fbpx

PROs:

  • Insane penetration capability
  • Hard Breach support utility
  • Versatile loadout
  • switchable 6x/12x scope

CONS:

  • Slowest fire rate in R6 Siege
  • Doesn’t see through smoke – unlike Glaz

Kali

Offensive operator

Kali R6 Siege operator is a versatile attacker with a team-support oriented gadget.
She is a welcomed alternative to Thatcher from a utility perspective.
 
If you’ve mained AWP in CS: GO, then you are going to love Kali!
She instantaneously becomes THE sniper of Rainbow Six Siege – as if Glaz was not in a bad spot already, right? 

Organization

NIGHTHAVEN

Availability

DLC Y4S4

Armor Rating

Medium

Speed Rating

Medium

Biography

Born to wealthy parents, Shah’s ability to achieve her goals was assured from an early age. This self-assurance hit a brick wall when she tried to join the military. Her interest in martial arts led her to enlist, but she quickly discovered that women weren’t allowed to serve in combat units. Despite all of her money and all of her social influence, she had found an obstacle between her and something she wanted, and it would not budge.

Leaving the military, she created her own Private Security Company to operate within India’s borders, then a Private Military Company, NIGHTHAVEN, to operate overseas. She routinely negotiates multi-million-dollar contracts with incredibly favorable terms. 

OPERATOR VIDEO

Her ruthlessness is legendary, but by becoming a resource the Indian government desperately needs she has circumvented the laws that kept her from her goal and revalidated her self-perception as an unstoppable force in a largely static world.

Operator guide

Detailed information on how to play Kali R6 Siege operator

Caption title

Utility

What is the utility?

Kali comes equipped with LV Explosive Lance. It is an under-barrel launcher attached to her primary weapon.
Lance allows Kali R6 operator to fill in the role of a Hard Breach support operator.

Her utility penetrates “soft” and reinforced surfaces. Lance then fuzes for a short time and detonates on impact, destroying utility placed within approximately 3 meters from it.

Therefore, Kali is an alternative to Thatcher when it comes to getting rid of Breach Denial defensive utility, thus aiding Hard Breachers with opening crucial reinforced walls and hatches.
It does not end there, though. The Lance is capable of destroying various defensive utility, such as Deployable shields and Barbed wires. The full list of counters is available in the “Interactions” section of this guide.

LV Explosive Lance - CHARACTERISTICS

  • It does 4 HP damage to players within the explosion radius
  • The Lance radius is 3 meters on either side of the wall.
  • It can destroy both defensive and offensive gadgets. Make sure your team is careful with the placement of their utility – breaching devices, drones, EMPs – until Lance is detonated.
  • Unlike Ash’s Breaching rounds, Lance can be shot at any surface and will stick to it, rather than bouncing off it
  • Lance shot on a window, or barricaded doors will destroy utility placed behind it:
    • Frost Welcome mat
    • Kapkan’s EDD
    • Ela’s Concussion mines
    • Lesion’s GU mines
    • Barbed Wire
    • Jager’s ADS
  • Lance exploding through an unreinforced surface will create a see-through hole on the point of impact. On the other hand, it will not create such a gap in reinforced walls, nor hatches.

CSRX 300 - CHARACTERISTICS

Talking about Kali’s utility and not mentioning CSRX 300 would be like skipping half of the meal.
Therefore, let’s give some love to Kali’s bolt rifle in this section, as well.
  • Bolt rifle with 6 bullets per clip
  • Low total ammo of 21 bullets
  • The bullet penetrates all soft surfaces on its way.
  • Furthermore, 1 shot is capable of killing multiple defenders in a straight line. Yes, 1 shot ace is bound to happen
  • Of course, headshots are instant kills
  • Shots to the limbs deal 50 HP damage
  • Weapon’s damage does not drop-off with penetration through surfaces but does drop-off with distance (since Y5S4.3 patch)
  • While active, CSRX 300 lowers Kali R6 operator movement speed. Therefore, it is a good idea to switch to her secondary weapon when traversing the map
  • Shot from Kali’s primary gun staggers shield operators. The stagger effect is similar to meleeing a shield and also applies to Clash
  • CSRX 300 does not destroy wooden beams in soft walls.
  • Single-shot destroys barricades and unreinforced hatches. Though, CSRX 300 does not penetrate Castle Armored Panels
  • Kali’s rifle has a unique scope, which allows her to use 2 zoom variants: 6x and 12x.
  • To change the zoom levels, the player needs to ADS and press the “B” button for PC or right D-pad on a controller.
  • Shots leave an obvious and straight bullet trail. Such trails allow defenders to identify the location of Kali rather quickly.
  • On top of that, the defender downed by Kali’s bolt rifle will turn his body automatically to the direction the shot came from.

