Rainbow Six Siege - Operators Discussion

[Paragon Fury]

So since we're almost to a new Season, we've gotten our mid-Season patch and our new Operators...how do the Operators stack up against each other? Have they balanced out a bit, or are we still looking at the same thing as before?

]For my personal opinion I'm going to be using then same kinds of tiers you find in fighting games; S (God Tier), A (Excellent), B (Good), C (Average), D (Below Average), F (Exceptionally poor or broken).

While subjective of course, the variables I'm using to judge where on Operator ranks are; weapon effectiveness + ease of use, gadget effectiveness/usefulness, deployables, and situational viability (generally useful vs. only certain situations, viability on Objectives). I'm also assuming all Operators are being played by competent, skilled players, not newbs or scrubs.

S (God) Tier

Ashe
Hibana
Thatcher
Twitch
Jager
Valkyrie
Rook

A (Excellent) Tier

Thermite
Glaz
Buck
Sledge
Mute
Bandit
Doc
Mira

B (Good) Tier

Fuze (Without Shield)
Capitao
Smoke
Frost
Castle
Pulse

C (Average) Tier

Kapkan
Caveria
Jackal
Montagne
Blackbeard

D (Below Average) Tier

IQ
Echo

F Tier

Tachanka
Blitz

Reasoning for some placements;

Thermite - Hibana can open more and do it from a distance, putting her at less risk than Thermite. She also cannot be Bandit tricked.

Caveria - Noob stomper. Weapons tend to be underpowered vs. others, and she loses an exceptional amount of her power vs. coordinated teams.

Echo - Easily destroyed drone, neither weapon is terribly effective.

Glaz - Powerful since update, but still not good at playing OBJ as other Operators and is limited to a sniper rifle only.

IQ - Despite her recent buff, her weapons are still only equal to other Operators and her gadget is not useful enough to justify picking her.

Tachanka and Blitz - In a game all about mobility and peeking, man who must sit still to be effective is free kill. Blitz could rank higher, but broken hitbox and unreliable gadget make him feel if not actually be pretty useless.

Jackal - Not a BAD Operator, but not a cornerstone of the team nor as useful as some other options.

 

[tippy2k2]

I can't speak for any of the new people because I don't own them. It's a game I really like but just don't play often enough to justify spending that much money on it. I do LOVE that you get the maps for free and the new characters don't feel all that overpowered where I feel like I have to get them in order to compete.

Anywho, I generally just play the same few people depending on the level...

Longer Range Levels:
Attacker Twitch. I love her single shot rifle and I like having stuff to do during the preparation phase and having a little robot to zap shit is fun.
Defender: Kapkan. I just really like his gadget. I feel like people just have stopped expecting it as more "trap" based operators have shown up. I also like his gun.

Short Range Levels:
Attacker Twitch. Same above except with the shotgun. If I notice a lot of fortified walls, I will switch out to use Thermite as I like his assault rifle and the options he gives with the thermite.
Defender: Doc. I really like his shotgun and I have taken on multiple bad guys when I should have been killed one bad guy ago because of his healing ability. I may also take mute because I like his shotgun and I like his gadget.

 

[Gethsemani_v1legacy]

For me the only S-tiers would be Ash, Hibana and J?ger. Ash and Hibana are both small hitboxes that moves fast and have ARs that pack one hell of a punch. Ash slightly edges out Hibana due to the R4 having a longer sustained burst and slightly better recoil control with the compensator, as well as her gadget allowing her some more mobility. J?ger is the only defender with an AR, opening up a world of options for him and while I find his gadget to be sort of meh, it does the occasional saving by nullifying a frag or flashbang.

So move most of the S-tier down to A-tier and perhaps nudge Glaz down to B or even C. Even with his recent buffs he's still only an occasional pick on some maps (Airplane springs to mind) and single shot weapons are always risky to use in close quarters situations. I'd also argue for putting Caveria in the B-tier and moving Castle to C. Caveria is incredibly strong in the right hands and her Luison can deal out amazing damage at short range, coupled with her silent movement and she's by far the best lone roamer in the game. Castle meanwhile absolutely needs Mute to support him, otherwise you are just giving Fuze a surface on which he can put his cluster charge without fear of reprisal. Despite that Castle is often a solid pick, especially on Hostage. Finally, Montange is definitely B-tier. Ever since the buffs to shields he's a walking powerhouse, pretty much impossible to kill by a single operator and his ability to block off doorways by standing in them can really mess up defense plans, especially on Bomb.

