Rainbow Six Siege Ranked Map Rotations Are Ending: Hostage Returns, 3v3 Comes Back and What’s Next for Y11S4

Rainbow Six Siege is scrapping its seasonal Ranked map rotations. In Community Checkpoint #6, published on November 2, Ubisoft said that from next season (Y11S4) Ranked returns to a "best of" pool of about 15 maps, including the nine used in pro play. The developers also confirmed that Hostage and Secure Area return to Quick Match, the popular 3v3 Arcade mode comes back, a TCSG nerf is planned and a new Testing Grounds with Half Reinforcements is on the way.

Rainbow Six Siege Checkpoint #6 at a glance

Is Rainbow Six Siege removing Ranked map rotations?

Yes. Ubisoft says most players "didn't see map rotations as meaningful new content", and rotations often caused frustration when a favorite map was swapped for one players liked less. From next season, each Ranked season has a pool of roughly 15 maps, built around the nine maps currently played in Pro competition, so players can master a stable set of maps and build strategies over time.

Is Hostage coming back to Rainbow Six Siege?

Yes, in two steps. From Y11S4, Hostage and Secure Area return to Quick Match as part of the normal playlist rotation. Ubisoft admits both modes "haven't had the opportunity to evolve as much as Bomb has" and drew less traffic.

Longer term, a reworked Hostage mode will go through the Testing Grounds first. Ubisoft has a "long-term plan" to bring Hostage back into competitive Siege after that, depending on feedback, but says it must be fun, deep, fair to both sides and up to competitive standards, so there's no date or firm commitment yet.

What is the Rainbow Six Siege Testing Grounds?

Testing Grounds is a limited-time event where the developers try new ideas without touching live matches. The Y11S4 edition features Half Reinforcements, which should open new options for defensive setups and site building. There's an in-game QR code for a survey. After that comes the Hostage rework. Ubisoft says Testing Grounds will play a bigger role from now on, and "not every experiment will make it into the game".

Is 3v3 coming back to Siege?

Yes. The 3v3 Arcade mode from Operation Split Fire, with smaller teams, shorter rounds and an attrition twist, became "one of the most successful limited-time modes ever offered in Siege". Ubisoft confirmed it returns in Y11S4.

What balance changes are coming in Siege?

The Y11S3 mid-season update buffed Noor's Horus Lance Launcher (faster drilling, 80 impact damage, full Guardbreak on shields), gave Tachanka's Shumika Launcher a Bounce Mode, added the Glaive-12 to Valkyrie, cut Snake's radar charges from four to three, and made Clash's slow stronger. Fire damage rose to 14 HP for Tachanka, Goyo, Capitão, Dokkaebi, Noor and gas pipes, and Barbed Wire now stops the BU-GI OF RAM completely.

Coming next:

• Y11S3.3: minor tweaks to Denari, Jackal and the Commando. It's the last small patch of its kind.
• Y11S4: a TCSG nerf. From then on, the .1 and .3 patches ship fewer but more impactful changes.
• Mira and Zofia: prototypes are in testing, but no changes are planned yet.

What is the Rainbow Six Siege Legend Division?

A permanent solo queue playlist for Champion players, added in the mid-season update with a stricter ruleset than Ranked. To get in you need R6 Shieldguard, Secure Platform, Secure Boot, 2-Step Verification, current Champion rank, Clearance Level 200+, Platinum or better last season and Reputation Standing level three or higher.

When does Rainbow Six Siege Y11S4 start?

Ubisoft hasn't given a date in the Checkpoint. Y11S4 is Year 11's final season; we'll add the date when it's announced. Meanwhile the Osaka Major starts on November 6. Rainbow Six Siege is free-to-play on PC, PlayStation and Xbox, through Steam, the Ubisoft Store and the Epic Games Store; about 30,000 people were playing on Steam when we checked on November 3.

Watch the Operation Split Fire launch trailer

The official Operation Split Fire launch trailer for the current season, from the Rainbow Six YouTube channel.

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