Thatcher has been one of the most enigmatic operators in Siege throughout the years because of his special gadget, the EMP grenades. They have such a big effect on the dynamics of a match, that if you analyze the big changes to the game in recent years, most of them were made in consideration of their effects.

Nowadays, there are a lot more ways to disable breach-preventing devices, but Thatcher’s EMP Grenades remain to be the most convenient one to use. With that said, we’re here to discuss the best weapons and gadgets that players should use when playing Thatcher in the current Siege meta because it did change a lot with the coming of Operation Deadly Omen.

5. M590A1 with Iron Sight and Laser + P226 MK 25 with Suppressor and Laser + Claymore

This loadout setup is for players who excel at using shotguns. Obviously, a lot, if not most players won’t have a non-slug shotgun as their first choice for their primary weapon due to its limited range, and that’s why this setup is on the last place of this list. But there are also many players out there that are really good at handling shotguns, and on their hands, the M590A1 is a very viable and lethal primary weapon for Thatcher. Especially considering what his role is.

As someone who primarily enables hard breaching by disabling enemy electronic gadgets that could prevent it, Thatcher usually provides the backline or secondary entry support for the team. For the latter role, a shotgun like the M590A1 is really good for eliminating flankers as well as enemies on the frontlines in general. Another special thing about this setup is that the user will be able to go into aim-down-sight stance 20% faster than normal and that’s because of the 10% ADS speed boost from the iron sight, and another 10% ADS speed boost from the laser attachment.

Excels in:

• Dealing heavy damage at close-range due to the high stopping power per pellet from Thatcher’s M590A1 shotgun which would be great for secondary a entry role when pushing after a breach
• The laser and the iron sight attachments both providing aim-down-sight speed bonuses for Thatcher’s M590A1 because each of them has a +10% ADS speed boost attribute
• The iron sight 1.0x providing a good view of the surroundings as well as a clear front view which is excellent for targeting enemies at close range due to its frame design which doesn’t obstruct the player’s view a lot
• The suppressor on Thatcher’s P226 MK 25 will allow him to shoot enemy gadgets with less risk of alarming them. He’ll also be able to aim-down-sights with it 10% faster because of the laser.
• The two claymores in Thatcher’s arsenal will allow him to protect himself and his teammates from roamers and run outs when they’re breaching and even when they’re already pushing

Build Details:

• Primary weapon - M590A1 with Iron Sight and Laser
• Secondary weapon - P226 MK 25 with Suppressor and Laser
• Generic gadget - Claymore

4. AR33 with Magnified B Scope, Flash Hider, Angled Grip, and Laser + P226 MK 25 with Suppressor and Laser + Breach Charge 

The AR33 assault rifle is usually not my choice for Thatcher’s primary weapon and that’s why it’s only at number four. There’s just not much reason to choose it over the L85A2 because the latter has higher damage, has pretty much the same recoil, has a higher magazine capacity, and the sights available to them are the same. The only advantage the AR33 has over the L85A2 is that it’s a bit faster in terms of rate of fire. That’s not to say that the AR33 is not a viable weapon because there’s certainly a lot of players who think that its slight rate of fire advantage makes a lot of difference.

So this loadout is for those players, and this is the best attachment setup for the AR33. Since it has a fast rate of fire accompanied by a small magazine capacity, it has a high chance of needing to be reloaded in the middle of combat. That’s why I chose the angled grip attachment for it. With the angled grip,  the player will have a +20% reload speed bonus for the AR33 and that will negate its small magazine drawback. At the very least, if you find yourself having to reload it in the middle of combat, you’ll know that you’ll be able to do it 20% faster than normal.

Excels in:

• The AR33 having an angled grip will allow the Thatcher player to reload it 20% faster than normal because additional reload speed is now the attribute that players get from it starting Year 9 Season 1
• The flash hider on the AR33’s barrel will be the attachment that’ll provide the recoil control on the weapon, and with it, the Thatcher player will find the AR33 to be much easier to handle.
• The magnified B scope with its 2.5x zoom level will allow the player to target their enemies well because the better you see your enemy, the easier it will be for you to hit them.
• The player will be able to shoot enemy gadgets silently, therefore, with less chance of alerting the enemies to their presence, and that’s because of the P226 MK 25 handgun with a suppressor
• Thatcher having three breach charges in his arsenal will allow him to destroy unreinforced walls and hatches, as well as perform vertical plays by destroying portions of the wooden floor above the objective spot with them

Build Details:

• Primary weapon - AR33 with Magnified B Scope, Flash Hider, Angled Grip, and Laser
• Secondary weapon - P226 MK 25 with Suppressor and Laser
• Generic gadget - Breach Charge

Recoil pattern test on the AR33 in this setup with the author’s own recoil control applied:

3. L85A2 with Magnified B Scope, Flash Hider, Vertical Grip, and Laser + P226 MK 25 with Suppressor and Laser + Breach Charge

This is the loadout setup for Thatcher players who are looking to have the best recoil possible for their L85A2 assault rifle. That’s because it’s going to have the flash hider barrel attachment and the vertical grip, and both of them add a lot of recoil control on weapons. Now the vertical grip’s vertical recoil control has been nerfed by –5% but it’s still great at holding down a weapon’s recoil. With both the flash hider and vertical grip taming the L85A2’s weapon kick, the Thatcher player will have a smooth firing experience with it.

This loadout setup will provide the Thatcher player with good accuracy regardless of the range due to its very stable recoil. Another reason why the player will have great accuracy in this setup is the magnified B scope which will provide them with 2.5x zoom level. With this setup, even at long range, the user will be hitting their targets with pinpoint accuracy. As for the lasers on both the L85A2 primary weapon and the P226 MK 25 handgun, they’ll add 10% aim-down-sights speed boost on them which is very important now that the devs made the default ADS speed much slower.

