Rainbow 6 Extraction missions – called Incursions in-game – are multi-stage missions with three objectives in them. You’ll enter one of several Hot Zones for each location and will begin with the first objective in the first Sub-Zone. Unlike a lot of other linear, cooperative shooters, Rainbow Six Extraction features a risk/reward element to its objective-based Incursion missions that allow you to exit the mission whenever you want. However, the further you go and the more objectives you complete, the greater the rewards. That’s a lot to take in so let us break down how Rainbow 6 Extraction missions work in more detail.
What are Rainbow 6 Extraction Incursions?
The main mission type in Rainbow 6 Extraction is Incursions. In short, these are multi-stage missions with three random, optional objectives that see you studying and fighting the spread of the Parasite and the Archaean enemies. You have four different regions to choose from – New York City, San Francisco, Alaska, and Truth and Consequences – which sort of act as individual campaigns. Each of these regions features three Hot Zones which are the levels within the locations. Pick a region and then a Hot Zone to begin an Incursion mission.
As you load in, you’ll be shown the three objectives you can complete and any rewards you’ll get for completing them. Each Hot Zone level is split into three Sub-Zones, with each one containing one of the objectives. Every Sub-Zone has an Extraction Point that allows you to call in a helicopter at any time to pick the team up and end the mission. Each of the Sub-Zones is separated by an Airlock that sometimes contains a random assortment of supply kits to resupply your ammo, temporary health, REACT Tech, or your Operator Abilities. Pay attention to what you’ll be up against so that you can coordinate with your squad to create an effective team of varied Operators and loadouts on the next screen – you can use our Rainbow Six Extraction best operators recommendations to help you out.
After readying up, you’ll be dropped into the first Rainbow 6 Extraction Sub-Zone to complete your first objective. Once you’ve done that, you can either follow the helicopter waypoint to the Extraction Point or keep going to the next Sub-Zone by heading to the Airlock waypoint. The first objective is typically quite easy and the Archaean threat is minor, particularly on lower difficulties, so we recommend going ahead unless you really don’t need to. Head to the Airlock to heal up, resupply, and prepare for the next Sub-Zone.
It’s worth mentioning that failing or simply not fully completing an objective does not end your Incursion. Obviously, you won’t get any of the promised rewards from doing so, but it’s entirely possible to intentionally skip an objective and move straight to the Airlock or Extraction Point to move on. Be aware that the Airlocks are one-way, so you cannot backtrack to a previous Sub-Zone if you skip an objective. However, you’ve got 15 minutes for each of the objectives, which is plenty of time to at least attempt them.
Now, let’s say you breeze through the second Sub-Zone and make it to the final objective. If you complete it, you can head straight for the Extraction Point and get out of the Hot Zone to end the mission and get your rewards. Given that things escalate during Incursions, it’s possible that a member of your team got taken out by the Archaeans along the way. This will render them MIA and that player will be completely out of the mission and unable to play that Operator in future Incursions until they are rescued. The Rainbow Six Extraction MIA operators mechanic is a little complicated but an essential aspect of the game. Spending too long in a Sub-Zone can also trigger a Parasite swarm event which can result in more MIAs if you don’t extract or retreat to an airlock quickly enough.
Rainbow 6 Extraction Incursion objectives
Every Incursion gives you three objectives that you can complete at your discretion. These can range from taking down a particularly powerful enemy, to gathering information or defending an area. You can read about each Incursion Sub-Zone objective and other Rainbow 6 Extraction modes under the ‘Protocols’ tab of the Codex. Here’s every Incursion objective, as well as how to complete it:
- Specimen: Capture a particular Archaean target by luring them into a trap. To do this, you need to get the Specimen’s attention so that it will try to attack and follow you. Make sure you do not kill the Specimen and stay out of its reach to avoid getting hit. Now, lead the Specimen to the trap area. It’s a good idea to have one person ready to arm the trap. The Specimen will be encased in REACT Foam when the trap is triggered.
