Dota 2 headshot 16 handles

Why Tom Clancy’s Rainbow Six Siege is the best competitive shooter in 2019

Written on 7th February 2019 . Posted in Games

Amidst a world dominated by shooters, Siege shines uniquely in a crowded market. I got into Siege about two years ago and having persevered through its admittedly steep learning curve, and I have been amazed by Ubisoft’s continuing support for the game and how I still find new tips and tricks to improve my ability.

Siege is a shooter unlike any other, though it combines some similar elements from existing games. The unique operators are akin to characters in Overwatch or Dota 2, while the twitch shooting and accuracy required is like CS:GO. Siege stands out because of its dynamic map design and how its operators interact with them. Destructible surfaces are not new in shooters, but Siege handles them well by using them sparingly, allowing defending players to reinforce a few walls to make them mostly indestructible, hindering the attacking team’s progress to the objectives.

However, if the attackers are smart enough to bring along hard breachers (characters with abilities to get through reinforced walls), they can bypass defender reinforcements. But, if the defenders are smart, they can use characters to nullify hard breachers, and so on. This is what creates the best thing about Siege; its operators, their abilities and the synergy between them.

For instance, the attacker Thermite can breach reinforced walls with his thermite charge; however, the defenders Mute, Bandit and Kaid can block his charges using their gadgets, effectively locking down the objective. But, with the SAS attacker Thatcher, his EMP grenades will disable any defender gadgets blocking the wall, allowing Thermite to blow a hole into the site, so teamwork is paramount.

There is a huge variety of operators from special forces teams all over the world from the British SAS and French GIGN to the Chinese SDU, and each character has their own unique loadout and abilities suitable for any playstyle whether that’s a “fragger”, someone whose main goal is to secure kills, a site-breacher or a general support character.

My favourite is the Spanish attacker Jackal. His role is simple: be the ultimate pain in any roamer’s (players who seek to sneak up on and flank the attacking team) backside. His awesome gadget, the Eyenox visor, allows him to identify and track footprints left by defenders in the last 90 seconds. Once tracked, the target’s position is pinged once every 5 seconds for 20 seconds, so any sneaky players planning to flank the attackers have their plans foiled. Experienced players can even estimate how recently the footprints were left. The catch is Jackal can only do this three times per round, after which point his vision is distorted when using his visor, and he cannot aim or shoot while scanning.

This leads to a key aspect of Siege: For the most part, the operators are fantastically well balanced. Operators with the strongest guns such as Ash are often kept in check with relatively simplistic gadgets, such as her breaching launcher, while those with the best gadgets, such as Echo’s player-stunning Yokai drones, receive weaker weapons. When operators are released in an over or underpowered state, Ubisoft is reasonably quick to respond to complaints, resulting in nerfs to the previously overpowered Ela and Lion and buffs to underpowered characters like Mute and Finka. Dota 2 headshot 16 handles Indeed, Lion, with his motion-scanning drone, is under ongoing scrutiny and Ubisoft are looking at a further nerf to his ability. As such, you can pick pretty much any character and their loadout and not be at a disadvantage. While in some games there are weapons or characters that are significantly worse than others, in Siege the playing field is much more even.

Furthermore, the four free seasonal updates allow the game to constantly evolve. Each season, 2 new operators and a map/map rework are added to the game, often completely changing the meta. Dota 2 headshot 16 handles For instance, one of the more recent operators Maverick has a blowtorch that can melt small “murderholes” into reinforced walls and attack defenders from an angle they were not expecting. As such, defenders now must now constantly pay more attention to reinforced walls, a drastic change from before his implementation. This is what keeps Siege fresh nearly 4 years after release.

I also revel in the fact that simply getting kills and having the best aim is not what makes someone “good” at the game. Sure, being able to accurately headshot your opponents will naturally make you win more games, but the true skill is in map knowledge, spatial awareness and clever communication with your team. For instance, a FPS-shooter legend may be able to single-handedly shoot their way to victory, but a closely coordinated team may tactically attack the site from multiple angles at once, using their gadgets together to confuse and disrupt the opposing team’s efforts, leading to a more satisfying and cooperative victory.

So, while Ubisoft have released some lacklustre titles recently, such as Watch Dogs 2 and Far Cry 5, Siege continues to be the multiplayer shooter I enjoy the most. The amount of free content added to the game since launch, the constant balancing of operators and evolving dynamic of the game keeps Siege worth playing even after thousands of hours of gameplay. Indeed, Siege’s continued popularity according to the Steam player charts is testament to its ability to draw gamers in. Perhaps other shooters that go for the classic “annual reskin of last year’s game” tactic should reconsider their business models, given the success of games that receive long-term support, such as Siege and especially Fortnite. The Steam Lunar New Year sale has just started and you can pick up Siege for as little as £8.36 until February 11th.