Excels in:

• Having the best recoil control possible on Thatcher’s L85A2 because of the presence of both the flash hider and vertical grip attachments, both of which adds a lot of vertical recoil control on weapons
• The laser on the L85A2 assault rifle will allow Thatcher to go into aim-down-sights stance 10% faster and that’s great for his role as backline support or secondary entry
• The magnified B scope will allow the Thatcher player to see their enemies really well regardless of the distance when aiming-down-sights on the L85A2 assault rifle which adds a lot of accuracy
• The suppressed P226 MK 25 will be a great utility for Thatcher when infiltrating the mission area stealthily because it’ll allow him to shoot defender gadgets like cameras silently
• Thatcher having three breach charges increases his destructive capabilities as they’ll allow him to destroy unreinforced hatches, walls, as well as portions of the wooden floor above the objective spot

Build Details:

• Primary weapon - L85A2 with Magnified B Scope, Flash Hider, Vertical Grip, and Laser
• Secondary weapon - P226 MK 25 with Suppressor and Laser
• Generic gadget - Breach Charge

Recoil pattern test on the L85A2 in this setup with the author’s own recoil control applied:

2. L85A2 with Magnified B Scope, Suppressor, Vertical Grip, and Laser + P226 MK 25 with Muzzle Brake and Laser + Claymore

Despite the –5% nerf on the vertical recoil control of the vertical grip, it’s still great at holding down the weapon kick of most weapons, and it’s certainly enough to hold down the L85A2’s recoil. Most experienced players don’t really need two recoil control providing attachments in this weapon, so I highly recommend using the suppressor for its barrel instead. With the suppressor, Thatcher will be able to perform backline support really well, especially when he’s performing suppressive fire.

That’s because the suppressor will remove the muzzle flash and the directional threat from the L85A2’s shots. It’ll also greatly muffle its gunshot sounds, and with that, it’ll be much harder for enemies to know where Thatcher is shooting them from. That really decreases their effectiveness when it comes to counter firing or protecting themselves. The silent gunshots from the L85A2 will also allow the Thatcher player to hear incoming enemies better while they’re performing suppressive fire to support their teammates.

Excels in:

• Firing at enemies without them immediately knowing where you’re firing from due to the suppressor removing the weapon’s shots’ directional threat indicator and muzzle flash
• Making it even harder for enemies to know where you’re shooting from due to the suppressor greatly muffling the gunshot sounds of the L85A2
• The vertical grip helping the user maintain a good amount of recoil control on Thatcher’s L85A2 assault rifle due to its added vertical recoil control attribute
• Having great recoil control on the P226 MK 25 handgun due to the muzzle brake barrel attachment which replaces the suppressor because the user will already be able to silently shoot enemy gadgets with the suppressed L85A2
• Thatcher being able to protect himself and his teammates from roamers and run outs with the use of the two claymores in his arsenal which is always great to have when they’re breaching and pushing

Build Details:

• Primary weapon - L85A2 with Magnified B Scope, Suppressor, Vertical Grip, and Laser
• Secondary weapon - P226 MK 25 with Muzzle Brake and Laser
• Generic gadget - Claymore

Recoil pattern test on the L85A2 in this setup with the author’s own recoil control applied:

1. L85A2 with Magnified B Scope, Flash Hider, Horizontal Grip, and Laser + P226 MK 25 with Suppressor and Laser + Claymore

This is the best loadout setup for Thatcher primarily because of the +5% movement speed boost from the horizontal grip on his L85A2 assault rifle. A lot of players think that the +5% movement speed buff from the horizontal grip is useless, but I disagree. Yes, it may be quite useless for going from one place to another, but for making it harder for enemies to hit you while you’re moving, +5% is actually quite a lot, considering that with normal movement speeds, even for a 1-speed operator, movement already makes it harder for most players to hit their enemies.

The small boost in movement speed will also help the 1-speed Thatcher move a bit faster which is great when he’s performing the secondary-entry role after breaching. And since the horizontal grip doesn’t add recoil recoil, it’ll be important to have the flash hider on the L85A2’s barrel. That way, there will be at least one attachment that adds recoil control and that’ll help the user a lot when it comes to stability and accuracy. The magnified B on the other hand will provide the user with a very high zoom level that might be intimidating for beginners, but once a player becomes used to it, they’ll be able to use it well even at close quarters.

Excels in:

• The horizontal grip on Thatcher’s L85A2 will allow him to move a bit faster which will make it harder for enemies to hit him and will allow him to get from one place to another a bit faster
• The flash hider on Thatcher’s L85A2 will be what’s going to provide the additional recoil control on the weapon which will help the user control its vertical weapon kick
• The magnified B scope on the L85A2 assault rifle will allow the Thatcher player to see their enemies well regardless of the range and it’ll contribute a lot to their accuracy
• The suppressed P226 MK 25 handgun will be useful for Thatcher since he’ll be able to use it for silently disabling enemy gadgets like cameras or Kapkan EDDs
• The claymores will be really useful for Thatcher since they’re great counters for roamers and enemies who will attempt a run out, and run outs usually happen when attackers are trying to breach an external wall

Build Details:

• Primary weapon - L85A2 with Magnified B Scope, Flash Hider, Horizontal Grip, and Laser
• Secondary weapon - P226 MK 25 with Suppressor and Laser
• Generic gadget - Claymore

Recoil pattern test on the L85A2 in this setup with the author’s own recoil control applied:

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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