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Arguably the most unique title in the team-based shooter genre, Ubisoft's Rainbow 6 Siege lets players get creative with their Attacker and Defender picks. Featuring a wide roster of characters with unique gadgets to take into a match, players can always depend on some utilities more than others when considering the advantages on specific maps.
In this article, we will look at some of the top Attacker and Defender picks in Rainbow 6 Siege, each for every Ranked map you can put your team at a tactical advantage.
Note: this article is subjective, reflecting the author's opinions with influence from the Y9S1.3 Designers notes and focuses on unique operator picks for Ranked.
Top Attacker and Defender picks in Rainbow 6 Siege for Bank
Attacker: Hibana
Bank is a three-story map with many attacker-sided long open angles on the top two floors and a multi-dimensional attack pathway for the basement. This makes Hibana a great pick as she can open angles like the Double Wall at the Top Spiral stairs near Lift dubbed Kanto as well as hatches for a Basement attack. She can also make Lines-of-Sight for Tellers, Office hallway, and Open Area.
Defender: Mira
Mira is a potent choice for Defenders in this large open map design as it offers one-sided Lines-of-Sight for the latter and allows them to pressure the Attackers and slow them down. Her black mirrors can be effectively used in all the sites across every floor and four bomb sites. Her most well-known and common Black Mirror placement is in the Vault hallway looking at the Server entrance.
Top Attacker and Defender picks in Rainbow 6 Siege for Border
Attacker: Ying
Border is a compact Map where Attackers have the freedom to take a round with three different attack pathways. Ying is one of the best additions to that team structure. With the infamous OG strat Ying-smoke-plant, attackers can clear out the Utilities and open necessary walls for Archives-Armory, Bathroom, Ventilation, or Customs Attack and complete the objective with ease.
Defender: Kaid
Kaid can be a great addition to your Defender lineup because this map has a wide array of walls and hatches, the condition of which can determine how a round plays out.
Electroclaws from Kaid, although they cannot guarantee the safety of hatches and Walls, can surely buy lots of time for Defenders where the clock is their ally. Electroclaw hiding spots on Bathroom defense and Armory defense can help Kaid players buy more time and help their team out significantly.
Top Attacker and Defender picks in Rainbow 6 Siege for Chalet
Attackers: Ace
Chalet is another compact map design albeit with a bigger structure than Border thanks to its one extra floor. For all the bomb sites here, Attackers can breach reinforced walls to put pressure on defenders, unlike some other maps in the Ranked pool.
Therefore Ace with his versatile Selma charges can make sure his team gains the advantage in long-distance gunfights, be it a Mezzanine-Fluke take, Big Garage-Wine Celler take, or Fireplace-Kitchen wall breach.
Defenders: Bandit
Electrifying reinforced walls takes a lot of priority here on Chalet, and who better to put Attackers in a jiffy than a Bandit who can trick the walls and destroy hard-breach gadgets?
Bandit's batteries can help avoid unnecessary Attacker dominance by denying important walls like those mentioned above, along with other important ones like the Garage double wall and Solarium Wall.
Top Attacker and Defender picks in Rainbow 6 Siege for Clubhouse
Attacker: Capitao
Capitao is an exceptionally well-kitted-out character in terms of his firepower and secondary gadget. What makes him so strong in Clubhouse is he can deny Defenders some power positions that come into play because of the map's horizontally elongated nature.
With his Tactical Crossbow and Fire Bolts, he can remove Defenders from spots like AK, Garage Rafters, and even deny bandit tricks on CCTV Cash bombsite.
Defender: Azami
Azami is widely considered one of the best Defenders to have even been released in the game. Her Gadget is so versatile and strong that she shook up the meta and became one of the primary picks for most starts on defense in the Pro-scene and Ranked alike.
Her primary strength here is that she can defend the power spots mentioned above like no other. And she can be extra safe while doing so thanks to her bulletproof barriers. Even with her recent nerf, she stands strong behind her Kiba barriers as one of the strongest picks on Defense.
Top Attacker and Defender picks in Rainbow 6 Siege for Coastline
Attacker: Osa
Coastline is a compact two-storeyed map that forces players to squirm around engagements with the enemy team and Osa just has the tool to give her Attackers an advantage.
