Rainbow Six Y5S2.1 patch notes: Melusi nerfs, Match Cancellation, more

Andrew Amos

The first balance patch of Operation Steel Wave has arrived in Rainbow Six: Siege. New defender Melusi is bearing the brunt of the changes with some big nerfs to her Banshee, although attacker Ace hasn’t escaped untouched either.

Operation Steel Wave has been met with mostly positive reviews. Ace and Melusi have both brought something new to Team Rainbow, and the new House rework has been considered a success.

However, there’s been some issues with how strong the two new operators are. Thankfully, in a June 30 patch, Ubisoft have looked to rectify these issues. Melusi has been hit with the brunt of the nerfs, targeting her oppressive Banshee gadget specifically.

Melusi in Rainbow Six Siege
Melusi’s Banshees have been hit hard on Y5S2.1.

That’s not all the Y5S2.1 patch is bringing though. Match Cancellation is finally being added, which will be music to the ears of ranked warriors everywhere.

Melusi’s Banshee gadget nerfed

While Ace has landed in a good spot following his introduction in Operation Steel Wave, Melusi has been a bit overpowered. The three-speed defender is a nuisance for attackers to deal with, especially when you consider how powerful her Banshee gadget is.

Thankfully, in the Y5S2.1 patch, her Banshee is getting nerfed. Its radius has been reduced by 33% ⁠— down from nine meters to six. The sound of the Banshee effect is also being lowered somewhat.

This change will make it so Melusi players are rewarded for good positioning of their Banshees ⁠— not just dropping it anywhere. It’ll also make them a bit easier to avoid as attackers with a smaller radius.

 

Match Cancellation feature added

After being floated at the Six Invitational, a long-awaited feature is finally coming to Siege ⁠— Match Cancellation.

The feature “will allow players to cancel their current Rnaked match under the condition that team sizes are unbalanced at the beginning of the match,” Ubisoft stated in the patch notes.

The team which is down players will be able to vote on canceling a match, with a majority vote terminating the game. Players who don’t connect will be given an Abandon penalty. A player’s MMR will not change if a match is canceled.

Hibana in Rainbow Six Siege
Hibana and Ace’s gadgets have also been adjusted slightly.

On top of these changes, Ace and Hibana will no longer be able to destroy fragile gadgets on the other side of reinforced walls with their hard breaching devices. Various bugs have also been squashed, including a bug which allowed Echo players to see through ceilings on their drones.

You can read the full Patch Notes below:

Rainbow Six Y5S2.1 patch notes

Game Updates

Match Cancellation

Match Cancellation will go live with the Y5S2.1 update! We have tested it on the TS and as well as internally against a number of potential circumstances. However as it is a new feature, please let us know if you have any feedback or issues to report with Match Cancellation at r6fix.ubi.com.

Match Cancellation is a new feature that will allow players to cancel their current Ranked match under the condition that team sizes are unbalanced at the beginning of the match (eg: if players disconnect before the first round, or if a lobby is formed with less than 10 players). The Match Cancellation vote option will become available for the incomplete team during the prep phase and a majority vote will cancel the match. A canceled match will show as canceled and have no impact on MMR.

Abandon penalties are still in place and players who abandon an ongoing Ranked Match are still subject to escalating abandon sanctions.

If a match cancellation vote is triggered, leaving before the validation of the Match Cancellation vote will also result in an abandon penalty. Players should remain in the game until the Match Cancellation vote is validated and the game has been canceled.

Balancing

Melusi

  • Lowered the penalty zone by approximately 33%.
  • Reduced max range penalty radius from 6m to 4m (range in which penalty increases from 25% to 50% the closer you get to the gadget)
  • Reduced critical Range penalty radius from 3m to 2m (range in which penalty is 50%)
  • Lowered the sound of the Banshee effect in first person POV.

Ace & Hibana

  • Explosion damage can no longer pass through reinforced walls and destroy fragile gadgets on the other side when you place Hibana’s X-Kairos and Ace’s SELMA on the floor.

Bug fixes

Gameplay

  • FIXED – Inconsistent runout detection timer meant detection would sometimes take longer than 2s. (Now should consistently take 2s to detect).
  • FIXED – The reload animation of the K1A resets if animation is interrupted when making a full reload.
  • FIXED – Bomb remodel tweaks to fix issues with pixel peeks.

Operators

Melusi

  • FIXED – Hitboxes of Melusi’s Banshees are larger than the model.

Echo

  • FIXED – Yokai can sometimes see onto the rooftops/second floor when attached to thin ceilings.

Level Design

  • FIXED – Vault issues on maps.
  • FIXED – Various clipping and dynamic clipping issues on maps.
  • FIXED – Various LOD/visual issues on maps.

Bank

  • FIXED – Oryx unable to climb on the southern side of the hatch from B Secure Hallway in Bank.

Consulate

  • FIXED – Operators can be killed/damaged by explosion damage through a solid wall in 2F Meeting Room on Consulate after first layer of floor is destroyed.

Oregon

  • FIXED – Lighting issue in 1F Small Tower Office of Oregon making it hard to see operators when prone in a dark corner.
  • FIXED – Pixel peek from 2F Dorm Hall in Oregon.
  • FIXED – Gadgets can be deployed inside the pots in 1F Kitchen of Oregon and still function.

Kafe

  • FIXED – Defenders can jump onto the window frame of 2F Fireplace Hall in Kafe.

Chalet

  • FIXED – Gadgets remain floating after being placed on barrels that are later destroyed in B Wine Cellar of Chalet.
  • FIXED – Players can see into Chalet from a specific spot in EXT Front Yard.

Clubhouse

  • FIXED – Secure area zone of 2F Bedroom in Clubhouse does not properly cover the entire room.
  • FIXED – Drones can fall OOB by jumping on a ledge in B Oil Pit of Clubhouse.

Coastline

  • FIXED – Players can fall inside a decorative greenery pot, at the gazebo near EXT Main Entrance on Coastline.

Theme Park

  • FIXED – Operators can go prone on small ledges/surfaces, allowing them access to areas that are not intended to be accessible. (Sorry ?).
  • FIXED – Players can get on top of the chandelier in 2F Dragon Stairs of Theme Park (sorry again).
  • FIXED – Players can reach the roof of Theme Park from 2F Upper Arcade.
  • FIXED – Operators can place out of reach gadgets on the wall in 2F Control Room of Theme Park after vaulting on the Control Desk.

User Experience

  • FIXED – Various menu/shop/HUD fixes.
  • FIXED – Various visual/cosmetic fixes.
  • FIXED – Gray attachment skin causes Optic sights to be invisible in ADS.
  • FIXED – Pastel Engine weapon skin causes part of the Para–308 iron sights to disappear while in ADS.
  • FIXED – Dynamic Play button does not redirect to the Discovery playlist after using the Discovery Playlist.
  • FIXED – Players who ended the last season in Champions, the Champion badge in their ranked menu profile incorrectly displays #1 instead of their actual final Champions position.
  • FIXED – RFF symbol disappears if you reboot Uplay after activating RFF (visual only, RFF is still active).

About The Author

Hailing from Perth, Andrew was formerly Dexerto's Australian Managing Editor. They love telling stories across all games and esports, but they have a soft spot for League of Legends and Rainbow Six. Oh, and they're also fascinated by the rise of VTubers.