Since Rainbow Six Siege’s initial release, Rook has remained a solid pick for players on the defensive team. His simplistic kit helps him to fit into almost any team composition, and he is often recommended to newer players as their first operator because he helps you to focus on other game mechanics. The man has a high win rate delta across multiple patches according to the data that Ubisoft gives us and currently boasts second highest win rate for defenders this season, so it’s important to consider this defender for your roster. Whether you’re an experienced player who might just need reminding or a newer player just starting out, this guide is designed to help you achieve his highest potential.

Loadout

Rook’s primary weapons enable some interesting choices for the player. For one, you can equip the SG-CQB if you have little respect for your win rate and just want to meme it up. This thing is good for little more than making holes in walls or camping on the objective. This leaves the more realistic choice between the P90 and MP5 SMGs. Players tend to gravitate towards the MP5, with higher damage numbers and lower recoil, it rewards tight control while aiming down sights. The lower recoil is particularly important while scoping out for enemies outside at the beginning of a round. However, the P90 does come with its niche benefits. The larger magazine size coupled with its faster rate of fire leans towards a more “Spray and Pray” style of play. You don’t need accuracy as much when you have fifty bullets to fire. For attachments, both SMGs should be running an ACOG sight, with a flash hider. The MP5 can support a vertical grip unlike the P90, which is another reason to take it instead of the P90. Try not to the laser sight attachment if you can help it, as that attachment only really complements sidearms and shotguns.

For sidearms, we have to choose between the LFP586 revolver and P9 handgun, and it’s a toss-up between wanting higher damage per shot or a larger mag with less recoil. Your choice here will have little impact, so it comes down to personal preference. I personally run the P9 because I hate fun and the lower recoil helps me finish off targets I couldn’t otherwise with my MP5. Both sidearms are effective and both should be rocking a laser sight as you’ll only really be using it when the enemy already knows your location. The P9 should also have a muzzle break in an effort to maintain its high accuracy.

His gadgets are where the most variety between players lie. The choice can differ depending on game mode, though the general consensus is to use impact grenades on the bomb game mode if no one else on your team is running them. This will allow you to quickly and effectively destroy walls between the objectives, giving your team easier access to either site when necessary. For secure area and hostage, the choice is entirely based around your playstyle. If you want to pick a more roaming style of play, then take impacts again for the ability to breach soft walls and move around the map more effectively. If you prefer a safer approach and want to anchor yourself onto site, then the deployable shield will prove much more viable.

But like all operators, the unique gadget is what helps set him apart. The armour pack can prove to be invaluable in a round, granting a 20% damage reduction (effectively increasing their total armour level by one) and guaranteeing that operator becomes injured instead of killed following a fatal body shot. It also increases bleed-out time, but this is not nearly as useful as it sounds.

Preparation Phase

The most important thing to remember when playing Rook is to place the armour pack down as soon as possible. It’s super easy to forget, takes roughly a second to do, and your Jägers and Valkyries who have much more to do during prep will thank you for it. Then it’s all about reinforcing walls up. The variety here comes from game mode/playstyle, otherwise, it’s rather simple. You want to breach between objectives if on bomb with your impact grenades, ensuring that no teammates get damaged in explosive crossfire. You generally want a deployable shield to be on site, so place it somewhere that can extend cover or in a doorframe to slow down advancing threats. Planting them in corners can make for an easy death to grenades so unless you’re with a Jäger, you want to be careful.

If you’d rather play aggressively and opt for impacts on a non-bomb game mode, then you start to prep the exact same way: Armour down, reinforced walls up. Then you want to advance to a location on the map where you can break a barricade that would grant a quick kill on an attacker at the beginning of the round. This requires some game knowledge on your part though. You need to predict where they will spawn and be quick on your execution.

Playstyle

As I hinted towards in the loadout section, there are two main ways to play Rook: as an early round aggressor or a full-time anchor. I’ll be covering how to play both, but if you want to be safe, playing an anchor is always the safer option. Overconfidence can be a quick frag for the enemy team after all.

First, we’ll talk about being the aggressor, seeing as how I’ve already glazed over it. Do preparations as already described and hold position at the most likely spawn location for the attacking team. You want to break the barricaded window after the preparation phase has ended to reduce the risk of getting killed immediately. Be sure to stay on the lookout for drones and shoot them out before getting into position. Spawn-peeking strategies, while effective at times, work best when you have the element of surprise. A good tip here is to go drone hunting before approaching the window if you have time and communicate with your team to ensure that all of them are destroyed.

The most important thing here is not to get greedy. Even if you only manage to damage an enemy, if you get out unscathed it was a worthwhile trade. You may think you have more health than them (and you do) but when upwards of five people are shooting in your direction and most of what they can see is your head, it’s better to be somewhat cautious. If you start taking fire then leave, you’re better to your team alive. Try not to do this multiple times a game either. The more you try, the more enemies will anticipate it. If you do attempt it again, opt for different windows each time. Note that if Ubisoft ever feels the need to remove the ACOG sight from Rook’s weapons, this strategy will become far less viable.

So you're thirty seconds into the round, away from the site, and attackers have entered the building, now what? You’re going to want to start looking for flanks. Sound is both your best friend and worst enemy here. Stay crouched to help muffle your footsteps and keep an ear out for attackers. We want to use the higher health pool Rook has to our advantage, taking frags where we can. If you find yourself low, retreat to site as carefully as you can and switch to an anchor playstyle.

When playing solely as an anchor, however, your first thoughts should be surveillance. Any information you can convey to your team is helpful. See a camera get destroyed? Call it out. Roamers can use that info to help pinpoint the enemy. Sure it’s not as good as pinging them but it’s a lot better than sitting behind a barricade until the round is over.

If you’re not finding any luck on cams, then look towards maintaining angles that lead into the site such as doorways and windows that attackers will come from. It’s important to adapt to the information provided by your team, even their death markers can help you decided which angle you need to prioritise. You want to switch frequently between being on cams and peeking. The more work you do here, the less likely your allies are caught checking cams themselves and die for it. It might not be as fun as rushing the enemy for kills, but it’s equally as important.

Synergies

The strongest synergy Rook has is with Doc, as people probably would’ve guessed. Not only is Doc another three armour operator that benefits greatly from even more damage reduction, but his ability to revive teammates at range when they are guaranteed to become injured from a fatal body shot is incredibly strong.

As an anchor, working with a Valkyrie or Maestro allows for more cameras and thus more intel to give out. Not only that but both of these operators are strong by themselves and Rook’s armour only supports them further. The same can be said for Jäger, a roamer that can protect Rook from opposing projectiles with his ADS. It’s a nice little relationship the two share.

If you happen to have a full premade, going with five operators with max armour rating can be a huge annoyance to your opponents, punishing those that aren’t deadly accurate. In these cases, I would suggest Echo, Mira, Maestro, and Doc for a fully defensive composition.

Like our content? Support us by getting our merchandise in our shop