For the best Rainbow Six Siege players, nothing is more important than flying up the R6 ranks. There’s an intense and popular ranked system that sits at the heart of Rainbow Six Siege – Ubisoft’s flagship first-person shooter – and it’s where the most skilled players cut their teeth. It’s an introduction to the Rainbow Six esports scene and it’s where the all-time greats dominate the battlefield. In this guide, we’re breaking down the Rainbow Six Siege rank system and letting you know, once and for all, how to rank up fast in R6.
From highlighting the highest rank in Siege to outlining the R6 ranked ‘level requirement’, we’ve covered everything you need to know about the topic in this guide. It’s a one-shot introduction and walkthrough for all things related to the R6 ranks system. If you’ve been hurting to pick up more intense knowledge about all Siege ranks, look no further than this guide.
What is Ranked 2.0 in Rainbow Six Siege?
In 2023, Ubisoft deployed Ranked 2.0 in Rainbow Six Siege, but what is it?
Ranked 2.0 is a more refined system for players seeking that extra challenge. It’s a more accurate system than before, providing better and more fair matchmaking based on the skill of players queueing for a match. When Ubisoft rolled out Ranked 2.0, it introduced some new R6 ranks – which we’ve listed below. It also saw a ‘rank protection’ element added to the formula, which protects players from awkward situations that would have previously seen them suffer from a ‘de-rank’ scenario.
Further, Ubisoft removed the requirement for ‘placement matches’ in Ranked 2.0 in Rainbow Six Siege. Previously, players would have hit a wall that required them to play 10 matches to have their skill level calculated. This is no longer a core requirement, and instead, all players start their journey on the lowest R6 rank: Copper V. There was a global refinement made to the ranking algorithms that now ensures players are matched with competitors of a similar skill level, which is good news for everyone.
What Are Rainbow Six Siege Ranks?
It’s a simple concept – ranks are used to define a player’s skill level, which comes from their ‘Skill’, which used to be known as ‘MMR’. In Rainbow Six, the ranks are separated and defined across seven ranking tiers, which run from Copper to Champions. Ultimately, there are thirty-five ranks to climb through, with each level attained awarding the player with in-game Alpha Packs, charms, backgrounds, and other assorted items.
Here are the R6 ranks in order:
- Copper V, IV, III, II, I
- Bronze V, IV, III, II, I
- Silver V, IV, III, II, I
- Gold V, IV, III, II, I
- Platinum V, IV, III, II, I
- Emerald V, IV, III, II, I
- Diamond V, IV, III, II, I
- Champions
That’s all Siege ranks, but how does skill apply when it comes to climbing that ladder?
Almost every competitive game out there has its evaluation system. For instance, Call of Duty boasts an advanced ‘SBMM’ mechanic – Skill-Based Matchmaking. It’s not to everyone’s taste, but these systems are designed to provide as balanced an experience as possible. In this game, the R6 ranked system is determined by your Skill, which will change based on your performance in each game.
At the lowest point, your Skill will be valued at around 1,100, which grants you entry to the Copper ranks. At the highest end of the spectrum, you’ll be sitting at a Skill of around 5000, which defines you as one of the Champions of the R6 ranked scene. When the season ends, you’ll also pick up charms that indicate how highly you ranked in that season. This is a system designed to ensure players are more focused on gaming as a team rather than as individuals.
If you’re working together, you’ll amass Skill faster and, as a result, you’ll climb the R6 ranks with more efficiency.
How Does The R6 Ranking System Work?
Let’s break down the intricacies of the R6 ranks system.
R6 Ranked Matchmaking
With Ranked 2.0, matchmaking has been made fairer and more accurate, lining up players with those closer to their Skill level. We’ll talk more about Skill later on. It has been a huge improvement for the players who previously felt as though they were getting paired up against enemies that were much more experienced or too tough to beat.
R6 Ranked Level Requirement
There’s an R6 ranked level requirement – you can’t access it from the moment you purchase the game. As it’s a more challenging, tactical game mode, it’s designed to be enjoyed by players with at least a little experience, so you do need to play the base game for a while before you can access it. If you want to play R6 ranked, you’ll need to hit level 50 first – this can take a while, but it’ll allow you to learn the ins and outs of the game as you go.
R6 Ranked Reset
At the end of every ‘season’ in Rainbow Six Siege – which typically lasts three months – your R6 rank will reset. That means that when the new season starts, all players will be on Copper V, sitting at the bottom of the ladder and preparing to rank up once again. It’s the same structure as many other competitive shooters and it ensures that there’s a constant grind to complete, stopping players from sitting at the highest rank in Siege forever. There’s no avoiding the R6 rank reset, but it’s a good thing – so it’s fine.
