Rainbow Six Siege: Ranked 2.0 Explained

Rainbow Six Siege’s new Ranked 2.0 system has been out for a while, and it has already proven to be a smoother experience compared to the previous ranking system. If you’re a player that enjoys the competitive side of online games, Rainbow Six Siege is definitely a good choice right now. In this guide, I will explain to you the new ranks, matchmaking, rewards, and everything you need to know about Rainbow Six Siege’s new ranking system. It is way more complex than the previous one, but it’s definitely a lot more bearable.

If you’re an average skill player of Rainbow Six and played ranked matches before this new system was added, you probably felt at some point that the ranking system was broken and unbalanced. This had a negative impact on the experience of some players that got ranked too low (or too high) without actually deserving it. However, Ranked 2.0 has dealt with this problem and provides a much better experience to everyone when climbing ranks.

What is Ranked 2.0 in Rainbow Six Siege?

Ranked 2.0 is essentially the competitive mode of Tom Clancy’s Rainbow Six Siege. The more you win, the higher you will rank up (and you will get more rewards at the end of the season). And the more you lose, the lower your rank will be.

It is worth noting that you can’t access ranked matches until your account is at least level 50. You can level up your account by playing quick and unranked matches. Getting to level 50 can take 2 weeks or 2 months depending on how much you play the game. Once you reach level 50, you will be able to access ranked matches. This restriction gives players the chance to understand the basic aspects of the game before diving into the competitive side of it.

Ranked matches can be accessed upon reaching level 50 in your account.

Ranks

Previously, there were only 7 ranks in the game. One new rank has been added in Ranked 2.0 so now there’s a total of 8 ranks (and almost each one of them has also 5 different levels inside of them):

• Copper (V, IV, III, II, and I)
• Bronze (V, IV, III, II, and I)
• Silver (V, IV, III, II, and I)
• Gold (V, IV, III, II, and I)
• Platinum (V, IV, III, II, and I)
• Emerald (V, IV, III, II, and I)
• Diamond (V, IV, III, II, and I)
• Champion (Only one level)

Before Ranked 2.0, the Emerald rank didn’t exist, so the climbing from Platinum to Diamond felt pretty steep. This new rank was added in order to give Platinum, and Diamond players a much more fair and enjoyable experience in their ranking up.

Also, the Gold, Platinum and Diamond ranks only had 3 levels inside each one of them before this new ranking system was added. Now they all have 5 levels like every other rank in the ladder (except Champions).

A “rank protection” mechanism has been added to ranks as well. If you have at least 1 (or more) ranking points prior to losing a match, you will not derank and you will end up with 0 ranking points instead (preventing the loss of several ranking points). However, if you lose a match having 0 ranking points you will derank and lose your points normally.

As always, ranks are restarted at the end of the season and everyone has to climb up again on the next one if they wish to do so.

The rank protection will prevent you from deranking and losing several ranking points.

How Do You Rank Up?

Previous to this new ranking system, once the new season arrived you would have to play 10 placement matches, and the game would put you on the “appropriate” rank depending on your win/loss ratio of those 10 matches. After that, you would keep ranking up on your own from the rank you were put in by winning more matches.

Ranked 2.0 has eliminated placement matches considering players could simply win or lose all 10 matches by mere luck, resulting in them being placed in a rank they didn’t belong to.

Now, everyone starts in Copper V. By winning matches, you will be able to climb up to the next ranks. You will notice you will rank up very fast at the beginning. You will get many ranking points after winning and lose very few of them after losing. The win/loss points difference will eventually be equal once the game feels you have reached the rank that suits your skill.

It is recommended to win matches as early as you can, since losing too many of them will eventually cause you to also lose too many points after each defeat.

How Does Matchmaking Work?

Before Ranked 2.0, you would simply be put with and against players that had a similar rank to yours. However, because of the fact that now skilled players start in Copper V too and have to rank up all the way to their respective ranks, the matchmaking no longer works as it used to .

You are no longer necessarily put against players with the same rank as yours. In fact, ranks are now a hidden stat in players’ profiles unless they’re in your squad. This is because ranks no longer determine the skill of each player, but their progression in the current season.

In Ranked 2.0 you are put with and against players that have a similar skill to yours.

Your rank and stats reset at the end of the season.

What Is Skill?

Skill is a hidden value in your account. Not even you can see your own. Your skill is essentially your ability to win matches consistently and your overall competence as a Rainbow Six Siege player. If you win 50% of the matches you play, you will probably be put with and against players with a similar win/loss ratio. There are other factors that affect your skill such as your kill/death ratio, but since skill is a hidden value there is no way to measure it.

This is exactly how matchmaking works now. Being a Silver player, you can easily be put with and against Platinum or Diamond players because ranks are no longer tied to your skill. If the game thinks you have the skill of a Diamond player, your ranking up to Diamond will be extremely easy.