The damage model has changed with the introduction of Y5S4.3 patch in early 2021.
Up until now, Kali’s CSRX300 could down any defender with 1 body shot. Ubisoft developers decided to change the damage model of the gun and now it works as follows:

  • CSRX300 deals now 127 base damage until 25 meters distance
  • After 25 meters, the damage drops linearly to 80% of the base value (97.6) at 35 meters distance
  • Limbs damage remains unchanged

What this means is that the results of body shots will differ depending on defenders armor ratings and distance:

  • 1-armor operators will be killed
  • 2-armor operators will be downed
  • 3-armor operators will be downed

When defenders wear Rook armor plates, then the body shots logic changes to:

  • 1-armor operators will be downed with 1 shot
  • 2-armor operators will be downed with 2 shots
  • 3-armor operators will be downed with 2 shots

How to use utility?

Mechanically:
Using the Lance is simple from a mechanical perspective. 
The player has to press the unique utility button to switch to the under-barrel launcher.
Pressing the fire button will launch Lance.
There is no drop-off, which makes aiming from a distance relatively easy.
kali-trailer5_compressed

Now let’s go over the main usage of both Lance utility and CSRX 300:

BREACH DENIAL COUNTER

Let’s discuss the primary usage of Kali’s Explosive Lance: Dealing with Breach Denial utility.
Yes, finally, we have a reliable alternative to Thatcher!
Hell, now we can even double down on support capability and bring Kali along with him!
 
To get rid of defensive utility on the other side of the surface, you simply have to shoot the Lance on the reinforced walls or hatches.
Important to note that the defensive gadget has to be within 3 meters from Lance. Though, not even buffed Kaid’s Electro Claw (increased effective range) seems to be able to avoid Lance well placed in the middle of the wall.
 
Here’s a video made by MicrowaveGaming, which demonstrates basic tests he performed on this subject.
Nonetheless, let’s see what creative counters the Rainbow Six Siege community and Pros will come up with!
 
The weakness of Kali’s Lance versus Breach Denial utility will be the ability to “Bandit trick” her gadget relatively easily.
Bandit is capable of picking up even 2 Batteries!
Granted, this requires impeccable timing on his side and in real game scenarios, might be challenging to achieve. Nonetheless, it is not hard to pick up 1 Battery or Claw while the Lance is fuzing.

Utility Destruction

Kali R6 operator is capable of clearing out defensive utility. Such a utility role is especially applicable for objective entrances and choke points, where defenders tend to stack their utility.

Similarly to Ash Breaching rounds, Kali can shoot Lance in a doorway to clear out nearby devices,
Bear in mind though that Lance requires either:
  • the soft surface between Lance and devices you want to impact
  • a clear line of sight
This can be tricky as Lance is susceptible to ADS and Mag-net.
Therefore, you have to be more precise with Lance than you would be with Thatcher for achieving the same effect at choke points. The upside is that unlike Thatcher, Kali’s Lance destroys mechanical gadgets as well. Your Lance will deal with mechanical devices and not only electronics!
As a result, the ability to clear out utility operates a bit more like Ash’s Breaching rounds than Thatcher’s EMP.

Clearing Utility Vertically

Another upside versus Thatcher is the ability to destroy an enemy’s utility from below.
 
There’s one but, though: Interaction is possible only when the ceiling is penetrable (soft).
The thought process is similar to playing Buck from below. You will need advanced map knowledge to utilize your gadget this way.

