"The single biggest problem in communication is the illusion that it has taken place"
- George Bernard Shaw
Introduction
Information is one of the most (if not the most) important aspects of consistently winning matches in Rainbow Six Siege.
And what is the most crucial component of information sharing within the team? You guessed right – communication!
Whether you are a solo queueing player or a pre-made team, learning how to communicate effectively with other players will bring you tremendous results.
Communication Guide
to R6 Siege
What is communication
Communication is an exchange of information between two (or more) people.
In Rainbow Six Siege communication can be achieved in multiple ways, such as:
- Verbal – using microphone
- Using text chat – on PC.
- By utilizing yellow ping
In this guide, I will focus on verbal communication. Text correspondence is ineffective in highly dynamic environments, which Siege is. Revealing information quickly and clearly can be a matter of winning or losing a match.
“Pinging,” which means indicating the location with yellow marker available in Siege, can be a useful tool for providing a more visual indication of callout. However, using pinging as the sole communication method is very limited. Instead, pinging should be utilized as complementary information for verbal comms.
Therefore, whenever mentioning effective communication in this guide and our website, I will always refer to verbal communication within the team.
Included in communication can be such aspects as:
- tactic discussion
- callouts about the enemy’s location, gadget’s placements, and situation development
- information about your actions
- feedback between teammates
Benefits of effective communication
Communication is often the main difference between decent and an excellent team.
The sky is the limit for teams that communicate effectively.
Rainbow Six Siege is a game where sharing and utilizing information makes an immense difference due to:
- complexity and style of the game
- available tools
- map destructibility
- importance of tactic execution and timing of actions performed by the entire team
By sharing useful information, the team can separate itself from the majority of the competition and take its game to a whole new level.
Rainbow Six Siege gives tools at both attackers and defenders disposal to gather a vast amount of intel.
If you ever played versus effectively communicating team, then you know how hard it is to win against an opponent who constantly reveals information about various aspects of the game.
On top of that, communicating well with your team results in:
- lowered or eliminated frustration
- being able to improve as a team
- enjoying your time
- increasing trust and building a relationship with teammates
Communication issues
A team that neglects communication has a lower skill ceiling than those that share information in a precise and quick manner.
How we talk and treat each other is a crucial aspect of human interactions that influences joy and progress in any task requiring cooperation between people, and succeeding in a computer game is not an exception!
Here are a few common communication issues that will hinder personal, as well as team progress:
- Not communicatingThis tip may seem obvious, but I think we underestimate the importance of communication and are somehow afraid of doing so.Understand: you won’t get better at communicating if you do not practice. Also, you can only go so high without talking with teammates in a team-based shooter like Rainbow Six Siege.
- Seeing teammates as enemies
Rainbow Six Siege is a team-based shooter. We should all remember that our teammates are not obstacles we have to overcome to achieve victory, but people just like us with similar goals.
- The blame gameThere is constructive feedback, and then there is blaming others for all misfortunes that happen to us.There are multiple reasons as to why we tend to turn towards blaming others so frequently:– it is easier– blaming does not expose us to being vulnerable– protects our egoIn the heat of the moment, it may feel like the right thing to do. However, in the long run, blaming others is detrimental to your success as you can’t fix what you can’t see.Therefore, unlike most other games, the more you play the blame game, the more you lose.If I have a problem with my team, what do I gain by focusing on my team mate’s mistakes? By saying I am not responsible, I turn myself into a victim. Therefore, immobilizing myself in negative circumstances.If I want to improve my skill and my situation, I should work on one thing I have control over – myself.
So next time you die and have an impulse of getting frustrated with somebody else, pause and think about your actions leading to this situation.
- AssumptionsI have heard many times the phrase “Assumption is the enemy of communication,” and I could not agree more.The assumption is a result of expecting others to think the same way we do and act the way we would, without communicating clearly our expectations.If you think about it, you will realize that you cannot, at the same time, communicate clearly and assume.Therefore, I believe that assumption is at the root of all misunderstandings.We all have to remember that different people have different experience levels and may consider their approach as default.Next time you play and think teammate will perform a particular action significant for your team’s success, confirm it verbally.
How to communicate
In this section, I will focus on two aspects of in-game communication: callouts & off-round discussion.
Of course, there is no all-size-to-fit-all communication recipe that would fit all teams and individuals. There are, however, crucial components of effective communication that should be present in both discussion types.
Callout means revealing information during the match about anything important that happens. Callouts include information about:
- Enemy’s location and actionsWhere is enemy located or where is he heading;Is opponent prone, crouch or standing;Is enemy watching certain angle, drones or using utility
- Placement of utilityApplies to both your utility usage and enemy’s
- Your important actionsObserving a specific angle, perform a particular action in a certain location
- Any other significant information
To be effective callouts should consider the following aspects:
- ClearMake sure that your callouts during the match are constructed with the easiest to understand language. Your teammates should need the least time and effort required to process the information provided.
