The base game features a total of 10 maps, each featuring their own day and night variants. Bartlett University was released in December 2016 after large amounts of requests from the community. Four more maps were released in 2016 as a part of Year One, with one map available in each of the four expansions. Three more maps will be released in 2017 as a part of Year Two. All maps released after launch will be free to everyone at no extra cost.
The base game currently features thirty available Operators, each hailing from the SAS, FBI SWAT, GIGN, Spetsnaz, GSG 9, JTF2, Navy SEALs, BOPE, SAT and GEO CTUs. They're all able to be customized to various degrees. Attackers and Defenders each feature fifteen unique Operators, with only one of each Operator able to be active per round. The Recruit is an exception to this rule as he is available to both sides and each team can have more than one. Six more Operators are to be released by the end of 2017 as a part of Year Two. These Operators will be from Hong Kong, Poland, and South Korea respectively. Developers have also stated that they want to have somewhere between 50-100 Operators by the end of the games life cycle.
Learn how Siege was developed and more!
Tom Clancy's Rainbow Six Siege is the thirteenth installment in the Tom Clancy's Rainbow Six Franchise developed by Ubisoft Montreal and published by Ubisoft Entertainment. it is the latest game to be released since Tom Clancy's Rainbow Six: Vegas 2 and is considered a successor to the now canceled Tom Clancy's Rainbow Six: Patriots.
Inspired by counter-terrorist activities across the world, Siege puts heavy emphasis on environmental destruction and co-operation between players.
Unlike previous installments, the game features no singleplayer campaign and offers an online mode, though it does allow players to play offline in single-player tutorials called Situations.
Rainbow Six Siege was released on December 1st 2015 (worldwide)
The development of Siege began in January 2013. Siege was announced as a successor to the canceled Tom Clancy's Rainbow 6: Patriots. Although focusing heavily on team play and realism, similar to previous titles in the Rainbow Six franchise, Siege introduced a new heavy multiplayer focus and destructible environments. A trailer shown at E3 2014 demonstrated a hostage rescue scenario, and the game initially received positive reactions.
On March 12, 2015, Ubisoft announced that a closed alpha was in development, scheduled to be released exclusively for Microsoft Windows. A closed beta of the game was also announced for Microsoft Windows, PlayStation 4 and Xbox One. Ubisoft revealed that guaranteed access to the beta would be available for those who pre-ordered the game on any of the platforms. Players could also gain access to the beta by donating money to a charity organization called Extra Life. The beta of the game began on September 24, 2015. On March 31, 2015, a Collector's Edition of the game, titled Art of Siege Edition was announced.
On May 12, 2015, Ubisoft announced that the game would be released during the third quarter of 2015. The release date of the game was later confirmed to be October 13, 2015.
On June 15, 2015, during the Ubisoft press conference at E3, Ubisoft released multiple new trailers for the game. The trailers, which were also uploaded to the Ubisoft YouTube channel, showed some of the environments and gameplay elements found in Rainbow Six Siege. Ubisoft also announced that Terrorist Hunt, a co-operative multiplayer mode introduced in the previous Rainbow Six games, would return in Siege. It was also announced that players who purchased Siege for the Xbox One could download Tom Clancy's Rainbow Six: Vegas and its sequel, Tom Clancy's Rainbow Six: Vegas 2 for free.
On August 18, 2015, Ubisoft announced the game would be delayed to December 1, 2015, to increase the time spent on developing the game. A season pass was announced on November 12, 2015. Players who bought this version of the game could gain early access to operators offered in DLC and receive several weapon skins.
The game featured 11 maps at launch, with more added to the game as free downloadable content. According to Ubisoft, the decision was made as they wanted to extend the game's longevity. The game supports microtransactions for players who want to speed up their progress. However, items bought by players using real-life currency are designed to not affect or change the gameplay.