Use Barricades

Shooting Lance at the barricade, behind which enemy has placed devices like Welcome mat or ADS, will destroy the defensive gadget within 3 meters.
Therefore, do not break the barricade if you have intel about such utility located behind it, especially if that’s the window.
Instead, use your Lance to destroy utility!
The downside of such usage is that defenders present nearby may shoot your Lance through the barricade.

USE CSRX 300 FOR WALLBANGS

Wallbangs have never been deadlier.
They are difficult to achieve as map knowledge, and prediction of enemy’s height is necessary. On top of that, your bolt rifle has the slowest rate of fire.
However, no damage drop-off and ability to penetrate multiple soft walls on the way make it extremely satisfying to wallbang enemies.
 
There are 3 main ways to wallbang:
  • mark by yourself with a drone
    Least dependable and experience requiring technique, but hardest to achieve reliably.
    Use if you are solo queuing and opponent is vulnerable – i.e., using surveillance devices.
  • ask a teammate to mark enemy
    Such a technique lowers the time needed between mark and shot, which in turn gives enemy less time to change their position.
    Higher odds of hitting the target than marking by yourself. But it requires teamwork.
  • predict location without the mark
    Does not give heads up to the enemy, but requires excellent map knowledge and some luck.
    Hardest to achieve, but once done – VAC shot that will be on main Subreddit & Youtube.

Create Long Angles

Why not benefit from 12x scope and an unlimited number of surfaces penetrated with each shot?
Not only horizontal angles (same floor) are a viable option for Kali R6 operator. You can also create great angles vertically through multiple floors.
 
Example: 
Consulate – Garage defense.
You can deal with Bandit tricking from the Consul office on the 2nd floor!

COMMUNICATION IS THE KEY!

Communicate with your team to know how you can use your utility to support them the most.
During the preparation phase, ask Hard Breacher where do they plan to breach and where are they spawning.
 
I cannot stress this enough!
Your team will often count on your utility, especially if Thatcher is not present on your roster. 
You do not want to slow down the attack, potentially exposing your team to being picked off while waiting for your arrival. 
Also, the longer it takes to open objective walls and hatches, the lower time for opportunities is left to utilize the newly created angle.

Interactions

SYNERGIES

Kali R6 operator synergizes very well with:
  • Kali can be used together with Thatcher to increase Breach support capacity in the team
  • Hard Breachers – Hibana & Thermite
    Just like Thatcher, Kali can support Hard Breachers with the opening of essential walls and hatches
  • The electronics scanner that IQ brings to the table can be beneficial to pinpoint the location of defensive gadgets. This synergy might be especially helpful for locating Mag-nets and ADSes to prevent wasting Lances.
  • Maverick creating a tiny hole for Kali with 12x scope? Damn, toxicity intensified.

Counters:

Kali’s Lance destroys the following utility:

Countered by:

Kali R6 operator utility is susceptible to:
When placed on a reinforced surface, Lance can be destroyed from the “attackers” side with a single bullet.
 
Breach denial operators can also “Bandit trick” Lances. Such tricking is achieved by picking up their utility when Lance is shot to prevent it from destroying the utility at its detonation.
Rainbow Six Siege Kali DJ Bundle - headgear printscreen

How to play -
Kali R6 Siege

Playstyle

SUPPORT / ANGLE WATCHER
 
Kali is a very unique attacking operator.
Unlike other recent attackers of Year 4, Kali is definitely a strongly team-support oriented operator.
 
She appears to be designed as an alternative to Thatcher while automatically becoming THE new sniper of Rainbow Six Siege – as if Glaz was not RIP enough.
As a result, we categorize her playstyle as twofold – support & angle watching.
 

DON’T ENTRY FRAG

Firstly, Kali R6 operator should not be your team’s entry fragger.
The specification does not suit Kali well for being the first attacker to challenge roamers inside the building, nor gaining quick control over the map.
She is slower with CSRX 300 equipped, and if you miss your shot, you’re dead.
Instead, as Kali, you should play more cautiously until your Lance utility has been used to help Hard Breachers with opening reinforced surfaces.
This is especially important if Thatcher was not brought by your team, and you’re the primary Breach Support operator!
 

DRONE FOR FRAGGERS

We highly recommend for support operators to aid their entry fragging teammates by droning for them to feed with invaluable intel about defenders’ position.
Droning for others is not flashy and won’t show on the scoreboard. However, it is one of the essential aspects differentiating consistently victorious squad and a random group of people where everyone plays for themselves.
 

