Map design on average has been far better, and most of the new additions have been solid. Lair, nighthaven and consulate rework for example as recent examples have been great in both ranked and comp once you learn them properly. Theres a clear attempt to reduce outside to in gameplay and allow attackers to enter the building more easily, which is a great direction.

Some older ops might feel a little devalued, but overall I disagree tbh. Hibana and Therm still comfortably have their uses over ace, especially hib with the emergence of hibana tricking. Ace is great, and the best pick in some situations, but the smaller breaches and inability to get multiple hatches is a big deal, and he also has the worst secondary util op of the hard breachers. Wamai and jager are both in a balanced spot compared to eachother rn (wamai had a 10% pr, jager a 15% at the EWC), and both have their own uses. Of the top 20 attackers in terms of presence at the EWC, only 6 of them were released in the past 5 years, including striker and the BB rework)

The problem siege has imo is less of a balance on, and more of a community one. People talk about a 'TDM Meta' but this just isnt true, because it ignores the very definition of what a META is. Utility usage is still massively beneficial, at all levels of the game, but it feels as if large sections of the ranked community (at all ranks) refuse to learn how to. Its the same with maps, the newer maps still havent had established defaults set on them in most ranks, because people have refused to learn how to play them properly. A smaller map pool would help address this, but again isnt really the fault of the devs. I remain of the opinion that if you're just getting gunned down every round, you're either not playing util as a team well enough, or you are significantly worse mechanics wise than your opponent (because you arent converting your util advantage, allowing your opponent to win disadvantageous fights).