Her Talon-8 shield can be placed on strong Attacker angles around the window and balcony of the Hookah, Service entrance doorway, VIP Balcony, and so on. This gives her team an edge over Defenders and helps lock down their movement effectively.
Defender: Solis
Being a relatively small map with a gun-fight-heavy nature, intel plays an important role as Attackers will look to tactically place drones to help them win these gun-fights against Defenders. Solis here comes as the savior for the Defender side by taking out attacker intel and her Gadget helps her do that with extreme effectiveness.
Solis, armed with a great kit, can solo-handedly turn the tide for any round to be on the Defense's side by understanding when Attackers are planting, denying them from below, and accurately pinging Defuser positions alongside certain specific Attackers like Lion, Finka, IQ, etc.
Top Attacker and Defender picks in Rainbow 6 Siege for Consulate
Attacker: Buck
After getting a rework, the Consulate has become prone to close-quarter combat with many interconnected doorways and passageways. Featuring three well-sized floors, the map houses a lot of soft walls, floors, and hatches. This is where Buck and his Skeleton key shines the most.
Along with the Hard breach charge, he can be a one-man army and take care of all the soft breach and hatch opening duty for every bomb site on the map.
Defender: Castle
The map's close-quarter combat layout flourishes with the presence of all the interconnected doors and hallways and sometimes, this works in the favor of attackers who can hold angles and rotates from outside the map.
In these circumstances, Castle comes in clutch with his gadget Armor Panels that help him close off unwanted doorways or windows and effectively temporarily restructure the site. This makes attackers alter their offensive pathways or bring a dedicated counter to deal with the Armor Panels.
Top Attacker and Defender picks in Rainbow 6 Siege for Emerald Plains
Attacker: Flores
Emerald Plains is a fairly large-scale map where attackers have access to numerous drone holes and windows that can be utilized in their favor. This is where Flores comes into play with his Anti-gadget and Intel role.
His Primary gadget, RCE-Ratero drones, can be utilized to destroy defender setups which include but aren't limited to Kiba Barriers, Traps, soft walls, bulletproof cams, etc on sites like Office-Admin, Ceramic-Painting or Dining-Pantry defense.
Defender: Goyo
Attackers in Emerald Plains are always on the lookout for clearing out areas and taking control to put pressure on the Defender side. Goyo helps deny Attackers the area control they need, with the help of his Volcan Canisters that burn for 20 seconds (80 seconds total for four canisters).
When set up on windows, barricades, armor panels, or reinforced walls on sites mentioned above, Attackers can be denied area control and potentially time which is always on the Defense's side.
Top Attacker and Defender picks in Rainbow 6 Siege for Kafe Dostoyevsky
Attacker: Ram
Kafe is a large three-storeyed map with lots of soft walls and floors to take control of. Ram comes in handy with her Bu-Gi Auto breacher mini tank and can make sure attackers have control over verticality when invading sites like Reading/Mining-Fireplace and Kitchen.
She also helps out uniquely on the top floor by letting attackers take care of utilities like Shields, Banshees, or Kiba barriers. Furthermore, it gives them an edge by flooding the Defender's ears with a loud Bu-Gi operation noise.
Defender: Maestro
Maestro received a buff in Operation Deep Freeze which saw him getting one additional Evil Eye, thus making him extremely potent on large maps with long angles. Kafe being just the region where Evil Eyes can flourish, he makes a great addition to any defender lineup thanks to his ability to make rotations with his secondary shotgun-pistol and the only LMG on defense.
His Evil Eyes can be placed in various long angles like Cocktail Balcony, Cigar Lounge, Pillar, Dining, Small Bakery, and so on. These can be utilized to exert pressure on attackers by destroying their drones and attacker utilities while gathering intel in general.
Top Attacker and Defender picks in Rainbow 6 Siege for Kanal
Attacker: Amaru
In this peculiar map spread across two buildings connected via two sky bridges on as many distinct floors, Attackers would flourish when taking quick control of power positions and adjacent rooms and sites. Amaru has a gadget that lets her get close to these power positions the fastest.
Armed with an LMG G8A1 or a Shotgun Supernova, SMG-11 secondary and Hard Breach charges, she can get inside rooms like Projector, Kitchen, Lounge, and Skybridges, and use all her secondary utilities to open hatches. Furthermore, she can do vertical plays and set up an aggressive push with the rest of the team.
