Oftentimes, being a defender is easier. You can lay down your traps or other special gadgets, and just hide in highly defensible areas, waiting for the attackers to make a mistake for you to capitalize on. But being a successful defender also requires the understanding of each defensive operators’ role, their gadgets, and what makes them powerful overall. Here are some of the most powerful defender operators in the game, and for that, you’ll see them in most matches.

10. Pulse

The way he detects the real time position of enemies is pretty OP

His presence alone automatically gives the attacking team something extra to worry about. They don’t only need to worry about the defenders in the objective area, they also need to mind the threat from below. Pulse’s ability to know the exact and real time position of his enemies is quite fearsome. Because of this, he’s one of the most effective operators for pulling off a c4-under-the-floor strat. Not only that, he can also advise his teammates on the enemy positions, and in Siege, intel plays a significant role.

Excels in:

• Intel gathering
• C4 under the floor strat
• Roaming

Best loadouts for Pulse:

https://www.gamersdecide.com/articles/rainbow-6-siege-best-pulse-loadouts

9. Castle

He now has four armor panels

His inclusion to this list may come off as a surprise to many, but in reality, Castle is a very underrated operator and his pick rate should be higher, especially now that he has four armor panels. With his armor panels, previously hard to defend areas (because they’re close to open space) like the bedroom in Clubhouse or billiards in Coastline can become much safer, especially from sniper fire. Not only that, Castle can create choke points with his armor panels, limiting the mobility of attackers. Having some form of control on your opponents’ mobility is quite OP. Plus, the attachments available to his gun, like the extended barrel in his UMP45 allows him to deal heavy damage at any range.

Excels in:

• Loadout choices
• Creating choke points
• Preventing sniper fire
• Preventing a rush and slowing down the enemies’ push

Best loadouts for Castle:

https://www.gamersdecide.com/articles/rainbow-6-siege-castle-loadouts

8. Caveira

She’s a double threat

Caveira is one of those operators who has two special abilities. One is her silent step which makes it almost impossible to hear her footsteps. So, a lot of times, attackers wouldn’t be aware of her presence until she begins her attack. This technique makes her very effective at roaming, as well as escaping. It’s very hard to stop a hit and run tactic from Cav. The other is her interrogation ability in which she reveals the real time positions of all the remaining attackers. In most cases, once she’s able to interrogate someone from the opposing team, it already means a win for the defenders. 

Excels in:

• Roaming
• Stealth
• Intel gathering

Best loadouts for Caveira:

https://www.gamersdecide.com/articles/rainbow-6-siege-best-caveira-loadouts

7. Lesion

One of the best rhythm disruptors in the game

Momentum and rhythm are very important in Siege. And Lesion’s Gu mines are some of the best gadgets when it comes to disrupting the attack rhythm of the opposing team. Because of this, Lesion can prevent a successful rush. His Gu mines also make a very distinct sound which can be heard by his teammates, so his Gu mines don't just slow down enemies and damage them, they can act as an alarm as well. What makes Lesion even more OP is that as the match progresses, he becomes more powerful because he’ll be able to deploy more of his Gu mines, granted that the limit is 8.

Excels in:

• Intel gathering
• Disrupting the attackers’ rhythm
• Anti-rush

Best loadouts for Lesion:

https://www.gamersdecide.com/articles/r6-best-lesion-loadouts

6. Jager

Currently has the highest pick rate among defender operators

Jager is almost an essential defender to have, especially when playing ranked. His ADS intercepts and destroys attacker projectiles, essentially wasting them, like any kind of grenades, and even special gadgets like Hibana’s X-Kairos, Capitao’s crossbow bolts, or Zofia’s KS79 Lifeline. Wamai is a really good alternative, and in theory, yes, he can put more anti-grenades throughout the objective area. But Wamai doesn’t intercept Hibana’s X-Kairos, and more importantly. Wamai doesn’t have Jager’s 416-C Carbine which is one of the most powerful assault rifles in the game, and the M870 which is one of the most popular shotguns in Siege as well.

