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Rainbow Six Siege is an esports game with a great focus on strategy and tactics. Being good at the game requires extensive knowledge of the mechanics and familiarity with all R6 maps. It’s one of the most difficult games to learn and master, which makes it a prime choice for spectating esports tournaments or betting on competing esports teams. In this guide, we’ll show you a list of R6 maps and take a look at the best ones (according to the community).
Rainbow 6 Siege is a great choice for esports betting due to the numerous esports organizations from various esports countries competing at the most prestigious and largest FPS and esports tournaments in the world.
If you’re interested in starting your R6S betting career, you will most likely have to learn the game as well (or spend plenty of time watching live streams and VODs of previous tournaments). Rainbow 6’s complexity is what makes it exciting to bet on, but it also makes winning bets difficult to predict without enough knowledge of the game and its esports scene.
Unfortunately, betting on which R6 maps will appear during a tournament or in a match isn’t possible as no bookies currently host that kind of betting market.
In any case, you’ll have to create a user account at your chosen bookie’s website (write your real-life information for esports betting bonus eligibility), set up your preferred payment method (most bookies accept credit cards, PayPal, Skrill, and Bitcoin), and start small, at least until you get a proper hang of things.
Rainbow 6 maps are the battle grounds within which the two teams (attackers and defenders) fight against each other. The main goal of virtually every Rainbow Six Siege match is to fulfill your team’s objective (ie. plant the bomb as an attacker or keep the hostages safe as a defender).
The maps vary drastically from each other, even if the gameplay essentially stays the same across all of them. Each map is unique in terms of, building architecture, open areas, tactics, strategy, entry points, traps – every map has them.
Professional esports teams have players that know every map inside and out, predominantly due to spending huge amounts of time playing the game and learning the maps. Without this knowledge, there is no way one could become a pro player due to skill alone.
Almost all R6 maps are rotated each season (with just a handful of them being ever-present), which is done to introduce variability to the game – especially the Ranked and Competitive environments.
Now, as far as the maps themselves, they are divided into six main categories, but most players will only consider two of those – Ranked or Unranked. Additionally, certain maps will be present in different categories (ie. Clubhouse is both a map for newcomers and for Competitive play). Here’s the breakdown:
As said previously, a map can belong to multiple categories so you shouldn’t be surprised if you find one in both casual and Ranked or Competitive play categories.
Maps in this category can be used in competitive tournaments and are most commonly seen in esports events. Teams that want to practice playing with each other or try out new strategies can choose these maps (these are also the only maps that can be ‘chosen’ by players).
Overall, these maps can also be considered ‘the best’ in the game since they’re used for Competitive play, meaning a nice balance of elements is found in each map. If a player wants to elevate their skills and abilities to a higher level, these are the maps to do that with.
Maps in the Competitive category: Border, Chalet, Clubhouse, Bank, Kafe, Oregon, Skyscraper, Theme Park, Villa
Here is the Map Pool for the upcoming Stage ➡️ pic.twitter.com/jHxUyIWJKh — Rainbow Six Esports (@R6esports) March 10, 2022
Here is the Map Pool for the upcoming Stage ➡️ pic.twitter.com/jHxUyIWJKh
— Rainbow Six Esports (@R6esports) March 10, 2022
Ranked maps can be found by playing the Ranked game mode. This and every following category of maps cannot be selected manually as they are part of the ‘playlists’ (maps are ‘assigned’ to matches randomly).
Most R6 maps can be found in the Ranked playlist which is great for people who are interested in honing their skills and climbing the rankings. Although some of the maps here aren’t available in Competitive play, they’re still useful for training and earning valuable experience by playing against strong players.
Maps in the Ranked category: Bank, Border, Chalet, Clubhouse, Coastline, Consulate, Kafe, Kanal, Oregon, Skyscraper, Theme Park, Villa, Favela, Outback, Emerald Plains
This is the category that contains all R6 maps. Every single map can be played in the casual game mode so if a player just wants to hang out with friends and play without too much concern about their performance – the casual game mode is the way to go.
Casual is also the most chaotic game mode considering experienced and skilled players can end up playing on maps that are predominantly oriented towards newcomers. In any case, this game mode is perfect for people who want to master the game mechanics before they start climbing the rankings.
Maps in the Casual category: Bank, Border, Chalet, Clubhouse, Coastline, Consulate, Emerald Plains, Favela, Fortress, Hereford Base, House, Kafe, Kanal, Oregon, Outback, Presidential Plane, Skyscraper, Theme Park, Tower, Villa, Yacht
Here’s a preview of one of the recently added maps, available in both Ranked and Casual play!
The new map Emerald Plains is available now! Experience the rolling hills of Northern Ireland in this brand-new country club and private ranch. It's all yours to explore now! pic.twitter.com/HoYPXARTu6 — Rainbow Six Siege (@Rainbow6Game) April 19, 2022
The new map Emerald Plains is available now! Experience the rolling hills of Northern Ireland in this brand-new country club and private ranch. It's all yours to explore now! pic.twitter.com/HoYPXARTu6
— Rainbow Six Siege (@Rainbow6Game) April 19, 2022
Newcomer maps have been created to let new players get acquainted with the game and its mechanics. Rainbow Six Siege requires high levels of tactics and caution during play since a single misstep can be devastating.
