Rainbow Six Siege has a competitive side that is all about climbing the ranks and being the best.
When you play competitive matches in Rainbow Six Siege, you're paired with people around the same skill level as you to ensure there is competitive integrity. But if your friends are at a different rank than you, can you still squad up?
How Rainbow Six Siege ranks work
You can't play ranked Rainbow Six Siege until you reach level 50. That's when ranked is officially unlocked and the grinding can begin.
You will get placed in a certain rank after competing in 10 games. Your outcome as well as how well you performed in the games will determine your placement. The more games you win, the higher your rank will be.
These are the ranks in Rainbow Six Siege:
- Copper I, II, III, IV, V
- Bronze I, II, III, IV, V
- Silver I, II, III, IV, V
- Gold I, II, III
- Platinum I, II, III
- Diamond
- Champions
Here is how to reach the highest rank in Rainbow Six Siege.
What ranks can play together in Rainbow Six Siege?
Your rank is determined by your MMR, or matchmaking rank. Each tier has a set rating you have to reach to get into that tier.
Your MMR will change after every match, impacted by your wins and losses. Your MMR will also be affected by the skill level of your opponent — if they are ranked higher, your MMR will get a boost. Abandoning games and getting kicked will decrease your MMR.
Your MMR has to be at a 1,000 disparity to play a match with friends. This applies to four to 10 ranks. Basically, a Copper V player can pair up with a Bronze IV friend. But anyone above Silver V can't join that lobby.
What is smurfing in Rainbow Six Siege?
The reason matchmaking takes MMR into consideration is to cut down on smurfing. That's when a high-skilled player purposely competes in a lower rank against less-skilled players. This allows the player to farm easy wins for an ego boost or get in some practice. A smurf might also be carrying a lower-ranked friend.
Playing against smurfs is no fun, which is why Ubisoft is always looking for ways to combat this common practice in competitive shooters.