7/11/2024

Soft Launch is Back with Several New Game Features

Over the past few months, the Rainbow Six Mobile dev team has focused its efforts on enhancing key elements of the game based on community feedback to deliver the best possible R6 experience on mobile to our players.

It is now time to share some of the main new features and improvements you will soon be able to experience in the game which will be rolled out through our next update: Season Ice Storm.

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Ice Storm will mark the start of our next Technical Test phase and will consist of an improved game experience that will allow testing of all the new additions while also gathering player feedback before moving forward with new seasonal content.

Here is an overview of the main feature updates:

NEW ECONOMY

You will now have more control over which Operator you unlock and in what order. The ticket pack system has been replaced to make way for a new free in-game currency: Renown.

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As you play matches, progress the Battle Pass and complete challenges, you will be rewarded with Renown. Once you have a certain amount, you will be able to spend your Renown to recruit the Operator of your choice. The cost of each locked Operator is indicated when you select them through the Operator menu or in the shop.

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If you do not want to spend your Renown, you can still unlock Operators with Platinum.

Had progress towards unlocking a certain Operator with ticket packs?

Don't worry, we've converted your tickets and unlock progress into a corresponding amount of Renown so you won't have to start over. You will even be able to spend the Renown you receive from the conversion to unlock a different Operator than the one you had progressed on. The choice is entirely yours!

Conversion Rates

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With this new system, players will thus no longer need tickets to progress their Operator mastery tracks and it will now be almost twice as fast to master an Operator.

Mastery track tiers will also be purchasable with Renown to let you invest more into your Operator progression and allow you to prioritize mastering the Operators you prefer first.

Additionally, Renown will let you purchase cosmetic items such as the Gilded weapon skin.

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Renown cosmetics are part of a special collection which can be found in the Forge, a new section in the shop.

BOOSTERS

Boosters will now replace Mastery Tokens, which have been removed from the game. As their name suggests, Boosters give players instant Operator XP to help them progress faster through mastery tracks. They can be earned through progression tracks or purchased in the shop.

There are two types of boosters:

  • XP Booster: get XP progression for a random Operator
  • Prime Booster: get an XP Booster for the Operator of your choice

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Like for Tickets and Operator unlock progress, players who had Mastery Tokens in their inventory prior to the update will be compensated with Renown.

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REVAMPED BATTLE PASS

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With the improvements to our in-game economy, the Battle Pass is also getting a revamp. You will find a greater variety of cosmetics, Prime Boosters, Silver Bullets and Renown through the reward track.

The new Operator for each season will now be released exclusively through the premium track of the Battle Pass and will be unlocked on its first tier. After the Operator's release season ends, the option to unlock them with Renown or Platinum will become available for all players.

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NEW OPERATOR: BUCK

Buck is joining R6 Mobile and will be available through the Ice Storm Battle Pass.

Buck is an Attacker. His unique gadget is the Skeleton Key, an underbarrel shotgun mounted under his weapon which can be used to breach soft walls and create fast entrances to objective rooms. This makes him a very versatile Operator.

His loadout consists of the C8-SFW Assault Rifle and the SDP 9MM Handgun. He is also equipped with a Frag Grenade.

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PRIVATE MATCH

The Private Match feature can be a great tool for you to practice strategies or compete against other teams. It allows you to create custom lobbies for you and your friends to play together. You will have the option to pick teams, maps, modes and match settings for a fully personalized session.

To access and start a Private Match:

Click the settings wheel.

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Select Private Match.

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Invite your friends.

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To change teams, players can tap an available slot on the opposing team.

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As the host, select the map, game mode and game settings for the match.

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Once players ready up, you may start the match.

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A minimum of 6 players is currently required to start a private match.

QUICK PLAY

Experience optimized mobile sessions with the new Quick Play playlist.

Several changes have been implemented to give players quick in-and-out matches with less downtime, and more playtime.

