It’s very annoying to keep losing rounds to enemies that found a strategy you’re unfamiliar with.
Sometimes you’re on a losing streak in Rainbow Six Siege, and the most stressful part isn’t even the loss itself. It’s the fact that you know you could’ve done a bit better. Maybe you faced a new strategy you’re not familiar with, or you’re yet to find the right way to counter a certain type of operator. I’m writing this article to help you with facing almost every kind of operator that there is. Not each operator specifically, but in a more broad way that you can apply in every match, helping get more wins!
If you find yourself needing help to climb back up in the ranks, or you just want to catch up with your friends, I would recommend you look into Rainbow Six Siege boosting to get the best help. Play the ranks that suit you best!
Shield operators
Examples: Montagne, Blitz, Clash, Oryx (as counter)
What Makes Them Dangerous:
Shield operators are tough to kill from the front. Blitz can blind you with his flash shield, Montagne can extend his shield for full-body protection, and Clash can slow you down while shocking you. These operators thrive on intimidation and space control.
How to Counter:
- Use explosives: Impact grenades, C4, and frag grenades force shield ops to move or die.
- Flank them: Shield ops focus forward. Coordinated flanks or vertical plays are their nightmare.
- Melee or bait: Bait a Blitz charge, then melee to expose their side for a kill.
- Oryx: He can knock shield ops over with his dash, making him a perfect counterpick.
Pro Tip: Against Montagne, ignore him if you can’t flank and go for his teammates instead.
Intel-gathering operators
Examples: Valkyrie, Echo, Maestro, Pulse, Lion, Jackal, Solis
What Makes Them Dangerous:
These operators gather intel through cameras, drones, sensors, or scan abilities. The info they provide can decide entire rounds without firing a shot.
How to Counter:
- Mute: Jam their drones and scanning abilities.
- IQ: She can detect and destroy gadgets like Black Eyes, Yokai drones, and Pulse’s heartbeat sensor.
- Twitch and Flores: Can eliminate stationary intel gadgets from safety.
- Shoot default cams: Deny early info to defenders.
- Move unpredictably: Against Lion and Jackal, don’t double back or walk in straight lines.
Pro Tip: When Jackal is tracking, wait in a safe spot and challenge once he thinks he’s cornered you.
Hard breachers
Examples: Thermite, Hibana, Ace, Maverick
What Makes Them Dangerous:
Hard breachers open reinforced walls and hatches, breaking open fortified sites.
How to Counter:
- Bandit and Kaid: Electroclaw or batteries prevent walls from being breached.
- Mute: Jams Hibana and Ace’s gadgets; less effective on Maverick.
- Impact tricking: Throwing impacts as soon as a breach device activates can destroy it mid-use.
- Shoot Hibana/Ace pellets: You can destroy them before they detonate.
- Roamers: Pressure Maverick or Thermite while they’re focused on setup.
Pro Tip: Pair Kaid with impact tricking to delay breaches long enough to burn attacker utility.
Anti-gadget operators
Examples: Thatcher, Twitch, IQ, Kali, Flores, Brava
What Makes Them Dangerous:
These ops destroy or disable defender gadgets, making setups useless.
How to Counter:
- Thatcher bans: He’s often banned in ranked for a reason. Use this to your advantage.
- Hide gadgets: Place utility high, low, or in unexpected spots to avoid detection.
- Bait utility: Let them burn EMPs or drones on decoys.
- Bulletproof gadgets: Some tools (like Wamai’s discs) survive EMPs and require more effort to destroy.
Pro Tip: Place Bandit batteries after Thatcher’s EMPs go off — it’s called “Bandit tricking.”
Anti-entry trappers
Examples: Lesion, Kapkan, Frost, Ela, Thorn
What Makes Them Dangerous:
These operators punish careless movement. Traps can slow, disorient, or instantly kill.
How to Counter:
- Drones: Always drone entry points and corners before pushing.
- Brava: She can take control of Kapkan and Frost traps.
- Twitch/Zero: Take out traps from a distance.
- Zofia: Her concussion launcher can clear certain gadgets or check corners.
Pro Tip: Keep your crosshair on head level when destroying traps, especially Kapkan’s!
Plant denial operators
Examples: Smoke, Echo, Maestro, Tachanka, Goyo
What Makes Them Dangerous:
They delay and deny plants with gas, fire, or concussive blasts. One well-timed gadget can win a round.
How to Counter:
- Clear them early: Plant denial ops usually anchor. Roam clear early to corner them.
- Twitch/IQ/Flores: Remove gadgets like Evil Eyes and Yokai drones before planting.
- Zofia/Ash: Use explosive utility to flush them out.
- Bait utility: Fake plants to draw out denial tools, then plant once they’re gone.
Pro Tip: Don’t rush plants without tracking how many denial gadgets are used. Smoke only has three canisters — force him to use them up!
Entry fraggers
Examples: Ash, Zofia, Iana, Nøkk, Finka
What Makes Them Dangerous:
These ops are aggressive, fast, and skilled at winning early gunfights.
How to Counter:
- Crossfires: Never hold a hallway alone—set up two angles.
- Mute: Blocks drone scouting for Ash and Zofia.
- Lesion/Barbed Wire: Slows entry, forcing prefire and poor peeks.
- Sound cues: Listen carefully. Even Nøkk makes faint noise when cloaked if sprinting or vaulting.
Pro Tip: Don’t peek first — let entry fraggers walk into you. They rely on speed and surprise.
Area denial/Utility burners
Examples: Wamai, Jäger, Aruni, Goyo (rework)
What Makes Them Dangerous:
They protect defenders from explosive utility and make site pushes difficult with gadgets that catch or punish throwables.
How to Counter:
- Twitch/Thatcher/IQ: Remove or disable gadgets from range.
- Pre-clear: Use a teammate to bait out utility, then push once it’s gone.
- Drone spotting: Mark where the magnets or gates are before throwing anything.
- Burn before breach: Use flashbangs and stuns to soak up utility before the main push.
Pro Tip: Pair fraggers with utility-clear ops. Zofia and Ying can combo-flash and follow up instantly after Wamai/Jäger devices are dealt with.
Soft breachers
Examples: Buck, Sledge, Ash, Zofia, Iana (clone clearing)
What Makes Them Dangerous:
These operators open up soft walls and floors, create sightlines, and destroy defender setups.
How to Counter:
- Mute: Blocks entry gadgets and drones.
- Castle: Slows soft breaches down and forces utility use.
- Warden: Counters flash-heavy pushes from soft breachers.
- Vertical roamers: Control the floor above or below to deny soft breaching from safety.
Pro Tip: If you hear a Buck above, move. Don’t get caught standing under unreinforced ceilings.
In conclusion
In Siege, there’s no one-size-fits-all strategy. Good teams win by adapting to operator lineups, adjusting utility placement, and communicating effectively. Knowing how to counter different operator types gives you an edge in every round. The next time you queue into ranked or play with friends, think less about how to play your operator and more about how to break the enemy’s plan!
