Tom Clancy's Rainbow Six Siege is a first-person
shooter game, in which players utilize many different
operators from the Rainbow team. Different operators
have different nationalities, weapons, and gadgets.
The game features an asymmetrical structure whereby the
teams are not always balanced in their ability choices.
The base Counter-Terrorism Units (CTUs) available
for play are the American Hostage Rescue Team (referred
to in-game as the FBI SWAT), the British SAS, the German
GSG-9, the Russian Spetsnaz and the French GIGN, each of
which has four operators per unit split between attackers
and defenders (other units were later added through
downloadable content, see below). Players also have
access to a "Recruit" operator who can choose from
a more flexible assortment of equipment at the expense
of having a unique gadget or the ability to customize
their weapon. Players can pick any operator from any
unit that is defending or attacking before a round
starts, choosing spawn points as well attachments on
their guns but are not allowed to change their choices
once the round has started. An in-game shop allows
players to purchase operators or cosmetics using the
in-game currency, "Renown", which is earned at the end
of matches from actions performed in-game. Different
gameplay modes award renown at different rates, with
ranked matches offering the largest renown multiplier
potential per match. Renown gain rate can also be
affected by the usages of "boosters" which gives the
player a 100% increase in all renown earned for various
duration, starting with 24 hours. A premium currency
known as "R6 credits" can also be purchased using
real-world currency to get operators quicker in-game,
or other cosmetic.
In online matches, when a round begins the attackers
choose one of several spawn points from which to launch
their attack while defenders do the same from which to
defend from.