Ubisoft has released the latest Designer’s Notes blog ahead of the Year 10 Season 3 (Y10S3) update for Rainbow Six Siege X, covering everything fans can expect with Operation: High Stakes on September 2nd, 2025.
The blog post covers upcoming balance changes, alongside revealing win rates, bans and more. Here are the biggest highlights from the Y10S3 blog and how it may affect the esports scene.
Who Were the Best Characters Last Season?
Before jumping into the updates, Ubisoft also revealed key statistics for Season 2.3, from win rates, operator bans and more.
On PC, attackers Ash and Ace were by far the most picked characters (~50%) with a high win delta (~0.5%). Other top picks on PC also included Dokkaebi, Thermite, Blackbeard, Twitch, IQ and Nomad.
On the defenders side, Doc was noticeably ahead of the crowd with similar statistics to Ash and Ace. Other popular picks also included Valkyrie, Lesion, and Mira with nearly 30% pick rates and nearly 1% win delta.
Some of these results match the ban rates in the ranked playlist for the season. On PC, the top three most-banned attackers include Ace (64%), Blackbeard (26%), and Dokkaebi (19%). For defenders, the most targeted operators include Mira (71%), Kaid (41%), and Fenrir (14%).
Balance Change Highlights for Y10S3
The attacking operator Blackbeard has been a dominating force since his rework, gifting him the new H.U.L.L shield. However, the operator will see significant changes aimed to reduce his ‘offensive capabilities’ while keeping his ‘versatility’.
These are all the Blackbeard changes heading into Operation High Stakes
- ADS Changes
- Blackbeard ADS recovery time set to 0.9s (was 0.5s).
- Blackbeard can’t ADS while rappelling in a window.
- Reload Changes
- Blackbeard’s H.U.L.L. Shield completely folds while reloading.
- Mobility Changes
- Blackbeard cannot breach-in from rappel through non-weakened barricades.
- H.U.L.L. Shield Breach Charges reduced to 3 (was 4).
Other characters will receive smaller changes by comparison to make them less dominant. Echo will see stat changes, making him a two-armour (from three) and two-speed (from one). Operators such as Oryx, Pulse, Rook, Ying, and Sledge will receive the Reaper MK2 machine pistol for close-range engagements.
It is interesting to note that whilst Blackbeard has seen several nerfs, some of the most popular characters picked and banned, such as Ash and Ace, have not been addressed. On the defender’s side, while Fenrir and Lesion have lost their respective shotguns as secondary weapons, Mira remains unchanged
How Will This Affect Esports?
The Esports World Cup Rainbow Six Siege X tournament showcased the state of the meta for Season 2.3 through the pick and ban system.
During the Grand Finals match between G2 Esports and Team Secret, some of the most commonly banned defenders included Kaid, Mira, Bandit, and Azami, while frequently removed attackers included Ace, Capitao, and Montagne.
Blackbeard was played during the Grand Finals, such as when Team Secret’s Flex player, Marc ‘jume’ Steinmann, picked him during a match on Kafe Doskoyevsky. However, his appearances in the event were few and far between.
As a result, any drastic changes to the esports scene will likely be a result of the new content coming with Operation High Stakes as opposed to the balance changes detailed in the Designers’ Notes.
Players will be able to see how these changes unfold at the professional level as soon as Stage 2 begins in September. The Europe MENA League is running from September 8th to October 14th, 2025.
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