The opposing teams in multiplayer were originally named as "Rogue Spear" and "Raven Shield" respectively, referencing Tom Clancy's Rainbow Six: Rogue Spear and Tom Clancy's Rainbow Six 3: Raven Shield. It was changed to Blue and Orange in the release version.
Tom Clancy's Rainbow Six Siege currently offers ten Counter-Terrorist Units from different nationalities across the world, with each CTU featuring four Operators apiece for base game CTUs, two attackers and two defenders, and two Operators apiece for DLC, one attacker and one defender. Only one Operator may be chosen from per round and cannot be changed until the round is over. Each Operator features a selection of different weapons, abilities, and equipment, all of which can be extremely limited and must be used wisely. Customization items, such as weapon attachments, weapon skins, or even Operators themselves are obtained through earning and spending Renown.
Matches are conducted in a 5v5 manner, with each player only receiving one life per round. As such, it is extremely important to communicate with teammates and plan assaults when attacking or defense when defending. Attackers start each round with 60 seconds to send a Drone to survey and detect items in the environment, allowing players to find enemies and targets and mark them. Defenders, on the other hand, have the ability to fortify their location and prepare for the inevitable assault by the Attackers. This is done through setting up Reinforced Walls and Barricade around the area as well as deploying unique abilities to help defend the area such as with Bandit's Shock Wire or Mute's Signal Disruptor.
The game features the "three main pillars" - teamwork, tactics, and tension. Each map features multiple locations for both the Attackers and Defenders to choose from, greatly increasing the importance in conducting surveillance. Each map is designed to be close-quartered oriented, and have an emphasis on verticality and destruction.
The destruction system allows players to break structures by planting explosives on them or to make bullet holes on walls by shooting it. The environments of the game feature a layered material system, in which environmental objects of different materials show different reactions to player's attack. Players may gain tactical advantages through environmental destruction, and that the system aims at encouraging players to utilize creativity and strategy. In order to create a realistic gameplay, a bullet penetration system is featured, in which bullets deal less damage when they hit enemies through structures. This creates an ever-changing environment on the map, making it vital for players to be cognoscenti of their surroundings and work together.
Tom Clancy's Rainbow Six Siege is partly based on real-life hostage events: The Lufthansa Flight 181 Hijacking (1977), The Iranian Embassy Siege (1980), and the Moscow theater hostage crisis (2002)
Team Rainbow has been deactivated for many years, with the emergence of many terrorist organizations as a result. One such organization, the White Masks have been spreading chaos all across the world, sharing no discrimination with who they terrorize. With their ultimate objective unknown, they have become a large enough threat that Team Rainbow has been reactivated under the leadership of Six, gathering Operators from all across the world.
After successfully stopping a biochemical attack on Bartlett University, Six performed a eulogy for those who had lost their lives in the attack and many like it but also told of how Team Rainbow was back and that they would be ready to defend the world where needed.
The game features three main gamemodes - Situations, Multiplayer, and Terrorist Hunt. The Situations gamemode features ten tutorial missions that allow players to practice gameplay concepts offline against bots and gain a better familiarity with the game.
Multiplayer features three sub gamemodes - Bomb, Hostage, and Secure Area. All gamemodes play extremely similar but have radically different objects, being relatively self-explanatory. With each match being 5v5, players have less than four minutes per round to secure their objective, with each team needing to win at least three rounds to win the match.
Ranked is the competitive multiplayer playlist that is featured in Rainbow Six Siege, which becomes available to players once they reach level 20. While essentially the same as casual multiplayer, ranked naturally features more competitive gameplay and offers some small changes. For instance, players have the option to choose their spawn rather than it being random and become ranked based on their performance against the enemy team. Players must win at least two more rounds than the opposing team in order to secure a victory, meaning a team needs to win at least four rounds, allowing a maximum total of nine rounds able to be played.
The PVE gamemode Terrorist Hunt returns from past installments of the series, sharing many gamemodes with Multiplayer. It also features the "Classic" gamemode which tasks players with eliminating a set number of terrorists based on difficulty who have fortified themselves on a map.
