At first glance, you may think Rainbow Six Siege is an intricate tactical shooter. But at its core, we all know Siege is about one thing and one thing only: fashion. The game has a rich library of intricately detailed (and some not-so-detailed) weapon skins, uniforms, and charm keychains that hang from your gun, but it can sometimes be tough to track down the best stuff in Siege's menus. For your convenience, I’ve curated a list of my favorite cosmetics that are worth your hard-earned Renown and R6 Credits.
Rainbow Six Siege weapon skins
For my money, the best weapon skins are ones that don’t feel tacked-on to the weapon. It’s better when the simulated material or design feels like a carving or paint finish than a simple flat texture mapped onto the gun.
Royal - MP5 (pictured), F2, 417, P90, SG-CQB
Royal is by far one of my favorite skins in the game. I’ve garnered plenty of other options in my Siege career, but I also come back to Royal on any weapon that can use it. The rich blues and the intricate gold accents make it stand out among most skins.
Orb Weaver - MP5K
Exclusive only to Mute’s MP5K, Orb Weaver has some of the best color coordination you’ll find in Siege with its cool blue that fades into white and contrasts with black and red. The way the tree grows out of the base of the grip into the body of the gun demonstrates the advantage of skins designed for only one weapon in mind.
Salvamento Maritimo - C7E
Another skin that achieves a satisfying color balance. You won't find much orange and purple elsewhere in Siege. The colors aren’t too loud that it’s distracting in-game, but it’s still one of the more vibrant options in the game.
Majesty - Universal seasonal skin (T-5 SMG pictured)
The universal skins introduced each season tend to be simple designs that can work well across every weapon in the game. But Operation Grim Sky’s Majesty took a different direction, with reflective bright colors and detailed accents placed immaculately on almost any weapon you slap it on. For fans of color, it’s an easy purchase. If you’re into realism, not so much. Pick it up before Grim Sky ends in December and it disappears forever.
Black Ice - Universal (R4-C pictured)
Black Ice is seen by many players as a perfect skin. It makes for a beautiful and detailed look with the added icy effect, but the only way to pick it up is with rare Alpha Pack drops. Siege could use more skins that simulate a unique texture like this one.
Ishi - 552 Commando
Another single-weapon skin, Ishi looks like a work of art. There’s not that much to it and it doesn’t alter the grip or other edges of the weapon, but it’s a highly affordable skin that looks better than most.
Chameleon - Sidearms (D-50 pictured)
Yes, Chameleon is a dumb skin. But it’s also objectively funny to camouflage your pistol like a Nerf toy. You’ll stick out like a sore thumb using it, but if you can get kills with it anyways, it’s that much better.
Damascus Steel - Universal (MP5K pictured)
Damascus Steel is the universal skin that comes free when you purchase the Year 3 pass. It’s a super simple skin that converts the normal gun steel into polished damascus steel fitting for a blacksmithed sword. The metal has glimmering layers and is accented well by wood.
Ceifador - M12, PARA-308
Ceifador is exclusively found on the primary weapons for both BOPE operators, Capitão and Caviera. What really stands out here is the simulated bone texturing towards the front of the gun and metal etching in the back. It’s some of the best detail work in the game and the fact that it’s noticeably 3D is impressive.
Dwyer Hill - CAMRS, C8-SFW
Dwyer Hill is hands-down the best use of wood finish in the game, and it’s a shame it’s only found on two guns I don’t like. Red accent has simulated paint fade on the surfaces that see the most wear and the embossed Canadian flag is a great touch.
Requin - F2
Requin is impressive top to bottom. You can tell how much fun the designer had making this one specifically for the F2 because of the way they use the grooves at the base of the gun to simulated shark teeth.
Uniforms and headgear
The uniforms and headgear of Siege are often hit and miss. Some uniforms are simple recolorings that aren’t worth it, but others can make your operator look like an entirely new character. You should also keep in mind that some outfits will make you more visible in darker map areas.
Chalkboard - Echo (headgear)
This is one of my favorite headgears of late because it makes Echo even more technologically advanced than he already was. What kind of advanced tactical vision does Echo gain with his advanced VR visor? Who knows, but it looks cool.
Lawful Good Bundle - Ying
The Lawful Good bundle doesn’t do Lesion many favors, but it sure overhauls Ying’s look to be more badass. Her unique base armor is given a black and green coat of paint that is complimented well by a new full head mask.
Lord Tachanka Bundle - Tachanka
Yes, Ubisoft played into the meme and gave Tachanka a fancy uniform set that outdazzles every other operator. No single part of this bundle, save the trinket charm, looks quite right without the whole set, so I suggest picking up the whole thing if you want to take your Tachanka trolling to the next level.
