Rainbow Six Siege is a game of learning. It's a game where, at the end of just about every match, you know something that you didn't when the match began. That's part of what makes Siege so awesome, and it's part of why Siege has remained popular for as long as it has.
That being said, every once in a while, it feels like you hit a skill-barrier in Siege. Sometimes, you go for days or weeks on end without feeling like you've improved as a player at all. And that's okay! Everybody gets into a funk now and then. But, it can be frustrating, especially when in Ranked, to feel like you're making zero progress. Here are some tips that will hopefully teach you a thing or two, or at least get you thinking about the game a little differently, in order to get you back on your feet:
10 USE YOUR DRONE OFTEN
This cannot be overstated. Other than your weapon, drones are the most valuable tool at the Attackers disposal, full-stop. Used well, drones enable you to get more intel than you really realize you can have at your disposal. Drones are useful tools to check rooms before you enter a building, they're perfect for locating enemy gadget placement, forcing roamers to rotate away, or getting easy wall-bang kills on marked enemies. There's so much you learn from each little drone-tour that it's easy to take them for granted.
There's definitely such a thing as using a drone too much; but as long as your getting intel AND acting on it, you're droning right.
9 THINK THROUGH YOUR OPERATOR BANS
One of the newer additions to Ranked play in Siege, banning operators can severely change how a match plays out. Each team gets to ban one Attacker and one Defender before the match. If you're banning first, make sure you have a plan as to who you're banning, and why. Typically, whichever operator you ban is going to take a certain playstyle away from the enemy team; exploit that weakness, when you can.
But, be careful not to handicap yourself, too. Banning Thatcher, just for the other team to ban Maverick, for example, could lead to some issues breaching into certain objectives. That's far from the only example; ban wisely.
8 GET A COHERENT TEAM COMPOSITION
Communicate with your team, or at least be mindful of their operator picks, when you decide on who you're going to play as. If there's a teammate who selected Thermite or Hibana, try to make sure your team has a Thatcher or a Maverick. Try to have a nice balance of roamers and anchors on defense; and on certain objective sites, be sure to bring a Bandit, Kaid, and/or Mute. On Attack, bring at least one operator focused on roam-clearing, like Jackal or Nokk. Try to split between operators bringing claymores, breach, charges, and different types of grenades.
7 BE FLEXIBLE WITH YOUR OPERATOR CHOICES
Going into Ranked, you should be comfortable with at least a few different operators, both on Attack and Defense. Especially if you aren't playing with the same full five-stack at all times, you'll probably run into situations where your team needs you to fit into a different role than you typically play, just to balance the team out a bit.
6 ADAPT TO YOUR OPPONENT
Starting out a match, it's obviously fine to go with whatever your favorite operator is; but once you've started to learn more about your opponent and their playstyle, it important to be willing and able to change your operator picks, and your playstyle, accordingly. Does the enemy rush the objective quick without waiting around? Bring a Kapkan or a Lesion to slow them down and force them into mistakes. Are they making good use of smoke grenades and planting through them? Bring a Maestro, or maybe even a Warden.
Point being, always have an operator at your disposal that you can use to deal with a specific playstyle. Your teammates will thank you for it.
5 CHANGE UP TACTICS FROM ROUND TO ROUND
What worked last round may not work this round. Using the same tactic over and over can work out fine, but only if the enemy team really isn't that good. A skilled team is going to lose to a certain strategy once, adapt, and combat it next time.
The good thing about this is that you can use that your advantage. Each team composition in Siege is going to excel at certain things and be a bit lackluster in others. If, for example, last round you brought a Blitz and a Montagne, the enemy probably wasn't prepared for it. But, you can be pretty sure they're going to bring a Lesion next round. So, bring an IQ/Twitch/Thatcher to counter the Lesion. Siege is as much a game about out-thinking your opponents as it is a game about out-shooting them.
4 VERTICAL PLAY
If you happen to be new to Ranked, then you probably haven't seen a whole lot of good vertical play in Casual. Vertical play is exactly what it sounds like; playing from above or below your opponents. Since so many floors/ceilings in Siege can be broken open, shot through, and seen through, playing above an objective site is almost as viable (if not sometimes more viable) than playing from inside of it. Vertical play isn't limited to just objectives, either; open areas above/below common building entry points, necessary hallways, etc., to cut off rotations to the other team or stop them from entering the building entirely.
3 PLAY THE WHOLE MAP
A lot of players in Siege tend to get tunnel vision on the objective area, and don't pay much (if any) attention to the rest of the map. Yes, there's something to be said for sticking within range of teammates so you can watch each others' backs, but if everybody groups up at the objective, the enemy is going to be able to surround you with ease and pick you off without much effort at all. Play the whole map, be mindful of the floors above and below you, and don't be afraid to stray from the objective area as a Defender; just make sure you hustle back if your teammates need you.
2 GET THE MOST OUT OF YOUR UTILITY
Utility (everything available to your operator that isn't a gun) is severely undervalued in Siege, mostly by players at or below the low Gold ranks. The utility you bring to the fight is going to make a huge difference as to how that fight turns out. At a certain level in Siege, gun-skill begins to even out across most players. The difference in fights between players who have near-equal gun-skill comes down to who is playing smarter, and who is using their utility to get the upper hand. Breach open walls to get sightlines the enemy isn't going to immediately expect, use claymores to watch your back, throw stun grenades into rooms you think are occupied, smoke grenade the area you're going to plant in, etc. Utility is almost as useful as your gun; sometimes, more so.
1 CONCISE COMMUNICATION
In Siege, a game where hearing a footstep can be the difference between winning and losing a match, being quick and concise with communication is of the utmost importance. Learn the room names (or, at least, develop a lingo with the people you play with so you're all on the same page), pay attention to the compass, and keep sentences short. Any words that don't have a direct value to the teammate you're communicating with are wasted and could end up masking sounds for the enemy, giving them the edge. Trust me, your roamers are going to thank you.