 

[Borty The Bort]

I personally would move Tachanka up a bit. Incredibly strong weapon, can't be headshotted for instantkill against you, decent primary weapons outside of the gun. Not being able to move is a minor detail when the only thing you have to do is shoot someone twice to down them, and they can't do the same to you due to high armour. I find that one of the best things to do is hide in a closet and wait until I hear footsteps, then unload, though that only works when people don't know where you are. The big issue with Tachanka isn't the standing still thing, but the fact that once you are spotted, you're in trouble if you don't move your gun and find a good place in time.

Attention to minor detail is very important playing Tachanka, as with other characters, but it's far more fatal for Tachanka than any other character because it means that if you haven't noticed something early enough and moved your turret accordingly before the inevitable attack comes, you are dead meat. Getting scouted sucks as well, but can be exploited since people for some reason always expect a Tachanka to turtle and never move his turret. Moving the turret is not done nearly as much as it should be, since that's key to outplaying anyone. Also, Fuze shuts him down hard if he gets the grenades in near his turret.

Still though, Tachanka is by far my favourite character, because successfully ambushing the enemy can reliably rack up 1 to 3 kills if your aim is true, and it's very hard to miss with the turret, considering how accurate it is when aiming.

 

[tippy2k2]

I personally would move Tachanka up a bit. Incredibly strong weapon, can't be headshotted for instantkill against you, decent primary weapons outside of the gun. Not being able to move is a minor detail when the only thing you have to do is shoot someone twice to down them, and they can't do the same to you due to high armour. I find that one of the best things to do is hide in a closet and wait until I hear footsteps, then unload, though that only works when people don't know where you are. The big issue with Tachanka isn't the standing still thing, but the fact that once you are spotted, you're in trouble if you don't move your gun and find a good place in time.

Attention to minor detail is very important playing Tachanka, as with other characters, but it's far more fatal for Tachanka than any other character because it means that if you haven't noticed something early enough and moved your turret accordingly before the inevitable attack comes, you are dead meat. Getting scouted sucks as well, but can be exploited since people for some reason always expect a Tachanka to turtle and never move his turret. Moving the turret is not done nearly as much as it should be, since that's key to outplaying anyone. Also, Fuze shuts him down hard if he gets the grenades in near his turret.

Still though, Tachanka is by far my favourite character, because successfully ambushing the enemy can reliably rack up 1 to 3 kills if your aim is true, and it's very hard to miss with the turret, considering how accurate it is when aiming.

Really?

Huh...I never even bothered to unlock him because I thought his equipment looked kind of useless but next time I play, I may have to unlock the fella and see how he plays.

 

[Gethsemani_v1legacy]

Really?

Huh...I never even bothered to unlock him because I thought his equipment looked kind of useless but next time I play, I may have to unlock the fella and see how he plays.

In my experience Tachanka is very situational. On some maps he can lock down entire areas (Yacht and its' lower deck corridors) with the high damage, low spread of his turret, on others he will get outflanked and murdered when he's discovered (Border, Consulate). An attacking team that's diligent with its' recon and drones use will have no trouble nullifying his turret. He is among the least effective operators, if only because Siege is largely a game about movement and position due to the lethality of its' firefights and Tachanka has a playstyle that relies on being in one place.

That being said, in casual play he can be great fun to have in Bomb games because he's the only operator that can easily create sight lines through several rooms and a well positioned turret can cover large parts of both bomb zones. But generally speaking, there's always a better pick than Tachanka. If you want firepower, get Jager. If you want zone defense get Rook or Mira (or even Echo). If you want area denial use Smoke or Mute. If you want ambushing use Caveira, Valkyrie or Pulse. There's simply nothing worthwhile Tachanka does that another operator doesn't do better.

 

[LostCrusader]

I have to question why Capitao is as high as he is. His guns are okay but nothing special and his gadget is extremely situational. That on top of him losing grenades to IQ makes him pretty terrible IMO.

Also, where is this accurate Tachanka turret you guys are talking about? The rework that gave him a turret shield cranked up the recoil so it is pretty useless.

 

[Paragon Fury]

I have to question why Capitao is as high as he is. His guns are okay but nothing special and his gadget is extremely situational. That on top of him losing grenades to IQ makes him pretty terrible IMO.

Also, where is this accurate Tachanka turret you guys are talking about? The rework that gave him a turret shield cranked up the recoil so it is pretty useless.

He guns are effective (more so since their buff) and his gadget is excellent area denial/flushing tool that can't be stopped by Jager and is easier to use.