Defender: Lesion
Being a map that involves stairs quite a bit, namely Green Stairs, Red Stairs, Printer Stairs, Yellow Stairs, and White Stairs, traps are fundamentally strong as they help put obstacles and funnel attackers. Lesion, therefore, serves as a potent pick in Kanal as his Gu-mines can delay the attack, deny bomb plants when stung, and divulge intel on the Attacker's location.
Although he lost Impact Grenades in the Y9S1.3 update, his current loadout of secondary gadgets focuses on making him a great intel option for defensive setups on Kanal.
Top Attacker and Defender picks in Rainbow 6 Siege for Lair
Attacker: Monty
Lair is a large three-storeyed map with lots of long hallways and bombsites that are directly connected to the outskirts of the map. Having the map design in his favor, Monty can get inside breached double walls of Mask Room, Bunks, and Filtration and help attackers take control of bombsites with live pings and callouts as a live playable drone.
After new shield updates, Monty can hold his own and be even safer while reloading, making him a great pick against Defenders in Lair.
Defender: Mute
Lair consists of numerous hallways and being the latest map to have been introduced in the game, players still have a hard time navigating drones. Mute will excel here as a Defender since his jammers can accomplish two-in-one tasks like blocking Attacker drones as well as denying Reinforced walls.
Lair has many sites where close-quarter combat can prevail and hence his shotgun will be beneficial more often than not.
Top Attacker and Defender picks in Rainbow 6 Siege for Nighthaven Labs
Attacker: IQ
Nighthaven Labs is a compact map where Attackers are required to open double walls to put pressure and take control of bombsites. Be it IT, Connector, Lobby, or Assembly-Animus, breaching takes priority to succeed in a map like this.
IQ plays an important role here because of her ability to find Defender gadgets like Kaid Claw, Bandit Batteries, Valkyrie cams, etc, and let Attackers deal with anti-breach utilities with ease. She can also help hunt roamers like Vigil, Solis, and Pulse and set up a focused attack pathway on the bombsites.
Defender: Tubarao
In a map with many double walls that need to be Kaid clawed or Bandit tricked, Tubarao arrives as the best ally for anti-breach operators. His Zoto canisters can freeze Attacker utilities like Exothermic charge, and Selma charges and delay their detonation.
When combined skillfully with other operators like Bandit and Kaid, Tubarao can ensure the safety of double walls and force the attackers to get funneled through doorways where defenders hold the advantage.
Top Attacker and Defender picks in Rainbow 6 Siege for Oregon
Attacker: Maverick
Oregon is another horizontally elongated map where Attackers will encounter several hatches and reinforced walls that must be taken care of. And since Defenders like to electrify said walls and hatches, Maverick comes in as a solo hard breacher who can deal with said electrified walks and hatches by himself.
From the Attic double wall during Bunks attacks to the hatches in Bunks, Meeting, and Server for attacks on Basement or Kitchen, he can handle the responsibility of opening up important angles single-handedly.
Defender: Wamai
In a map like Oregon where the layout is quite horizontal and Attackers can chuck utilities from the windows and doorways, Wamai will come in clutch by deploying his Mag-Net systems from safety and ensuring that not a single attacker utility escapes.
This can work in Bunks defense where attackers can use windows of Bunks, Games, Big window, Attic window and for Basement defense too where attacker utilities get used in Blue push, Refrigerator push, or Laundry push.
Top Attacker and Defender picks in Rainbow 6 Siege for Outback
Attacker: Fuze
Another horizontal map in the ranked lineup, Outback features only two floors and is a map where defenders can flood the bombsites and its adjacent rooms with obstacles using minimal traps. Because of its horizontal nature, it helps defenders overwhelm Attackers with utilities.
Similarly, Attackers can get rid of said traps and utilities in a quick fashion using Fuze. With his ability to deploy Cluster charges through reinforced walls, Fuze can get rid of Kiba Barries, Frost mats, Banshees, Gu-mines, Kapkan traps, and so on with great efficiency.
