15. Doc

While his fully automatic weapons, the MP5 and the P90, do not inflict high damage. That weakness is easily offset by Doc’s 3-armor rating and ability to heal. Doc is the ultimate non-shield tank in Siege, and it’s very hard to kill him, especially when partnered with a Rook that can further boost his armor rating. The best way to go against Rook as an Attacker is really go for the head, but we all know that most of our shots don’t always go to the head.

Doc is also the ultimate spawn killer, because he can boost his health bar with his stim pistol, making him tougher to take down. So, even when Attackers notice that Doc is about to spawn kill, it’ll still be hard for them to kill him unless they score a headshot. And in case that he gets injured, he can self-revive. Of course, he can also heal and revive his teammates. It’s very tough to go against a team that has a good Doc player.

What Makes Doc a Great Defender:

• Very tough to take down
• Can heal and revive teammates
• Great spawn killer
• Great at anchoring

Best Loadout for Doc:

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

14. Goyo

The ability to deny positioning to enemies, and for a long time, is one of the most OP abilities in Ranked Siege, especially since the only game mode is Bomb, wherein the goal of Attackers is to either wipe out the Defenders, or successfully defuse the bombs. And Goyo’s Volcan Canisters are one of the best special gadgets in the game for denying area to the Attackers. Upon explosion, the Volcan Canisters will cover a large area in fire which lasts for 20 seconds. 

That’s a really long time in Siege gameplay to deny a team an area to push or plant the defuser. They’re also the best gadgets for denying enemy entry through barricaded windows, because when they’re attached on barricaded windows, the Attackers will have no choice but to destroy it to be able to enter. And as mentioned above, destroying it will cover a large area with fire. Thus, preventing the Attacker entry for another 20 seconds.

What Makes Goyo a Great Defender:

• Great area denying ability
• Has the TCSG12 in his arsenal
• Can take down multiple enemies with nitro cell
• Proximity alarms can let Goyo know when to detonate his Volcan Canisters

Best Loadout for Goyo:

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

13. Thunderbird

As mentioned in Doc’s entry above, the ability to revive, heal, and boost the hp bar is one of the best abilities in Siege. And when it comes to that, Thunderbird is even better than Doc. Each of her Kona Stations can heal or revive Thunderbird or any of her teammates, and she has three. Most Thunderbird players put up a Kona Station on a strong Defender angle, allowing the Defender holding that angle to have his or her own healing or revive station.

But the danger of that kind of Kona Station deployment method is that Defenders can trigger the healing effect of the Kona Station without really needing to. And its cooldown is far from fast. So, the best deployment method really is to put all three of them in a safe spot that is safe from Attackers and at the same time, won’t be triggered by Defenders accidentally. That way, the Defender that needs healing can just go to that spot and receive it. 

What Makes Thunderbird a Great Defender:

• Special gadgets can heal or revive teammates and herself
• Great choices for secondary gadgets: Nitro cell or impact grenade
• Has the Spear .308 for primary and Bearing 9 for secondary

Best Loadout for Thunderbird:

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

12. Lesion

He’s been nerfed throughout the years, but still is one of the most OP Defenders in the game because his special gadget, the Gu Mines, has multiple uses. The Gu Mines can inflict damage overtime to enemies who step on them. They also prevent enemies from sprinting until the enemy finds a safe spot and removes it. A Gu Mine that is stepped on, also makes a distinct sound upon activation, making them great early warning devices.

His Gu Mines really make it hard for Attackers to penetrate the objective area, and his 2-armor 2-speed rating is a very solid rating for his gameplay. Lesion also has impact grenades which are great utility tools for creating rotation holes and countering Osa. His fully automatic T-5 SMG has very decent damage, good recoil, and fast rate of fire, allowing Lesion to make quick work of his enemies. And when his user prefers close range superiority, Lesion also has the very powerful SIX12 SD shotgun.

What Makes Lesion a Great Defender:

• His Gu Mines are great for stopping a rush
• Gu Mines can also act as early warning devices
• Has impact grenades for creating rotation holes

Best Loadout for Lesion:

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

11. Thorn

Siege is a very tactical game where positioning and strategy plays a huge part on whether a team will win or lose a match. Thorn’s special gadget, the Razorbloom Shells, can rob enemies of good positioning as well as disrupt their rhythm, and in the process, ruin their strategy. These small devices are excellent tools in preventing an effective push by the enemies, and in many cases, scoring an easy kill for Thorn.

The Razorbloom Shells have the same exploding power as nitro cells, and when enemies come near one of them, it will start a countdown and if the enemy fails to get out of its effective radius, it’ll inflict instant death. On top of that, Thorn also has the newest gun in Siege. The UZK50GI is a submachine gun that has high damage and high stopping power. It also has a very manageable recoil, allowing Thorn to hit her enemies with great accuracy.

