We have a few big changes to the Ranked and Casual playlists currently targeted for Season 3. We will be mirroring the map pool in the Ranked game mode with that of the competitive Pro League maps. We also have changes in store for a better new player experience in the Casual game mode.
Competitive Ranked Map Playlist
In order to allow our players to hone their skills in the most competitive environment available, we are reducing the total number of maps in the Ranked map rotation. The following maps will be included in the Ranked playlist rotation for Season 3:
Beginning this season, the Ranked playlist will include the same nine maps that we selected for the Pro League. Moving forward, we will introduce the new Ranked and ESL Pro League playlists at the same time we perform the rank reset – and all of that will occur at the start of the new season. The Ranked playlist, much like the ESL playlist, will be rotated each Season, offering a different selection of available maps.
Additionally, we will exclude maps added in the new season from both Ranked playlists and Pro League selection. This is being done to ensure that players have time to explore and learn the new maps in Casual and in Custom Games, and to make certain that we are able to eliminate any glitches or exploits prior to entering new maps into the competitive map pool.
New Casual Map Playlist
In Season 3 we will be reducing the Casual map playlist to fifteen maps. Reducing the total number of maps available for play in the Casual playlist make the process of learning the maps that Rainbow Six has to offer easier for new players. We have identified the steep learning curve that our new players face in terms of map knowledge, and this is one of the ways that we plan to address it.
Additionally, some of the maps that are removed will be reworked by our Level Design team. To be clear, not all maps that are removed from the Casual playlist will be reworked, but some of them will be over the course of the years to come.
We are quickly approaching the limit of our data sizes, and this will require a rework of how our maps are stored. As a result, we are currently planning on removing maps from the game entirely down the road (not in Season 3).
Here are the maps we will have available in Casual playlist rotation for Season 3:
While some maps may no longer be a part of the Ranked or Casual rotation, all maps will still be available in Custom matches for the time being.
Map Preferences
After revisiting the mechanics of the Map Preference system, we have elected to deactivate this system for all PvP Multiplayer (we will keep it for Terrorist Hunt so you and your squad can select specific maps). We don’t have an ETA for the return of this feature to PvP as we are exploring some alternative implementations we believe can improve the experience.
We are excited about the changes that are coming to Ranked and Casual play, and would love to hear your thoughts! Please join the discussion on Twitter, Reddit, Facebook, and the forums!
