Ranking The Best Defenders In Rainbow Six Siege X

I’ve played a ridiculous amount of Tom Clancy’s Rainbow Six Siege since the beta in 2015. It was a fresh take on the Rainbow Six series, reimagining the series in a competitive multiplayer format.

Much has changed between then and the release of Tom Clancy’s Rainbow Six Siege X. Some core features remain, like it being a 5v5 tactical shooter. Defenders still focus on slowing down the enemy and staying alive while defending the bomb sites. If the time runs out, the defenders win.

However, plenty of changes have developed. For instance, dozens of new operators have been added over the years, and plenty of operators have changed. Many once-useless operators now shine brighter than previous staples.

10

Smoke

Don’t Ask What’s In The Canister

Smoke can be tough to use, but he is undeniably the best operator for countering shield operators, and still gets plenty of use even if the enemy team doesn’t bring any shields. The deadly smoke clouds he can deploy obscure vision and damage enemies inside them, making them perfect for slowing down an enemy push, or wiping out several enemies with a well-placed trap.

Because of his time-wasting and area denial skills, Smoke is best used as an anchor, closely defending the objective. His M590A1 shotgun is a perfect tool for redecorating bomb sites, and his SMG-11 sidearm has a great damage output if you can control the recoil.

He doesn’t have any hard counters, making a good Smoke player a complete menace to the opposing team trying to break into the bomb sites.

9

Rook

Not In The Face!

In a game where a single headshot will always take you out, an increase in health may seem like it’s of little use. However, Rook has consistently had one of the highest win deltas of any defender.

Rook is a perfect pick for players who aren’t performing as well as they usually do and need to focus on helping the team. The only thing you have to do to help the team is remember to place the armor plates down at the beginning of the round. He can also bring the P90, which has a large magazine and fast fire rate, making it perfect for getting headshots that are more luck than skill.

Rook is a slow-moving operator, so he’s best used as an anchor, staying close to the bomb sites.

8

Kapkan

Bane Of The Forgetful

Despite being around since 2015 and being easy to counter, Kapkan continuously gets plenty of free kills off of forgetful enemies.

Kapkan can trap up to 5 different doorways, making it a bit difficult to hunt down each one as a Twitch or Brava. Then, once in the building, attackers are under a lot of pressure, giving little time to check each doorway as they move. Of course, a bit of proper droning will tell you where each trap is, but nonetheless, the sound of Kapkan’s traps going off is a familiar one to any Siege player.

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Not only do Kapkan’s traps have the potential to kill enemies, but they also provide a lot of information on where the attackers are coming from, even if it’s just in the form of a single gunshot taking out the trap. His versatility makes him one of the best operators for solo-queuing, as you both help the team without being dependent on them.

As a two-speed operator with a fire-and-forget gadget, Kapkan can be used in a variety of roles efficiently. Just be wary of attackers bringing Brava and turning your traps against you.

7

Goyo

Burning Time

Goyo’s gadget has a large radius and a long burn time, making him the best operator for slowing down enemies. Combine that with the fact that his gadget can be used even after he dies, and he becomes one of the most useful operators on defense. Depending on where his gadget is placed, the enemy might even have to trigger it to get into the building, setting the path on fire.

The main downside is that his gadget can’t be deployed in the heat of battle very easily, meaning you will likely have to plan ahead, giving the enemy time to drone out where you’re placing the canisters and deal with them early.

Goyo’s gadget is all about stalling, making him a fantastic anchor operator. But, since he doesn’t have to be the one to trigger his canisters, Goyo can also perform well in other roles.

6

Mute

A (Near) Universal Counter

Given the amount of electronic gadgets in the game, Mute’s jammers counter more operators than any other. Not only do the jammers provide strong counters to intel operators like Dokkaebi and Deimos, but they can be used to prevent hard breachers from easily getting through your reinforced walls, and will even mess with abilities for operators that you wouldn’t think of, like Finka’s.

The jammers are also the best counter to drones as a whole, rendering them useless if they wander into the jamming radius. This is an immensely powerful aspect of Mute, as proper droning can easily be the difference between winning and losing.

As a one-speed operator, and since he needs to be near his jammers to get the most use out of them, Mute is best used as an anchor.

5

Kaid

It’s Electric!

The most effective way to prevent hard breachers from getting to you is electricity, since electricity destroys electrical gadgets, and Kaid brings the most versatile form of that.

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His gadget electrifies anything in a decently large sphere and can be thrown, meaning you can hide them from Twitch drones, or place them somewhere up high to avoid EMPs. With a bit of skill and a bit more luck, you may even be able to prevent a hard breach completely. You can even electrify hatches from below, preventing them from being breached as well.

As a one-speed operator, and given that his main goal is to prevent hard breaches, Kaid is best used as an Anchor.

4

Azami

A Bulletproof Choice

Azami is perfect for the more creative player. There are nearly endless ways of using her barriers, from creating new angles, to blocking long sightlines, to simply slowing down or confusing the enemy.

That’s what makes Azami so strong. The enemy will never be sure what your plan with her gadget will be. They will have to waste time either destroying the barriers, using drones, or risk dying to someone or something hiding behind the barrier.

As a two-speed operator with a multi-purpose gadget, she can be used in any role effectively. Her barriers provide a quick escape as a roamer and a great time waster as an anchor, which also makes her great for Dual Front.

3

Valkyrie

All Seeing Eyes

Information is everything in a game like a Siege, so having cameras that can be hidden so well is an amazing asset. Valkyrie’s cameras can be thrown anywhere and only light up when actively used. Because of this, without IQ, even finding the cameras can be an excruciating task, let alone destroying them.

Valkyrie’s intel makes her particularly strong for roaming, as you can come up from behind unsuspecting enemies much more easily and avoid groups when needed.

If Valkyrie happens to die early on her roaming mission, the cameras can still be used by the rest of the team. This makes her the best operator at gathering intel on defense and someone to keep an eye on as an attacker.

2

Fenrir

Smell Fear

When you think of traps, you probably think of something that does damage. However, one of the best trap operators has a trap that doesn’t deal any damage.

Fenrir’s gadget limits vision to a close range for anyone within the radius of the trap, as well as showing a different HUD icon when the trap is triggered. This gives Fenrir crucial info, as well as making it hard for enemies to fight back.

Putting a suppressor on his MP7 will make it even harder for enemies to fight back as it removes the tracer effect from shots fired. The traps can also be hidden very well, since they can be thrown anywhere, making them harder to combat as an attacker.

Fenrir’s speed and versatile gadget make him a great flex pick, capable of roaming or anchoring effectively.

1

Lesion

Like Stepping On A Lego

Lesion is the biggest thorn in your side, or your foot, as an attacker, meaning he’s doing his job as a defender very well.

His mines are some of the best intel-gathering gadgets in the game and are difficult to counter since they’re small and have cloaking. They’re also considered mechanical, meaning IQ’s gadget doesn’t spot them, and Thatcher’s doesn’t disable them. Not only are they perfect for gathering intel, but they also slow the enemy team and make them more vulnerable to attack.

Lesion has one of the strongest SMGs in the game, the T-5 SMG, making him useful in every way a defender needs to be. He can be used in any role; however, he can deploy more mines the longer he’s alive, so playing it safe with him as an anchor is often the winning move.

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