Ten tips
- Play with headphones. Footsteps and wall breaches tell you more than the picture.
- Use your drone. Before attacking, find the objective and who defends it. Never leave the drone sitting in plain sight.
- Reinforce walls as a defender. Reinforced walls around the objective are basic; agree who reinforces which.
- Don't peek for no reason. Every window and door may be watched. Move deliberately.
- Learn maps gradually. First three maps, then more. Know the room names so you can call them out.
- Start with simple operators. Sledge or Ash on attack, Rook or Doc on defence.
- Communicate. Keep it short: who, where, how much health is left.
- Aim at head height. Keep your crosshair where an enemy's head will appear, not on the floor.
- Use lean. You show the enemy a smaller target.
- Go ranked once you know the basics. Unranked and Quick Match are for learning.
Where to practise
The game has an aim training mode and map exploration without enemies. Watching pros helps too: notice where they place cameras and how they move. If you want to improve competitively, read Rainbow Six Siege: Ranked 3.0.