Tom Clancy's Rainbow Six: Siege (R6S) is the most recent game in the Rainbow Six series, based around Tom Clancy's 1998 novelRainbow Six, and was later adapted into the Tactical First-Person Shooter series we know today. I started playing in 2017 on Xbox One but recently moved over to PC to get a fresh start for the new update, Operation: Void's Edge. I picked up a few new things as a new player in 2020, which I will discuss today.
#1 - Which Edition?
R6S has 5 main editions (UPLAY+ edition not shown above), all with different unlocks provided with them.
The Standard Edition includes the base game only, with operators having to be unlocked in-game. The Deluxe Edition comes with both Year 1 & 2 operators included. Similar to the Deluxe Edition, the Gold Edition comes with Y1&2 operators plus the Y5 pass, which gives 7-day early access to all Y5 operators, boosts to Renown (currency) and Alpha Packs (loot boxes), as well as other cosmetic items. The Ultimate Edition includes all operators released from Y1-4 as well as the Y5 season pass. The UPLAY+ Edition is similar to the Ultimate Edition, however, it includes all 20 legacy operators that were released at launch.
#2 - Currency Packs
In R6S, there are 2 types of currency. The first one is Renown, earned in-game by completing matches or challenges, and the second is R6 Credits, which can be bought via microtransactions. Renown can be used for buying operators, or cosmetic items such as operator headgear/uniforms and weapon skins. R6 credits can be used for the same purpose, but generally, some more exclusive skins or skin packs can only be bought with R6 credits. Renown boosters can also be bought with R6 credits. Elite Skins that give operators a totally different look can also only be bought with R6 Credits.
#3 - Game Modes
There are 6 main game modes in R6S, these are Situations, Terrorist Hunt, Quick Match (commonly known as casual), Ranked, Unranked and Custom Games. Situations are single-player missions used for training the player with different operators on both attack and defense and fight NPCs over different maps included in the base game, which acts as the game's story mode. Terrorist Hunt is the game's co-op PvE mode, similar to situations, but includes online play and gives randomised objectives such as defusing/defending bombs, protecting/rescuing a hostage, securing an area or eliminating all terrorists on the map. In Casual, there is a different map pool and consists of objectives such mentioned before, but in a 5V5 PvP setting rather than PvE. There is also a Newcomer playlist with a smaller map pool that functions like Casual which is open to players under Clearance Level 50.
Ranked is R6S's competitive mode, and has a different set of rules to casual that changes things such as round timers and the map pool. The game bases rank on performance in-game using MatchMaking Ranking (MMR) which determines how well you have played compared to your team or the enemy team, compared to just winning or losing matches which can really benefit solo players who don't have a tight team to work with. Playing in a toxic manner like griefing or teamkilling can lead to being reported or vote-kicked, if this happens it can also reduce your MMR. Ranked also includes a "Pick and Ban" system that lets both teams pick an attacker and defender to ban during the game, similar to Pro League (official e-sport). Unranked mode functions the same as Ranked but does not reduce MMR, meaning you can test your team's abilities in a ranked setting without losing your current rank.
Unranked mode functions the same as Ranked but does not reduce MMR, meaning you can test your team's abilities in a ranked setting without losing your current rank. Custom Games can also be set up as a playlist featuring a map pool you can choose yourself, or have different rules like health buffs/nerfs or different round timers.
#4 - Operators
The playable characters in-game are referred to as "Operators", each with unique loadouts and abilities. Some Operators can function well together in a team to defeat the enemy team, such as Thatcher who can disable electronics, leading other operators such as Thermite to destroy reinforced walls which he couldn't previously. Or Mute who can disable attacker drones for Mozzie to capture and use as defender cameras.
In the Operators tab, each Operator can be customised with different loadouts, by changing primary/secondary weapons and gadgets (breach charges, smoke/frag/flash grenades etc.). Headgear and uniforms can also be changed here. Every operator has a unique ability (some often have two), such as Sledge who can break down soft (unreinforced) barricades and walls instantly with a sledgehammer, or Caveira who has a 'Silent Step' ability which can let her move silently around a map and can help utilise her secondary 'Interrogation' ability which lets her reveal enemies to her whole team by interrogating a downed opponent. Each of these abilities can be used in tandem with your team's operators to build a strong force to dominate a match.
#5 Maps
There are a large array of maps in R6S that are highly destructible, most walls can either be blown out or reinforced so you can adapt an objective room to fit your strategy. Soft walls can be breached by most Operators, such as Sledge mentioned earlier, but can also be destroyed with explosives and even bullets. Players can also reinforce walls to make them tougher to destroy without 'Hard Breachers' such as Thermite or Hibana who can destroy these reinforcements. Reinforced walls and other metal gadgets such as deployable shields or barbed wire can be electrified by Kaid and Bandit making them damage players and destroy gadgets.
Each objective can be changed to suit the strategy your team wants and can be wholly dependent on the selection of Operators your team chooses. Some defender strategies can include lots of hard reinforcement and gadget deployment meaning that attacker abilities can be exhausted destroying these defences before they even reach the objective. Others including using Mute's Jammers and Kaid/Bandit's electrification gadgets to stop attackers breaching their defences.
Time To Get Serious...
Now you know the ropes, it's time to join Team Rainbow. Why not dominate the Siege with our Tournament bundle?
Check Out Our Tournament Bundle Now!
Or if you just want an upgrade, have a look at our eSports: Academy.
