Ubisoft shares update on Rainbow Six Siege DDoS attacks

Ubisoft has addressed the alarmingly high volume of DDoS attacks bogging down the release of Rainbow Six Siege’s Operation Ember Rise.

The company shared an update today that outlines various steps it’ll be taking to combat the high number of DDoS attacks plaguing Rainbow Six. Players have faced the issue in the past and while ban waves have previously helped remedy the issue, Ubisoft is approaching the problem from several different angles. 

Ban waves will be the first course of action. Players on PC and consoles face the ban hammer if they’re found to be DDoSers. Ban waves are no joke. If a player is logged into Siege at the time of a ban wave, then they’ll be treated to a near endless stream of ban messages in the top-right corner of their screen. The messages are also meant to serve as a deterrent for any player who might be thinking about crossing the line. 

Ubisoft will also be splitting matches-per-server down from three to one, according to the post. Ubisoft claims that this solution will ensure that the number of matches affected by a DDoS will be cut by 66 percent.

This is undoubtedly the most expensive step Ubisoft is taking to combat the DDoS issue since fewer matches per server will mean more servers rented. Since Ubisoft doesn’t use in-house servers for the majority of the workload, the cost here could be considerable. Speaking of server rentals, Ubisoft also revealed it’ll be working even closer with the Microsoft Azure team to create stronger solutions to the issue. Microsoft Azure is the name of the server rental service used by Ubisoft and provided by Microsoft. Other devs use the service as well as the United States government.

Players who have been the victim of DDoS attacks may have also been penalized by the abandon sanction system that Siege uses to discourage rage quitting in Ranked. Players who rightfully quit a match or rebooted due to a DDoS attack have been punished by the system. To temporarily soften the blow, Ubisoft has disabled the feature. 

The most mysterious method of combatting DDoS attacks is some kind of network monitoring technique that Ubisoft refuses to detail. The logic here is the same as not showing other people how to use an exploit in-game. If the technique is shared, then more people become aware of its existence. In this case, if people were to become aware of the technique, Ubisoft wouldn’t be able to use it to better manage the level of DDoS attacks. 

Ubisoft is also exploring legal options in the form of serving cease and desist orders to companies hosting DDoS services. While Siege players will likely remain in the dark about the specifics on this topic, it’s good to know that some legal action is being taken. 

Operation Ember Rise was set to be a strong addition to Rainbow Six Siege but has since had its launch muddled by DDoS attacks and several other issues. Ubisoft sharing these updates with the community adds to the company’s growing level of transparency with how it handles Siege-related issues.