The ping feature from Apex Legends is highly praised, both by players and other communities. Now, fans of Rainbow Six: Siege have also taken notice and want the feature as well. Ubisoft finds that good.
What is so great about the feature? In Apex Legends, the possible pings for players are all contextual. They refer to a current event or a specific object that players need to ping. You can:
- show specific loot
- report that an area has already been looted by other players
- indicate where they want to go next
- mark enemies
- ask for specific ammunition
- and more.
All of this allows players to communicate so well, even without a microphone or voice chat, that they can get through rounds and win. Especially in the game with ‘randoms’ who may not necessarily want to speak, this is a huge advantage.
What Rainbow Six players are demanding: In the Rainbow Six community, such a system is now also being called for. In several Reddit threads, improved pings are repeatedly requested, such as for the recommendation of an operator or for better context.
Rainbow Six: Siege already has a system with different pings. However, this only allows for the display of specific objects like walls or windows, without more detailed information. More specific information then requires voice chat.
Players wish they could ping specifically in context: “Barricade this wall” or “Blow up this wall.”
What does Ubisoft say about it? In an interview, Game Director Leroy Athanassoff spoke about exactly this idea. (via PCGamer) Regarding the ping system, he said:
We have a ping system in our game, but I would like to ping a reinforced wall and ask for a blow-up. For example, I would like to ping a wall and then have a context wheel to choose what to do with it.
Athanassoff even added that such a system would probably come “someday”. However, it is not a priority at the moment.
The Apex competitor Fortnite has even copied the system. Other shooters like Overwatch, however, explain why it is not so easy to implement.
There is also criticism: Some players are against an expanded ping system. They argue that then even fewer people would use voice chat.
They see as a problem that players in Rainbow Six: Siege communicate too little. If they could just ping everything, it would decrease even more.
What do you think of the idea?
The ping system is one of the reasons why many players celebrate Apex Legends:
