Rainbow Six Siege Counter Bandit Trick Guide

Rainbow Six Siege Counter Bandit Trick Guide by nmmnmmn

In this guide I will explain what the bandit trick is, how and when to use it, and also how to counter a team utilizing it.

What is the bandit trick?

The bandit trick for those who are unaware is a technique where a bandit would place his batteries on a reinforced wall at the same time a thermite or hibana attempts to breach the wall, resulting in the destruction of one exothermic charge or set of kairos pellets. A successful bandit trick can singlehandedly win the round for defenders, as the attackers are left with only one or possibly no way to breach an objective. Here is a good example of a bandit trick winning a round in pro league. Not being able to open the snowmobile garage completely threw off Lethal’s strat in this round, plus hibana getting picked off by herself. This meant that there were only three possible entrances into the bombsite that eRa had to watch, and we see Lethal Gaming walking into the crosshairs of all the eRa players holding simple angles. All of this because Lethal could not open the garage.

How is it done?

For newer players the hardest part about the bandit trick is guessing which wall is going to be breached. In lower ranks I’ve seen players randomly put down their batteries in hopes of catching a thermite charge. While this can work, I wouldn’t recommend it as you only about a 25%, 33% or 50% chance of destroying the breach depending on how large the wall is. I have four other methods that I find more reliable than this.

• Using sound This in my opinion is the best method, as it requires the least amount of utility; and for good bandit players, is just as reliable as the other three methods. The bandit player stands facing the wall he intends to deny holding his battery, and listens for where the thermite is going to place the charge. Once you hear the charge go down, you place it on the wall where you heard the thermite. This takes a little practice, but is very easy once you get it down.
• Valkyrie/Echo cam teamwork The next three methods should only apply if you do not have confidence in the bandit player hearing the breach. For this method you place a Valkyrie cam or if possible an echo drone on the other side of the wall you intend to deny, and callout for the bandit which wall is going to be breached.
• Pulse For this method, the pulse will scan the other side of the wall you intend to deny, and callout for the bandit which wall is going to be breached. If there are multiple enemies on the other side of the wall, the pulse should look for the one that is closest to the wall and standing still to pick out the thermite.
• Mira The final method and newest is to place a black mirror on the wall you intend to deny, and just let the bandit see where it is going to be breached. This can be risky, as an enemy twitch can open the mirror, giving the attackers a free sightline into the objective. I also don’t recommend this if there are better spots for the mirrors to be.

When and where should I bandit trick?

The most common spots to bandit trick are often on garage sites where that entrance is critical to entering a bombsite or objective, the two most notable being snowmobile garage on Chalet and garage on consulate. A good thing to keep in mind is if the wall you are bandit tricking leads outside. This usually means there is potential for a bandit trick. Bandit tricking should almost always be attempted at the beginning of the round, as the first thing attackers are usually going to do is attack that critical entrance. If you successfully deny one thermite, attackers might decide to leave the wall alone, which can allow your bandit to place his batteries down, and be used as his intended purpose, a 3 speed ACOG roamer^Kappa. Keep in mind, if the animation for the exothermic charge has already started, and you have not begun the animation for placing a battery, run away from that wall, you will not be able to destroy the charge in time. I’ve seen way too many bandits go down or die to a thermite charge, and it is always hilarious and sad when it happens.

How do I counter the bandit trick?

So if you made it this far, you are probably hoping for a counter to all of this. And lucky for you, there is almost always a way to counter a bandit trick, but it usually requires team coordination, and map knowledge. To begin, we’ll start with the most common bandit trick sites, garages. You will need to bring for this a thatcher or twitch to take out jager devices (I go with thatcher, more reliable IMO), and a grenade operator. For both chalet and consulate garages, you will find that there is a drone hole next to the reinforced walls. After the jager devices are taken out by your thatcher or twitch, throw a grenade through the drone hole, as your thermite plants his charge on the wall closest to the drone hole. The grenade should down or kill the bandit, or he will retreat, allowing you to breach the wall cleanly. This method is great, as it potentially allows for a free kill, but teams should be wary of a faulty grenade toss, as this can result in the death of one or more teammates, including your thermite. Here is a video to help avoid that situation

Another way to counter a bandit trick in some cases is using the verticality of Siege to your advantage. On many potential bandit trick spots, the floor either above or below them is destructible. This can be used to our advantage. For spots above the bandit, take an operator with breaching capability and destroy the floor above the bandit. This will force the bandit to reposition, and if he chooses to stay, will usually result in you getting a free kill. For spots below the bandit, take a grenade operator, or an ash or a buck, and destroy the floor below them. Grenading from below will often result in a kill, but it requires a good sense of timing. Here’s a quick video to help learn the timing(might be dated, practice in terrorist hunt), and another of pro player Canadian messing it up. Using the ash or buck from below will force the bandit to reposition once again. This method requires a decent amount of map knowledge, so if you see a bandit juggling a wall, be mindful of what is above him or below him. I’d also check out r6maps to help with that.

Things to keep in mind

• The bandit trick is very powerful if successful, but if you overcommit to denying a wall, it can possibly result in your bandit dying. The main reason you should be trying for a bandit trick is not to deny breaching, but to waste utility and time for the attackers. Destroying one exothermic charge and wasting a grenade from the attacking team means you have done a good job, and you should not get greedy.
• A hibana, 90% of the time cannot be bandit tricked. There is no reliable way to hear where the pellets are going to land, and even so, once they start to detonate they can’t be stopped. Even with this, a hibana hole on a wall is much less potent than a thermite on a wall, and hibanas will usually focus on hatches.
• For both thermite and bandit players, you should go into your settings and change gadget deployment to advanced. This way you will not be locked into the gadget animation, and can potentially save an exothermic charge, or your bandit. This also allows for fake thermite plants, where he will pretend to breach one wall and go to another. For this it is imperative that the bandit listens for the full sound to go through, so he knows when the charge is actually planted or not.
• Getting above or below an objective to deny a bandit trick requires control of above or below, so make sure you drone thoroughly for roamers, and if you are bandit tricking, ask for your team to help to hold above or below, so you can safely pull it off.
• Common bandit trick spots off the top of my head: Chalet – Snowmobile Garage, Consulate – Garage, House – Garage, Clubhouse-Church, Kanal – Boat Garage, Kanal – Control Room, Border – Armory, Skyscraper – Geisha