The more ranked matches you play in Rainbow Six Siege, the more information the game will have regarding your playstyle. This is the reason why you will get many ranking points at the beginning, because the game still doesn’t know your actual skill. If you win too many matches, the game will understand you’re a high-skill player, making the ranking up very fast and easy but also putting you against players that match your current skill.

Skill is basically the reason why this new system is much more balanced than the previous one. If you’re stuck in Silver and can’t climb up to Gold so easily, it’s because you played the game enough and the system certainly knows that your current rank finally matches your skill. Once the system has determined your skill level with precision, luck will no longer be a factor whenever you are trying to rank up.

A good aim and positioning is key to win more matches.

Ranking Up With Friends

Before this new ranking system was added, players would have to be in a similar rank range in order to play together as a team on ranked matches. Thanks to the new Ranked 2.0, this is no longer an issue.

Since ranks no longer determine each player’s skill, now everyone can play with whoever they want. This means that if you’re a Bronze, you will be able to play with a Diamond friend if you have one. The game will probably try to balance this in the other team as well, but keep in mind that you will almost definitely face tougher enemies if you’re playing with a high-skill teammate.

It’s worth mentioning that cross-play has also been enabled in the game. Not completely, but it’s a cross-play feature indeed. Console players can play with and against other console players (PS4, PS5, Xbox One & Xbox Series X|S), and PC players can play with Luna players (previously this also included Stadia players too, before the service was shut down).

If you’re on PlayStation for example, you can easily add and invite friends that play on Xbox consoles through the main menu (by selecting the Ubisoft Connect feature). Refer to the image below in order to find this particular option.

Cross-progression has also been enabled between the aforementioned platforms. This means your Current Rank, Rank History and Skill MMR will be shared between PS4, PS5, Xbox One & Xbox Series X|S if you play with the same Ubisoft account. This also applies between PC and Luna. All other progress (such as Battle Pass progression or Clearance Levels) is fully shared between all platforms you own the game on.

Cross-play and Cross-progression is not supported between Consoles and PC.

Select the Ubisoft Connect feature inside this menu to invite your friends of other consoles.

Rank Rewards

Because ranks are no longer tied to your skill level and now only represent your progression in the current season, ranks now give you different rewards. These rewards will be obtained in the next season and will depend on how high you managed to rank up in the previous season. Below you can find a table of the rewards you can obtain in the next season once the current Solar Raid season finishes:

All rewards are simply cosmetics to use in-game. Charms can be equipped on your weapons, Card Backgrounds are shown when players are on the operator selection screen, and Alpha Packs can be opened inside the main menu and contain different random cosmetic rewards inside them as well.

All ranks and a visual example of how the rewards look like.

Tips & Strategies

This season is a completely different experience compared to previous seasons. If you’re new to the game or you haven’t played it for a while you should follow these few tips if you don’t want trouble while playing ranked matches in Rainbow Six Siege:

• Communication is key. Avoid playing alone. Play with as many friends as you can that are capable of giving, following, and understanding directions.
• If you still want to Solo-Q, try to be patient with your teammates. You have to be a leader. Try to communicate with them as well if possible. Also, avoid toxicity.
• Try to use attackers that can help your team or give yourself as much information as you can. Recommended Operators: Jackal, Finka, Iana, Zero, or Thatcher. Consider using Thermite, Ace, Hibana, or Maverick if there isn’t a breacher in your team.
• While defending, use operators that can slow down the attackers’ progress or deny information to them. Recommended Operators: Mute, Kapkan, Echo, Castle, or Kaid. Consider using Pulse, Valkyrie, or Mozzie if you want to give information to your team. Also, consider using Rook, Doc or Thunderbird if there isn’t a support character on your team.
• Avoid playing the assassin role unless it’s necessary. Killing isn’t the main objective of the game. Attack or defend the bombs. That’s all that matters. However, if there isn’t an assassin in your team, make sure to be the player that’s far away from the bombs looking to flank enemies and surprise them from behind. Recommended Operators: Kali, Amaru, Caveira, or Vigil.
• Take a break whenever you’re on a losing streak. You don’t want to play the game being angry or frustrated. The psychological factor is really important here. You have to believe you’re the best team in the world and learn from your mistakes.

About the Current Season

Rainbow Six Siege’s Year 7, Season 4: “Solar Raid” will be up for 40 days more or so. You have plenty of time to level up your battle pass, complete challenges, and claim rewards if you haven’t done it yet. Rainbow Six Siege is available for PC on Steam and Epic Games, Amazon Luna, PS4 & PS5, Xbox One and Xbox Series X|S. The game is also available for free if you own a PlayStation Plus Extra/Premium or Xbox Game Pass subscription.