Excels in:

• Intercepting attacker projectiles
• Firepower
• Versatility

Best loadouts for Jager:

https://www.gamersdecide.com/articles/rainbow-6-siege-best-jager-loadouts

5. Valkyrie

High Calibre nerf? She’s still pretty OP

With Operation Calibre, her cameras will now lose connection 10 seconds after being placed outside. It is a significant nerf, but even with that, she’ll still be one of the best spawn killers around, because she really only needs fewer than 10 seconds to figure out where the attackers have spawned, and which direction to shoot at. Besides, her cameras aren’t only a threat outside. Valkyrie’s cams are often more useful for her and her team inside the building, where most of Siege’s action happens anyways. Her cams have a very wide field of view and are accessible by her teammates. Plus, depending on the player, she can place them on very hard to spot angles. And in Siege, whichever team has more intel, usually wins.

Excels in:

• Intel gathering
• Teamplays
• Runouts
• Spawn kills

Best loadouts for Valkyrie:

https://www.gamersdecide.com/articles/rainbow-6-siege-best-valkyrie-load...

4. Thunderbird

A real guardian angel

Attackers will always have a hard time penetrating an objective area when Thunderbird is in the defending team. Her three Kona Stations placed in strategic spots near the defenders' strong angles will heal them when they need it, and can even revive downed operators. On top of providing great support to her teammates, her 3-speed rating and her loadouts packed with firepower, makes her an offensive threat as well. She can instantly create rotation holes with her impact grenades and flank on enemies when needed.

Excels in:

• Support through healing and reviving
• Flanking
• Speed
• Firepower

Best loadouts for Thunderbird:

https://www.gamersdecide.com/articles/rainbow-6-siege-best-thunderbird-l...

3. Kapkan

They are not trained for this indeed

The funny thing about Kapkan is that throughout the years, even veteran players still fall prey to his EDDs. The damage inflicted by each EDDs is enough to disrupt the attack rhythm of the enemy team and make them move slower, more careful. But most of the time, that’s just an advantage for the defenders, because now, the attackers not only have to worry about the defenders’ gunfire, now they have to watch out for traps in each doorway as well. And every time an attacker tries to shoot an EDD, they leave themselves vulnerable to defenders’ gunfire.

Excels in:

• Disrupting enemy rhythm
• Preventing enemies from pushing
• Enemy presence alarm

Best loadouts for Kapkan:

https://www.gamersdecide.com/articles/rainbow-6-siege-best-kapkan-loadout

2. Doc

Like a walking armor

Granted that both his submachine guns have low damage, Doc is still pretty OP because his special gadget, the Stim Pistol, perfectly complements his 3-armor rating. It’s very hard to kill him, which makes him a perfect operator for spawn killing. Because even if he gets into a down-but-not-out (dbno) state, he can just revive himself and even heal himself back to full health. Not to mention that he can also provide plenty of support to his teammates by healing or reviving them. Besides, even if his submachine guns have low damage, only one bullet needs to hit the head and he can make a kill. Not to mention that he has the SG-SQB shotgun which can make him really OP in close range.

Excels in:

• Spawn killing
• Support
• Defense

Best loadouts for Doc:

https://www.gamersdecide.com/articles/rainbow-6-siege-best-doc-loadouts

1. Melusi

Even the name of her special gadget strikes fear

Her special gadget, the Banshee Sonic Defense, is the most effective gadget in the game when it comes to slowing down attackers. They can destroy it by shooting at it while it’s active, but Melusi can put them on awkward angles, so as to make attackers vulnerable to defender fire when they’re trying to shoot the Banshee. And it’s not just the Banshee that makes Melusi one of the most powerful defenders around. Her guns, as well as her 3-speed and her access to impact grenades allows her to quickly engage an enemy being encumbered by the Banshee, or quickly make a rotation hole to go around attackers that are being slowed down.

Excels in:

• Slowing down enemies
• Alarming the team to enemy presence
• Loadout mixes
• Anchoring

Best loadouts for Melusi:

https://www.gamersdecide.com/articles/rainbow-6-siege-best-melusi-loadouts

Attention operator, please be advised. There is a new directive from Six. Read up on these related articles, and prepare for deployment:

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