Thanks to the recent launch of Operation Wind Bastion, Rainbow Six Siege now sports an impressive 44 playable operators. Given how many options there are, it can be tough for newer players to know where to start. Is Thermite a better pick for the attacking team than Sledge? Would the defenders do better with Pulse or Valkyrie?
Fortunately for us Siege weebs, PC Gamer has done the heavy lifting of figuring out the ideal operator meta. We’ll run through the current meta below, but you should definitely give PC Gamer’s in-depth analysis a read.
Also, as PC Gamer notes, there’s no one operator who’s ideal in every situation. Knowing when and how to use each operator is something you can only learn through dedicated practice. However, when it comes to constructing your ideal Siege team, some operators definitely have more universal utility than others.
So, without further ado, here’s a quick rundown of the January 2019 Rainbow Six Siege operator meta.
Rainbow Six Siege January 2019 Operator Meta
Defenders
Essential Picks
- Kaid
- Bandit
- Mute
Highly Useful
- Jager
- Valkyrie
- Mira
- Pulse
- Rook
Viable Wildcards
- Alibi
- Maestro
- Kapkan
- Echo
- Ela
- Caveira
- Doc
- Smoke
- Lesion
- Vigil
Tough to Justify
- Castle
- Clash
- Frost
Don’t even Bother
- Tachanka
Attackers
Essential Picks
- Hibana
- Thermite
Highly Useful
- Ash
- Buck
- Maverick
- Sledge
- Zofia
- Twitch
- Thatcher
Viable Wildcards
- Montagne
- Ying
- Jackal
- Blackbeard
- Lion
- Finka
- IQ
- Nomad
- Capitao
- Dokkaebi
Tough to Justify
- Glaz
- Fuze
- Blitz
As settled as Rainbow Six Siege’s meta is right now, it won’t stay that way for long. Eight brand new operators are coming as part of the game’s Year 4 content rollout. What’s more, the first two of those eight newcomers will likely be revealed during next month’s Six Invitational.