I’ve been playing a good chunk of Rainbow Six Siege lately because the new season, Operation High Calibre, has been released. I have to tell you, I don’t usually get as into these seasons as I am right now, but I’m totally hooked on this one. I think I know why this season has engaged me so much more than the others, but it’s more of a cumulative effort of all the changes that have been brought to the title rather than one single thing that’s doing it for me. What I have to say upfront is that I’m sold on this game again. As far as I’m concerned, it’s really hit its stride again with this latest update.
Operation High Calibre brings loads of UI changes to Rainbow Six Siege, and those are what I’m engaged with. They’ve revamped the game in a way that I couldn’t imagine before. They’ve taken what was a basic package that I struggled to play through in the past, and they’ve transformed it into a game I understand. Most of the changes flatten the UI to make them look much more friendly and easier to understand while you’re in the middle of a match.
For example, the compass is now at the bottom of your screen. Icons have been changed to indicate friends, useful items, and they switch when they’re on different levels to you. For some reason, I just engage with this compass a lot more. The last one was a mess. It was so bad that I couldn’t even tell you what it looked like. I just tried to avoid it as much as possible. With this new one though, I find myself understanding the context of a match much more, allowing me to get some seriously slick wins in the final moments.
I’m not joking when I say that this UI change has made me a better player. I have no doubt that it’ll help other players too, even those who have lapsed. If that sounds like you, then now is a great time to get back into the game, because it’ll really pop for you this time around, unlike the past version of the UI that physically hurt my brain.