Like a few others (there were DOZENS of us) that purchased Tom Clancy’s Rainbow Siege December 1st, 2015; I didn’t really know what I was getting myself into. Over eight years and 145 days of game time later, I am still playing R6.
For one reason or another, the game compels my to take hold of my digital phone and send a drone forth into the unknown for yet another prep phase. At the core of Rainbow Six, there lies an incredible game. One full of creativity, diverse strategies, and a competitive shooter that celebrates those most skilled at careful aim and quick reaction times.
It should go without saying that the game would not have garnered 145 days of time played if I did not enjoy it on some level. While yes, the last few seasons of Rainbow Six have not been all that appealing to me, this last season in Operation: Deadly Omen, pulled me back in. The experience itself has been almost identical to my other R6 time, with a few new additions in maps and operators. It hasn’t been that long since I’ve played so none of this was all that fresh and exciting for me.
Like always, the first few games can go one of two ways.
Path 1: You are matched with lower elo enemies that really don’t know what they are doing. You can dabble in random operator nonsense without much pain involved.
Path 2: You are matched with the sweatiest players who haven’t touched grass in several seasons. You are forced to perform every meta action in the game just to remain surface level in the win/loss department.
Rainbow Six thrives in a mix of these two paths. One that is not quite that easy but a path that allows for an expression of player creativity. In my recent 40-some matches, I’ve come to a conclusion about the game. The shared responsibility of playing R6 continues to grow and evolve but the player base does not. Whether this is based off sheer ignorance or pure dedication to performing no positive actions for your team, we will never know.
The core of this idea is not new to me. From season to season, Ubisoft is celebrated for adding new operators to the game. A few of which, seemed to have borrowed from my own ideas from this very blog.
With each new operator added into the game, a new piece of the puzzle is added to the R6 ecosystem. Some play inconsequential roles into the playability of the game and others have a massive impact in almost every round. A chess style strategy is now required to thrive in Rainbow Six, with some operators almost required to perform the often mundane and essential tasks needed to win a round. Without those required operators, the puzzle is incomplete and the round is lost.
This is where the shared responsibility of Rainbow Six Siege is seen.
You see, without the right chess pieces, you are unable to win the game. The same goes with Rainbow Six as the “meta dwellers” force you to perform the actions needed to apply pressure, or defensive maneuvers, in certain parts of the map.
Breaching is the perfect example of the shared responsibility in Tom Clancy’s Rainbow Six Siege. Once you’ve completed the prep-phase, you have a basic understanding of the defensive team build. In order to successfully breach the wall into the Consulate garage defense, you’ll need
- A breacher to destroy the reinforced walls
- Something to destroy the anti-breaching capabilities of the defense.
This forces two of the five operators on the team to pick their operators purely based off of one simple action that is almost necessary to success. While the utility offerings that enable you to do this may be a slim group, it is not one operator. This once was the case with Thatcher being the only option.
Without team-members willing to play these very specific operators for this very specific reason, the entire attack falls apart. In order to set yourself up for success you NEED to perform these certain actions.
Players are unwilling to do what needs to be done in order to win the game and that is why the game will soon be dead to me. We’ve been attacking the Snowmobile Garage of Chalet for over 8 years, yet some people still can’t pull it off. The selfishness of a player will force you to give this push up entirely or suffer through having the play the essential roles every single round of the match.
The essential roles are not fun or flashy and they won’t earn you a fun YouTube clip or TikTok. Every attack or every defense has a list of “needs”. On defense, rotation holes need to be made and some sort of anti-breach is advised. Players unwillingness to share in the responsibility of setting your team up for success creates an awful experience for anyone involved.
From my perspective, the requirement of shared responsibility is created by the ban system, operator options, and most importantly, the map pool. I’ve been playing this game for so long that I immediately lose any desire to play the game or even attempt to win when forced to play on certain maps. I know that the shared responsibility will fall largely on my shoulders and this creates a mundane experience, when at the core of the game, there lies a diverse experience.
While Jynxzi may be a master at causing the game to appear interesting, fresh, and fun. Overall, the competitive nature and intrigue of the game is dying. I’m not sure how many seasons I have left in me, I can only Thermite so many walls.
The best way to combat the shared responsibility of Rainbow Six weighing down the experience, is to introduce new maps to the map pool. Players love banning new maps because they don’t understand them and cannot rely on their meta understanding of the game to win. By adding new maps to the pool, it will force players to be more creative in their approach, injecting much needed variety into the game.
Enjoy the read? Check out some of my other R6 content:
Rainbow Six Siege Operator Concept: Thunderbolt
A Comprehensive Introduction to Rainbow Six Siege
Are content creators having a negative impact on the gaming space?
Geoff W - A Space To Myself 