Rainbow Six Siege Most Picked and Banned Operators - 2024
The pick, ban, and win rate of all Rainbow Six Siege operators at Emerald, Diamond, and above. Official data shared by Ubisoft.
The Rainbow Six Siege developer team published a blog post - during Year 9 Season 1 - showing data on the popularity and win delta of all characters in the game, and on the top 10 most banned operators by side.
Presence is the pick rate of an operator when not banned.
Credit for all the graphs below goes to Ubisoft.
We can’t predict when we will have fresh data, but I will continue following the official blog and update this article over time.
Attack operators pick rate
Blackbeard
Some players consider Blackbeard a strong pick, while for others he is quite useless. I believe he is excellent when deployed in places where he can make a good use of his Rifle-Shield.
Beware about your shield’s health pool as it can be destroyed quickly by weapons with a high damage or rate of fire. Nevertheless, it is often enough to take a peek and score a kill.
Of course, his shield is countered also by explosives and flankers.
Unfortunately for Blackbeard’s players, Ubisoft nerfed drastically the HP of Rifle Shield, which negatively impacted his survivability and lowered his KD ratio.
Defence operators pick rate
Echo
Echo is a truly troublesome pick because he has two invisible drones at his disposal. If you couldn’t ban him, and you are facing a smart Echo player, there are only two viable counters:
IQ is the most effective option because her unique gadget RED Mk III Spectre can detect any electronic device, so she can locate Echo’s Yokai drones and destroy them with a suppressed pistol.
Alternatively, disable the drone with Thatcher’s EMP grenade, and then destroy it. (the drone will also drop to the ground if it was attached to the ceiling)
At lower ranks, Echo doesn’t cause many problems as players don’t know how to make a good use of his drones, they place them in poor spots and barely interact with them, and usually they don’t even alert the team about the enemy’s movements.
Note: after all the adjustments, Echo is no longer a big threat.
Kapkan, Frost, and Ela
Operators with trap gadgets such as Kapkan, Frost, and Ela have a high win delta because their pick rate is low: most players do not expect a sudden Welcome Mat or Entry Denial Device. After being killed, they are aware of their presence, so the traps rarely work again during the same match.
They can be used as effective surprise picks in a round or two, but you should not abuse or overestimate them as there are better and more reliable characters in the game.
Most banned attack operators
All the tables are responsive. If you are using a phone, turn it sideways for a full view. Otherwise, zoom in or press on the grey area of each table to swipe them.
| # | Operator | Ban Rate |
|---|---|---|
| 1 | Dokkaebi | 66% |
| 2 | Jackal | 45% |
| 3 | Thatcher | 36% |
| 4 | No Ban | 15% |
| 5 | Montagne | 11% |
| 6 | Ying | 5% |
| 7 | Deimos | 4% |
| 8 | Blitz | 3% |
| 9 | Ram | 2% |
| 10 | Osa | 2% |
Thatcher
Thatcher has a high ban rate because of his EMP Grenade: most defenders’ gadgets run on electronics, and Rainbow Six Siege revolves around setting up defenses and breaking them down.
Currently, the meta is very electronic based, and there are not many great alternatives to Thatcher. This might be considered a game design flaw, or perhaps we simply need more attack operators with a similar role.
Jackal
Jackal hard counters solo roamers. The only operator able to deal with him is Caveira thanks to her ability Silent Step (it negates 3D pings from Jackal’s tracking).
Generally, you should exploit his own ability to trap him: if you are tracked, coordinate with your team and act as a bait, so you will be able to catch him off guard and kill him.
Montagne
Contrary to popular belief, Montagne is not invulnerable when his shield “Le Roc” is extended.
Smoke’s gas grenade is one of the best counters as Montagne must escape to not die.
Similarly, also Lesion’s GU inflicts damage over time. Montagne won’t be able to camp a corner of the bombsite because he will be forced to retreat, pull down his shield, and remove the mine.
Montagne can be trapped by Frost’s Welcome Mat, and Bandit’s Shock Wires will electrify him.
Extendable Shield protects him from explosions and even C4 charges, but the explosives can still be thrown over the shield, injuring him from behind.
Montagne must face the C4 when it explodes, so you may have the chance to shoot him while uncovered.
Oryx’s Remah Dash is a hard counter because it knocks Montagne down even if his shield is extended.
Finally, blasts such as Ela’s Grzmot Mines and Echo’s ultrasonic burst can disorient Montagne, who may retract the shield and become vulnerable for a few seconds.
Most banned defence operators
| # | Operator | Ban Rate |
|---|---|---|
| 1 | Fenrir | 80% |
| 2 | Mira | 30% |
| 3 | Solis | 24% |
| 4 | Kapkan | 13% |
| 5 | No Ban | 13% |
| 6 | Clash | 9% |
| 7 | Kaid | 8% |
| 8 | Azami | 7% |
| 9 | Valkyrie | 6% |
| 10 | Melusi/Tubarao | 1% |
Mira
Mira is the most banned defence operator in Rainbow Six Siege because of the vision and position advantage she grants to the team with her gadget Black Mirror. Luckily, there are several ways to deal with her:
Twitch’s Shock Drone is a hard counter if you can enter the room unspotted (which is not easy to achieve as her drones are loud and bulky) and destroy Black Mirrors’ gas canisters.
Thermite and Hibana’s explosives can destroy Black Mirror, but they must be very careful when placing them to avoid a premature death.
Operators with stun or smoke grenades can prevent vision for a short period of time, giving your team the opportunity to move elsewhere or destroy the wall (planting explosives).
Maverick’s Breaching Torch can break the mirror by destroying the four locks. He can also create a small hole below the canister, and shoot it. Note: using the torch on the window itself does nothing.
Melusi
I believe that Melusi requires an immediate nerf to her gadget “Banshee Sonic Defense”.
It is a bulletproof device (it can only be destroyed by explosives or melee attacks) that emits a noise if there is an attacker nearby, in a 4 meters radius. Once they are in a 2 meters radius, the Banshee will also slow them down by 50%.
This gives a huge advantage to the defenders as in each map there are several excellent and safe spots, and Melusi can place three devices per round.
Clash
Clash proves that a defence operator with a shield is too powerful. I don’t think Ubisoft will release more shield-based defenders after all the balance problems she caused.
Crowd Control Electro (CCE) Shield covers her front-side and can electrify the opponents, damaging and slowing them. Thatcher’s EMP Grenades disable the taser effect.
When Clash is escorted by another defender, it is best to ignore her and focus on her ally.
If she is alone, charging is the best option. She is not as defensive as Montagne, and her shield can be knocked back with a melee strike, so you will be able to shoot at her lower half.
Concussion blasts such as Zofia’s concussion shot and Nomad’s Airjab grenade work as well.
Note: after all the adjustments, now Clash is troublesome only at lower ranks.
Note 2: Please note that the data is updated over time, but the analysis is not.
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Header image, graphs, and stats: Ubisoft