Bomb Rush

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To that end, the new game mode Bomb Rush has been added to the game. Here are some of the main changes you will experience in this new variation of Bomb mode:

  • Operator pre-selection
  • Shorter matchmaking time
  • Shorter Prep phase
  • Partial pre-reinforcements available at the start of the Prep Phase to make the defense setup faster
  • Faster movement in Prep phase for Defenders
  • Objectives are revealed to Attackers when the Prep phase starts
  • Attacker drones spawn closer to the building when the Prep phase starts
  • Each Attacker spawns with a bomb defuser
  • Shorter Action phase

Operator Pre-selection

Operator Pre-selection will reduce wait time before the match starts. With this new feature, each player will pre-select their Operators in order of preference before launching matchmaking. When a match is found, the game will automatically attribute players their preferred Operator. This will happen simultaneously for all players in the match which will make everyone skip the Operator selection phase for a quicker match start.

To pre-select your Operator for game modes that enable it, a button will show above the playlist button in the Fireteam screen. Tap it to open the pre-selection menu.

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Select Operators in your order of preference, both for Attackers and Defenders.

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In the instance that more than one player has the same preferred Operator, the said Operator will be given in an order defined randomly when the match lobby is created. The other player will be attributed their second most preferred Operator and so forth.

SILVER BULLET

Get more free cosmetics by completing challenges.

Silver Bullets can be obtained through the new, rebalanced Missions. Every day, new daily missions will grant 1 Silver Bullet. They will also be earnable on a weekly basis through the weekly missions.

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With a Silver Bullet, a player can open a Silver Pack to get a random cosmetic item for free.

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BOOT CAMP

Discover a new form of progression with Boot Camp.

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This new feature offers a new reward track which you can advance through by playing matches. Rewards include:

  • Playlists
  • Renown
  • Cosmetics
  • Operators
  • Prime Booster
  • Silver Bullet

TACTICAL ART UPDATE

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Our artistic direction has been updated to emphasize the Rainbow Six identity. The Operator default skins will now consist of full tactical outfits. The menus have also gone through a revamp to strengthen the immersion into our tactical universe and gameplay.

The previous Default skins will now be obtainable through Operator Missions (formerly known as Operator Mastery events). If a player had already unlocked the corresponding tiers before the change, the items will now be found in their inventory.

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A REWORKED TUTORIAL TO BETTER ONBOARD NEW PLAYERS

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The entire onboarding has gone through a rework and offers an improved step-by-step flow to better accompany players who are just starting the game.

The tutorial is now split into four parts, each focusing on some key R6 fundamentals that players need to learn to get started.

Homebase

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A new training area has been created to offer a more adapted setting in which players will get familiar with important game mechanics during the tutorial.

In addition to Homebase, the new map Restaurant has also been added to the game. After the tutorial, players will have a match against bots in this new map.

Restaurant

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A popular izakaya-style bar in the heart of an urban metropolis. The second floor is closed to the public due to alleged ''renovations".

After you complete the tutorial, Restaurant will remain available to play matches vs bots in the Onboarding playlist until you unlock Ranked mode through Boot Camp.

As a final step, players will be gifted Renown they can spend to instantly unlock two Operators - 1 Attacker and 1 Defender - among those listed below.

Attackers

  • Glaz
  • Ying
  • Thatcher

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Defenders

  • Smoke
  • Bandit
  • Rook

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If you had already unlocked the listed Operators, you will keep the gifted Renown instead.

By the end of the tutorial, all players will have unlocked Attacker Recruit, Defender Recruit, Sledge, Kapkan and two of the Operators listed above, one for each side.

NEW GADGET: BULLETPROOF CAMERA

We are adding a new generic gadget to the game. The Bulletproof Camera will now replace the Deployable Shield in Rook's loadout, making him the ultimate anchor Operator. This change only affects Rook; other Operators who had Deployable Shield will still have them in their loadout.

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This gadget can withstand gunfire from the front and is equipped with a rechargeable EMP burst that can temporarily disable electronic gadgets.

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OBSIDIAN

We are introducing Obsidian, a new exclusive in-game resource which is automatically granted to players who get duplicates when opening a cosmetic pack.

