BETA 10: WARLORD FOREVER!
The full ambient soundscape is here, and it's not alone! Beta 10 also comes with expanded bothacking abilities, two more alternate endings, many more types of drones, and of course lots of other features to improve the overall experience.
Diving right in here...
(Note: Beta 10 is far too large to fit the entire release notes in a Reddit post, so I've had to share the changelog here as an image rather than text. For a normal view of the full release notes, see this same announcement on the forums!)

• Cogmind Beta 10 "Warlord Forever!" (200915) changelog

Saves from earlier versions are incompatible with Beta 10, but even if you're on Steam and Cogmind automatically updates, Beta 9.6 is still available via its own legacy branch and you can roll back to finish a run in progress first if you like.

Ambient Soundscape

You can now fully hear the world of Cogmind!
Cogmind has always had a ton of sound effects that help bring the world to life, but as far as continuous tracks go, for many years we've only had a few ambient sounds emitted by special machines and sample mapwide tracks in a couple maps as a test. Now all named machines have their own audio, as do all the maps!
Hear an array of Construction Platforms at work in the Factory, the rumble of a Megafabricator in the distance, Plasma Injectors down in the Mines, the hum of Power Conduits, busy Mainframes echoing throughout the Research branches, and so much more.
Aside from thematic mapwide drones that meld everything together, when you're not blasting robots and using the interface the audio experience is primarily defined by environmental factors, yet another new facet of Cogmind's emphasis on immersion.

• Here's a debug shot visualizing the variety of machine audio across a Factory floor, where each unique sound is associated with a random color.
• Any gaps or areas where no specific local machine can be heard will generally have a higher-volume mapwide ambient track to unify the floor's audio and maintain the theme, as you can see in this visualization of mapwide ambient volumes (brighter is higher volume).

I wrote an in-depth article about the content and process behind Building Cogmind’s Ambient Soundscape (visual overview).
Related to the expansion of Cogmind's audio content we have an important new advanced option, muteAudioOnFocusLoss, which you might want to turn on if you do a lot of Alt-Tabbing and prefer that Cogmind not continue playing its audio while you're in some other window. We might want that to be on by default, but it's off for now since I need to make sure it doesn't mess anything up first :P (it seems okay so far, anyway--I've been using it for a while now, but that's just me).
The soundscape is also fully accessible in text form as well, a new feature that will benefit both those who can't turn up the volume or simply want the extra visual reinforcement enabled by being able to also "read" all the audio sources. This is made possible via a new Audio Log, off by default but toggled in the options menu.

• See the Audio Log in the top-right corner, listing all heard ambient audio sources and their relative volume as heard from the current location as I walk around a Materials map:
• Here's another demo showing ambient sound sources alongside sound effects and the visual sound effect system as a battle rages outside this room:

There's a summary of Audio Log features and behavior in the manual, or if you want an even more in-depth look at how the system was built you can check out the article I wrote on the topic: Audio Accessibility Features for Roguelikes (visual overview).
The install size of the game has definitely gone up as a result of all the new audio, by a whopping 50%! It wasn't exactly huge to begin with, but with Beta 10 we're going from 30MB to 45MB.

New Endings

We have two new endings, bringing us to a total of nine different ways to win! I won't spoil the new ones here except to say that they're both a part of the extended game, and to point out the obvious, that yes the "expanded Warlord arc" indicated in the changelog is what you've been waiting for if you're one of us Warlord fans. Warlord forever! (Hopefully...)
Each of the new endings presents new challenges beyond what was already in the game, and of course as with the other seven, they each come with their own unique animated ending sequence. A ton of work went into these endings as a whole, and based on initial feedback from patrons they seem to have turned out pretty well. I even had to add a whole new type of UI window to enable you to trigger access to one of the new endings--you'll know it when you see it ;)
On a related note, I've also expanded some NPC interactions that people have wanted to see over the years. Under the right circumstances it's been possible to get certain major NPCs to meet each other, but in the past they wouldn't take notice or otherwise react in any way. Now they do, usually with consequences :P

Drones and AI

There was a decent list of optional features to consider for Beta 10, and this time patrons voted to prioritize a drone mechanics rework together with a significant expansion of the types of drones available. It's turned out pretty nicely, resolving what I saw as some longstanding issues while adding fun new options at the same time.
Importantly, the new additions are not simply "drone with guns A, drone with guns B, etc.", or even drones using just standard tech, but instead come with unique features or behavior that can enable special strategies, or at least just be really fun to use--launch decoys, self-guided bombs, your own posse of thieves, drones that do your hacking for you, and more!

• New drone bay art!

Drone Bay Basics
The most fundamental change with respect to drones is that you must have an attached and functional matching type of bay in order to use them. The bay does not actually need to be active, however (activating a bay is simply a way to launch drones). There are a number of implied changes connected to this one, including:

• Releasing a drone directly from a bay on the ground (e.g. with '>') can only be done if a functional matching type of bay is already attached
• Zionite Recon dispatches now arrive as a Z-Drone Bay (since you can't have drones without a bay anymore :P)
• Drone bays never autoactivate on attach, regardless of part autoactivation settings

If you remove the necessary drone bay (or it's destroyed xD), all related drones will take on the new "Unconnected" status and shut down. You lose the FOV info, but can gain it back again immediately by attaching an appropriate bay.