What Makes Thorn a Great Defender:

• Great at disrupting enemy rhythm
• Special gadget can easily get kills as well
• Powerful submachine gun with high stopping power
• Secondary gadgets work well with her special gadget

Best Loadout for Thorn:

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

10. Tachanka

Our Lord has become even more powerful now with Operation Vector Glare adding the Bearing 9 as one of his secondaries. The bearing 9 is perhaps the best machine pistol in the game, with very decent damage, good magazine capacity, and very fast rate of fire. The best thing about the Bearing 9 is unlike the other machine pistols in the game, it has a very manageable recoil, making it viable even for medium range shooting.

Having the Bearing 9 in Tachanka’s arsenal is a huge buff, especially since his DP27 has a pretty slow reload. With the Bearing 9, Tachanka becomes even more OP, because he can continually spray bullets on his enemies while simultaneously denying them area with his Shumikha Launcher. And we’ve talked about the importance of area denial above. Lord Chanka is one of the best area denial operators in Siege because his Shumikha Launcher has 14 fire grenades and each one of them can cover a big area with fire for seven seconds.

What Makes Tachanka a Great Defender:

• Can deny area to the enemies for a long time
• Primary gun has great destructive power
• Now has the Bearing 9 which is the best machine pistol
• Secondary gadgets complement his special gadget

Best Loadout for Tachanka:

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

9. Maestro

Why do it yourself when robots can do it better? I know, wrong operator. But Maestro has replaced Echo when it comes to being the most efficient anti-push + plant operator. Maestro’s Evil Eyes can see enemies even behind a smoke cover, allowing him to advise his teammates on enemy positions, as well as shoot them and continually damage them with his Evil Eyes.

I can’t tell you how many times an Attacker has attempted to plant the defuser and tried to ignore the continuous laser damage from an Evil Eye and died. A single shot from them may only do small damage, but they can fire those lasers a lot. And when it’s time to ditch controlling the Evil Eyes and engage enemies himself, Maestro has the Alda 5.56 LMG and the ACS12 shotgun. Two of the most powerful guns in the game.

What Makes Maestro a Great Defender:

• Very effective in stopping smoke + plant attempts
• Can provide intel to the whole team
• Great primary guns
• Has impact grenades for creating rotation holes

Best Loadout for Maestro:

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

8. Valkyrie

Intel is a crucial factor in winning a match in Siege, and when it comes to intel, it’s hard to beat Valkyrie. She has three Black Eye cameras that she can attach to most surfaces in the map. She can attach them at awkward angles to make it very hard for Attackers to spot them, and they're quite small too. When they’re not being used, they could look like just another detail in the map. These Black Eye cameras can give Defenders a 360 view of the area where it’s deployed.

Providing that much intel to herself and her teammates makes Valkyrie quite OP. And the Black Eye cameras don’t only serve to provide intel. In some situations, Defenders can also add distraction to Attackers by continuously pinging them through a Black Eye that is very hard for them to spot. And armed with real time info from her special gadgets, Valkyrie can take out multiple enemies in one go with a c4-under-the-floor strat.

What Makes Valkyrie a Great Defender:

• Has great intel gathering ability
• Special gadget can also be accessed by her whole team
• Contributes to the team even if she’s taken out
• Great roamer and anchor

Best Loadout for Valkyrie:

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

7. Melusi

Momentum also plays a key role in Siege gameplay, and having your momentum halted by the encumbering slow effects of Melusi’s Banshees is not a great position to be in. Like Lesion’s Gu Mines, Melusi’s Banshees doesn’t just slow opponents down. They also emit a very distinct sound when they’re activated by an enemy’s presence. Making them great early warning devices as well.

On top of that, the Attackers have to make sure that they shoot the top part of the Banshee while it's activated in order to destroy it, because most of its parts are still bulletproof. Melusi can also place her Banshees in awkward angles to make it so that Attackers would still feel its slow effects even when they don’t have a clear visual on them. This makes Melusi quite OP, and the objective area will be very hard to push when her Banshees are present.

What Makes Melusi a Great Defender:

• Can greatly slow enemies down
• Special gadgets can also act as early warning devices
• Has impact grenades that can create rotation holes
• Can disrupt enemy rhythm

Best Loadout for Melusi:

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

6. Kapkan

He was actually already quite OP before the update that made him able to put multiple EDDs in one entryway, but now he truly is OP. Not only can he now put multiple EDDS in one entryway, he can also attach them across each other. That means even when an Attacker already disabled the EDDs on the right side, he would still have to check the left side to be sure. This makes Kapkan really OP because with his EDDs, just his existence can already make Attackers uncomfortable, and having to check every entryway slows them down. 

Many times, being careful of Kapkan’s EDDs actually lead to their downfall, because they can leave themselves vulnerable to other Defenders while checking if an entryway has EDDs or not. And of course, the original purpose of his EDDS is to inflict heavy damage on enemies who spring the trap. And with multiple EDDs in one entryway, Kapkan can get an easy kill in one go.