- ConciseInclude the least amount of information needed, hence avoid unnecessary details.Getting your point across quickly plays an essential role in a highly dynamic environment. In Rainbow Six Siege difference in even 1-second delay in revealing crucial information can make a difference between win and loss.
- CompleteCallout should include all the information needed to understand it and act upon it.Saying “above you” when more than one teammate is alive will not provide all the information needed.
- CheckedInformation provided to teammates should always be validated. If uncertain about specific intel you are offering, make sure to highlight it!When saying a particular room is clear, you want to know it as your teammates will (hopefully) trust your inputs.
So what is an example of a good callout?
“Sledge, 1 in Blue. Behind wall hard right prone.“
A minimal amount of words used, a lot of crucial information revealed, such as:
- recipient – Sledge
- number of enemies – 1
- location of the enemy – Blue (standard callout for locations on multiple maps where blue color dominates interiors)
- relative location – behind wall hard right
- opponent’s position – prone
Now, let’s focus on the second aspect of communication, which is the off-round discussion.
Such discussions will happen before and after the round or match. Therefore, we can separate them further into Planning and Feedback.
Planning means discussion before a round begins on the approach your team will have for the next round, which may include:
- main direction and focus of attack
- operators selections
- individual roles
Planning does not have to occur only for pre-made teams, but even when solo queueing.
I recommend starting a discussion on the above aspects as soon as possible.
Feedback is a discussion on what went both well and wrong during the round/match.
Of course, feedback is mainly applicable in pre-made teams, where a group of players intends to play together and improve.
Some teams tend to have feedback conversations in-between rounds, while others prefer to discuss details calmly after the whole match. There are also those teams that do not give feedback at all.
I find extensive feedback discussions to be most suitable after the match ends. Once emotions are not impacting team mates, the entire team can focus on a constructive discussion without time pressure.
I would recommend limiting In-between rounds conversations to adjustments that can be implemented on the fly and will impact the next round(s).
The following components should characterize both planning and feedback conversations within the team:
- OpenEveryone within the team should feel free to give and receive feedback, which is a tough aspect to achieve and requires time, as well as the correct mindset from all team members.Essential to open communication are trust, mutual goal, and lack of judgment.
- ConversationalEnsure that the tone of your communication is right. You do not want to give orders; you want to inspire and encourage teammates to perform well!
- ConsiderateHave an opportunity for everyone to share their opinion and give a chance to ask questions in case instructions or feedback are unclear
Solo queueing communication
Here’s a list of tips for approaching communication while solo queueing in Rainbow Six Siege.
- Don’t assumeAssumption can have different meanings in this case.Sometimes we assume that our teammates will be assholes, just because we had such a team last match.In other sense, you may anticipate your teammates to precisely know what they should do based on your own experience and plan.The assumption is the enemy of communication and understanding. Ask and tell others if unsure, especially with a group of total strangers!
- Initiate communicationSolo queue is a roulette. One match you will get cool people who will communicate and give useful callouts. Other matches you will have that dude who plays loud music or acts crazy.Just say “Hi” at the start of the round to test waters. Who knows, maybe you will find friendly people to play with by just trying to be nice from the start.
If teammates are unwilling to communicate or turn out to be shouting stupid things to their microphone, well you still tried.
I often hear people complaining about “randoms.” You never know who is on the other end. Also, you are just as random to others as they are to you. Try to start every match with a fresh mind without prejudice.
- Practice calloutsYou have no impact on who will be your teammate. What you can impact is your actions and how you will use the match to your benefits, with or without communicative teammates.What I propose is that you try to give callouts regardless of the situation:Teammates do not talk at all? Don’t let it impact you, give callouts anyway.Is one person annoying as hell? Mute him and communicate like you usually do.Why would you do so?
From your gain perspective you increase your chances of winning matches in any situation – call outs are better than no call outs.
Additionally, you create a habit of communicating and practicing callouts, even if you lose a match.From a team perspective, you may trigger communication from teammates due to your approach. I had so many situations where silent teammates started sharing intel in the middle of the match, thanks to me being a persistent bastard when it comes to my communication.
Summary
- The best communication method in Rainbow Six Siege is verbal
- Use pinging to enhance your communication, not as a substitution
- Communication may be the main reason you or your team are missing to take your game to the next level.
- Avoid common communication issues, such as lack of communication, hostility, assumptions and blaming others
- Give callouts that are easy to understand, quick to process and accurate
- Create open communication environment within the team
- Give and take constructive feedback
- Don’t neglect communication when solo queueing
- Initiate communication in solo queue
