Siege to test 'Gameplay After Death' system allowing players to use drones when dead

Dying early in a game of Rainbow Six: Siege can be a frustrating experience not just because there is a good chance you didn't even see your opponent but also that other than getting information and tagging players on the map's cameras, there is not much to do (and that's only if you are a defender).

Well... at least that is the case at the moment though it looks very likely to change as the developers are using the forthcoming test server build to experiment with changes to what they refer to as the Gameplay After Death system.

The new system will be available for players to try out on the Test Server as of tomorrow (25th May) but the developers have made clear that these Gameplay After Death changes will not make it into the game for the forthcoming season, on account of how game-changing they will prove to be.

• Read more: Everything we know about Rainbow Six Siege Operation North Star

The hope is the changes keep players more invested after death and gives dead attackers and defenders the control of certain utility e.g Zero’s lasers, Maestro's Evil Eye, or the player's own drone.

Maestro's Evil Eye may soon be controllable after death. (Picture: Ubisoft)

The developers recognise how careful they have to be with these changes, as it will not only change the relative strength of operators but a balance must be made so as to not make dying more rewarding than staying alive.

The developers spelt it out in a recent blog:

"One of the things we want to make certain of before releasing this system is that it is never a valid strategy to initiate careless fights early in the round and not worry about dying."

To help make these changes even more impactful the post-death experience is also getting tweaked. Gone is Siege's memorable zoom kill-cam, now players will see from where they were killed but from the point which they died. The developers hope this will help you learn better the angles and potential danger points.

Siege's stylish kill-cam will soon be a thing of the past. (Picture: Ubisoft)

Players will be able to skip through this death sequence as quickly as they want in order to get into their camera and help their team.

The full list of changes - as they will appear in the test server - are below.

Gameplay After Death changes for Attackers

Attackers will get much more use out of their drones which will now be useable after death this, coupled with the recently re-worked Ping System, increases their power exponentially.

Players will be able to use their drones after death. (Picture: Ubisoft)

The changes in full are:

• Dead players can control and drive their own drone, including Twitch’s drone. You cannot drive the drone of another operator.
• Antennas are shown on regular drones when the owner dies, in order to help opponents know if the drone belongs to a dead or alive operator.
• The abilities of observation tools and gadgets can be used.
• i.e. Twitch’s and Zero’s lasers
• If you died with regular drones in your inventory, they will spawn at your original spawn location.
• An operator ability like Twitch's Shock Drone won’t spawn after death.

Gameplay After Death change defenders

New tools have been added to help counter the threat of Attacker drones:

• Bulletproof Camera Rework
  • The camera can now rotate.
  • The camera can shoot an EMP burst to disable Attackers' electronic gadgets and drones for 8 seconds.
  • The first player in the camera can use the ability to shoot. Unlike operators' abilities, there is no notion of ownership.
• Drone Counter
  • The Drone Counter is displayed exclusively to Defenders to help them track the number of regular drones their team has destroyed or captured.
  • This is intended to incentivize Defenders to be aware of the importance of destroying drones, especially in a context where dead players can still drone them out.
  • This counter is not meant to reveal extra intel to Defenders. It only reflects Defenders' actions and doesn't take into account special drones - only regular ones.
• Echo, Maestro and Mozzie can control and use their abilities after death.
  • Note for Maestro: Teammates will be able to rotate the turret like any other observation tool, although Maestro will maintain priority over other Defenders.

Additional changes

With this change proving so drastic there are a number of further changes being made to abilities and tools in an attempt to balance, they are:

• A number of changes released before and during this season will also help player experience in this new context:
  • Yokai drones no longer have cloaking, limiting the potential source of frustration of dealing with invisible after-death drones.
  • The bulletproof glass of the Maestro’ Evil Eye can be shattered with a melee to deny vision when it is closed (same of the Bulletproof Camera and more on these below).
    • The introduction of the GONNE-6 helps a wider range of operators deal with these.
• While it will not be available in this initial test, Attackers being able to repick their operator in the Prep Phase (coming later in Year 6) will encourage players to more thoroughly scout the objective and Defenders' setups to collect info, putting their drones at risk.
• We are actively exploring and looking for more options relating to:
  • Dokkaebi's Logic Bomb affecting dead Defenders.
  • New secondary gadgets that can help with info denial.