Rainbow Six Siege has been adding a ton of new operators continuously since the release of the game a few years ago, and that means there are a plethora of operators to choose from on both Attack and Defense. There are so many different things to think about when picking an operator in terms of who is best for which objective site, the map in question, what players are expecting their opponents to bring, etc.

To help narrow it down a little bit for players, here are the best operators on Defense in Rainbow Six Siege. The operators chosen aren't in any particular order, and have been included because of how often they're going to be a solid choice; not by how effective they can be in specific circumstances:

Updated on February 3, 2024 by Rhenn Taguiam: With Brazil hosting Six Invitational 2024, the Land of the Drizzle will become the site to witness the arrival of the best Rainbow Six Siege team of the year among a roster of great squads. However, fans of the game eager to catch up to their esports idols may want to up the ante by studying the FPS’s most prominent Operators, especially among the Defenders who Six Invitational teams may add to their respective rosters. Among must-tries for players include an obstructive master of fear, a master of frozen areas, an entryway trapper, an explosive denial specialist, and a tasing shield-master.

24 Thunderbird

Long-Ranged Healing For Allies

Thunderbird relies on high-speed plays to secure positions and protect her allies. Her key ability lies in the Kona Station, as it can heal injured allies and even revive downed teammates. Thanks to the Kona Station, Thunderbird can rely on her mobility to transform zones into secondary defensive points for her allies. When utilized properly, Thunderbird can create vantage points for ambushes and successful roams.

Of course, being an electronic gadget, Kona Stations become clutter when disabled via EMP device. And as with any deployable, Kona Stations don’t last long against melee strikes, gunfire, and explosive damage. However, defensive gadgets such as MAG-NETs (Wamai), ADS (Jager), and Deployable Shields can help transform any room into a highly defensive bunker.

23 Rook

Boost The Team’s Overall Defense

Unlike other Defenders, Rook specializes in providing support to the rest of the team. Being both a buffer and an anchor, Rook can boost his team’s defenses through his R1N “RHINO” Armor. At its core, Rook can deploy up to five RHINO plates that allies can pick up. When equipped, each plate can provide a significant boost to damage resistance. Given the buffing nature of RHINO plates, Rook synergizes well with Stim Pistols (Doc) and Kona Stations (Thunderbird).

Despite the 15% damage reduction from the armor plates, they do take around three seconds to equip. Moreover, unequipped armor plates become destructible from outside damage sources. When used properly, anyone with RHINO will only get downed instead of outright killed at zero HP.

22 Ela

Stop Targets From Moving In Rigged Spaces

Yet another trap operator, Ela is a three-speed one-armor operator who has three Grzmot Mines that can be placed on any floor, wall, or ceiling. When an Attacker passes into the range of the mine, it detonates, concussing anybody in range.

The concussion effect makes it very difficult for Attackers to accurately see what's going on and impedes their movement ability. This acts as a way to make gunfights swing in the Defender's favor, or at the very least, gives some intel for the team. Ela has a very difficult-to-control primary weapon which is sometimes substituted for her shotgun, but she does have a pistol with a nice reflex sight.

21 Pulse

Scan For Attacker Heartbeats Past Walls

For Pulse, intelligence makes the best defense. Thanks to his HB-5 Cardiac Sensor, this roaming Defender can track opponents through surfaces - transforming his defensive specialty into an opponent’s worst nightmare. Players using Pulse can see opponents highlighted via the Heartbeat Sensor and even hear the beep go louder depending on their proximity. As such, players can use the HB-5 to note enemy positions and give valuable intel to create ambushes.

Of course, being an electronic gadget, Attackers can disable the HB-5 quite quickly. For instance, Shock Drones (Twitch), EMP Grenades (Thatcher), and locators (IQ) can dismantle both Pulse and the HB-5. Players need to be wary of how often they deploy the HB-5, as Pulse becomes useless as a roamer without it.

20 Doc

Heal Allies To Get Back In The Game

Despite a life of affluence, Gustave Kateb used his medical talents for humanitarian work, having started as a volunteer doctor in Doctors Without Borders until he got invited to work with the French Defense Health Service. Such was his talent and expertise in ecotoxicology and toxicology that he also became a member of the GIGN, which would later earn the attention of Team Rainbow. After Nighthaven’s defection, Gustave was assigned the leader of the Wolf guard sub-unit in charge of humanitarian missions, particularly due to his keen sense of detail and care for others.

Such was his care for his team that it’s reflected in his status as an agent. Known as Doc, his gadget is the MPD-0 Stim Pistol capable of not just healing but also reviving allies from afar. Shooting his Stim Pistol can heal up to 40 Health and may even overheal any Operator. Likewise, his Stim Pistol is capable of enough to jolt a downed Operator back to health. Such is the Pistol’s revive potency that the revived Operator is back to 75 Health instead of 20 Health from the manual revive. Doc’s healing and revival specialization makes him an integral part of any Defending Team’s arsenal. However, players must compensate for their lack of hard defense and offense with skill and gunplay.

