What’s up guys, Rogue-9 here and today I have a really quick update video for you.
Aim Down Sight time is an often overlooked stat in Rainbow Six Siege that can make all
the difference when you unexpectedly come face to face with an opponent.
I retested most of the ADS times for most guns during Operation Grim Sky to add them
into my online stat sheet and I noticed that there had been a move to standardise most of them.
What I want to do in this video is to briefly walk you through the highlights of my findings.
What are the different times for different weapon classes and are there any exceptions left?
Let’s go and have a look!
So, the ADS stats have mostly been standardised by weapon class but there are some exceptions.
Blackbeard is a class all onto himself with both of his guns taking 700ms to ADS.
This stems back from the days when he was mostly designed as an angle holder but remains
nowadays to provide a balance to his face shield.
Likewise, anyone using a shield and aiming down sights will face a relatively slow transition of 600ms.
Note that this does not apply to Clash, since she has to switch away from her shield first
before being able to use her guns.
Glaz is in another category all to himself at 550ms and again, this will be in an attempt
to balance him out given his powerful gadget ability.
We do know at this stage, that he is being currently reworked so this stat may be changing
during his general overhaul but until then, it remains correct.
Light Machine Guns, including Maestro’s ALDA on defence, have ADS times of either 550 or 600ms.
Why are there two different ADS times for the LMGs and is there a pattern to the two different times?
Well, the answers are: “I haven’t the foggiest idea.” and “No, there is no pattern.”
For whatever reason Capitao’s M249, IQ’s G8A1 and Maestro’s ALDA take 600ms to ADS;
while Fuze’s 6P41, Ying’s T-95 and Zofia’s LMG-E only take 550ms.
That’s just how it is…
The other attacker exclusive primaries (i.e.
the Designated Marksman Rifles and Assault Rifles) aim down sights at 450ms and this of course
includes Jäger’s 416-C. Even though Jäger is a defensive operator, he still carries
a rifle rather than an SMG like most of his colleagues.
Submachine Guns and Machine Pistols (which is what I call the secondary SMGs) will ADS in 300ms.
This time is also shared by most shotguns.
And last and in this case also…
“most”?
(I guess is the opposite of least… anyway), we have the best of all in terms of ADS time,
the pistol class at 200ms.
Those are the general rules you need to know right now and before finishing off, let’s
quickly discuss some of the exceptions to these rules.
First up, one of the two recent additions to the Rainbow Six roster, Kaid.
For whatever bizarre reason, his 9mm AUG A3 takes 450ms to aim, just like the assault rifles.
And thank you to everyone who has been leaving comments on my recent videos, reminding me
that the AUG is of course originally and assault rifle platform and that for this reason, the
ADS time could make sense.
That is definitely a viable explanation BUT I still find the developer’s choices puzzling.
First of all, the version of the gun that Kaid is using has an extremely short barrel
that makes this weapon super compact.
So from a size comparison perspective, this gun should really fall into the SMG category,
in addition of course to the fact that it uses a pistol calibre.
Plus, look at Vigil!
His K1A is flat out a rifle carbine, chambered in 5.56 (just like Jäger’s 416) and yet,
the gun is completely modelled as an SMG, including the quick ADS.
To me, it makes no sense that Kaid should be disadvantaged in this way when no other defender is.
What is even more confusing is that the ADS times have only just been standardised during
Grim Sky and now we get a confusing and seemingly unnecessary exception added back in.
But whatever, rant over… it is what it is…
Another seemingly out of place exception if the French LFP586 revolver.
As mentioned, all of the pistols, including the extremely powerful Keratos and .44 Mag
Semi-Auto, will ADS in 200ms but the LFP is slightly slower at 250ms.
To me this feels as if this is just an outdated stat from back in the day.
It would make sense to me to assume that back when the LFP was the only really powerful
pistol in the game, the devs decided to balance it out slightly with slower ADS time and given
that a large revolver like this would also be much heavier than the other pistols, that
would have made complete sense at the time.
But of course, nowadays we have the Keratos and .44 Mag and from a balancing perspective,
I feel that the LFP has been left a little outdated.
Removing this slower ADS time and maybe even increasing the long range damage would be
totally justifiable updates to the LFP or (shocker…) maybe the new trend in adding
incredibly powerful long range pistols could be something worth looking at… maybe, just
maybe the Keratos and .44 Mag need a bit of a nerf to make them fit in more.
But I’m getting of topic here.
LFP: 250ms ADS time, that’s just how it is.
The final exception is not really an exception to be fair but still worth mentioning.
The GIS forces’ Bailiff .410 shotgun pistol is technically a shotgun but at the same time,
it’s also a pistol and it does have the 200ms ADS time of the pistols.
So is this really an exception?
I don’t know but since Mira and Jackal’s secondary shotgun is fully modelled as a shotgun,
I thought it would be worthwhile pointing out
And that is pretty much all you need to know about the ADS times in Rainbow Six.
The general rule of thumb is that the lighter weapons aim faster and in a game where headshots
cause instant death, the few hundred ms that you can save with certain weapons could mean
the difference between winning and losing a gunfight if you have to aim unexpectedly.
Do keep in mind that attaching the angled grip will give you a 40% ADS time reduction
on any gun and can be well worth considering if you are using a gun that has pretty manageable default recoil.
What are your thoughts on ADS times?
Did anything surprise you or do you think anything needs to be changed in the balancing?
Leave your comments below to let me know!
And with that, as always, many thanks for watching, I hope you enjoyed the video and
I will see you in the next episode!