Old Commitment - Smoke
This is one that can be taken with just its headgear or with the full bundle, but either way you’ll be looking dapper. Smoke’s World War 1-era helmet and uniform is high quality and impressive, but it does feel a little weird celebrating chemical warfare.
Stunning Bundle - Twitch
The Stunning Bundle isn’t one of the more dramatic transformations for an operator, but the headgear at least is worth picking up here. It’s cool to see Twitch ditch the full head mask for a half mask that shows off her hairdo.
Blizzard Bundle - SAS Operators
This is the rare time when pretty much everything in a bundle is kind of perfect. The snow dusting on each operator’s uniform is nice, but it’s the headgears that are really worth the purchase. They look like they’re about to storm the tundra of Hoth, and I have to reward that.
Elite skins
Elite skins are only ever really worth it if you really love the skin and the operator. Each one costs a heavy $15 on its own and can’t be earned with renown or alpha packs. That said, elite skins are complete transformations that even cosmetically modify the operator’s gadget, which is my favorite part. Most of the ones released so far are pretty good, but these are my favorites.
Sledge - L Detachment
The outfit is cool and all, but I’m here for the hammer, or, should I say wrecking ball. Sledge’s namesake literally becomes a big wrecking ball on a stick and it makes every swing oh-so gratifying.
Doc - Trench Medic
Trench Medic is one of my favorites because Doc looks almost unrecognizable from his usual attire. The blue jacket is snazzy and his backpack has other goodies like a machete, medical supplies, and crutches physically reacting as he moves. But above all else, the reason to pick up this skin is Doc’s terrible, amazing thin moustache that you just can’t look away from.
Kapkan - Vympel
The Vympel was one of Siege’s first elite skins offered, and still one of its best. Kapkan takes on a slimmer getup here that better fits his increased speed since release. The best part, though? The custom victory animation that plays if you’re the MVP. Kapkan demonstrates a flurry of knife tricks that makes me wonder why the best he can muster is a simple swipe in-game.
Thermite - Vintage Bureau
Vintage Bureau is the only one on this list I don’t own, and the reason is simple enough: I don’t play enough Thermite. But if I did, I’d be all over this. The uniform is super snazzy, but the highlights are his cool satchel, detailed helmet, and downright baffling victory animation in which he magically sets his hands on fire and stares into the camera. You OK, bud?
Charms
There are a lot of charms in Siege. Many more than I will ever care to unlock. Many of them are gained through weekly challenges or other limited-time events, so there’s no point in showing them here. These are the best charms you can pick up any time in the in-game store when you’ve got some renown burning a hole in your pocket.
Streetwise
It’s a cute plush mouse with an eyepatch. It’s definitely on the list.
Glucksschwein
I won’t pretend to know how to pronounce this one, but I love the textured canvas of the piggy and his little hat.
Ban Hammer
Get it? Cheesiness aside, it’s pretty cool to have a sledgehammer hanging from your gun at all times.
Maestro Chibi
Many operators have special chibi charms for purchase, but not a single one comes even close to Maestro’s. Look at him and sly grinning finger guns! He’s is the dad of all Siege operators and I won’t hear otherwise.
Suspicious Package
I wonder what it is!
Skating Skeleton
Skating Skeleton is a skating skeleton. It’s also made of paper mache and the skateboard is magically floating mid-kickflip. I consider these bonuses.
Bacon Strip
This one really is just a long strip of fatty bacon, but I really respect how detailed it is. I mean, that looks like a real piece of bacon right there, and it’s an accomplishment worth celebrating.
Unlockable Uplay Cosmetics
Apart from weapon skins that are traditionally unlockable with renown or R6 credits, there are a few special skins and charms that can only be unlocked by owning other Ubisoft games. There are skins for other Clancy games like Ghost Recon: Future Soldier, The Division, Ghost Recon: Wildlands, and Splinter Cell. The charms are all from other Ubi joints like Assassin’s Creed Origins and Odyssey, Far Cry 5, and For Honor. If you have any of these games, you can unlock these bonuses for free within the Uplay app with these simple steps:
- While Siege is running, press Shift+F2 to bring up the Uplay interface
- Select the Club Rewards section
- Redeem all of the skins and charms you're eligible for by using all of those weird gold Uplay coins you've been garnering over the years
- Your cosmetics should show up in the game after this, but you may have to restart Rainbow Six Siege
Bonus round: The strangest skin combo I could find
We’ve been talking exclusively about really great cosmetics found in Siege thus far, but there's plenty of chaff as well. For you, the reader, I spent almost 30,000 renown looking for the worst look I can muster. And with Blackbeard, I think I’ve found it.
This is Blackbeard’s Peacock Spider headgear alongside the Terminal uniform, and I just hate it. The helmet is an awkward shade of blue, and the uniform is just ugly whitish tan squares repeated all over his body. This is a grizzled face only a mother could love. Maybe.
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