• Drone connection demo
• Drone FOV connection demo

This requirement really opened up the drone space for more possibilities and was pivotal in making the new drones much more interesting since the bay becomes a part of the requirement for using them, meaning we can get more powerful/numerous drones because the bay itself can be huge or heavy as a balancing factor to compensate :)
One surely welcome QoL under this new system is that if you have multiple matching drone bays and the attached one is full, drones can actually return to those which are currently in your inventory, as long as one has sufficient space.
Less Micro
Overall there'll be less micromanagement involved with drones, and in some cases other allies as well, with the biggest change being the complete removal of the GOTO order! That feature just encouraged a lot of micromanagement to get the most out of allies, especially drones which could then be carefully moved around to explore manually in some cases, and would often be optimal but tedious (i.e. not good). (Even after the removal you can technically still get them generally where you want by using a combination of movement, waiting, and STAY orders, though this incurs a time cost which can be prohibitive except when very important.)
This encouraged me to make some improvements to the AI as well, most importantly that unarmed followers will slightly trail behind rather than gathering around your current location. And they'll be smart about retreating ahead of you if you're retreating, too, generally keeping them out of the line of fire (unless you're suddenly ambushed from behind, or surrounded, in which case good luck :P).

• Implementation: Instead of following your precise location, unarmed followers will target a point lagging behind you, as demonstrated here in debug mode (you can't normally see the point itself)

Drones and all allies will also really do their best to avoid stepping on known traps now. It turns out that although they would never path through traps, they might sometimes decide to stand on one if you were hanging around near it long enough.
Fleeing drones will now always RETURN automatically, rather than running around wildly, so it'll be easier to get them back and they'll be much more likely to survive longer. By extension, any disarmed combat drones will also automatically return, possibly improving their lifespan as well. The potential drawback here is that they might lead enemies right back to your position! Of course if you're not there when the enemies finally arrive then it's all good anyway... (or you can choose to sacrifice the drone by removing the bay to disconnect it and then you'll be fine, too)
Drone QoL
One long-requested new feature is the ability to have the map view follow a drone as it moves. You can easily cycle through your drones using the normal Enter key (or center mouse button), which highlights them and their FOV. You can just use this to more easily check where they are, or even pass turns while focused on them and watch as they explore even distant areas.

• Drone cycling demo
• Drone following demo
• When active drones are offscreen, you also get a blue 'n' marker like the one you get when Cogmind is offscreen
• And there's a new type of dedicated intel marker to record the location of a drone that was destroyed when that happens outside your remaining FOV.

The allies menu system got some upgrades, too:

• Opening an ally order list via the Allies console centers display on that ally if they are outside the map view
• Accessing the ally order list via keyboard displays it adjacent to the ally rather than below the Allies console
• Fleeing controllable allies appear differently in the allies menu, and explicitly refuse orders with a warning message

Acquiring Drones
A majority of the new drone bays are available in the early game, although every single type except for one is a unique part, so you won't be seeing all of them in the same run. Less unique drones with similar mechanics might be available in the future (for example via Merchants!), but there's currently no good place to add them yet so I decided it would be better to make the bays unique so they could be especially useful or fun.
Many are available in the Mines via a new prefab encounter, and the rest are scattered about in other plot areas. One is a regular 0b10 prototype bay.

RIF Expansion

For all the Botlord builds out there, the pool of potential robot hacking abilities has been expanded from 9 to 15. Half of the new ones can be obtained multiple times to increase their effectiveness.
(Skip this section if you want to discover them on your own!)
Here's an overview of what's new...

• Hotswap allows you to automatically swap in additional matching Couplers in sequence from your inventory when the effective code value of current attached Couplers is insufficient for the desired hack. (No this doesn't mean hacking directly from inventory Couplers, but it does reduce the need to free up utility slots and attach additional Couplers mid-combat, while also allowing you to more easily get the most out of your existing Couplers.)
• With Command Fork you have a chance to duplicate each hack, also applying it to the visible applicable target nearest to the initial target, at no extra cost! It's compatible with most hacks, excluding generate_echo, map_walls, map_earth, map_route, or those that would have no meaningful effect. This is super useful because you can hack a combat bot and have the same hack affect a nearby different type of combat bot for which you don't even have a Coupler--very powerful under the right circumstances! (link_fov fork demo) (demo of forking overload_power and streamctrl_high)
• Threat Obfuscation reduces all influence increases by a certain percentage (depending on your ability's level).
• Signal Jamming blocks local transmissions from visible hostiles while you have a matching Coupler attached, making it impossible for them to share information about your current position. Also prevents calls for reinforcements, and suppresses alarm traps. Basically against bots it's like having a targeted Transmission Jammer, a nice little bonus for having a given Coupler.
• Zone Cloak causes extermination squads to take longer to pinpoint your position for dispatching, essentially the same effect as taking out Garrison Access points, but you get it for free.
• With any [NC] Coupler attached, Watcher Feeds makes it possible to tap into the visual feed data of all 0b10 Watchers within a range of 24! This basically gives you temporary access to free drones that can maintain visual contact with enemies without themselves being attacked. One less reason to destroy Watchers :P (demo of the Watcher Feeds effect--while applicable, the link range is highlighted in faint yellow)

Mechanics

You can ram walls and machines now! Doing this is will mess you up pretty bad and there are warnings against it, of course, to help prevent you from smashing your face into that adjacent nuclear reactor, although if you're getting really desperate and squads are gathering around, this might actually be a good idea ;)

• Machine ramming demo

So it's there if you need it. This also provides a last ditch way out of escaping situations in which you've accidentally allowed Engineers to entomb you without any weapons to escape :P
Ramming like this uses the same old force melee commands.

