Last month I was in a Plat 1 ranked match on Clubhouse, holding the garage angle for the final 1v1. A Thermite breach went off on the hatch right above me, my screen jolted so hard I completely missed my peek, and I lost the round. I’d brushed off screen shake as an unavoidable part of Siege for years, but that loss made me dig into the settings to find a fix. Turns out, you don’t have to deal with that constant disruptive movement at all, and this guide walks through exactly how to turn off screen shake in Rainbow Six Siege, plus extra tweaks to make your gameplay far smoother.
Why Screen Shake Impacts Your Rainbow Six Siege Performance
Screen shake in Siege comes from dozens of different sources: breach charges, impact grenades, C4 blasts, even nearby gunfire from heavy weapons like the G8A1. For many players, this constant movement is more than just an annoyance. It can trigger mild to severe motion sickness, leading to headaches, nausea, or fatigue that cuts your play sessions short before you can climb the ranked ladder.
Even small screen shake can throw off your crosshair placement by 10-15 pixels when you’re holding a long angle, which is often the difference between a one-tap headshot and getting eliminated. I used to write off my missed long-range shots as bad aim, until I realized my crosshair was moving without me even touching my mouse every time a teammate threw a frag grenade nearby.
Ubisoft added official screen shake adjustment settings specifically for player comfort and accessibility, so you’re not exploiting any loopholes or breaking rules by changing them. They’re allowed in every official game mode, including ranked and professional Six Invitational tournaments, so you don’t have to worry about penalties.
Step-by-Step: How to Turn Off Screen Shake in Rainbow Six Siege
The process to disable most screen shake takes less than two minutes, and you don’t have to restart your game for the changes to take effect. Follow these simple steps to adjust the settings:
- Launch Rainbow Six Siege and open the settings menu by clicking the gear icon in the top right corner of the home screen, or pressing the options button on console.
- Navigate to the Accessibility tab on the far right of the settings menu bar, next to the Controls tab.
- Scroll down to the "Motion Sickness" section, then toggle the "Reduce Screen Shake" option to "On". This will eliminate 90% of ambient shake from distant explosions and utility use.
- For extra reduction, turn on "Disable View Bob" and "Disable Weapon Bob" in the same section to eliminate movement-related shake when you walk, run, or aim down sights.
- Save your settings and exit the menu, then hop into a quick training match or terrorist hunt game to test the changes and make sure they feel right for you.
It’s important to note that this setting won’t turn off 100% of screen shake, and that’s intentional. The small amount of shake that remains is tied to direct gameplay cues, like if an explosion goes off right next to your character or you take damage. This keeps you aware of incoming threats without the unnecessary distraction of distant effects.
This setting works for all game modes, including ranked, casual, and custom lobbies, so you don’t have to adjust it between matches or switch profiles for different play styles. If you miss a little bit of shake for immersion, you can toggle the setting to "Partial" instead of full to get a middle ground between comfort and cinematic feel.
Extra Settings to Minimize Unwanted Motion Effects
Turning off screen shake is the biggest change you can make to reduce motion discomfort and improve aim, but there are a few other complementary settings you can adjust to make your gameplay even smoother. These tweaks work alongside the screen shake toggle to eliminate almost all disruptive movement on your screen.
First, adjust your field of view (FOV) setting if you still feel mild motion sickness after turning off shake. If you play on a smaller 24-inch monitor, an FOV above 90 can cause fish-eye distortion that amplifies motion discomfort, so try lowering it by 5-10 points to see if that helps. If you play on a larger ultrawide monitor, you can safely raise FOV to 100-105 without distortion, which also reduces the perceived impact of any remaining screen shake.
Turn off the "Hit Marker Shake" option in the gameplay settings if you find the small shake when you land a shot distracting, especially during long spray fights. I used to have this on for years, but turning it off helped me track my recoil way better because I could see exactly where my crosshair was moving instead of it jolting every time I hit an opponent.
For console players, make sure to turn down or disable controller vibration alongside your screen shake settings. Vibration pairs with screen shake to amplify motion discomfort, and turning it off also makes it easier to keep your aim steady during long fights. You’ll still get audio cues for hits and explosions, so you won’t lose any situational awareness.
Common Misconceptions About Disabling Screen Shake
There’s a lot of bad advice floating around Siege community forums about screen shake settings, so let’s clear up the most common myths to help you make the best choice for your play style. First, a lot of players claim that disabling screen shake is cheating, but that’s completely false. Ubisoft built the setting into the game intentionally for accessibility, and it’s allowed in all official play, so you won’t get banned for using it.
Another common myth is that you’ll lose situational awareness if you turn off screen shake. A lot of players think shake tells them when an explosion is nearby, but you still get clear audio cues for all utility use, and the small amount of shake that remains for direct threats is more than enough to let you know you’re in danger. You won't miss any critical gameplay information by turning on the reduce screen shake setting.
Many players also assume the setting only helps people with severe motion sickness, but that’s not true either. Even if you never feel nauseous playing, reducing screen shake makes your aim far more consistent, especially when you’re holding angles on high-traffic sites like Bank basement or Consulate server room, where there are constant breaches and explosive utility going off. I’ve seen players gain 10-15 more kills per ranked session after making this change, just because they’re not fighting against screen movement when they shoot.
The only real downside to disabling full screen shake is that you lose a bit of the cinematic immersion the devs built into the game. If you play mostly casual for fun and don’t care about maxing your competitive performance, you can leave the setting on partial or keep it enabled entirely. There’s no right or wrong choice, just what works best for you.
At the end of the day, Rainbow Six Siege is supposed to be fun, and you don’t have to put up with annoying or uncomfortable screen effects that hurt your performance. Even if you’ve played for years without adjusting these settings, taking two minutes to turn off screen shake in Rainbow Six Siege can make a huge difference in how you feel and play every match. Test the settings out in a few quick casual games first to see what works best for you, and don’t be afraid to tweak other accessibility options to fit your playstyle. The best settings are the ones that let you play your best, no matter what other players say.
