Rainbow 6 Siege is a tactical first person shooter from Ubisoft that I've been playing off and on since it came out. In my opinion, its one of the best competitive shooters out there at the moment. While not perfect, its still a load of fun.
Rainbow 6 Siege
I first heard of the game when the first open beta during its first open beta. At first it didn't appeal to me. My biggest turnoff for the game was that it was selling at a pretty high price for just a multiplayer shooter. I felt that some sort of campaign would have benefited the experience of playing the game more than the tutorials much much more. This is sadly a trend that seems to be happening with some newer games. Since this is the part of the game that keeps players coming back everyday, its somewhat understandable that developers would focus on just the multiplayer element. It is sad though, even if a lot of fps campaigns tend not to be the best. The multiplayer in this game however is fantastic because of there different unique elements that I introduce below.
How its played
Rainbow 6 Siege is a objective based fps where two teams, a defending side and an attacking side, fight to the death. The different objective modes are defuse the bomb, rescue the hostage and secure the area. In my opinion, objective based team games are the best sort of fps games as it tends to incentivise team work as opposed to just simple running and gunning a la COD. What sets this game apart from other shooters however are four key factors:
- Map destructibility
- The wide variety of Operators
- The prep phase, drones and cameras
- and, the importance of sound.
Destructibility
This game's most unique feature is definitely the destructibility of the buildings on the maps. While not all walls and floors are destructible, the ones that are add an element of strategy and forethought to the game for both sides that almost no other game offers in a multiplayer setting. You can shoot through walls, blow them up with explosives or make little murder holes in unsuspecting locations to get the drop on your enemies.
The Operators
The different Operators in the game form its class system. Operators and split into either being Attakers or Defenders. Attackers are able to repeal up exterior walls and defenders are able to block up windows and reinforce walls.
While different operators have a limited choice of weapons, most of the Operators have different weapons and most of them feel unique from one another. All primary weapons have a range of essentially the same mods that can be attached such as sights (from ACOGs to Red dots), fore grips and barrel attachments (muzzle breaks to suppressors). Every Operators is also equipped with a trusty sidearm and a additional piece of equipment being flash, frag, smoke or impact grenades as well as claymores. Defending Operators also have the option of setting down barbed wire or deployable shields while attackers have the option of an explosive wall charge. Not all Operators have access to everything and I think that has to do with balancing the game.
Operators also differ in armour and speed. Its a total of four points with a max of three in one of them. So if an operators speed is 3, its armour is 1. More armour allows you to take more shots at the expense of being noticeably louder while more speed allows you to run faster. Pretty self explanatory. It is important to note however that ALL head shots are a one hit kill in this game.
But what really sets the different Operators apart is their special abilities. These range from Rook's armour bag increasing teammate's armour level by one, to Fuse's cluster charge that can be attached to destructible walls shooting an number explosives into the adjacent room. There are also more unique specials such as Caveira's interrogation which allows her to locate enemy players when they are in a down but not out state for a short period of time. There are also really boring abilities such as the rather simple grenade launcher that Ash gets.
All these different factors make each Operators feel unique from one another and they allow for differing strategies depending on the type of objective, its possible location on the map and your opponents. You can also change operators between rounds, however this happens before the prep phase and your opponents don't know what Operators are being used.
The Prep Phase, Drones and Cameras
Another unique element to Rainbow 6 Siege is its prep phases as well as the use of drones and cameras.
At the start of each round, the attackers use drones to roam the map looking for the objective and enemy players. These drones are vital for success because, while they can be destroyed by the defenders, they can be used throughout the round to spot for the enemy.
During the prep phase, the defenders are boarding up windows and reinforcing walls and floor hatches. These wall reinforcements stop bullets and most explosives but not all. There are a limited supply so where these go help form the defensive strategy. The defenders also have access to stationary cameras in certain locations. So if you think it was unfair that the attackers get drones, these cameras help balance that out. These too can be shot out by the attackers.
Sound is Your Best Friend
Sound plays a very important role in Rainbow 6 Siege as it helps locate where players are to how many are there. The game does an excellent job of differentiating different sounds such as walking on broken glass to Operators running. It is vitally important to make as little noise as possible to stay alive or get unsuspecting kills. As stated above, more armoured Operators also tend to be louder.
Why I love it
I love this game. Its different Operators allow for different strategies to be played from rushing straight at your enemies behind an operators with a shield to systematically destroying walls and hatches while methodically clearing rooms with you drone to call out enemy positions for your teammates. The game's verticality plays an interesting role when you take into account different destructible elements on the map. All the maps are different and different strategies work on different maps.
While it is important to work as a team to win rounds, the Operators are all similar enough in the sense they have a relatively similar ability to take on your enemies while being different enough to bring something unique to any given situation. While not always optimal, you can always play around any of the Operators in your team. Its actually part of the fun and you'll rarely feel like you're instantly going to lose a round because of the Operators being picked.
Now, I don't play in the ranked mode of the game very often, so Operators picks may be more important there, but in casual you can essentially play any Operator you want. Most rounds feel different from each other and their fairly quick allowing for intense situations when the clocks running down for the attackers to complete objectives.
While dying usually sucks, you're not completely useless after you die as you are still able to use your drones and cameras to help spot for your teammates. Drones aren't able to be moved but if they're placed in good locations it doesn't matter. This adds to the enjoyment of the game as you're not simply waiting for the round to end when you die but are constantly being engaged in trying to help your team win.
The developers of the game are constantly making balance changes to the game and every competitive season they release a new map and usually two new operators. Last month there was also a new limited time pve event similar to the Zombie mode from COD. Allowing for different Operators to be used added to its re-playability. I hope they do more of these events in the future as it was a lot of fun.
The micro-transaction system in the game is probably one of the better ones out there. While loot-boxes in the form of Alpha packs exist, you can still purchase the items you want directly. Most items in the game can also be purchased using the in-game currency you get from playing any of the game modes as well as with cash. I think this system removes the randomness that make loot-boxes so terrible and I think that's the way it should be. You can also unlock the operators with cash if you want to.
I am however of two minds on its need to unlock the different operators. While it may be quite limiting to new players on which Operators they are able to play in a given game, they'll eventually get them all if they continue to play the game. It does have the upside of giving new players the time to learn what individual Operators do while they unlock newer operators.
Conclusion
If you haven't given Rainbow 6 Siege a try, you definitely should. It may seem quite daunting when you first start playing, but in my opinion its a rewarding experience to learn the maps and the different Operators on your way to victory. If you do buy the game, stay away from the cheaper starter edition as its cheapness comes from Operators being much much more expensive to unlock and you might not get a good experience with the limited pool you have. Also the year 3 pass is now available that gives instant access to all new operators for the year and discounts in the in game shop.
Thanks for reading. I've tried to write less today as yesterday's post was way way to long, but this game has a lot of things that make it unique from other fps games. Let me know if you agree or not and what games you're playing.
If you want to read another blog post by me, you can read yesterday's where I wrote about my experiences with coming back to playing Overwatch HERE. Remember to follow if you'd like to read anything I write in the future. Bye and have a lovely day!
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