- Nest Tracking: Inject multiple Nests with an Autotracker. Stealth is required for this objective as the nests need to be dormant for them to be injected with a tracker. If an injected Nest is ever destroyed, you’ll lose the tracker too. For this objective, carefully explore the area until you find a cluster of Nests. Quickly and quietly inject the requires amount and then move on to avoid detection.
- Decontamination: Destroy all Aberrant Nests and the Malignant Neoplasm. To get this done, you need to find the area with all the green Aberrant Nests. There are a lot of them, and you need to destroy them all as quickly as possible. Be aware that destroying one Aberrant Nest awakens the rest, causing Archaeans to spawn over time and making your job harder, so speed is crucial. Once all Aberrant Nests have been destroyed, look for the green, glowing Malignant Neoplasm and destroy it.
- Shutdown: Retrieve REACT canisters from the Sub-Zone Extraction Pod and plant them at the marked Parasite root system. To do this objective, you need to carefully carry three cannisters to the marked target and plant them. The cannisters can explode if they are hit. While carrying a cannister, you can use only your secondary weapon, so it’s a good idea to have one or two players that don’t carry any cannisters so that they can defend their teammates.
- Hunt: You need to kill a certain number of a specific Archeaen enemy type to lure out an alpha Archaean variant. Find and kill the variant by any means to complete this objective. This variant is more powerful than usual, so be careful when fighting it.
- Triangulation: For this objective, you need to find three seismic stations within the Sub-Zone and activate them in order. Firstly, focus on finding the stations and pay attention to their labels. Once your squad has found them all, activate the first station and then quickly activate the second station and then the third. A timer starts after activating the first station, so it’s important to be quick. Having one player ready at each station is an efficient strategy.
- Serial Scan: To do this objective, you need to locate and interact with a REACT Catalyst Emitter to reveal three zones that need to be defended for a short time. Each zone consists of a yellow pad on the floor with blue, ghostly shapes floating above it. Sticking together is really important while capturing the zones as Archaeans are attracted by the Catalyst Emitter, so they will find and attack you no matter what. Because stealth is redundant, stick with your squad and use whatever best Rainbow Six Extraction guns you can to avoid MIAs.
- Biopsy: To complete this Sub-Zone objective, you need to take down an alpha-variant Archaean. The “take down” phrasing means it has to be done with your REACT Blade which means stealth is advised. You can stealthily approach the target to take it down with the knife, but if you alert the target, you need to incapacitate it. This can be done with various Operator Abilities, such as Vigil’s ERC-8 Disruptor, or with REACT Tech, such as Smoke Grenades.
- Rescue: A REACT field researcher needs to be rescued in a Sub-Zone. To do this, you need to locate the researcher and defend them from any attacking Archaeans. Once found, one player needs to carry the researcher to the Extraction Pod at the Sub-Zone’s Extraction Point. This player can use only their secondary weapon while assisting the researcher.
- No One Left Behind: If things go awry during your Incursion and a squadmate gets knocked out and ‘cheesed’, any surviving players must take the Operator’s foamy body to the Sub-Zone’s Extraction Pod. If this is not done and the survivors extract or head into an Airlock, the knocked-out player will become MIA the Operator must be rescued in another Incursion.
- MIA Rescue: MIA Rescues always appear when a player in the squad has an Operator that went MIA in a particular Hot Zone. For example, if you went MIA as Doc in the New York City Liberty Island Hot Zone, the next time you started An Incursion in the same Hot Zone, one of your objectives will be to rescue Doc. To complete this objective, you need to pull the Operator out of an Archaean Tree. This tree constantly tries to pull in the Operator, so your squad needs to destroy anchor points and cells along the tree’s tendrils to weaken it. The weaker the tree is, the easier it is to pull the Operator free. Once you’ve got the MIA Operator out of the tree, carry their cheesed body to the Extraction Pod. It’s important to note that you have a few chances to rescue an MIA Operator. Even if you fail at every chance to rescue them, they will eventually get automatically rescued, but it will cost all the XP that they would have gained from the mission.
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