• Wall ramming demo

We also have a more controversial mechanical adjustment in terms of using melee weapons in dug out spaces. For a number of reasons being able to safely dig winding tunnels could be pretty cheesy, even more so using them to fight pursuers. Projectile weapons could cause instant cave-ins when used like this from within unstable areas, but not melee weapons. Now all weapons are treated the same in this regard. The chance of melee attacks causing a cave-in are lower than, say, a kinetic cannon, but it is no longer completely safe to do so.
In terms of tunnel combat I imagine the effect of this change is less of an issue for players since that practice probably wasn't as widespread, though this does also affect the ability to dig consecutively through multiple spaces with a melee weapon, which will no doubt cause concern for some stealth builds which will need to consider alternative options if they can't risk a cave-in.
In any case, we'll see how things turn out, but stealth is already super effective and melee digging in particular was only one small part of that effectiveness.

Balance

Trackers have been nerfed. See the multiple changelog lines regarding them :P
The changes essentially mean they'll be a bit slower to catch up to you, and also have to be within view before they can open fire. Technically this is also an indirect nerf to builds that liked to farm Trackers and take their OP gear to turn it agaist 0b10, but players who could do that were few and far in between (in Rogue mode, at least xD).
We also have some OP weapon nerfs, specifically the Firepult and Guided EMP Blaster. Both are still good, but were definitely way too good earlier. The Firepult nerf in particular was planned to happen eventually, but don't worry, it's still quite good, just can't be used indefinitely because the idea behind most EX-tech was that it's stuff which is fun and effective to play with through the early/mid-game rather than become something you stash away to help crush the extended game :P. Some other Exiles parts will likely be revisited in the next release for updating as well (they were intentionally made OP when first introduced basically just for fun, since you can't get them every run anyway).
Impact weapons got a situational buff across the board, since all walls and reinforced barriers are now weaker against them.
I made some changes to the Access garrison situation, namely removing the original extremely deadly result of visiting one, a nasty surprise for anyone doing it their first time that was probably not survivable for most builds. The origial effect (instant Max Security!), was my first reaction to Pimski trying to loop indefinitely since it was an easy way to use the game's existing content to mostly discourage or outright block that possibility. Now there's a much less deadly result specifically for that situation.
Going inside that garrison itself has gotten more dangerous, however--I mean it's Access, right?! :)

QoL

Our favorite three-letter combo around here!
We've got some useful new protective warnings, including most importantly a warning if you're attempting to attack from a position that might cause a cave-in as a result, since it can be easy to that accidentally in the heat of battle. (This warning also includes melee attacks, as per the earlier mechanical change mentioned earlier.) There's also a warning if your attempted line of fire is blocked by another robot, since a fair number of people don't seem to notice that as readily, especially if the situation is changing as a lot of bots are moving around during combat (note that the LOF indicator also changes color).
Previously used guided waypoints can now be recalled even if some were outside FOV (demo).
By request, as long as you have Tactical HUD mode active, parts that have been damaged for whatever reason (like... being shot :P) now retain a box around their integrity display in your parts list until your next action, so that you can more easily recall what has just taken damage (demo).
I've activated this behavior by default, but if it bothers you you can deactivate it in advanced.cfg using partDamageIndicatorsRetained.
Also by request, we now have the ability to add custom log notes!
Log notes could later be expanded in a number of ways depending on player needs, but the primary purpose behind its current form is to allow you to leave in-game notes about what you were doing at the end of a play session, making it easier to pick up where you left off next time.
This feature is currently only accessible via Shift-Alt-z, but we'll be later getting a new menu system for easier access to all Shift-Alt key combo features, including mouse accessibility.
And no, your notes do not appear in the final scoresheet at this time (they're excluded from log output and only appear in game).
I've updated any Mines reward encounters that required randomly visiting a hidden location, which encouraged the optimal tactic of scouring every inch of the Mines in search of them, especally in the hope of uncovering the famous early Exp. Sensor Array.
As you can see, the event is now triggered by rifling through some visible Scrap. The original behavior was meant as a placeholder until there was a better solution--now we have one :)
We've got a couple little special mode updates as well. First of all a dedicated indicator for when your built-in sensors are being jammed, since the normal indicator was attached to sensor parts, which you may not even need in RPGLIKE mode :P
Player 2 now displays their parts with raw integrity values rather than as percentages.

Community

I've been doing a lot of streaming over the past months, about half of it Cogmind-related. In fact, we'll be starting a new run today, not long after Beta 10 is officially released here :)
Past streams are archived on my YouTube channel, including the relatively recent Magneto run where we go for that achievement, some RIF runs, and others checking out the new ambient audio, including one dev testing stream.
Many others have been streaming lately as well, including MTF, Tone, Valguris and other top players. The Discord is a good place to get a heads up on streams and when people are planning to go live.
For those of you out there interested in the latest flavor of cheese, Pimski has put together an Exiles Kill Guide demonstrating a new pastime among Cogmind's more brazen and greedy (and evil!) players.
As per the announcement last month, the leaderboards are back in action and better than ever. I'll be continuing to expand their features down the line.
The next leaderboard reset will come tomorrow now that Beta 10 is out! All the current scores are from the Beta 9 builds (although the separate patron leaderboards include some Beta 10 and prerelease runs).