Defender: Melusi
Melusi returned to prominence after getting the 2.5x scope back on her MP5 SMG and when a map like Outback comes into play, she dominates the area control of attacker entry points like Terrace and Bunk stairs during Laundry defense, Bull and Shark during Party defense, and Reptile hallway during Green-Red Bedroom defense.
With the slowing effect that banshees have alongside a wide AOE, Melusi can dictate the flow of a round and control the Attacker's pace if not directly countered, making her a great pick on a map like Outback.
Top Attacker and Defender picks in Rainbow 6 Siege for Skyscraper
Attacker: Blackbeard
Skyscraper is another frag-heavy map that is compact in scale and favors close-quarter engagements. However, attackers have a distinct advantage here where they can challenge angles into defender bombsites and cut off rotates solely from window rappels.
This is where Blackbeard shines even after significant nerfs that made him nearly unplayable. His shield can help protect you from getting hit in the head once and when utilized in reverse-rappel angles, it can be extremely deadly for defenders to deal with. Making him a low-investment yet high-reward operator for Skyscraper.
Defender: Thorn
Being a close-quarter combat map with lots of nooks and crannies in the form of decorative landscaping, Skyscraper serves to be a great map for Thorn be it a UZK50GI loadout or an M870 loadout.
Alongside the C65 Auto machine pistol, deployable shield, and barbed wire, Thorn can be a menace to deal with when she utilizes Razerbloom shells to deny attacker entry or work as intel for attacker presence.
These can work on Back stairs and Restaurant stairs for Tea-Karaoke defense, Terrace, Shrine, and House stairs for Office-Exhibition defense, and so on.
Top Attacker and Defender picks in Rainbow 6 Siege for Themepark
Attacker: Gridlock
Themepark is another small compact map that only features two floors but a lot of space outside the map for Attackers to play from. What makes Gridlock effective here is that she brings everything an attacking side could require from a single operator in her whole kit which includes a secondary shotgun and Impact EMP.
With her loadout, she brings a capable fighter with an amazing range of secondary utilities. Alongside this, her primary Gadget Trax stingers, play a very important role of flank watch or cutting off defender rotation. This is because in a map like Themepark where the hallways are narrow and doorways are close to one another, those Trax Stingers are utilized most effectively.
Defender: Aruni
Aruni is a strong defender for compact maps where Attackers can be funneled through specific doorways by denying them from breaching walls or taking other countermeasures to said breaches. This is where Aruni shines as her Surya Gates serve as both an intel gadget and a trap that can deny attackers entry into specific doorways and sights and force them to waste drones or secondary gadgets.
And since Surya Gates go on a cooldown, the sacrifice of Attacker drones or utilities gives her even more value. Alongside her gadget, she brings a Cybernetic arm as a passive which can be utilized to one-punch open barricades, soft hatches, and even make rotates for the team.
Top Attacker and Defender picks in Rainbow 6 Siege for Villa
Attacker: Zero
An infamous spot for intel-based Operators and being on the radar for its terrible design color, Villa is a small three-storeyed map with lots of sneaky spots for Attackers to hide their drones or intel utilities. Bringing Sam Fisher aka Zero into Villa is a top choice since he brings a ton of utility alongside a criminally underrated intel gadget.
Zero can use his Argus launcher to place multiple flank cams on spots like Classical Shelf, Red-Landing, Bedroom-bathroom, Bicycle-Grandfather clock, Art Studio, Library hallway, etc for intel. Alongside his primary gadget, he brings a Gonne-6, Hard breach charges, and Claymores to be effective in any sort of team comp that attackers can use in a close-quarter combat-centric map like Villa.
Defender: Valkyrie
Infamous intel queen, Valkyrie is one of the best Defenders to pick in Villa as the two most played map sites are on the second floor, both of which have soft floors that can be utilized by her. Furthermore, her Black Eyes and C4 can take out attackers safely.
With the sheer number of cosmetic decorations spread across the map, she can utilize new Black Eye spots for each bombsite and provide intel discretely by taking advantage of the map's design. Her low DPS gun MPX also serves her more effectively here because of the map's close-quarter nature.
Check out other articles on Rainbow Six Siege:
- Rainbow Six Siege Y9S1 Mid-season roadmap update
- Rainbow Six Siege fans debate for the "most out of place" Operator Gadget
- Rainbow Six Siege competitive Ranks explained