How To Watch the Dota 2 International 2019 (TI9)

Why this year’s Invitational is such a big deal, and where you can catch the action

For the first time since its debut at GamesCom in 2011, the Dota 2 International will be leaving North America. Dota 2 headshot 16 handles The highest paying esports tournament of the year will be hosted from August 15-25, 2019 at the Mercedes-Benz Arena in Shanghai, China. Dota 2 headshot 16 handles

Dota 2 has a huge playerbase in China, so there’s going to be a lot of pressure for a Chinese roster to get a win on home turf. Source: GIPHY

Other than the new location, here’s why the 2019 Dota 2 International is such a big deal:

SO. MUCH. MONEY.

Through the sheer force of will of its fans and players, Dota 2 remains a powerhouse in the yearly esports calendar. For the last nine years the Dota 2 International has broken records for the single largest prize pool of any esports event. EVER.

Last year’s International reached a record high $25 million dollars, and this year’s crowdfunded prize pool has already exceeded it, at $27 million and growing.

The success of Fortnite means Dota will have to fight harder to stay on top, since Epic Games recently raised the bar with a combined $30M prize pool for the Fortnite World Cup. Though the Fortnite solo champion will take home $3M in July, the winning Dota 2 International team will easily clear over $10M.

No other MOBA comes close to the hype of the Dota International. Source: GIPHY

The Stakes

There’s a lot riding on this year’s International. The Dota community has long speculated about what could happen to the game’s staying power should the prize pool dip below years past (which it has now exceeded). Many fans still haven’t shaken off memories from the disastrous Dota Major held in Shanghai at the same venue in 2016, either.

All things considered, 2019’s International is going to be a turning point for the professional Dota 2 scene, and you’re not going to want to miss it.

Before diving in on the best ways to check out The International, you might need a quick refresher on how to make sense of a Dota match. Check out our primer to wrap your head around the basics.

How to Watch the Tournament:

Method 1: In person!

The best way to see any esports event is always in person. If you weren’t lucky enough to grab tickets when they went on sale in May, keep an eye on places like /r/dota2 or your favourite Dota community’s Discord server. People will often sell tickets for face value if they can’t make it for one reason or another.

Dota is a pretty awesome excuse to check out Shanghai. Source: GIPHY

Be wary of ticket resale sites, however, as there’s often no guarantee of what you’re getting and the prices can be grossly inflated.

Don’t get scammed by ticket resellers. You’ll let Robert De Niro down. Source: GIPHY

Method 2: Host A Watch Party

The International has always been a terrific venue for meeting up with your 5-stack and spending an entire week geeking out on Dota, but heading all the way to Shanghai might be out of some people’s price range. So why not host your own watch party?

Pick someone’s house, or rent an Airbnb with enough space for everyone. Just make sure they’ve got all the amenities you need like a big TV and decent internet. You’ll be set!

The best thing about this is you don’t even have to go someplace fancy or expensive. Pick a state. ANY state. One of the middle ones is probably fine.

Get your friends to pack their bags and get ready for 10 days of non-stop Dota! Maybe S4 will stop by. Source: GIPHY

The worst thing about traveling to a tournamnent is going back to your hotel room and not being able to play Dota after getting so hyped up watching it all day. Get everyone to bring a gaming rig and you’ll be grinding MMR and Auto Chess when the day’s events wrap up.

Just again, make sure the place you’re staying at can handle that many PCs in the living room. Maybe pack some extension cords and power strips, just in case.

Even cats love LAN parties. Source: GIPHY

Method 3: A Show Within A Show

Keep an eye on what other studios and talent might be getting up to during TI9. The folks at Moonduck have plans to put together a live rebroadcast event for the North American audience, which could be really cool if it works out.

Any of your favourite Dota streamers that weren’t invited to Shanghai will probably be casting, re-capping, or live-commenting on the International as well, so you’ll be able to find something under Twitch’s Dota 2 directory between August 15th-25th.

Time Zones Suck

Hardcore fans will definitely want to screw up their sleep schedules to keep up with the matches as they’re happening. You’ll be able to catch the broadcast on the International’s official Twitch channel with games starting around 4am EST (1am PST) and finishing around 1pm EST (10am PST). Times will vary depending on that day’s schedule.

Make sure you stock up on snacks. Source: GIPHY

For the rest of us, we’ll definitely be able to check out the VODs, highlights, and rebroadcasts on Twitch and YouTube when we wake up.

Tip: Not watching live? If you’re paranoid about spoilers, be wary of social media. Dota 2 headshot 16 handles Turn off notifications for specific Discord channels, block Reddit on your browser, and mute Dota and TI9 related hashtags where you can.

Otherwise you should be set to enjoy one of the biggest esports events of the year. Just find a way to watch that works for you, then sit back and enjoy the memes, the drama, and every awkward SirActionSlacks segment.

Header image source: Valve

About John Tabbernor

John Tabbernor studies Communications at Capilano University in Vancouver, Canada. Dota 2 headshot 16 handles His research focuses on systems of interaction in games and how those influence player behaviour and experiences. Aside from playing and streaming a variety of games, he runs “The Shelved Games Podcast”, and frequently writes about the gaming industry.