The Road to More

Thanks to all patrons and players for your support!
We've still got that OP rating, so the next goal still stands. Keep the reviews coming :D
Reminder: There will eventually be a big free expansion happening that adds Merchants (in fact there are a growing number of references in the game foreshadowing their arrival, including more in this release ;)), though I haven't yet decided for sure whether it will be before or after 1.0.
Regardless, we've got lots and lots of plans, both small and large, still out there just waiting for some attention...

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Hello there new players and welcome to Rainbow6! This post will help guide you in the right direction during the start of your Siege experience by providing you with useful information, answering common questions, and directing you to other helpful resources.
Below the general Free Weekend FAQ, you will be able to find a shortened version of our New Player's Guide and our Buyer's Guide.
Are you looking for other players to play with? Join the official Rainbow 6 Discord server!
If you have any question, make sure to ask in the comments below as other will likely have similar questions!
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Free Weekend FAQ

At what times will the Free Weekend be accessible?

PC: June 6th, 05:00 PM UTC - June 9th, 08:00 PM UTC
PS4: June 6th, 01:00 PM UTC - June 10th, 01:00 PM UTC
XB1: June 6th, 08:01 AM UTC - June 10th, 07:59 AM UTC
Note: click times to convert to your timezone.

How do I access the Free Weekend?

PC: Go to your Uplay PC Launcher.
PS4: Join the Free Weekend by visiting the Rainbow Six Siege product page on the PlayStation Network. PlayStation Plus membership is required to play online.
XB1: The Free Weekend will be available to Xbox Live Gold users. To join in, visit the Rainbow Six Siege product page on the Xbox Store.

Can I play with friends?

You can play with anyone who already owns the game or other Free Weekend players.

Will there be special offers during the Free Weekend?

Siege will be available at a discount for a limited time.
PC (Ubisoft Store): June 5th - June 17th
PC (Steam): June 6th - June 10th
PS4: June 7th - June 17th
XB1: June 7th - June 17th

Will my progress from the Free Weekend carry over if I buy the full game?

All progress will carry over if you upgrade to the full game.

What content is available?

The free version of Rainbow Six Siege offers access to all of the maps, modes, and Operators present in the full version.

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New Player's Guide

This is a shortened version of our full New Player's. If you're looking for more detailed information, check out our subreddit wiki!
Getting Started
1. Watch all three tutorials

The tutorial videos provide a quick overview of the important details of the game and provide you with 200 renown (the currency that you will need to unlock things in the game) for each that you watch. They are short, well made, and explain the basics of the gameplay.

2. Play through the first 5 or so Situations

Focus on learning the controls and paying attention to the map layouts as these are the same maps as multiplayer. Do not stress if you cannot complete all three stars in each situation the first try, you can always come back to them. The difficulty for these situations also does not matter, but normal is suggested so you can get familiar to the controls. You may want to do more than five of the situations, but you likely should not do any less.

3. Buy Operators and prepare loadouts

Use the Renown earned from the tutorials and Situations to buy some Operators. Ideally, you would want to buy at least one for Attack and one for Defence. Scroll down for some suggestions on who to pick.
Don't forget to set up your attachments for your newly owned Operators, they will be available to you for free.

4. Accept weekly challenges

These are found by first clicking the Daily Challenges tab then clicking "More Challenges" under the Daily Challenge pop up. After you complete the challenge, open the challenge window back up and click "Complete". You must do this to receive your reward.

5. Play Terrorist Hunt to try out your Operators

Most of the Terrorist Hunt modes only use Attackers. You can change your Terrorist Hunt matchmaking settings by going to Settings > Matching making preferences and turning off whatever Terrorist Hunt modes you don't want to play.

6. Go into Casual

You're likely not going to do very well -- that's completely okay. Siege has a pretty significant learning curve to it, especially during the first few matches. During your early matches, you should focus on learning maps, getting familiar with the controls, and understanding the flow of the game. Use your drones often, don't forget to destroy defender cameras if you spot any, try to communicate with your teammates to the best of your ability, learn from your deaths, and don't sweat misplays.

​
Operators Great for New Players
Play through some situations first as they are easy ways to gain renown try out operators' abilities. For new players, set-and-forget abilities or abilities that are less complicated are usually better, as well as guns with lower recoil.
Attackers

