kill replay at the end of a round
Visible Bulletproof cam after an interruption in deploy animation
Fuze’s Cluster charge cannot be used on Mira’s Black Mirror
Grzmot and Razorbloom mine activation through the wall with a small-caliber weapon shot
Non-functional ping when looking at lower angles with Twitch’s Shock Drone

Operators Bug Fixes

Unable to hold and lean Ying’s Candela while using a controller
Missing animation for Ash’s Black Viper elite victory celebration

Y6S4.2 Rainbow Six Siege Patch Notes – Operator Balancing Changes

With the Y6S4.2 Rainbow Six Siege patch update, 3 operators are getting some tweaks too. Aruni, Ela, and Zofia are getting new equipment and some rough gameplay edges are being refined as well.

Aruni – Can now equip Muzzle Brake on the MK14

The other MK14 owner, Dokkaebi, had a three-barrel attachment available. So, we aren’t surprised to see the developers trying to enhance Aruni’s arsenal too.

This will create a more even playing field between the two MK14 Operators while also proving a stabilizer for the beginner R6 Siege players.

Ela – Changes to the FO-12 Shotgun

Ela’s speed and the unforgiving spread of the FO-12 make for a devastating combo, and console players know that all too well.

So, the FO-12 has been damped down a bit in terms of damage dealing to bring it in line with other similar in-game weapons. Here’s what’s changed:

Damage reduced from 35 to 25.
Damage modifier of the Extended Barrel attachment reduced.

The changes might seem substantial on paper, but the real-time gameplay changes are minimal. Once again, the main purpose is to even the playing field for Rainbow Six Siege cross-play.

Ela & Zofia – Changes to KS79 and Grzmot Mine concussion effects

When hit with Zofia’s KS79 or Grzmot’s mine, the effects seemed overkill. So the developers have decided to reduce the screen shakes and limit the movement speed reduction and the works.

The ability to interrupt any action stays intact, but now it won’t leave the affected as a sitting duck.

This is in no way a means to discourage Ela and Zofia mains. The Operators are still a force to reckon with, but it was time to damp down the frustration of being hit by an Ela or Zofia concussion.

Y6S4.2 Rainbow Six Siege Patch Notes – Xbox Audio/Crash Issue

Ubisoft has finally rolled out something to try and tackle the audio and game crash issues faced by the Xbox users.

There is still no permanent solution provided by the devs. However, they have suggested a few steps to carry out to prevent the game from crashing.

According to the official Rainbow Six patch notes from Ubisoft, the game will now notify you when it experiences the audio problem, so you can reboot the console yourself instead of losing all your progress due to the game crash.

Here’s a summary of steps taken by Ubisoft to tackle this long-standing issue, as mentioned in the latest Rainbow Six patch notes:

The audio issue resulting in a game crash seems to be the result of sound data corruption.
The Y6S4.2 patch aims to limit these audio crashes and also help the developers collect data to determine the core reason.
After installing this patch update, you’ll see a new icon (see image below) every time your game experiences any audio-related issues.

If this icon pops up on your screen, you need to reboot your Xbox ASAP. Holding off will lead to a crash while rebooting will reduce the chances of future issues.

In other words, the Y6S4.2 R6 patch is more of a damage control resort and will help the developers find the root cause of this problem. Of course, work is being done on this daily and you can get regular updates on the Rainbow Six Siege Twitter.

With an average of 4 patch updates per iteration, we are expecting at least one more patch update before the world championships begin. And you can find all the latest Rainbow 6 Siege patch notes here.

The Y6S4.2 patch update is a nifty one that’s brought some much-needed changes all around. Although some fans aren’t too happy about the dampening of Ela and Zofia, we think these tweaks are fair enough.

Let us know what you think about these changes in the comments below, and what more fixes do you want for Rainbow Six Siege.