WATCH LONG ANGLES

Secondly, Kali R6 operator is ideally suited to hold long angles. Hell, she can even create new ones to surprise unsuspecting defenders!
The high damage primary gun is excellent for this task, especially with 6x and 12x zoom available at your disposal. 
Long story short: dealing with rotating defenders has never been easier.
 

FLUID PLAYSTYLES IN R6 SIEGE

Important to note that playstyle on the attack in Rainbow Six Siege is flexible and in fact, fluid.
Every operator turns eventually into fragger, once necessary tasks are completed, and utility has been used.
Therefore, you can play more aggressively and go fragging once:
  • entry to the building has been made
  • your team has established sufficient map control
  • you have used your utility
Luckily, for close quarter combat, you can use C75 Auto, which is a formidable weapon.

Difficulty

MEDIUM
 
  • Mechanically simple utility to use
  • Requires team-oriented mindset
  • Potentially vital utility to team’s breaching success
  • Requires good aim
  • Advanced map knowledge needed for wallbangs

Loadout guide -
Kali

Available options

Primary weapons

Secondary weapons

Universal gadgets

Rainbow Six Siege breaching charge

Breaching charge

Charge allows opening a hole in unreinforced walls, hatches and barricades.

claymore_compressed

CLAYMORE

Anti-personnel explosive. Explodes when contact with sensor is made, injuring or dealing lethal damage.

Loadout suggestion

Loadout choices are an individual aspect, and rarely there is a “go-to” loadout in R6 Siege.
Sight choices are purely personal and depend on the player’s playstyle, map, even objective & specific role.
Please treat the below suggestion as what it is – our preferences.
We encourage you to experiment to find your setup.

Remember, just because something works for someone else, does not mean it has to and will work for you!

Suggested loadout:

Primary weaponBarrelGripScope
CSRX 300N/AN/AFIXED
Secondary weaponBarrelGripScope
SPSMG9Flash hiderN/AN/A
Gadget
Claymore
Rainbow Six Siege Kali DJ Bundle - full body front printscreen

Why such loadout?

PRIMARY WEAPONS

This is going to be the shortest weapon explanation ever.
Even Blitz and Montagne have more choices for their secondary weapon than Kali R6 operator has for her CSRX 300.
Bolt rifle is the only available primary to Kali and does not allow you to change any attachments.
Luckily CSRX 300 is a beast if you are a sniper type.
 

SECONDARY WEAPONS

C75 Auto is not an ideal weapon. It has minimal attachment options, and its default sight obscures half of the screen in ADS.
The upside is a reliable recoil and an excellent rate of fire.
 
The secondary of our choice is SPSMG9, which was added to Kali’s loadout in the Y5S2 patch.
Previously available only to Clash, SPSMG9 is a superior alternative for close to middle range encounters.
We suggest equipping it with a flash hider over suppressor for decreased recoil.
This secondary weapon does not provide choices for sight but comes with default reflex sight. 
 

UNIVERSAL GADGETS

Our universal gadget of choice is Claymore. It will help Kali R6 operator to secure her flanks and potential runouts.
Claymores are especially useful for a sniper. You will prompt defenders to play more aggressively and try to close the gap and catch you off guard.
 
And what about Breaching charges?
Her primary weapon serves as an angle opener. It is not a tool for creating new avenues and has limited ammo, so breaching charges are still a viable choice for Kali loadout.
However, we do not recommend using Breaching charges as Kali. If the creation of new routes or vertical pressure is your primary concern, then choosing Kali should not be your first choice, to begin with.
Though, if your team has a sufficient number of claymores and you want to increase your team’s soft breaching potential, then go ahead with Breaching charges – they are never a wrong choice.

Community Videos -
Kali R6 Siege

Instructional videos

Gameplay showcases

Other operators

Learn more about other operators in R6 Siege!

Or go to list of all available Guides

Found our website useful?

Be the first to know about new content!

 

The Only 
Guide You’ll Need

70+ Pages of Exclusive Content

14-Days Money-Back Guarantee!