Breaching walls, setting traps, using surveillance – all of these mechanics can be learned by playing newcomer maps. In general, people who have just started playing won’t have access to other maps until they cross a certain level threshold. Nonetheless, there are 6 available newcomer maps in the newcomer playlist, which are ample maps to begin your Rainbow Six Siege adventure.
Maps in the Newcomer category: Chalet, Clubhouse, Coastline, Kafe, Oregon, Emerald Plain
Rainbow Six Siege developer Ubisoft adds specific events on a consistent basis. Larger game updates come with additional maps and operators and Ubisoft creates an ‘event’ (essentially a piece of lore, ie. the story about the event).
Sometimes, the maps connected to an event are there for a set period of time. After the allotted duration has expired, the maps are removed from the game. In essence, these maps are the most interesting due to their connection to the story and rarity. Event maps can belong to any other map category (except Newcomer) which keeps content fresh and fun.
Maps in the Event category: Fort Truth (expired), Stadium (expired), Neighborhood (Halloween Special)
Team Deathmatch is arguably the most common game mode in any FPS game. Two teams of five players fight on one of the five existing (soon to be six) maps. It’s also worth noting that none of the maps that can be played in Team Deathmatch are unique. What we mean by this is that there are no Team Deathmatch-specific maps that don’t already belong to other map categories.
Ever dreamed of respawning in Rainbow Six Siege? Well, dream no more! Operation Demon Veil brings a new, permanent game mode to the Siege experience: Team Deathmatch. — Rainbow Six Siege (@Rainbow6Game) March 16, 2022
Ever dreamed of respawning in Rainbow Six Siege? Well, dream no more! Operation Demon Veil brings a new, permanent game mode to the Siege experience: Team Deathmatch.
— Rainbow Six Siege (@Rainbow6Game) March 16, 2022
The objective of this game mode is simple – as a team, have more kills than the enemy team. Team Deathmatch is the easiest game mode in Rainbow Six Siege since it doesn’t require focusing on the objectives found in other game modes. As such, it’s very fast-paced and chaotic.
Maps in the Team Deathmatch category: Favela, Theme Park, Villa, Coastline, Emerald Plains, Close Quarter (to be released on June 6th)
Coastline is a great map for learning and honing your skills due to the abundance of various gameplay mechanics. It’s also an incredibly gorgeous map, albeit slightly unbalanced due to attackers having a tad easier time on the map.
The community seems to enjoy playing this map in both casual and Ranked play but sadly, it isn’t present in the Competitive mode so you most likely won’t be seeing it in professional esports tournaments.
Villa is a fairly large map that isn’t quite suited to beginners (it also isn’t present in the Newcomer category of maps) due to its size and vast focus on strategy. However, it can be played in casual and Ranked game modes and it’s also used for Competitive play.
Overall, Villa is an aesthetically pleasing, excellently balanced Rainbow Six map that is loved by casual and professional players alike.
Border is another slightly unbalanced map which favours attackers more than defenders. However, it’s a true show of skill if the defenders can keep the attackers at bay. On top of that, the map is incredibly fun to play on and is filled with various different strategic options.
And, it’s also one of the most immersive maps which makes you feel like you’re actually part of a special operation. Lastly, Border can be found in almost all playlists, including Ranked and Competitive.
Tower can best be described as an extension of classic Rainbow Six with dark corners, significant balance issues, and incredible amounts of fun. Both Tower and Favela may be unpopular for other reasons, but for pure gameplay – there are no others like them.
Tower is set in Korea and is supposed to represent a Korean museum but the map also contains some interesting design choices (such as having a Kpop room in it). Visually, the map is absolutely beautiful while audibly it offers players authentic Korean narration.
Favela is an intriguing map. Half of the community despises it while the other half venerates it. Take that as you will but based on Ubisoft’s design choices, overall gameplay and mechanics, potential strategies and tactics, and most importantly – fun – make it the best map in R6.
Some may not agree with this statement and that’s okay, but there’s no denying the fact that Favela is filled with both old-school and modern Rainbow Six gameplay choices. Plenty of rooms, tight spaces, and blind corners all make this map excellent. But what discerns it from others is its Night Mode when the aesthetics simply pop! Truly a one-of-a-kind map!
There are currently 21 maps in Rainbow Six Siege, but this number will soon increase with the release of Close Quarters (on June 6th). Consequently, Ubisoft will keep releasing new maps as long as the game is healthy and features plenty of active players.
The best way to learn about and distinguish the maps from one another is to play the game. When you start, only a couple of maps will be available to you (as will a couple of Operators that you can play) but by playing, you’ll start unlocking new maps. Additionally, you may want to find and read or watch some tutorials on how to play the game (alternatively, you can play the in-game tutorial as well).
According to the R6 community, the two best maps for beginners are Kafe and Coastline. Kafe is small and pretty mild when it comes to complexity and there are plenty of mechanics (stairs, walls, rooms, etc.) that can be learned. Coastline is larger but similar to Kafe isn’t really complex. Its main characteristic is brightness; there aren’t a lot of dark areas on the map.
New R6 maps can be unlocked by reaching a certain rank. The more you play, the faster you’ll unlock the remaining maps. Keep in mind that some maps are rotated from season to season so don’t worry if one of them disappears – it’ll come back if not stated otherwise by Ubisoft.
In May, the average number of concurrent players for the entire month is 37.3K. The peak number of players in May equals 75,601 which is a slight decrease compared to April (93,429 peak players and 45K average concurrent players). However, these fluctuations are common in video games so it shouldn’t be concerning.