R6 Ranked Rewards and Charms
There are plenty of R6 rank charms and rewards that you can unlock, and they typically change and rotate with each new season. If you’re going to climb the ranks on Rainbow Six Siege, you’ll find yourself unlocking emblems and charms that you can use to flex and showcase your ranked abilities. Typically, there will be a new charm to unlock for each of the R6 ranks tiers: Copper, Bronze, Silver, Gold, Platinum, Emerald, Diamond, and Champion.
For every tier, you’ll unlock a charm, but there are further R6 rank rewards to pick up too. In each new tier, you’ll find a subset of rewards that are unlocked as you progress through the sub-levels. There are Alpha Packs and card backgrounds to be secured, and as long as you’re working your way up the R6 ranks, you’ll be getting these rewards for free.
These rewards are the driving reason behind the popularity of ranked in Rainbow Six. If you’re wondering how many people play Rainbow Six Siege, you’ll be surprised to see what percentage of that total gets neck-deep into ranked play.
What is Skill in Rainbow Six?
Currently, there are two types of Skill in Rainbow Six Siege. Firstly, there’s the ‘Quick and Unranked’ variant, which is used to determine your position in the unranked game modes and isn’t connected to the Ranked 2.0 system. This is not visible at any point and works in the background to determine your opponents in the more casual modes.
If you’re playing more competitively, then the Ranked Skill is what you’ll need to pay attention to. This is completely visible and can be seen in your user profile. It’s an automatically assigned score that determines where you’ll sit in the R6 ranks. It assists the multiplayer platform in finding you more balanced matches based on your skill as an individual and a team player. It’s a dynamic, ever-changing figure that is impacted by several key indicators:
- Inactivity time during a match
- Skill difference between teams during a match
- Exiting ranked matches early
- Win or loss record
At the start of every season, there’s a soft reset, with all players being pushed back down to Copper. They’ll need to climb back up through the ranks every season. This is designed to discourage any monopolisation of the game, and the Skill system itself is inherently positioned to avoid toxicity, cheating, and poor sportsmanship.
How to Get Ranked in Rainbow Six
That’s everything you’ll need to know about the Rainbow Six Siege rank system, but how do you actually ‘get ranked’?
As stated above, you’ll need to hit level 50 before you can even consider playing ranked in Rainbow Six Siege. Once you’ve hit that milestone, you’re free to start playing. It’s worth bearing in mind that wherever you are in the season, you’ll always start at Copper V if it’s your first time playing ranked. That could mean that you’re left behind if you don’t start climbing the R6 ranks when the season commences, but fear not – there will always be low-ranked players to compete against. That’s how the bell curve works in Rainbow Six Siege.
How to Rank Up Fast in R6
For a team-oriented game like R6, players need to know the right decisions to make. Here are a few tips to help you beat the R6 ranked system. It helps to have the best Rainbow Six Siege settings, but here are the other things you’ll need to consider.
#1 – Communicate! Help your team with Cams and callouts
Communication is vital if you want to climb up the R6 ranks. You cannot single-handedly win a game against a team that is well-composed. This means you want to provide information to your team in any way you can. Make use of cameras to find players and the location of the objective. Feel free to call out enemy positions even when you are the first to die.
#2 – Be creative when defending
Most players believe the only way to defend is by barricading all the entrances to the room with the objective. This may put your team at a disadvantage by limiting your options. When defending, be creative when choosing where to take a stance. You can set traps and deceive your opponents by barricading the wrong walls to help ambush them.
#3 – Learn the map layouts
Map Knowledge can give a huge advantage to teams. The game has a limited amount of maps, and frequently playing can help you get used to them. This allows you to know the perfect vantage points, entry points and the weakest locations when defending.
#4 – Make use of Drones and other special equipment
Equipment and drones are not there for decoration. R6 is not a game you can win with only skilful gunplay. The use of drones and the equipment of operators can give your team that extra push they need.
#5 – Don’t get discouraged by bad games
We all have bad days and bad games. Do not allow this to get to you, as it can reduce your performance in-game. If you are on a losing streak, take a break and come back refreshed. Do not force games or play when you feel down from having a bad game.
Read also:
Is Rainbow Six Siege Crossplay and Cross-Platform?
R6 Ranks FAQ
What are ranks in Rainbow 6?
Just like in any competitive game, Rainbow 6 Siege players can gauge how well they’re doing at the game by checking out their rank. Ranks range from Copper to Champions and are determined by the amount of impact individuals have on the game.
How can I play ranked games in R6?
Unlike a lot of games, it’s pretty easy to start playing ranked on Rainbow 6. All you need to do is play the 10 placement games that will determine your starting rank. From there, the more you play, the more experience you can earn and the higher you can climb.
What’s the fastest way to level up your rank on R6?
There’s no real exchange for experience when it comes to Rainbow 6 ranks. There’s no real cheat or fast way to level up. You’ll need to put in the hours, learn all 64 operators and make as much impact in every game as you can.
