The best FoV (Field of View) for Rainbow Six Siege
To determine the best Field of View in Rainbow Six Siege, I gathered the preferences of about 300 professional players. Find out pros and cons brought by a wide FoV.
There is not a “best” setting for the field of view, but it comes down to your personal preference, the size of your screen and how close you are to it.
You may think to the FoV as a camera zooming in and out. When you increase the FoV, the camera zooms out, improving your peripheral vision.
FoV pros and cons
According to the PC gaming myth, a high FoV value is always the best choice in FPS games because you are able to look at a wider area, which helps to spot any incoming enemy.
The truth is that a high FoV brings both pros and cons.
A high FoV makes targeting more difficult. The wider the FoV, the smaller the enemy on the screen, so you need to be more accurate to hit them.
A low FoV helps your focus. Everything on the screen is bigger, so it is easier to focus on where you are aiming.
Very-low FoV values can also bring motion sickness and issues in close quarters combat as it is harder to keep a fast-moving target on your screen. This isn’t a big issue in Rainbow Six Siege due to the tactical nature of the game as many players prefer a slow approach.
The following graph and table show the Field of View preferences of almost 300 professional and semi-professional Rainbow Six Siege players.
The table is responsive. If you are using a phone, turn it sideways for a full view. Otherwise, zoom in or press on the grey area to swipe it.
| FoV | Players | FoV | Players |
|---|---|---|---|
| 60 | 4 | 80 | 30 |
| 62 | 1 | 81 | 4 |
| 63 | 3 | 82 | 28 |
| 64 | 1 | 83 | 11 |
| 70 | 3 | 84 | 7 |
| 73 | 4 | 85 | 18 |
| 74 | 5 | 87 | 3 |
| 75 | 34 | 89 | 1 |
| 77 | 3 | 90 | 130 |
| 78 | 6 |
Only 4 players are utilizing the default 60 FoV, and very limited number has a FoV value below 75, which is the second most used one.
The overwhelming majority of the pro players uses a 90 FoV. 80, 82, and 85 are also popular choices.
I suggest using a high FoV value (90) if you have a great sight and reflexes. Generally, playing on a wide FoV also requires a better mouse control and speed in order to move faster across the screen, so you need a solid aim as well.
Instead, If you struggle at spotting and aiming enemies at a mid and long range, a lower field of view value will benefit your gameplay. I know many matchmaking players in R6: Siege who played with a 90 FoV for a long time, and their ability to track the opponents improved drastically once they moved down to a value of 75-85.
Finally, if performance is an issue, be aware that increasing the FoV will impact negatively your fps because your PC must work harder to render more on the screen.
Rainbow Six Siege uses a vertical Field of View
It is important to point out that in some games (like Overwatch and Apex Legends) the FoV is calculated horizontally, while in others (such as R6: Siege) it is calculated vertically. Do not forget this difference if you are trying to set the same Field of View in all your games.
As far as I know, 104 and 110 (horizontal FoV) are the values suggested by many pro players in other FPS games:
105 horizontal FoV is equal to 89 vertical FoV with a 4:3 aspect ratio and to 73 with a 16:9 one.
110 horizontal FoV is equal to 94 vertical FoV with a 4:3 aspect ratio and to 78 with a 16:9 one.
FoV on ultrawide monitors
The Rainbow Six Siege engine (AnvilNext 2.0) provides a perfect gaming experience with a 21:9 display. I believe this aspect ratio brings a huge advantage because it improves your view on the surroundings.
I play on a 34 inches ultrawide monitor at about 50-60 Centimeters / 1.6-1.9 Feet of distance, so I can share with you my personal experience.
The standard 60 FoV is really not sufficient: I feel constrained as if I am looking at the game from a small box - honestly, it is a horrible experience. After several several tests, I believe that 75 and 80 are the best options for an ultrawide user as we already enjoy a huge horizontal view with this monitor aspect ratio.
I have also detected a slight fisheye lens effect at 90 FoV. It is not always noticeable (try observing the floor and walls of a long hallway), but it still bugs me while playing.
The Fisheye effect is a strong visual distortion that in photography is produced with an ultra wide-angle lens. You can occur in it on PC when using a very-high FoV value. Some players tolerate or don’t mind it, others (like me) just can’t stand it :).
FoV at 16:9 and 21:9
Below, you can find images of the same scene at 60, 75, and 90 FoV, both in 16:9 and 21:9 aspect ratio.
The 16.9 monitor is a standard 24 inches one with a resolution of 1920x1080, while the ultrawide one is a 34 inches display that runs at 2560x1080.
I took the screens in Pillar Dining Room and Train Museum on the second floor of Kafe Dostoyevsky.
16:9
21:9
How to create a custom lobby
If you wish to explore and test the maps using a different Field of View setting, Ubisoft provides an easy way to create custom games:
Go to Home > Play > Multiplayer > Custom Game > Local.
Press Create and then Create New Playlist. Select the game mode: Normal or Tactical Realism - any works fine for our needs.
Give a name to the new playlist, select the map, and finally customize it according to your preferences.
I suggest increasing the Preparation and Action Phase duration (under Game Mode Settings) to 120 and 600 seconds respectively, so you will have more time at your disposal to explore the map between each round.
It is not necessary to change the other options.
Finally, you can also remove HUD elements. Go to Options > Gameplay > Interface Preferences, set Interface Presets to Custom, turn off anything you want to hide, and then press Apply to save your changes.
4:3 and 5:4 vs 16:9 aspect ratio
In the following video, Rogue-9 compares different Field of View values at 4:3 and 5:4 aspect ratios versus the standard 16:9 one.
He concludes that there isn’t an objective better setting for Rainbow Six Siege, but it depends on the personal preferences of the player: 60 FoV with a 5:4 aspect ratio does bring a noticeable zoom boost, but it comes at a cost because you lose a massive amount of peripheral view.
The FoV is locked on console
Rainbow Six Siege is available also on PlayStation 4 and Xbox One. The Field of view on console is locked to 60.
A multitude of players asked a FoV slider on console, but the Rainbow Six Team always answered negatively, explaining on Twitter that “there are limitations that prevent a FoV slider on consoles. Increasing the FoV requires increased rendering, and thus lower fps”.
Justin Kruger (@UbiJustin) - who worked as the Rainbow Six Siege community developer for three years - released the following statement on Reddit:
It’s something we’ve been investigating, but is an unlikely feature due to performance issues and limitations. There are higher priority issues that the team is focusing on, like connectivity, matchmaking, etc. Once we resolve those, we may take a look at it.
— Justin Kruger - Community Developer for Rainbow Six Siege
Their reasoning is understandable as they want to keep all players at 60 fps, but nowadays there are many games with a Field of View option on console, such as Doom, Rocket League, Apex Legends, Battlefield I and V.
In most of them, increasing the FoV doesn’t have a noticeable impact on the performance and the overall fluidity of the game, so I hope that someday Ubisoft will consider this addition. Console players deserve respect and the opportunity to play as they prefer.
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Header image: Ubisoft