 

[ObsidianJones_v1legacy]

I'm sorry to deviate from the conversation, but I'm an old school Rainbow 6 player who really doesn't care about multiplayer. I've really haven't seen that much about the terrorists hunt mode. Is it good enough in your players' opinion to sell a copy, is it not enough, or have you never touched it?

 

[Gethsemani_v1legacy]

I'm sorry to deviate from the conversation, but I'm an old school Rainbow 6 player who really doesn't care about multiplayer. I've really haven't seen that much about the terrorists hunt mode. Is it good enough in your players' opinion to sell a copy, is it not enough, or have you never touched it?

It is what it is. It is not bad as a diversion, but it is definitely not worth a full price experience. The AI for the terrorists is mediocre to bad and because of that the whole mode falls apart. A lot of operators become useless in TH because their gadgets are pointless against bots (Caveira, Mute, Jackal etc.) and some that are pretty mediocre become gods (Tachanka is literally Lord Chanka in TH due to how bots will run in a neat line towards his MG position).

I wouldn't recommend anyone to buy the game just for TH. However, there tends to be a free R6:S weekend on Steam/Uplay around the release of every new Season, so just wait for one of those to play the game for free and see what you think.

 

[ObsidianJones_v1legacy]

I'm sorry to deviate from the conversation, but I'm an old school Rainbow 6 player who really doesn't care about multiplayer. I've really haven't seen that much about the terrorists hunt mode. Is it good enough in your players' opinion to sell a copy, is it not enough, or have you never touched it?

It is what it is. It is not bad as a diversion, but it is definitely not worth a full price experience. The AI for the terrorists is mediocre to bad and because of that the whole mode falls apart. A lot of operators become useless in TH because their gadgets are pointless against bots (Caveira, Mute, Jackal etc.) and some that are pretty mediocre become gods (Tachanka is literally Lord Chanka in TH due to how bots will run in a neat line towards his MG position).

I wouldn't recommend anyone to buy the game just for TH. However, there tends to be a free R6:S weekend on Steam/Uplay around the release of every new Season, so just wait for one of those to play the game for free and see what you think.

Thanks for the feed back.

*sighs* I hate that so much of my entertainment in this hobby now depends on others. Not to be stereotypical, but I got into gaming as a kid because I wanted to have fun on my own.

I definitely don't want to get into a game that people have two years of experience on me, especially if it's a toxic community (which I don't know)

 

[Gethsemani_v1legacy]

I definitely don't want to get into a game that people have two years of experience on me, especially if it's a toxic community (which I don't know)

I got in last summer, during one of the free weekends and they really are an excellent time to try the game and join into the MP-scene if you like it. Thanks to the frequent influxes of new players, the lower ranks are full of people that know just as little as you do if you start out, so the learning curve is quite gradual.

The community itself isn't all that toxic from what I've experienced. It isn't welcoming or helpful either, but most people just seem like they are there to play the game and have fun.

 

[LostCrusader]

I'm sorry to deviate from the conversation, but I'm an old school Rainbow 6 player who really doesn't care about multiplayer. I've really haven't seen that much about the terrorists hunt mode. Is it good enough in your players' opinion to sell a copy, is it not enough, or have you never touched it?

It is what it is. It is not bad as a diversion, but it is definitely not worth a full price experience. The AI for the terrorists is mediocre to bad and because of that the whole mode falls apart. A lot of operators become useless in TH because their gadgets are pointless against bots (Caveira, Mute, Jackal etc.) and some that are pretty mediocre become gods (Tachanka is literally Lord Chanka in TH due to how bots will run in a neat line towards his MG position).

I wouldn't recommend anyone to buy the game just for TH. However, there tends to be a free R6:S weekend on Steam/Uplay around the release of every new Season, so just wait for one of those to play the game for free and see what you think.

Thanks for the feed back.

*sighs* I hate that so much of my entertainment in this hobby now depends on others. Not to be stereotypical, but I got into gaming as a kid because I wanted to have fun on my own.

I definitely don't want to get into a game that people have two years of experience on me, especially if it's a toxic community (which I don't know)

I wouldn't recommend getting the game just for terrorist hunt. The main challenge in terrorist hunt is anticipating where the AI are going to spawn, which can be outside the building. Add to that armored suicide bombers that love corners and it gets old really fast.

The multiplayer community isn't bad in my experience, though I'm not talkative in game so maybe I don't bring it out. Some operators do need some synergy with others to be effective so having a friend or 2 on there will help.