Ubisoft's Rainbow Six Siege has proven itself as a mainstay in the tactical FPS esports genre. The game is a unique take on the genre, balancing the entire game around players' ability to deconstruct the floors, walls, and ceiling that make up each map. Because of this, and the nearly 60 operators in the game and each of their unique gadgets, Siege offers players a staggering amount of variability in each round. That variability makes the game extremely difficult to learn, but fans of Siege know that, and in fact, that's why they love it.
With this infinite number of permutations playing out every round, it's no wonder Rainbow Six Siege can be daunting for new players. Many players just trying out the game will play for hours before truly experiencing the competitive Siege experience. Things like operator roles, map knowledge, and super high-level tactics can take hundreds of hours to begin to master, and so Siege's complexity might dissuade players looking for a good "pick up and play" game. Arguably the best avenue to approach this steep learning curve is by learning the game through the lens of noob-friendly operators. Characters with simple gadgets that can still have a massive influence on each round and can allow players to focus less on understanding their operator and more on understanding the vast game they've dove into. This guide will be tailored towards the Bomb game mode, as it's considered the definitive mode for competitive Rainbow Six Siege.
The Best Attack Operators for Noobs in Rainbow Six Siege
Thatcher
- Thatcher is a character who's a fitting representative of the philosophy behind most attacking operators in Rainbow Six Siege. Thatcher has exactly one job, and that job fits into the overall gameplan of a successful attack strategy in Siege. Thatcher comes equipped with two EG-MKO EMP Grenade (or EMP for short), used for disabling electronic gadgets and devices placed by defenders. Thatcher functions as this game's loose definition of a "support" in that he exists to enable the rest of his team. Thatcher's EMP's most notable function is to destroy the defender's breach-denial devices, like Bandit's CED-1 (or Batteries) and Kaid's Rtila Electroclaw. These devices are used to electrify reinforced walls, making it so hard-breaching attackers like Thermite or Ace cannot use their gadgets to open them up. Thatcher, however, looks to remove these impediments, as tossing his EMP grenade at the base of an electrified wall will destroy any of these denial gadgets within its radius. Once the ally Thermite opens up the desired reinforced wall, Thatcher's job is over, and he can now focus on backing up his teammates with his phenomenal choice of guns. Thatcher can equip the AR33 or the L85A2 - two S.A.S. assault rifles that are both considered extremely viable and can be left up to player preference on which one to choose. All of this makes Thatcher a great character to learn the game with - he can give new players a solid foundation for developing a gameplan on attack, as well as how to execute that plan and back up one's teammates once the plan is in motion. These are all essential ideas in Siege, and players who learn them early will likely see a rapid improvement in their gameplay.
Blackbeard
- Long-time veterans of Rainbow Six Siege still have nightmares of a time when Blackbeard was first introduced into the game. Being among the second wave of operators to be released post-launch, Ubisoft was still feeling out the meta of their game and how they wanted it to evolve. So, in their game revolving around one-shot headshots and extremely low time-to-kill, they decided to add an operator with a massive shield attached to his gun that covered his head and torso and could block the damage equivalent of eight extra health bars. Blackbeard was a waking nightmare at launch, but today he sits comfortably as a mid-tier pick for when players just really want an advantage in gunfights. Blackbeard's gun-shield, the TARS MK 0 Rifle Shield, has 50 HP in its current iteration, and Blackbeard receives two of them at the start of each round. When equipped onto his gun, the Rifle Shield provides Blackbeard with the opportunity to gain the advantage whenever he takes a gunfight. The extra 50-damage bullet shield in front of his face can mean the difference between life and death in a fast-paced game like Siege. This is what makes Blackbeard a beneficial operator for new players - the forgiveness provided by his Rifle Shield allows players the chance to eke out an advantage when bullets start to fly. There isn't much more to Blackbeard than that. While he remains a pick rarely seen in top-level competitive Siege due to some of his current deficiencies, he's still a character that provides a skill buffer for players who are just beginning to learn the game.
Sledge/Buck
- These two operators can be grouped together since they fulfill nearly identical roles on an attacking team composition. Sledge and Buck are specialists in what's referred to as "soft destruction" in Rainbow Six Siege. This means that any destructible surface that the defense has not reinforced can be demolished by the gadgets Sledge and Buck bring to the table. Functionally, they perform nearly identical roles; however, the characters are differentiated by a few key differences that may help new players decide who they'd rather play. Sledge is arguably the most simple operator in the game, with nothing but his trusty gadget "The Caber," which the game refers to as a "Tactical Breaching Hammer" - it's just a giant sledgehammer. Sledge uses this hammer to open walls and floors indiscriminately but notably is unable to open ceilings. This is where Buck shines, as his under-barrel mounted shotgun the SK 4-12, aka the "Skeleton Key," is capable of similar destruction to Sledge's hammer but at range. This can be a key differentiating factor between the operators, as players may find themselves with a ceiling above their head that could really use breaching. Where Sledge redeems his usefulness, however, is in his (and Thatcher's) L85A2 assault rifle and the ability to bring the ever-important frag grenades in his loadout. Both Buck's AR and DMR can be extremely unfriendly towards new players, and so the sheer accessibility of Sledge's loadout could be enough to tip newer players one way or another. Regardless, both operators serve as a valuable tool for teaching new players the game, as the concept of soft destruction is integral to the entire design philosophy behind Rainbow Six Siege.
Siege is a seemingly endless well of things to learn. Players just picking up the game are thrown into the deep end with little more than the game's announcer telling them to "use your drone to locate the bomb." While the process of learning Siege can be overwhelming at times, it's also what makes the game so satisfying to play. Unlike other fps games like CS:GO or Valorant, which can rely on a player's raw gun skill, Siege leans into the strategic side of the tactical FPS genre, encouraging players to get creative with their strategies to keep the game evolving. Like any game with significant depth, however, players who are just beginning can make the steps to fully understanding the game a little shorter by learning through the lens of a beginner-friendly operator.
It's clear that Ubisoft knows they've struck gold with Siege. They recently added the game to Xbox Game Pass and confirmed that it would be available on next-generation consoles. For players jumping in now, this means that, since Rainbow Six Siege is showing no signs of stopping, there's still plenty of time to learn the ropes.
Rainbow Six Siege is available on PC, PS4, Stadia, and Xbox One.