You’re dead again. Your screen is gray, your tactical device is shattered, and your teammates are shouting over Discord because you peaked a hallway you had no business looking at. Ready or Not isn't Call of Duty. It isn't even Rainbow Six Siege. It’s a punishing, often frustrating simulation of high-stakes tactical policing where a single frame of hesitation or a pixel of exposed shoulder means a restart. If you’re looking for Ready or Not tips, you probably realized that "rushing B" is a great way to get your entire squad wiped by a guy hiding in a closet with a Mac-10.
Winning here requires a complete rewiring of your brain. Most players treat the game like a shooter, but it’s actually a puzzle game where the pieces are made of lead and flashbangs. You aren't there to rack up a high K/D ratio; you’re there to arrest people, secure evidence, and somehow not bleed out in a gas station bathroom.
The "Mirror Under the Door" Obsession Needs to Stop
Listen, the Optiwand is the best tool in the game, but everyone uses it wrong. I see people spend three minutes "wanding" a door while their back is turned to an open unsecured hallway. That is how you die. Real Ready or Not tips start with security, not observation. Before anyone looks under that door, someone—usually the point man—needs to be pulling security on the "long" angles.
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Don't just look for suspects with the wand. Look for traps. In maps like Brisa Cove or I'll Walk With You, a tripwire will end your run before it starts. If you see a wire, don't just open the door and hope for the best. You need to peek the door (press G and use the scroll wheel or your specific bind) and then manually cut the wire. It sounds simple. It feels simple. Yet, squads forget it every single night and end up as a heap of tactical gear in a doorway.
Why You Can’t Hit Anything
It’s probably your canted sights or your lack of recoil control. Or maybe you're just panicking. In this game, the "low ready" stance isn't just for show. If you walk around with your gun at high ready constantly, your stamina drains, and your aim goes to trash. Shift into low ready when you're moving through "cleared" areas to keep your arms fresh.
Also, let's talk about the "muzzle thump." If you get too close to a wall or a teammate, your character will lower their weapon. There is nothing more terrifying than turning a corner, seeing a suspect, and realizing your gun is pointed at the floor because you walked too close to a doorframe. Space is your friend.
Armor is a Lie (Sorta)
Everyone wants to wear heavy ceramic plates because they think it makes them a tank. It doesn't. In the current 1.0+ meta, heavy armor makes you slow. Like, "glacier moving uphill" slow. While ceramic is great because it absorbs the hit completely, it breaks. Once it’s gone, you’re basically wearing a heavy t-shirt.
Steel plates? They last forever, but the spall—the little fragments of bullet that fly off when the round hits the metal—will injure your limbs and blur your vision. Most high-level players are actually switching back to light armor with ceramic or even Kevlar for specific low-threat missions. You need to be fast enough to get behind cover. No amount of steel will save you if you're stuck in a fatal funnel for five seconds because you can't move your legs.
The Art of the Non-Lethal Run
You want an S-rank? You have to put the assault rifle away. It’s scary. Going into a crack house with a Beanbag Shotgun feels like bringing a pool noodle to a knife fight. But the VKS and the Beanbag Shotgun are actually "meta" for a reason. They cause high morale drops.
When you hit a suspect with a beanbag, they don't just feel pain; their "morale" stat—an actual hidden mechanic in the game—plummets. If you shout at them right after they get hit, they are 80% more likely to drop the gun. Just... don't hit them in the head. In Ready or Not, a beanbag to the skull is still lethal, and there goes your S-rank.
Communication is More Than "Clear"
If your comms are just "clear" and "moving," you're failing. You need to be specific. "Clear left, stairs untaken" is a world of difference from "I'm in." Use the gold-standard "Fatal Funnel" logic. The doorway is a death trap. Never, ever stand in the frame. Move through it like the door is on fire.
- Point Man: Takes the opposite of the door swing.
- Second Man: Clears the immediate threat.
- Third Man: Looks for the "deep" threats or "long" angles.
- Rear Guard: Literally just stares at the hallway you just walked through.
I’ve seen more teams wiped by a suspect walking up behind them than by the guys in the room they were actually breaching. It’s embarrassing. Don't be that team.
The "S" in SWAT Stands for Slow
This is the hardest part for people coming from other shooters. You have to move at a snail's pace. If you're running, you're losing. Walking allows you to hear footsteps, hear the rustle of a suspect's clothing, and most importantly, it keeps your weapon steady.
One of the most vital Ready or Not tips is the "Pieing the Corner" technique. Don't just swing around a corner. Incrementally move around it, clearing it inch by inch. If you see a gun barrel, you stop. You don't have to see the whole guy to shoot him or throw a flashbang.
Equipment You’re Ignoring But Shouldn't
The CS Gas is underrated. Everyone loves the Flashbang because it’s "cool," but the Flashbang is momentary. If a suspect is behind a couch, the flash might not hit them. CS Gas, however, lingers. It fills the room. It forces them into a surrender animation that lasts way longer than a flash stun.
Then there’s the Wedge. The Door Wedge is the most powerful item in the game. If you're clearing a large map like the Hospital, you cannot cover every door. Wedge the doors behind you. Control the flow of the map. If the suspects are locked in a wing of the building because you wedged the exits, you've turned a chaotic 20-room nightmare into a controlled 3-room problem.
Dealing with the "John Wick" AI
Let’s be honest: the AI in this game can be cracked. Sometimes they 360-no-scope you through a wooden fence. It happens. The way to counter this isn't better aim; it's overwhelming force. Never enter a room 1v1. Use your grenades. Use your Stingers. If you enter a room and the suspect isn't already dazed by a tactical device, you’ve already messed up.
Also, suppressors. They aren't just for "stealth." They hide your muzzle flash. In dark maps, your own muzzle flash can actually blind you or your teammates using Night Vision Goggles (NVGs). Putting a suppressor on your MK18 or your SR-16 keeps your vision clear and makes it slightly harder for suspects to pinpoint exactly where the fire is coming from.
Mapping Your Success
You have to learn the layouts. Not just "where the rooms are," but where the "soft walls" are. In Ready or Not, bullets penetrate. If you know a suspect is in the laundry room because you saw him with the Optiwand, you don't necessarily have to open the door. You can fire through the drywall.
It feels "cheap" until you realize the AI is doing the same thing to you. If they hear you sprinting on the other side of a wall, they will spray that wall. This is why sound discipline matters. Stop running. Stop shouting until you're ready to breach.
Actionable Next Steps for Your Next Raid:
To actually improve your survival rate, start by stripping your loadout down. Go into the training grounds and practice "pieing" the corners without using your NVGs. Rely on your flashlight—it actually disorients suspects more than you'd think.
Next, change your team's rules of engagement. Try a "Wedge First" strategy where you seal off 50% of the map before you even clear the first room. It changes the entire energy of the game from being hunted to being the hunter. Finally, stop using the full-auto setting. Two well-placed shots to the chest are always more effective than twenty shots into the ceiling because you couldn't handle the kick.
The goal isn't just to finish the mission. It's to bring everyone home. Slow down, look under the door, and for the love of everything, stop standing in the fatal funnel.