Siege's Crystal Guard update - and the start of Y6S3 - is on the way and we have everything you need to know about when the update is going to arrive and what's going to be included. As always, there's a new Operator to keep an eye out for and a few changes coming to existing maps. The Flash Rework is the big talking point of this update and should change the way you play going forwards. Here's the latest...
RELEASE TIME - Ubisoft still hasn't confirmed
We know Operation Crystal Guard is due to start today - September 7th - but Ubisoft is still keeping quiet about the specific time the update is expected to release. This might be because it often releases at different times on each platform, but we're expecting the same release schedule to be followed as the last major Siege update.
With this in mind, we expect things to start happening at the following times:
- Steam
- Maintenance Time: 09:00 PST / 12:00 EST / 17:00 BST
- Release Time: 10:00 PST / 13:00 EST / 18:00 BST
- Uplay
- Maintenance Time: 09:00 PST / 12:00 EST / 17:00 BST
- Release Time: 10:00 PST / 13:00 EST / 18:00 BST
- Xbox Consoles
- Maintenance Time: 10:00 PST / 13:00 EST / 18:00 BST
- Release Time: 11:00 PST / 14:00 EST / 19:00 BST
- PlayStation Consoles
- Maintenance Time: 11:00 PST / 14:00 EST / 19:00 BST
- Release Time: 12:00 PST / 15:00 EST / 20:00 BST
Take all this with a grain of salt, though, until it is confirmed by Ubisoft.
NEW OPERATOR - Osa's Loadout Confirmed
Osa - the newest Attacker - has a pretty stacked loadout and she should be a fantastic asset to any squad looking for more depth in their attacking options going forwards. Ubisoft has confirmed what equipment will be at her disposal in Y6S3 - this is subject to change, but we don't think it will just yet.
- Primary Weapon Options
- 556xi Assault Rifle
- PDW9 Submachine Gun
- Secondary Weapon Options
- PMM Pistol
- Gadget Options
- Smoke Grenade
- Claymore
- Health Level
- Two Points
- Speed Level
- Two Points
- Unique Operator Ability
- Talon-8 Shield - Transparent, bulletproof, deployable.
Health is replacing Armor in the Crystal Guard update, meaning that Osa will have 110 HP.
FLASH REWORK - Tweaks made on Test Server
There's a new update to Rainbow Six Siege's Test Server and it's all about Flash Detection - The Crystal Guard update has been in play for a little while now, but think of this as a sort-of beta period for the Y6S3 update.
The following changes have been made - however, it's worth noting that none of the following changes are guaranteed to be implemented fully on the live servers when Crystal Guard comes out properly:
- FLASH EFFECT UPDATE
- Decreased the duration of the flash effect based on the player's orientation.
- Affects Stun grenades, Ying's Candela and Blitz's G52-Tactical Shield.
- BUG FIXES
- LEVEL DESIGN
- FIXED – Flores' RCE-Ratero Charge and Twitch's Shock Drone get destroyed near fences on various maps.
- FIXED – Multiple asset, collision, and destruction issues on various maps.
- FIXED – A gap is visible when Osa's Talon-8 shield is attached to the door in Service Entrance/Kitchen on the Coastline map.
- OPERATORS
- FIXED – Shooting the back of Maestro's Evil Eye while his shield is open, destroys the device.
- LEVEL DESIGN
If you want to get ahead of the game, though, it might be worth checking it out nonetheless. They're not going to change everything and getting to grips with the new map changes could be important.
Y6S3 - Full Crystal Guard Reveal
We might not have confirmation of a release date, yet, but we know almost everything else about what's coming to Rainbow Six Siege in the Crystal Guard update.
Twitch, IQ, and Fuse are the three Operators undergoing the most changes alongside the Flash detection mechanics. In addition to this, Bank is joining Clubhouse and Coastline in a season where three maps are going to be reworked. There's also a change to how Elite skins work and, of course, the introduction of Osa - the newest Attacker.
You can check out a run-down of everything in the video below:
What are we expecting from this season?
Rainbow Six Siege, like other mainstream shooters, has fallen into the habit of releasing a similar amount of content on a regular basis. There's rarely anything too surprising when it comes to these sorts of things, so that makes guessing the sort of content to expect from the Crystal Guard update easy.
We're going to get a new Operator, which can be seen in the short cinematic teaser below:
Osa is a Croatian Attacker with a deployable shield. This should make her an interesting Operator to deploy with given this looks like it would be more suited to defending an area as opposed to attacking it.
We should also see a new weapon added to Rainbow Six Siege in the next title update alongside another map rework and countless other balancing changes. Nokk is still expected to get a major ability overhaul and we could see this finally arrive in Y6S3. Only time will tell, though, and we will learn more about this on August 16th.
Release Time, Download Size, & More
Rainbow Six Siege updates are almost always released at the same time of the day. This means we should see the Crystal Guard update drop at the following times depending on the platform you play on...
- Steam
- Maintenance Time: 09:00 EST / 12:00 PST / 17:00 BST
- Release Time: 10:00 EST / 13:00 PST / 18:00 BST
- Uplay
- Maintenance Time: 09:00 EST / 12:00 PST / 17:00 BST
- Release Time: 10:00 EST / 13:00 PST / 18:00 BST
- Xbox Consoles
- Maintenance Time: 10:00 EST / 13:00 PST / 18:00 BST
- Release Time: 11:00 EST / 14:00 PST / 19:00 BST
- PlayStation Consoles
- Maintenance Time: 11:00 EST / 14:00 PST / 19:00 BST
- Release Time: 12:00 EST / 15:00 PST / 20:00 BST
This is subject to change, as always, but should be confirmed by Ubisoft ahead of time.
In addition to this, we're expecting the Crystal Guard update to be around 4GB on all platforms. In the past, updates have ranged between 4GB and 6GB. You shouldn't need to clear off too much of your hard drive for this one, thankfully.