• Sledge
  • What makes him good: His sledgehammer ability is probably the easiest to learn and use among the attackers. It helps you memorizing the maps which is very important as map knowledge is crucial in Siege. He has access to a medium damage assault rifle with low recoil and frag grenades. Sledge has long been a top pick for new players with good reason, he is perfect for less experienced players.
  • Loadout:
    • Primary weapon: L85A2 with an optic of your choice, Flash Hider or Compensator, and Vertical Grip
    • Secondary weapon: SMG-11 with an optic of your choice, Flash Hider, and Vertical Grip
    • Gadget: Frag Grenade
  • Quick Tips: His ability makes a very distinct sound so be wary of defenders being alerted to your point of entry. Take time to drone out a room before blindly rushing into it. A lot of new players get into the habit of overusing his ability which makes him easier to counter and eliminate.
• Thatcher
  • What makes him good: His ability is very easy to understand while also nearly always being needed. Using it against reinforced walls that Bandit has electrified or Mute has jammed is pretty much all you need to do. Both his assault rifles are good, though you will likely find the L85A2 easier to control.
  • Loadout:
    • Primary weapon: L85A2 with an optic of your choice, Flash Hider or Compensator, and Vertical Grip
    • Secondary weapon: P226 MK 25 with Muzzle Break
    • Gadget: Up to you but Breaching Charges are generally recommended for newer players as Claymores require map knowledge to use effectively
  • Quick Tips: Be very careful to not die before using the EMP grenades to destroy Mute's Signal Disruptors, Bandit's Shock Wires or any other gadgets and stick with either Hibana or Thermite so you can be sure to use your gadget in the right spot. Learning the trajectory and when it is safe to throw the EMP is key to mastering Thatcher.
• Ash
  • What makes her good: Her ability is very easy to use (just aim it at a destructible surface), both of her guns are strong, and she is a max speed operator making her well rounded and good for new players.
  • Loadout:
    • Primary weapon: G36C with an optic of your choice, Flash Hider or Compensator, and Vertical Grip
    • Secondary weapon: 5.7 USG with Muzzle Break
    • Gadget: Stun Grenade
  • Quick Tips: Do not use her ability on outside facing barricades, as just shooting the barricades with her assault rifle will destroy them and preserve her ability. Ash does not have a "noob-tube". While her ability does some damage to operators, it is not anywhere close to an AOE instant death machine like they are in other games. Avoid trying to kill operators with it until you're more familiar with its damage output.

Defenders

• Rook
  • What makes him good: His ability is the easiest to use among the Defenders as well as almost always being useful, just put down your armor plates and you're done. His MP5 is low recoil and easy to use and he has max armor. Long considered the best Defender for new players because you still provide value to your team even if you die early.
  • Loadout:
    • Primary weapon: MP5 with an optic of your choice, Flash Hider, and Vertical Grip
    • Secondary weapon: P9 with Muzzle Break
    • Gadget: Up to you, pay attention to your team's composition when choosing
  • Quick Tips: Start every round by placing the armor immediately, preferably not next to a wall or object. Take a step back after placing his armor before putting it on, as it allows more defenders to access it at once. As a 3 armor operator, it is generally recommended to stay near the objective due to the slow movement speed.
• Mute
  • What makes him good: His ability takes a little more finesse than other top picks for new players but overall he still is very easy to use while being a key defender. His SMG has low recoil.
  • Loadout:
    • Primary weapon: MP5K with an optic of your choice and Flash Hider or Compensator
    • Secondary weapon: P226 MK 25 with Muzzle Break
    • Gadget: Nitro Cell
  • Quick Tips: Learn which walls must be reinforced for the objective. Walls close to the objective and walls which face the outside of the building near the objective are usually the most important to jam. Jamming walls should take priority over stopping drones. Placing a single jammer in the middle of two walls will jam both walls.
• Doc
  • What makes him good: Similar to Rook, but his ability is often a little less useful for newer players. He features a play style similar to Rook with similar guns.
  • Loadout:
    • Primary weapon: MP5 with an optic of your choice, Flash Hider, and Vertical Grip
    • Secondary weapon: P9 with Muzzle Break
    • Gadget: Barbed Wire
  • Quick Tips: Keep an eye on friendlies health at all times, and heal friendlies which are knocked down or have taken damage. His ability can overheal people to above 100 health as well, which can be useful. Keep in mind that his ability can be self-applied at any time to heal himself and also when he is downed to revive himself. As a 3 armor operator, it is generally recommended to stay near the objective due to the slow movement speed.

New players should avoid defenders such as Tachanka, Pulse, and Castle; their abilities require outstanding map knowledge to use effectively.
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Quick Tips

• Avoided getting frustrated. Angry players make bad decisions that only lead to more tilting. If you're mad, take a break from multiplayer and do some Terrorist Hunt mission or just have a breather.
• Stick with your team while learning the maps, especially if you're an Attacker.
• Use your microphone to communicate. You can find the name of the room you're in next to the compass at the bottom of the screen, most players will be familiar with those.
• Take time to learn all Operators' names and their abilities. It's something you can do outside the game to get better. Here is a list of all Operators, their abilities, and important notes about them.
• Using a headset or headphones is recommended. Operators are loud and easy to hear when they are moving, knowing where they're coming from is essential. If you're confused as to where sound is coming from, check out this quick guide by the game's audio director.
• The hostage is not invulnerable. If you shoot too many times or if explosives go off too close, it will die and you will cost your team the round. Be very careful with Fuze, grenades, and nitro cells especially.
• Do not reinforce between the two bombs on Defense when playing the Bomb game mode, it actually makes it easier for Attackers to play the defuser and win the round.
• Don't be afraid to ask people questions if you're confused. Casual is there to learn the game and most people will help.
• Play with friends or a playgroup whenever possible. It helps with the frustration of dying and learning the game more quickly.

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Buyer's Guide

How do seasons and Operations work?

Each year is divided into four seasons with each season being roughly 3 months long. Each season introduces a new Operation which includes two new Operators, a new or reworked map, and new cosmetic items. At the start of each season, ranks reset and placements must be completed again. Year Pass owners get the new Operators the when the Operation starts while everyone else will have to wait a week to purchase them for 25,000 Renown or 600 R6 Credits.
The current Operation is Burnt Horizon which is the first season of Year 4 (Y4S1).

What is included in the Year 4 Pass?

