In an effort to curtail griefing, Ubisoft has implemented a unique ‘reverse friendly fire’ system for Rainbow Six Siege. The system actively punishes repeat griefers by reflecting damage they inflict on teammates back onto them. As of this writing, reverse friendly fire is active on Siege’s live game servers.
Rainbow Six Siege Reverse Friendly Fire System
This blog post on the Rainbow Six Siege website goes into great detail about how reverse friendly fire functions. As the post explains, reverse friendly fire doesn’t just apply to firearms but also to explosives and certain offensive gadgets. Some operator gadgets are exempt from reverse friendly fire, but that could change based on player feedback.
There’s also a “grace period” in effect which prevents reverse friendly fire from immediately triggering. This ensures that cases of accidental friendly fire don’t result in unfair punishment. However, the threshold for triggering reverse friendly fire is very low, so griefers beware.
The full update notes for Rainbow Six Siege’s reverse friendly fire system are listed below.
Rainbow Six Siege Reverse Friendly Fire Update Notes
On Weapons/Thrown Objects
Impacts:
- Primary/secondary weapons
- Direct hits from thrown unique gadgets
- Exothermic-S Torch (Maverick)
- SK 4-12 (Buck)
- Mounted LMG (Tachanka; regardless of who’s using the turret)
- M120 CREM (Ash) when the breaching round directly hits someone
- KS79 Lifeline (Zofia)
- Airjab Launcher (Nomad)
- Pest Launcher (Mozzie)
Before RFF activation:
- Can cause damage to teammates
- Will count towards activating RFF
After RFF activation:
- Teammates will not receive damage
- Will reverse damage dealt
On Explosives
Impacts:
- Generic gadgets (frag grenade, C4, breach charge) that results in an explosion*
- Gas Grenade (Smoke)
- TAC MKO asphyxiating bolts (Capitão)
- M120 CREM (Ash) when the breaching round explodes
- Cluster Charge (Fuze)
*Explosive gadgets that do not do damage (i.e. stun grenades, Ying’s Candela) will not be affected by RFF in any way
Before RFF activation:
- Can cause damage to teammates
- Will count towards activating RFF
After RFF activation:
- Can cause damage to teammates
- Does not reverse damage dealt*
*Explosives currently will continue to damage teammates even under RFF. This is not intended and will be fixed in Season 2.
Exceptions*:
- Claymore
- Entry Denial Device (Kapkan)
- X-Kairos pellets (Hibana)
- Exothermic Charge (Thermite)
*These explosives do not trigger RFF. While under RFF, these also do not reverse damage dealt and can continue to damage teammates. This can change in the future with feedback and further game design considerations.
On Drones/Operator Cameras
Impacts:
- Evil Eye (Maestro)
- Shock Drone (Twitch and Mozzie)
Before RFF activation:
- Can cause damage to teammates
- Will count towards activating RFF
After RFF activation:
- Teammates will not receive damage
- Will reverse damage dealt (onto the drone/camera)
For more on Rainbow Six Siege, be sure to read about its recently-launched bug hunter program (https://www.vgr.com/rainbow-six-sieges-new-bug-hunter-program-has-a-suitably-goofy-reward/). Ubisoft also recently reworked operators Lion and Capitao (https://www.vgr.com/rainbow-six-sieges-next-patch-will-include-major-reworks-for-lion-and-capitao/).