Rainbow Six Siege Adding More "Realistic" Hardcore Playlist Next Year

Team-based tactical shooter Rainbow Six Siege is getting a dedicated hardcore playlist next year, as revealed by Ubisoft. In a recent forum post, the developer said launching this playlist will be a "high priority" for the company in 2016" By having hardcore be its own playlist, we will have the liberty to have the hardcore experience that we want and that the community deserves," Ubisoft explained.


In the interim, you can try the existing Hardcore mode via a pre-set in Siege's Custom games.

Ubisoft added: "We fully understand the desire for a more 'realistic' mode and want to support this at its best, without compromising the gameplay. As stated, this is a priority for us in 2016 and in the meantime, we invite you to try the Hardcore pre-set in Custom games and send us your feedback."

Ubisoft said it has not yet decided what will be featured in Siege's Hardcore playlist, but noted that it is still compiling player data and reviewing feedback. One thing is for sure, however: Hardcore will have "minimal" HUD, while mag count will be displayed, but not ammo count. You can take a look at the chart below to see what you can expect in terms of HUD elements for Hardcore. 

"We want time to build it properly and we want to avoid extra player segmentation that would not be absolutely necessary," Ubisoft said about taking its time with the new Hardcore playlist. "This game is still in its early days and we will make it grow with your help. When we'll be ready for more playlist(s)--and extra segmentation of the player base--then we will gladly make these additional playlists, with your involvement throughout the whole process. What we want to avoid is creating a playlist or mode that does not have enough population, which would consequently have a negative impact on matchmaking and the overall experience of the game."

On the more immediate horizon, however, are changes to Siege's Casual and Ranked playlists. Coming sometime around mid-December (which is right about now) are some HUD changes for both playlists that aim to make both experiences feel more familiar.

"After compiling the open beta feedback we received, we have refined our choices for HUD settings and have decided to apply them identically to both Ranked and Casual," Ubisoft said. "Minor exceptions will exist however for settings other than HUD."
"We are convinced that Casual and Ranked experiences should be as close and consistent as possible," the developer added. "Players of Casual matches should feel welcome to try a more 'competitive' playlist and get a rating for their performances, without having to re-learn or re-adapt to new settings. Similarly, Ranked players should feel compelled to launch in Casual, either to play without 'ladder anxiety' or just to try out a new strategy or Operator. For these reasons we are re-synching HUD on Ranked and Casual."

Below is a chart that shows off Siege's new HUD settings for Ranked and Casual. These new settings were chosen based on Ubisoft's own observations, "numerous discussions" and a survey of 10,000 players.