Here's an image of what is included with the Year 4 Pass
- All 8 Year 4 Operators at no additional cost as they are launched
- One-week early access to the new Operators as they are launched
- 600 R6 Credits
- Lava Six Weapon Charm
- 8 new uniforms and headgears for the new Operators (as they are added)
- 5% Renown bonus (expires January 31st, 2020)
- 10% Store discount on purchases with Renown or R6 Credits (expires January 31st, 2020)
- 2 extra slots to hold daily challenges (expires Jan 31st, 2020)
- +0.3% Alpha Pack boost (expires Jan 31st, 2020)
The Year 4 roadmap will be revealed this upcoming Sunday.

Is the Year 4 Pass mandatory for a full Siege experience?

No, all content is still accessible without it. The main reason to buy the Year 4 Pass is the free access to new Operators instead of saving up to buy them with Renown.

Does the Year 3 Pass also include Year 1, Year 2 or Year 3 Operators?

No. They can either be bought with Renown or R6 Credits.

How do I buy new maps?

Maps are completely free and everyone will have access to them at the same time.

How can I get all the Operators from Year 1, Year 2, and Year 3?

Older DLC Operators can be bought in separate bundles for 2400 R6 Credits each ($20 USD, discounts when buying larger amounts). Each bundle includes the respective eight Operators from that Year.
Alternatively, you can buy Year 1 Operators for 15,000 Renown (approximately 22 hours of game time) or 360 R6 Credits ($3 USD, discounts when buying larger amounts) as they are on a temporary sale until March 4th, 2019. Year 2 & 3 DLC Operators can be bought for 25,000 Renown (approximately 30 hours of game time) or 600 R6 Credits ($5 USD, discounts when buying larger amounts).

Does it matter where I buy the game from (Steam/Ubisoft Store)? ^{PC only}

No. For PC, all purchasers through Steam/Ubisoft Store will still all play against each other. You must install and run Uplay no matter where you buy the game from on PC.

Can I buy the Year 3 pass (or other DLC) from Steam if I own the game through UPlay? ^{PC only}

No, if you own the game through Uplay, you cannot buy any DLC from Steam as it will not provide you with a key for the DLC.

​

Information about the Game Editions

Note: Year 3 Editions will be replaced with Year 4 equivalents within the next few weeks.
Comparison chart for the different editions
Standard Edition

• The normal base game. This is the edition that all free weekend players are using.

Deluxe Edition

• The Standard Edition + all 8 Year 1 DLC Operators

Gold Edition (Year 4)

• The Advanced Edition + Year 4 Pass (Year 4 pass regularly priced at $30 USD, more information above)

Ultimate Edition

• The Gold Edition (Year 4) + all 8 Year 2 DLC Operators + all 8 Year 3 DLC Operators

​

Team Finding

Looking for people to group up and play with or maybe just talk about Siege and ask questions? Come join the official Rainbow Six: Siege Discord!
There are dedicated channels for helping new players (#training-ground), serious Siege talk (#serious-game-discussion), looking-for-group-channels for each region and platform, as well as channels to stay up to date on Siege news.

Hello there new players and welcome to /Rainbow6! This post will help guide you in the right direction during the start of your Siege experience by providing you with useful information, answering common questions, and directing you to other helpful resources.
Below the general Free Weekend FAQ, you will be able to find a shortened version of our New Player's Guide and our Buyer's Guide.
Are you looking for other players to play with? Join the official Rainbow 6 Discord server!
If you have any question, make sure to ask in the comments below as other will likely have similar questions!
​

Free Weekend FAQ

At what times will the Free Weekend be accessible?

PC: February 14th, 05:00 PM UTC - February 17th, 08:00 PM UTC
PS4: February 14th, 01:00 PM UTC - February 18th, 01:00 PM UTC
XB1: February 14th, 08:01 AM UTC - February 18th, 07:59 AM UTC
Note: click times to convert to your timezone.

How do I access the Free Weekend?

PC: Go to your Uplay PC Launcher.
PS4: Join the Free Weekend by visiting the Rainbow Six Siege product page on the PlayStation Network. PlayStation Plus membership is required to play online.
XB1: The Free Weekend will be available to Xbox Live Gold users. To join in, visit the Rainbow Six Siege product page on the Xbox Store.

Can I play with friends?

You can play with anyone who already owns the game or other Free Weekend players.

Will there be special offers during the Free Weekend?

Siege will be available at a discount for a limited time.
PC (Ubisoft Store): February 12th - February 25th
PC (Steam): February 12th - February 18th
PS4: February 12th - March 12th
XB1: February 12th - March 4th

Will my progress from the Free Weekend carry over if I buy the full game?

All progress will carry over if you upgrade to the full game.

​

New Player's Guide

This is a shortened version of our full New Player's. If you're looking for more detailed information, check out our subreddit wiki!
Getting Started
1. Watch all three tutorials

The tutorial videos provide a quick overview of the important details of the game and provide you with 200 renown (the currency that you will need to unlock things in the game) for each that you watch. They are short, well made, and explain the basics of the gameplay.

2. Play through the first 5 or so Situations

Focus on learning the controls and paying attention to the map layouts as these are the same maps as multiplayer. Do not stress if you cannot complete all three stars in each situation the first try, you can always come back to them. The difficulty for these situations also does not matter, but normal is suggested so you can get familiar to the controls. You may want to do more than five of the situations, but you likely should not do any less.