What Makes Kapkan a Great Defender:

• Can score a kill with one activation of his gadget
• Disrupts enemy rhythm
• Presence alone is enough to slow enemies down
• Gadgets can also act as early warning devices

Best Loadout for Kapkan:

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

5. Wamai

Wamai’s ability to essentially neutralize, and in many cases, even return enemy projectiles to them is a pretty OP ability. An ability that if you think about, is actually quite rare in Siege. There’s only another one that can really neutralize enemy projectiles in Siege, and that is Jager. Aruni can do it, but not to the extent that Jager and Wamai can do.

The problem is that Jager’s ADS and 416-C have been nerfed a lot, and that is why Wamai is now the best anti-grenade operator. Not only can Wamai render enemy projectiles useless. He can also score kills against them really well with his MP5K, mainly because it can equip a 1.5x scope which allows Wamai to see his enemies better and hit them with greater accuracy.

Wamai also possesses great utility tools such as the impact grenades which he can use to create rotation holes that are very important in Ranked. And when there are already others in his team that can create rotation holes. The Wamai player can choose the proximity alarms as his secondary gadget instead, which are great early warning devices against enemies.

What Makes Wamai a Great Defender:

• Neutralizes enemy projectiles
• Primary gun that has 1.5x scope
• Has impact grenades that can create rotation holes

Best Loadout for Wamai:

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

4. Kaid

Hard breaching plays a vital role in Attackers’ gameplay. If they want to win, hard breaching is like the first step. So, for Defenders, preventing a hard breach is like winning the first step of the battle. And Kaid is the best anti-hard breach operator right now that Thatcher is almost unusable in Ranked. Because with Thatcher gone, the Attackers are forced to pick Maverick, Kali, or Twitch as alternatives.

And because Kaid’s Rtillas can be deployed in awkward, hard to reach angles. Maverick, Kali, and Twitch’s special gadgets can find it hard to reach. And being so effective at preventing a hard breach like that makes Kaid pretty OP. Not to mention that he possesses weapons like the TCSG12 which is one of the most powerful single-slug shotguns in the game, that essentially makes Kaid a defending sniper.

What Makes Kaid a Great Defender:

• Very effective at preventing a hard breach
• The only operator that can prevent a vertical hard breach
• Can perform the role of a defending sniper
• Has great utility tools to further encumber enemies or kill them off

Best Loadout for Kaid:

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

3. Mira

She might be pretty useless in particular areas of Siege’s maps, but in areas where her Black Mirrors excel, she’s a big problem for Attackers. Areas like the basement area in Oregon, or the games room and aviator room in Villa. When Mira is defending these areas, she’s really OP, because her Black Mirrors can make sure that Defenders will see enemies who are attempting to push, and the defenders can react accordingly.

And that reaction usually involves a lot of quick lean sprays from Mira from her Black Mirrors, as well as nitro cells being hurled towards the pushing Attackers. With her Black Mirrors, Mira can essentially lock an angle and make it almost impossible to penetrate. This is why Mira is the most banned Defender in platinum rank and above. Mira also possesses great utility tools such as her ITA12S shotgun which she can use to create rotation holes, as well as proximity alarms, should the player choose it over the nitro cell.

What Makes Mira a Great Defender:

• Can make areas of the map very hard to push
• Provides great intel to her teammates
• Has great utility tools
• Can take out multiple enemies with the nitro cell

Best Loadout for Mira:

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

2. Azami

In a very tactical shooting game like Siege, having the ability to reshape the map and rework enemy movements is really OP. And that’s what Azami’s Kiba Barriers can do. With her Kiba Barriers, Azami can fortify a previously vulnerable angle, like the angle on the Consulate's basement overlooking the garage from the yellow stairs. With the Kiba Barriers, Azami can protect a Bandit that is trying to prevent a hard breach.

There are a ton of creative ways to use the Kiba Barriers. Many players also intelligently use it to block the upper part of doorways, allowing them to strafe Attackers’ legs from the objective area. On top of that, Azami also has the best shotgun in the game. The ACS12. Which she can use to frag enemies from any distance. And speaking of reshaping the map, she also has impact grenades on her arsenal which she can use to open holes for rotation or flanking.

What Makes Azami a Great Defender:

• Can reshape the geometry of battle
• Excels at any range because of the ACS12
• Can rework enemy movements
• Has great utility tools to further reshape the map

Best Loadout for Azami:

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

1. Smoke

A pro-league favorite, Smoke is one of the best, if not the best, area denial operators that we have right now. And that is because he’s the only one capable of going inside the effects of his area denial gadget, and not be harmed by it. Therefore, Smoke can use his gas grenade to outmaneuver enemies and easily take back control of position that they just pushed.

But it’s not just his gas grenades that make him a player-favorite. He’s also really effective at fragging enemies with the M590A1 shotgun as his primary, and the SMG-11 as his secondary. With this loadout, Smoke becomes very deadly at close range, but also effective up to medium range because of the SMG-11. This 2-armor 2-speed operator is really solid and his gameplay is very versatile.

What Makes Smokes a Great Defender:

• Great area denying ability
• Excels at any range
• Great secondary gadgets that complement his special gadget

Best Loadout for Smoke:

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