Rainbow Six Siege has a lot of operators to choose from. Ubisoft is planning to make Rainbow Six Siege last 10 more years and in that next 10 years they want to have 100 operators in total with 50 attackers and 50 defenders. With so many to choose from, players may wonder which ones are the best for attacking and defending.
DEFENDERS
5 Mira
Mira is a defending operator who stays inside of the objective to hold it down. Her primary weapons are the Vector .45 ACP (Submachine gun) and ITA12L (Shotgun) and her secondary weapons are the USP40 (Pistol) and the ITA12S (Mini shotgun). Her special ability is called “Black Mirror” which is a one-way mirror that she can place on a wall to spy on enemies. She is very good at holding down the site so the attackers can’t plant the defuser. She also has a C4 (explosive remote control device) which is really useful if a shield is trying to rush the objective.
4 Bandit
Bandit is a GSG9 operator who is one of the fastest defenders. He has an MP7 (Submachine gun) and an M870 (shotgun) as his primary weapons and his secondary weapon is the P12 (pistol). His gadget is a battery that will electrify a reinforced wall, stopping attackers from breaching it. The only way to counter his ability is to shoot the battery, use explosives to kill the battery or use Thatcher’s EMP grenade. For a defender, he has the second best damage on his MP7 and he has very low recoil.
3 Vigil
From the 707th SMB is the mysterious defending operator, Vigil. His gadget makes him become invisible to drones and cameras for a short period of time. This can be very useful when attackers are trying to hunt you down because when using their drown they know that you’ll be in the area but they don’t know exactly where you are. His primary weapons are the K1A (Submachine gun) and the slug shotgun BOSG.12.2 and his secondary weapons are the C75 Auto (Machine pistol) and the SMG-12 (Machine pistol). Because of his fast speed, he can roam outside the objective to try and slow down the attackers or stop their push and eliminate them all. The only way to counter his ability is to listen to his footsteps and see on the drone if his ability is active then push him. With his very low recoil and decent amount of damage on his K1A and his fast speed, Vigil is one of the best roamers.
2 Ela
Ela is a defending operator from a Polish counter-terrorist unit (GROM). She has sticky proximity concussion grenades, which activate when attackers walk by them, impairing the attackers for 4 seconds. Ela has two primary weapons: the Scorpion EVO 3 A1 (Submachine gun) and the FO-12 (Shotgun). Her secondary is a scoped pistol, the RG15. The only way to counter her is to shoot her proximity mines or use Thatcher’s EMP grenades. She can slow down pushes with her gadget and has the speed to be a great roamer. When she was first released she was really overpowered. Over time Ubisoft balanced her, but she’s still one of the best.
1 Lesion
The best overall defender is Lesion. His transparent Gu mines are the best at defending the objective. They will do 10 damage to attackers on impact and will keep on doing 3 more damage due to poison imbued on the spike until attackers take the Gu out. This can really mess up the attacking push because if they want to plant the defuser and if the attackers have little time, his Gu mine can stall them. His primary weapons are the T-5 SMG (Submachine gun) and the SIX12 SD (Shotgun). His secondary weapon is the Q-292 (Pistol). His T-5 SMG (Submachine gun) has barely any recoil and the damage on his gun is really good for a defender.
ATTACKERS
5 Blitz
Blitz is the fastest shield operator in the game. His special ability is a shield that can flash anyone at close distance. Depending on how close the person is, it can range from 1.5 seconds to 4 seconds. He has a P12 (Pistol) as his secondary because his shield is his primary. Blitz is very good for rushing the objective and operators who are roaming outside of it.
4 Thermite
Coming from the FBI is Thermite, an attacking operator and one of the “hard breachers” in the game, which are very useful when trying to take control of the objective. His unique ability is to plant a very powerful breaching charge on a reinforced wall or hatch which will blow up in 3 seconds. His primary weapons are the 556xi (Assault Rifle) and the M1014 (shotgun) and he has two pistols the M45 MEUSOC and the 5.7 USG. The only way to counter his unique gadget is to shoot it or put a battery on the wall. When Thermite successful blows up a wall it can give the attackers a huge advantage because they have an easier way to plant the defuser.
3 Lion
Lion is an operator from the GIGN who has an overpowered ability that allows him to see any moving defenders within a three-second period of time. He can use his gadget two times and the cooldown is 20 seconds. Lion has a V308 (Assault rifle) as his primary weapon and two secondaries: the P9 (pistol) and the revolver. The only way to counter his ability is either to not move, or to stay in the radius of a mute jammer where drones will stop working. His ability is so overpowered that Lion has been banned from pro league for a month. Watch out for when Ubisoft reworks Lion to make him more balanced.
2 Ash
Ash comes with Thermite from the FBI and since day one of Rainbow Six Siege she has been one of the best operators with her really fast speed and her high damage, low-recoil guns. Her gadget is a grenade launcher that shoots a breaching round which will explode on impact in one second. There is only one way to counter her gadget which is to reinforce a wall or a hatch. Her primary weapons are the R4C (Assault rifle) and the G36 (Assault rifle) and her secondary weapons are the M45 MEUSOC (Pistol) and the 5.7 USG (Pistol). Ash is really good for rushing the objective with her fast speed and her flashbangs which will blind anyone for four to one seconds depending on proximity.
1 Hibana
Hibana is the top attacking operator. She is from the Japanese counter-terrorist unit (S.A.T.) and has a gadget similar to Thermite’s, but her main purpose is to get the reinforced hatches while Thermite gets the walls. She can still blow up walls but not as efficiently as Thermite. Her primary weapons are the TYPE-89 (Assault rifle) and the SuperNova (Shotgun) and she has two secondary weapons: the Bearing 9 (Machine Pistol) and the P229 (Pistol). She is the fastest metal breacher and her TYPE-89 does above average damage. She is also able to attack from higher ground which can give her a huge advantage.
Rainbow Six Siege is constantly being updated with new balance changes for the operators, so keep an eye out for changes. And remember that while these operators are popular with professional gamers, it’s always essential to pick a character that suits your personal play style.
8forty.ca 
Pingback: Reflection – Cheeky Ela Main