3. Buy Operators and prepare loadouts

Use the Renown earned from the tutorials and Situations to buy some Operators. Ideally, you would want to buy at least one for Attack and one for Defence. Scroll down for some suggestions on who to pick.
Don't forget to set up your attachments for your newly owned Operators, they will be available to you for free.

4. Accept weekly challenges

These are found by first clicking the Daily Challenges tab then clicking "More Challenges" under the Daily Challenge pop up. After you complete the challenge, open the challenge window back up and click "Complete". You must do this to receive your reward.

5. Play Terrorist Hunt to try out your Operators

Most of the Terrorist Hunt modes only use Attackers. You can change your Terrorist Hunt matchmaking settings by going to Settings > Matching making preferences and turning off whatever Terrorist Hunt modes you don't want to play.

6. Go into Casual

You're likely not going to do very well -- that's completely okay. Siege has a pretty significant learning curve to it, especially during the first few matches. During your early matches, you should focus on learning maps, getting familiar with the controls, and understanding the flow of the game. Use your drones often, don't forget to destroy defender cameras if you spot any, try to communicate with your teammates to the best of your ability, learn from your deaths, and don't sweat misplays.

​
Operators Great for New Players
Play through some situations first as they are easy ways to gain renown try out operators' abilities. For new players, set-and-forget abilities or abilities that are less complicated are usually better, as well as guns with lower recoil.
Attackers

• Sledge
  • What makes him good: His sledgehammer ability is probably the easiest to learn and use among the attackers. It helps you memorizing the maps which is very important as map knowledge is crucial in Siege. He has access to a medium damage assault rifle with low recoil and frag grenades. Sledge has long been a top pick for new players with good reason, he is perfect for less experienced players.
  • Loadout:
    • Primary weapon: L85A2 with an optic of your choice, Flash Hider or Compensator, and Vertical Grip
    • Secondary weapon: SMG-11 with an optic of your choice, Flash Hider, and Vertical Grip
    • Gadget: Frag Grenade
  • Quick Tips: His ability makes a very distinct sound so be wary of defenders being alerted to your point of entry. Take time to drone out a room before blindly rushing into it. A lot of new players get into the habit of overusing his ability which makes him easier to counter and eliminate.
• Thatcher
  • What makes him good: His ability is very easy to understand while also nearly always being needed. Using it against reinforced walls that Bandit has electrified or Mute has jammed is pretty much all you need to do. Both his assault rifles are good, though you will likely find the L85A2 easier to control.
  • Loadout:
    • Primary weapon: L85A2 with an optic of your choice, Flash Hider or Compensator, and Vertical Grip
    • Secondary weapon: P226 MK 25 with Muzzle Break
    • Gadget: Up to you but Breaching Charges are generally recommended for newer players as Claymores require map knowledge to use effectively
  • Quick Tips: Be very careful to not die before using the EMP grenades to destroy Mute's Signal Disruptors, Bandit's Shock Wires or any other gadgets and stick with either Hibana or Thermite so you can be sure to use your gadget in the right spot. Learning the trajectory and when it is safe to throw the EMP is key to mastering Thatcher.
• Ash
  • What makes her good: Her ability is very easy to use (just aim it at a destructible surface), both of her guns are strong, and she is a max speed operator making her well rounded and good for new players.
  • Loadout:
    • Primary weapon: G36C with an optic of your choice, Flash Hider or Compensator, and Vertical Grip
    • Secondary weapon: 5.7 USG with Muzzle Break
    • Gadget: Stun Grenade
  • Quick Tips: Do not use her ability on outside facing barricades, as just shooting the barricades with her assault rifle will destroy them and preserve her ability. Ash does not have a "noob-tube". While her ability does some damage to operators, it is not anywhere close to an AOE instant death machine like they are in other games. Avoid trying to kill operators with it until you're more familiar with its damage output.

Defenders

• Rook
  • What makes him good: His ability is the easiest to use among the Defenders as well as almost always being useful, just put down your armor plates and you're done. His MP5 is low recoil and easy to use and he has max armor. Long considered the best Defender for new players because you still provide value to your team even if you die early.
  • Loadout:
    • Primary weapon: MP5 with an optic of your choice, Flash Hider, and Vertical Grip
    • Secondary weapon: P9 with Muzzle Break
    • Gadget: Up to you, pay attention to your team's composition when choosing
  • Quick Tips: Start every round by placing the armor immediately, preferably not next to a wall or object. Take a step back after placing his armor before putting it on, as it allows more defenders to access it at once. As a 3 armor operator, it is generally recommended to stay near the objective due to the slow movement speed.
• Mute
  • What makes him good: His ability takes a little more finesse than other top picks for new players but overall he still is very easy to use while being a key defender. His SMG has low recoil.
  • Loadout:
    • Primary weapon: MP5K with an optic of your choice and Flash Hider or Compensator
    • Secondary weapon: P226 MK 25 with Muzzle Break
    • Gadget: Nitro Cell
  • Quick Tips: Learn which walls must be reinforced for the objective. Walls close to the objective and walls which face the outside of the building near the objective are usually the most important to jam. Jamming walls should take priority over stopping drones. Placing a single jammer in the middle of two walls will jam both walls.
• Doc
  • What makes him good: Similar to Rook, but his ability is often a little less useful for newer players. He features a play style similar to Rook with similar guns.
  • Loadout:
    • Primary weapon: MP5 with an optic of your choice, Flash Hider, and Vertical Grip
    • Secondary weapon: P9 with Muzzle Break
    • Gadget: Barbed Wire
  • Quick Tips: Keep an eye on friendlies health at all times, and heal friendlies which are knocked down or have taken damage. His ability can overheal people to above 100 health as well, which can be useful. Keep in mind that his ability can be self-applied at any time to heal himself and also when he is downed to revive himself. As a 3 armor operator, it is generally recommended to stay near the objective due to the slow movement speed.

