Rainbow Six Siege ditches night maps in Ranked playlist

Tom Clancy's Rainbow Six Siege is soon on track to receive its next major update, with the release of Operation Wind Bastion. Wrapping up the game's third year of post-launch support, the Moroccan season brings two new Operators, the Fortress map, and other major changes. And while not expected to launch until early December, early testers can soon get hands-on via the Technical Test Server (TTS).

Ubisoft has now made one last-minute amendment to Wind Bastion's patch notes on the TTS, dropping all night maps from competitive Ranked matchmaking. While further shaking up variety among the playlist, Ubisoft cited balancing issues for their removal.

We came to this decision based on both feedback from players and the fact that we have found that Night maps hinder competitive gameplay. Night map versions will still be available in the Casual Map Playlist.

This change should be welcomed in Rainbow Six Siege's growing competitive scene, reducing variables from its otherwise ultra-tactical gameplay. Many saw night themes providing an unfair advantage to attackers, with difficulties if peeking outside defender territory. However, for fans of night maps, they'll still be served in the Casual playlist.

For full details on Operation Wind Bastion, including impressions on upcoming Operators Kaid and Nomad, don't miss our early hands-on. In the meantime, as Rainbow Six Siege's final major update of 2018, there's no better time to get started, starting at just $27 on Amazon.

Rainbow Six Siege Operation Wind Bastion packs some of its best Operators yet

Check out Windows Central's Rainbow Six Siege hub for in-depth coverage of upcoming content, latest updates, and tips to improve your gameplay.

Matt Brown

Matt Brown was formerly a Windows Central's Senior Editor, Xbox & PC, at Future. Following over seven years of professional consumer technology and gaming coverage, he’s focused on the world of Microsoft's gaming efforts. You can follow him on Twitter @mattjbrown.