Best FOV settings for Rainbow Six Siege X

Rainbow Six Siege X is now out, bringing a new major release to the series ten years after R6 Siege became the standard. While the game brings new 6v6 dual front mode, new maps, slight refinements to gameplay mechanics, and better graphics, the core remains the same.

Moreover, Ubisoft has shifted to a new Siege X engine, which modernizes the platform and helps it utilize the latest hardware to its full potential.

In this guide, we will discuss ideal FOV settings for the shooter. While most of the DNA remains identical, the new engine, game modes, and performance options are changing things, mostly for the better.

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What are the best FOV settings for Rainbow Six Siege X?

FOV settings in Rainbow Six Siege X are important to spot players (Image via Ubisoft)

Across the board, 90 FOV dominated competitive Rainbow Six Siege over the years. It is the easiest answer for many, and it does give the most advantage in Rainbow Six Siege X's competitive environment, where spotting enemies is quite important.

With the new release, gameplay isn't changing much, keeping insights from the previous game in place. As per our analysis, almost 70-80% of competitive gamers prefer this setting to get a crucial peripheral vision advantage during combat.

The default setting of 60 FOV is a rare choice among professionals, with only four pro and semi-pro players reporting the resolution in a widespread R6 Siege report by Esports Tales. In the same report, 90 is the most popular, representing 130 of the 300 players studied. Other common settings are 75, 80, and 82, representing a rather niche preference — a choice determined by hardware limitations or playstyles.

That said, the players can choose to be a bit creative to match their playing style well. A key problem with 90 is the reduced screen space that some esports players have solved with a few tweaks.

Shaikko (Falcom Esports) uses 84 FOV with a 4:3 aspect ratio to maintain compression. On the other hand, UUNO (G2 Esports) runs 90 FOV with 16:10, using hardware to battle the problem.

The technical reality is that hardware demands go up significantly, which reduces FPS by 10-25% in R6 Siege, depending on your GPU. However, with a powerful GPU, you can still maintain a decent framerate, which makes the trade-off worth it for a competitive advantage.

Coming to pros who use a lower FOV, soulz1 (Faze Clan) has reported 75 with 16:10, which is an interesting combination. ShepparD (VCirtus.pro) runs 82 FOV, and Beaulo has reported sticking to the 83-90 range.

The majority of competitive gamers, studied in the BLAST Major Montreal competition, reported 84-90 FOV as their standard choice, which mostly reflects the competitive standard.

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The performance reality in Rainbow Six Siege X

Performance hits in Six Siege X are real with high FOVs (Image via Ubisoft)

With the new release, Ubisoft has introduced the Siege X engine, which brings better rendering efficiency, among others. While performance has improved, the increased rendering workload with a higher FOV still remains significant.

Performance tests suggest high-end cards like the RTX 4080 and above report a 5-10% FPS reduction moving from a 60 to 90 FOV. Mid-ranger systems with RTX 3060-4070 are hurt worse, reporting a 15-25% reduction in performance.

A key reason for such a dramatic performance gap in Rainbow Six Siege X is the 15-20% more VRAM requirement that comes with 90 FOV. Thus, gamers who don't have the hardware need to stick to a 70-75 FOV to maintain a decent framerate.

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What Rainbow Six Siege X FOV is a good middle ground between FPS and graphical fidelity?

A balance between performance and FOV is necessary for most gamers (Image via Ubisoft)

While 90 is the gold standard for competitive gamers who want a technical advantage, those with a modest system need to tune down the settings. Apart from this, lower FOVs might help players with certain playstyles.

84-87, for instance, represents a good balance between precision and awareness. At 90, the scene is too wide for a few, which could lead to unnecessary distractions. For most roamers, this tradeoff is worthwhile.

75-82 FOV, on the other hand, is quite good at target acquisition in Rainbow Six Siege X as it makes enemies appear large enough to quickly get targets. This is good for anchor defenders and site holders.

Players with smaller monitors, specifically sub-16-inch laptops and those with displays around 15-19 inches, benefit from 72-80 FOV. If you have 24-27-inch displays, cranking up to 85-90 FOV is worthwhile.

For the bottom line, Rainbow Six Siege X rewards information. This is why a higher FOV is the standard among competitive players. That said, the new Siege X engine has reduced performance penalties; hence, we recommend everyone start with 90 FOV. If your hardware can handle it, that's the best option. Else, you might have to crank it down.