New players should avoid defenders such as Tachanka, Pulse, and Castle; their abilities require outstanding map knowledge to use effectively.
​
Quick Tips

• Avoided getting frustrated. Angry players make bad decisions that only lead to more tilting. If you're mad, take a break from multiplayer and do some Terrorist Hunt mission or just have a breather.
• Stick with your team while learning the maps, especially if you're an Attacker.
• Use your microphone to communicate. You can find the name of the room you're in next to the compass at the bottom of the screen, most players will be familiar with those.
• Take time to learn all Operators' names and their abilities. It's something you can do outside the game to get better. Here is a list of all Operators, their abilities, and important notes about them.
• Using a headset or headphones is recommended. Operators are loud and easy to hear when they are moving, knowing where they're coming from is essential. If you're confused as to where sound is coming from, check out this quick guide by the game's audio director.
• The hostage is not invulnerable. If you shoot too many times or if explosives go off too close, it will die and you will cost your team the round. Be very careful with Fuze, grenades, and nitro cells especially.
• Do not reinforce between the two bombs on Defense when playing the Bomb game mode, it actually makes it easier for Attackers to play the defuser and win the round.
• Don't be afraid to ask people questions if you're confused. Casual is there to learn the game and most people will help.
• Play with friends or a playgroup whenever possible. It helps with the frustration of dying and learning the game more quickly.

​

Buyer's Guide

How do seasons and Operations work?

Each year is divided into four seasons with each season being roughly 3 months long. Each season introduces a new Operation which includes two new Operators, a new or reworked map, and new cosmetic items. At the start of each season, ranks reset and placements must be completed again. Year Pass owners get the new Operators the when the Operation starts while everyone else will have to wait a week to purchase them for 25,000 Renown or 600 R6 Credits.
The current Operation is Wind Bastion which is the fourth season of Year 3 (Y3S4). Year 4 will be coming up in the next few weeks.

What is included in the Year 4 Pass?

Here's an image of what is included with the Year 4 Pass
- All 8 Year 4 Operators at no additional cost as they are launched
- One-week early access to the new Operators as they are launched
- 600 R6 Credits
- Volcano Signature Weapon Skin (available until March 4th, 2019)
- Lava Six Weapon Charm
- 8 new uniforms and headgears for the new Operators (as they are added)
- 5% Renown bonus (expires January 31st, 2020)
- 10% Store discount on purchases with Renown or R6 Credits (expires January 31st, 2020)
- 2 extra slots to hold daily challenges (expires Jan 31st, 2020)
- +0.3% Alpha Pack boost (expires Jan 31st, 2020)
The Year 4 roadmap will be revealed this upcoming Sunday.

Is the Year 4 Pass mandatory for a full Siege experience?

No, all content is still accessible without it. The main reason to buy the Year 4 Pass is the free access to new Operators instead of saving up to buy them with Renown.

Does the Year 3 Pass also include Year 1, Year 2 or Year 3 Operators?

No. They can either be bought with Renown or R6 Credits.

How do I buy new maps?

Maps are completely free and everyone will have access to them at the same time.

How can I get all the Operators from Year 1, Year 2, and Year 3?

Older DLC Operators can be bought in separate bundles for 2400 R6 Credits each ($20 USD, discounts when buying larger amounts). Each bundle includes the respective eight Operators from that Year.
Alternatively, you can buy Year 1 Operators for 15,000 Renown (approximately 22 hours of game time) or 360 R6 Credits ($3 USD, discounts when buying larger amounts) as they are on a temporary sale until March 4th, 2019. Year 2 & 3 DLC Operators can be bought for 25,000 Renown (approximately 30 hours of game time) or 600 R6 Credits ($5 USD, discounts when buying larger amounts).

Does it matter where I buy the game from (Steam/Ubisoft Store)? ^{PC only}

No. For PC, all purchasers through Steam/Ubisoft Store will still all play against each other. You must install and run Uplay no matter where you buy the game from on PC.

Can I buy the Year 3 pass (or other DLC) from Steam if I own the game through UPlay? ^{PC only}

No, if you own the game through Uplay, you cannot buy any DLC from Steam as it will not provide you with a key for the DLC.

​

Information about the Game Editions

Note: Year 3 Editions will be replaced with Year 4 equivalents within the next few weeks.
Comparison chart for the different editions
Standard Edition

• The normal base game. This is the edition that all free weekend players are using.

Deluxe Edition

• The Standard Edition + all 8 Year 1 DLC Operators

Gold Edition (Year 4)

• The Advanced Edition + Year 4 Pass (Year 4 pass regularly priced at $30 USD, more information above)

Ultimate Edition

• The Gold Edition (Year 4) + all 8 Year 2 DLC Operators + all 8 Year 3 DLC Operators

​

Team Finding

Looking for people to group up and play with or maybe just talk about Siege and ask questions? Come join the official Rainbow Six: Siege Discord!
There are dedicated channels for helping new players (#training-ground), serious Siege talk (#serious-game-discussion), looking-for-group-channels for each region and platform, as well as channels to stay up to date on Siege news.