Introduction
Roaming - R6 Guide
Table of Content
Why defense needs
roamers - R6 Siege
Roaming operators
R6 Siege
- 1-speed operators – best suited to anchor;
- 2-speed operators – universal operators, jacks of all trades;
- 3-speed operators – best used as roamers;
Dedicated roamers
When picking Caveira, you have to roam as having her on the site is a terrible idea due to her loadout options and utility (silent steps).
How to roam
R6 Siege
- Ignoring roamer
What attackers save in this scenario is the time and utility needed for hunting roamers.
On the other hand, such a decision may hit them back when it hurts the most – during a push on the objective if roamer times it well.
- Hunting roamer
With such decisions, attackers decide to dedicate manpower, time, and potential utility for hunting roamers to prevent the scenario mentioned above.
Thought, the risk here for attackers is losing precious time and possibly operators while on roam hunt.
With the above in mind, I would separate roamer types into two types, as well:
- disruptive
- stealthy
Disruptive roam
SPAWN PEEKING
It is an attempt to kill attackers before they reach an objective building, right after the action phase beginning.
Spawn peeking is a high-risk, high reward type of play. Defender puts himself at a considerable risk of dying while doing so. Such a technique can also serve an additional (and the most important, in my opinion) role: wasting attackers’ time and shifting their attention to spawnpeeker/roamer rather than objective.
Please note that spawn peeking is not exclusive to roamers, and in fact is usually performed by anchors. This is due to many anchoring R6 Siege operators having access to ACOG, which helps with spawn peeks.
FAKING SPAWN PEEKS
Defenders can open a hole in windows and doors looking outside to spawn sides. As a result, attackers may feel antsy while approaching the building, wasting time and attention.
ENTRY POINT DENIAL
CONSTANT “POKING.”
This aspect is probably the most crucial to wasting the opponent’s time.
You want to bother your enemy from different angles and directions consistently. Put yourself in their shoes and imagine what makes you uncomfortable the most. I personally hate playing against those roamers who are not getting too greedy but are annoying as hell and in constant motion.
Do not let them forget about you and feel cozy enough to push the site.
PRE-OPENING HATCHES & ROTATION HOLES
Do so for two excellent reasons:
First, when the time comes that you need an emergency or sneaky rotation to get a jump on attackers, you won’t need to waste time and make a loud noise.
Secondly, even if you do not use such rotations, you may force attackers to feel unsettled about occupying specific locations. Perhaps also to dedicate flank watch or spend flank preventing utility (claymores or Airjabs).
Stealthy roam
- hide in uncommon and unpredictable spots
Attackers will often drone the map to verify the presence of roamers. Use a place for hiding, which requires very deliberate drone work to find you.
- wait for attackers to enter the building and pass by
By doing so, stealthy roamer allows attackers to feel comfortable and lower their guard from the direction they came from.
Roaming R6 Siege:
skills & habits
MAP KNOWLEDGE
As a roamer in Rainbow Six Siege, you will move around the map a lot. Therefore, you got to know available routes, frequently utilized entry points, and other aspects of general map knowledge.
Map knowledge comes with time, especially with an ever-growing map pool with new seasons.
In case your map knowledge is lackluster, go to a custom game to freely check the map.
USE GAME SOUND
COMMUNICATION
First of all, don’t be that player who holds info for himself, regardless of role.
You need to give callouts, as well as listen to intel coming from your teammates.
Ask anchors to check cameras at the beginning of the round and tell you where enemies are coming from. Important yet often underutilized information is about the default camera that has been shot down.
PATIENCE
Putting your team at a 4vs5 immediate disadvantage at the beginning of the round does not help, at all.
Just like map knowledge, knowing when to react and rotate comes with experience. Nonetheless, focusing on wasting attackers’ time rather than getting kills will be a great start.
UNPREDICTABILITY
From a mindset perspective, try to think about what would you do as an attacker or what would you expect from a roamer and…do the opposite!
Being unpredictable can mean for roamer:
- setting hard to spot murder holes
- hiding in unusual spots
- running out on attackers from unexpected angles
- creating new rotations
OBSERVE KILL FEED & LISTEN TO GUNFIGHTS
Like in most aspects of life, balancing between being impatient and waiting too long is a tough task.
If gunfights persist and many people are dying, it’s time to return to the site and flank attackers.
FLEXIBILITY
DON’T WAIT TOO LONG
If you find yourself often being on the opposite side of the map, waiting for an enemy to make a mistake and pass part of the map that you chose to roam at, with 30 seconds left or defenders dying on the site, then you are too slow to adapt to the situation and waited too long for a flank.
Roamer not returning to the site when anchors are dying is as useful as a chocolate fireguard.
Trying to pull the best flank ever every single round will net you:
- 80% of failure (if not more)
- 10% of decent flanks, but too late for winning the round
- maybe a few % of spectacular flanks with insane clutches
Teams do not need a roamer who fails to have an impact on the round most of the time.
RELOAD AT THE APPROPRIATE TIME
Movement
No movement technique will suit all scenarios, it’s rather about mindset and making correct judgment calls.
- Different surfaces differ in sound level
Fast walking on a carpet will make significantly less sound than the same action on a metal floor.
- Utilize sound distractions
You can use gunfights or explosions, such as grenades or charges to mask your sound made by your movement. This gives you the possibility to run faster without revealing your position to nearby attackers.
Limit sprinting
You are vulnerable when sprinting as it takes time to aim down sight. You put yourself at a disadvantage if the enemy is already in ADS.
Additionally, sprinting can reveal your position.In summary: sprinting while flanking is only useful if you know the enemy is either not nearby or is distracted by action and sound.
- crouch and slow walking are best for surprising the enemy
Slow walking can be achieved by either tilting minimally movement stick (consoles) or pressing/holding the walk button (PC).
Crouch+walk speed is the most silent way of moving in Rainbow Six Siege. Best used when you attempt flank on unsuspecting enemies. In such a scenario, speed is a significantly less important factor than the element of surprise.
Roaming R6 Siege:
gadgets
BEST UNIVERSAL GADGETS
- Impact grenades
It allows the opening of new angles or rotation holes (almost always useful when playing bomb).
From the two explosives available to defenders as a universal gadget, the Impact grenade is superior for a quick hole opening.
- Nitro Cell
Just like Impact grenades, C4 can be used to create rotational holes and new angles.Nitro cell is the best counter to shield operators and defuser plants as it deals higher damage from explosion comparing to impact grenades.
Good UNIVERSAL GADGET
- Barbed wire
A well-placed wire gives defenders an advantage due to slowing down enemies by either impairing their movement speed or forcing them to spend utility/time to destroy wires, which also results in sound cues for defenders.
Situational gadgets
- Deployable Shield
By default, a shield is the least useful defenders’ gadget, which should be picked only when the defense has a specific plan for its usage.
Generally not a useful tool for roamers.
Can aid anchor greatly by creating pixel angle between the shield and environmental surface.
Bulletproof camera
The bulletproof camera can be handy, but its effectiveness depends on many variables, such as teammates’ communication level or general defensive plan.You should know where you plan to place a camera to give your team an advantage beforehand. If you don’t, then you are probably better off picking either Barbed wires or explosives.
