So far, mixed opinions have come out from fans and players about Rainbow Six Siege X's first tournament, RE:L0:AD. The community seems to be clearly divided between those who prioritize entertainment and uncertainty, and those who believe competition should be about rewarding the better side — and not relying on hitting a bullet jackpot.
Regardless of where you stand, the impact of bullets can't be ignored. Teams who have underperformed in the first three days of action still have full power over their futures in the group stage as it only takes two back-to-back eight bullet wins to reach the next stage.
As bullets are the backbone of RE:L0:AD's group stage, understanding the bullet system is extremely important. However, as we approach the group stage's fourth day, there are a lot of fans who are still lost.
Here's a look at RE:L0:AD's bullet system as we try to tackle the fans' main doubts about it:
How does RE:L0:AD's bullet system work?
Let's keep it simple. At the start of RE:L0:AD, all teams owned six bullets. Between rounds one and two, teams could only reload a maximum of two bullets per round.
The only wildcard that could affect the amount of bullets claimed by a team was the Flawless Victory Card. This card gives teams an extra two bullets if they secure a 7-0 win; however, this card is always active and it doesn't affect the number of bullets reloaded.
With teams always reloading less bullets than the ones they own, fans quickly assumed teams were using their own bullets; but that has never been the case, you will understand it better below.
Starting from round three and until round five, teams can reload a maximum of eight bullets per round — except for when they activate the single-use wildcard Extended Mag Card, which allows the team to add six bullets, making the total tally a maximum of fourteen bullets reloaded.
In this part of the tournament, the Flawless Victory Card isn't the only card that's always active as the Elimination Card is introduced: teams who eliminate another roster are awarded with an extra bullet.
Considering everything that has just been mentioned, understanding the bullet system in rounds one and two is simple, as teams could only reload one or two bullets per game. However, things got slightly more difficult starting with Round 3, as teams were allowed to use their Extended Mag Card and reload more than two bullets per match.
Now that we're approaching Round 4, we're seeing teams reloading more bullets than the ones they actually have. This is creating some confusion, as teams are going negative even without using the Extended Mag Card. Why is that?
While it may look complicated when giving it a quick glance, this is easy to explain once understanding that the number of bullets that can be reloaded isn't determined by the number a team has but the number their opponents have. For instance, let's look at Elevate and SCARZ.
- Elevate's current bullet tally: 13
- SCARZ's current bullet tally: 3
- Elevate's number of bullets reloaded: 3
- SCARZ's number of bullets reloaded: 14
Elevate have reloaded three bullets because SCARZ have only got three bullets. Meanwhile, SCARZ, who hadn't used their Extended Mag Card before, decided to reload eight bullets and add an extra six with their Extended Mag Card — making it a total of 14 bullets.
Let's have a look at another match, today's clash between BNK FEARX and Team Falcons.
- BNK FEARX's current bullet tally: 12
- Team Falcons' current bullet tally: 1
- BNK FEARX's number of bullets reloaded: 1
- Team Falcons' number of bullets reloaded: 14
With Team Falcons currently owning one bullet, the South Koreans couldn't have added any more for today's match — unless they had triggered their Extended Mag Card. Meanwhile, Team Falcons have reloaded the maximum of bullets possible, eight, and added an extra six thanks to their Extended Mag Card — making it a total of 14 bullets.
Last but not least, let's have a look at the match between FaZe Clan and Fnatic.
- FaZe Clan's current bullet tally: 3
- Fnatic's current bullet tally: 6
- FaZe Clan's number of bullets reloaded: 12
- Fnatic's number of bullets reloaded: 9
In this game, both teams have decided to trigger their Extensive Mag Cards. With Fnatic currently owning six bullets, the Brazilians were in a position to reload six bullets and add an extra six from the Extensive Mag Card.
Meanwhile, with FaZe Clan only having three bullets, Fnatic could only reload that tally. The Europeans extended it to nine after using the Extensive Mag Card. This also means that the team that loses this match will automatically be eliminated: as both teams have reloaded more bullets than the ones they have, this means the defeated side will end the match with a negative amount of bullets, which means elimination.
A similar situation is taking place in CAG Osaka and Team Liquid's match. With CAG Osaka (4 bullets) and Team Liquid (10 bullets) reloading 14 and 10 bullets, respectively, the team that loses the game will inevitably be knocked out.
Following today's results, the four teams with the least bullets will be eliminated, while the four (or five) teams with the most bullets will qualify for RE:L0:AD's Playoffs — depending on if the number of teams progressing to Round 5 is even or odd.
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