There is a simple version of this and a complete version, and both are below in that order.

Short answer

Do the simple thing first. It is correct more often than the complicated thing people recommend instead.

  • Revisit after a major patch if the behaviour changes.
  • Check which version any conflicting advice was written for.
  • Write down what you changed, so you can undo exactly one thing if it goes sideways.

Siege rewards knowing the building more than knowing the gun, which is why map knowledge outranks aim here. Nothing here depends on a setting you are unlikely to have. The accepted community answer is broadly right and wrong in a specific way that matters here.

Why it works this way

Everything below is framed around the current state of Rainbow Six Siege rather than a launch-week impression. Edge cases are genuinely rare, which is why the simple answer is usually the correct one. The mechanic behind it is simpler than the discussion around it suggests. Where two approaches both work, the one with fewer moving parts is the one to keep.

Testing this yourself takes a few minutes and settles it definitively. Most of the disagreement online comes from people describing different versions of Rainbow Six Siege. The community wisdom on this is roughly half right, and the half that is wrong costs the most time.

When the usual advice fails

It is worth separating what the game does from what players have concluded it does. The awkward part is rarely the step itself, it is knowing which step comes first. If your result differs from what is described here, note what is different first rather than starting over.

  • Test it yourself where testing is cheap.
  • Do not build a routine around an edge case.
  • If a menu path does not exist for you, your build is older or newer than the one described.
  • Try the straightforward approach before the elaborate one.
  • Note the exception cases — they are specific rather than vague.
  • Check the version you are actually running before assuming anything is broken.

What to do instead

None of this needs a paid tool, a third-party launcher or an account on a site you have never heard of. There is usually a fast way and a reliable way, and it is worth knowing which one you are choosing. If a step reads as obvious, do it anyway — the obvious ones are the ones people skip and then wonder about. Treat anything stated without a version number as provisional.

Where something depends on your platform or region, that is called out rather than glossed over. It helps to understand why a step exists, because then you can adapt it when your situation is slightly different. There is no hidden trick here that the game is keeping from you.

Worth knowing alongside this

Do the cheap check before the expensive one — that ordering alone saves most of the frustration. Anything that behaves differently on console than on PC is flagged where it matters. Most of the disagreement you will find online is two people describing different builds.

If you are coming to this after a long break, the terminology has probably moved on. What follows assumes you are on a current install and have not modified it. Patch notes move numbers around constantly; the shape of the answer holds even when a specific value shifts.

The practical answer

Half the pages on this topic were written for a build that no longer exists, which is why they stop matching what you see. The developers have changed their mind about this at least once, which explains the older advice. The short version is near the top on purpose; the reasoning is there if you want to know why.

Where people go wrong

  • Copying a setup wholesale from a streamer without understanding what each part does.
  • Skipping the prerequisite because it looked optional in someone else's summary.
  • Rushing the last step, which is usually the one with the actual requirement in it.

Siege FAQ

Does this work the same on console and PC?

The logic is identical. Menu paths and button prompts differ, and any real difference is flagged above.

Is this still accurate after the latest Rainbow Six Siege update?

The method is; individual numbers may not be. If a value on your screen differs, trust the screen and keep the sequence.

Does this change between platforms?

The behaviour does not. Where menu paths or prompts differ, that is noted above.

What is the short answer?

It is the paragraph near the top. Everything after it exists for the cases where that paragraph does not quite fit.

If you only take one thing from this: the answer near the top is the part that matters, the rest is context.