When a player has enough Obsidian, they can spend it in the Forge to unlock exclusive cosmetics from a special collection in the shop, such as the Dark Crystal skin.

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This new resource can also be obtained as a daily reward and does not expire; it carries over from season to season.

PRACTICE MODE

Map knowledge can make a big difference between winning and losing. With Practice Mode, you can now roam around the map freely without having to worry about enemies trying to eliminate you or the round timer running out. The goal of this mode is to give you a safe space where you can learn and get more comfortable with the game.

By learning the map layout, you can find new ways to move around and rotate between objectives more effectively during matches. It will also help you get more familiar with potential entry points and strategize.

To access Practice mode:

From the Main Menu, go to the Operator tab and select the Operator you want to practice with.

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Once you've selected an Operator, select "Practice" in the top right corner of the display. A dropdown menu will appear to let you select the map you want to practice in.

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To exit Practice mode, click on the settings wheel at the top left corner of your screen and select Exit.

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HUD CUSTOMIZATION 2.0

New HUD customization options are being added with this update to give you a more personalized experience. Through this new feature, players will now have the option to customize both their gadget and drone views separately from the main HUD for maximum accessibility and comfort.

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As for the main control layout, players can now choose from several preset HUD layouts to get started. This will give them various options to help them find what they are most comfortable with. These new layout presets also include gamepad and tablet layouts.

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Moreover, buttons are no longer the only thing you can customize on the HUD. Players can now change the position, scale and opacity of HUD elements such as the health bar, kill feed and compass. The Visibility List tab also offers more options to allow you to entirely hide specific elements or buttons from your HUD. To make it easier to edit the HUD, a view filtering feature has also been added which will enable players to filter and select which element of the HUD they want to change.

SMART PING

The Smart Ping feature is also being introduced to the game. This new feature is meant to help and encourage players to communicate more effectively by allowing them to give more intel to their squad when they ping something during a round. Depending on the context, a player's ping will display a different icon to quickly give more specific information to their teammates on what's being pinged.

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DEATH DRONE

Death Drone lets players temporarily spawn and control a drone right after they are eliminated on the Attacking side. It gives each Attacker the opportunity to continue helping their team if they die early by getting more intel and communicating it to their squad despite no longer being alive in the round. Once a Death Drone's battery runs out, it stops moving but remains able to be spectated.

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Death Drones do not spawn in the last minute of a round to prevent unfair intel scenarios for Defenders. The feature will also be disabled in Ranked. We will be monitoring it to make sure it is well-balanced and will pay close attention to any feedback from the players.

MISSION HUB

The Events tab has been updated to become the Missions tab. The purpose of this change is to offer players an improved view of their available challenges. The new Mission Hub presents a better layout where challenges have been categorized to make it more convenient to track progress and completion.

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The missions have also been rebalanced to make grinding more fun and offer you more interesting rewards.

Weekly missions will now cumulate and will not expire until the end of a season.

Additionally, the fireteam lobby will now display your missions with the highest completion ratio so you know what to focus on during your next match to progress towards the closest challenge milestone.

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MENU NAVIGATION

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As part of our efforts to reduce in-game downtime, menu navigation has been enabled while searching for a match. With this improvement, players will have many options to take advantage of time spent in the menus. For instance, they could edit their loadout, browse through the shop, or claim their challenge rewards - and even equip them, if they're quick enough - while waiting for a match.

Teaming up will also be facilitated with the Easy Team-up feature which gives you a fast way to find players by suggesting those who are playing near you or who have recently played with you to help you get a full squad before queueing up.

FOR MORE DETAILED INFORMATION

All these new features and many more will be going live next week with the Season Ice Storm update. Head to the patch notes for an exhaustive list of all the changes, improvements and fixes.

As we mentioned before, these features are being released as part of our next Technical Test phase. We are looking forward to your feedback on these changes as it helps us continue to adjust the game and improve it over time. Keep an eye on our social media for more updates.

Thank you for all your support!

The Dev Team