How To Rank Up in Rainbow Six: Siege | Tips & Tricks

Apart from the mechanics of the game, there are a plethora of things in Rainbow Six Siege that you need to learn and master before you can get yourself into the higher leagues. There’s no doubt that ranking up in R6s is more challenging than your usual first-person shooter due to the game's high learning curve.

Let’s take a look if you are looking for some efficient ways to rank up your level quickly.

Tip #1: Crosshair Placement

Most players tend to get stuck in silver or gold ranks for months, and there seems to be no getting out of that hellish nightmare. What differentiates players in higher rank from lower ones is their game sense equipped with good crosshair placement. Especially in a game like siege, where one shot to the skull is an instant kill, regardless you use a pistol or an assault rifle.

A good crosshair placement will help you come out on top in most gunfights since you won’t need the extra time to adjust your aim to their head. If you’re wondering what an ideal crosshair placement, refer to the picture below. Your aim should be at least as high so that it covers about ¾ of the barricade’s height.

Tip #2: Listen Carefully

Rainbow Six Siege is a game where even a small audio cue can turn the tide in your favor. The game depends highly on your hearing ability which aids you in figuring out where the enemy is approaching from. If you’re close enough to your opponents, you should be able to hear them walking, reloading as well as open or close their drone cameras.

Not only that, but you should also learn to identify the sound of a Nitro cell, defusing, and planting. The most challenging aspect of audio is to differentiate whether you hear someone approaching you from above or below since the sound propagation in R6s makes it harder to do so.

Although Ubisoft has received its fair share of criticism on the topic, no changes have been made. However, there is a minor difference in the sound. You’ll hear a more plunking sound of footsteps if someone’s above you, while someone below you will create a more hollow plinking sound.

Although making such distinctions can be tough to master, some practice with your buddies in custom games can help - you’ll be one step ahead of your enemies and on top of the leaderboard in no time!

Tip #3: Use Drones

A drone is an extra life in R6s — a famous saying among the siege community. While the statement isn’t true literally, however, good droning skills will help you gain intel on enemies as well as their site setups that can give you an edge on the battlefield. The importance of droning can be understood by the fact that your drone is the first thing you’re able to control in a Siege game, even before your character.

A major mistake many siege players make is that they don’t use both of their equipped drones efficiently. Some players will get their drones destroyed at the hands of the enemy in the prep phase, while others won’t even bother using any of them. Thus, as an attacker, it is essential to amp up your droning skills so you or your team don’t get caught up in an ambush laid up by the enemy.

Tip #4: Don't Forget to Use Cameras

Cameras are like drones for the defending team and help you gain an insight into where the attackers will charge you from. Each map has a number of default cameras, ranging from six to eight, that aid you in predicting enemy movements. Rainbow Six Siege is a game of intel, and the more intel you have on your opponents, the higher the probability of you coming out on top.

So even if you die early in a round, don’t just start spectating your teammates. You can still make yourself useful to your team by switching to the cams and providing them as much intel as possible. This applies to attackers as well, who can watch their allies’ drones after they’ve died.

Tip #5: Learning Maps

Since you won’t be provided with any sort of minimap in Siege, you’ll have to learn them by heart. As an attacker, you’ll have to come up with different strategies and plans to pressurize and take control of power points on the map. Conversely, defenders need to be more creative with their site setup and come up with frequent off angles that will catch the attackers out of shape. All of this is only possible if you possess great map knowledge.

The easiest way to memorize a map is by exploring it in custom games with your friends, where you should try and test what game plan would complement your style the most. Here’s a layout of a map called Chalet (basement, 1st floor, 2nd floor, roof) to give you an idea of how complex r6 maps can be.

Tip #6: Don’t Mess up Your Placement Matches

The easiest and most rapid way to rank up in siege is to win most of your placement matches at the start of every season when your rank resets. That is because winning them helps you gain over +100 MMR, which decreases the more you play until you start getting 25-35 MMR after a win. So if you’re hard stuck on a rank, your placement matches are your ticket out of your current MMR.

We recommend playing your placement games within a five stack to make the best out of them as possible since your chances of winning in solo queue get slim in a highly coordinated game like rainbow six siege.

Tip #7: Don’t Change Your Sensitivity

Many gamers out there have a habit of changing their sensitvity almost instantly if they’re unable to perform well in a match, which is a grave mistake to do so. Tweaking your sens here and there a bit is fine; however, drastically changing it will only add to your losing streak.

That is because if you’ve been playing on the same sensitivity for a while, your brain gets accustomed to it and caches it in your head in the form of muscle memory. Thus, you’re able to drop those eye-pleasing flicks and shots that will leave everyone at the edge of their seats.

Now when you change your sens entirely, it is bound to mess up with your muscle memory, and you won’t be able to outperform someone who’s well familiar with their sensitivity. There’s a chance that when you do change your sens completely, you might win a game. However, the reason won’t be what it seems. It might be because you’re having a good day, it might be because you’re lucky, but what it won’t be is because you changed it.

That’s why it is recommended you pick out the sensitivity you’re most comfortable with and tweak it a little low or high to find the right spot that helps you crack those heavy heads and win the clutch rounds for your team.

What Doesn’t Matter While Ranking Up

While many games give more MMR to players if they outperform everyone on their team, Rainbow disagrees with that approach. This is because Ubisoft wants everyone to perform as a team rather than focusing on a more solo approach.

So while you’re the one doing the entry as well as have accumulated the highest KOST in the game for your team, you’re still bound to get the same MMR as someone who hasn’t registered a single kill in the game, given you both have roundabout the same rank.

All in all, while having good crosshair placement and great mechanical skills is a must in Rainbow Six Siege, there are plenty of other things you also need to factor in to begin your voyage to the depths of the champion rank.