19 Melusi

Slows Down Attackers For Easy Pickings

Already a nature lover at a young age, Thandiwe Ndlovu joined the South African Defense Force to hone her skillset further and get the expertise she needed to protect wildlife around her. And while she became a decorated member of the one Parachute Battalion, a grave injury forced her to retire from the military and begin a career as a veterinarian and teacher of wildlife protection at the Southern African Wildlife College. It was during her time as one of the leaders of the Inkaba Task Force Anti-Poaching Unit that Team Rainbow invited her to join their ranks, with her efficiency being her crucial asset.

Known as Operator Melusi, players of Rainbow Six Siege can use her specifically for her Banshee Sonic Defence gadget. This is a deployable item that can be put on floors and walls, which then buzzes softly when Attackers are in its radius and line of sight. Not only that, Attackers are slowed down when in the radius of the Banshee, giving Melusi and her team time to strike quickly. Players who prefer taking care of enemies themselves without depending on their gadgets too much can rely on her Banshee as an early warning system for a fun firefight ahead.

18 Kaid

Disable Electronics In Surfaces To Delay Assaults

What Kaid lacks in speed, he more than makes up for in terms of durability and efficiency. Equipped with a pair of Electroclaws, this heavily-armored Defender can electrify the team’s defensive gadgets to further boost their defensive potential. Upon deployment, each Electroclaw can electrify metallic gadgets within a 0.75-meter radius, making them quite efficient for defending specific points.

Given Kaid’s approach, he and Bandit can work together to fully electrify a room with metallic gadgets. This factor means they do share similar playstyles, as well as weaknesses. Being an electrified gadget, the Electroclaws become detectable via drones and vulnerable against EMP-based attacks. Likewise, Kaid needs excellent map knowledge to know precisely where to position the Electroclaws for maximum efficiency.

17 Frost

Fully Disable Targets When Trapped

An operator that might be surprising to see on this list, according to the most recent win-delta released by Ubisoft, Frost is one of the most under-picked Defenders and has the highest win-delta of all of the Defenders in the game. Frost is a 2-2 Operator, and she has three Welcome Mats. These work essentially like bear traps, activating once stepped on, downing, and pinning Attackers in place.

These Welcome Mats are generally placed underneath windows or on the top of staircases; in the places where they're the most difficult to see. However, Frost has been in the game for quite a long time now, so getting more creative with one's Welcome Mat placement could net players a better success rate. Frost also has a decent primary gun that, though it doesn't have a great rate of fire, stays pretty stable.

16 Mira

Look Past Windows While Protected From Bullets

Mira is, quite possibly, the operator that changed the game most when added. Mira is a three-Armor one-Speed operator, and her Black Mirrors allow for one-way windows through reinforced (or not reinforced) walls. This allows Defenders to stay informed as to what exactly is going on on the opposite side of the wall, letting them stay better prepared.

Many Miras set up their Black Mirrors on a reinforced wall but leave the wall next to it unreinforced, allowing them to line up a shot from safety and peek towards the unreinforced wall while firing, usually giving them an easy kill. While Mira is a three-armor Defender without an ACOG, she has a super-useful and unique gadget and a weapon with a high rate of fire that more than makes up for it.

15 Bandit

Punish Interactions With Metallic Gadgets

Jager's partner-in-crime, Bandit is a great counter to the hard-breaching Attackers. He is another three-Speed one-Armor Defender, and his gadget are Shock Wires that electrifies reinforced walls, deployable shields, and barbed wire. The electric current prevents Attackers from using their own gadgets on those objects; like Thermite and Hibana, for example.

While most Attacking teams bring a Thatcher when they know they're going to have to breach a reinforced wall, a well-timed Bandit Battery can be placed as soon as he hears Thermite lay down his Exothermic charge. This keeps the Bandit Battery out of most of the danger regarding Thatcher but still allows Bandit to perform his role. Bandit also comes equipped with C4, allowing him to make his own rotation routes in a pinch, though impact grenades or shotguns are generally preferred for the job.

14 Jager

Stop Projectiles From Activating

There are few objective sites in the game that don't benefit from a Jager's ADS-MKIV Magpie device. Jager is a three-Speed one-Armor operator, and his gadget destroys any incoming enemy ordnance like grenades, Ash's breaching charge, and more. When placed well, his ADS can be a very difficult gadget to destroy, and can severely limit Attackers' ability to use their own gadgets effectively.

Jager's three-Speed and set-and-forget gadget make him well-suited for roaming, and though he doesn't have the means to create his own rotation routes with an explosive or a shotgun, he makes up for that a bit by having a very good weapon - even without the ACOG.

13 Aruni

Destroy Objects Or Damage Attackers Who Bypass Spaces

When an unexploded land mine caused the death of the sister of Apha Tawanroong, she dedicated much of her life to ensuring unexploded ordinances won’t affect other people and their families anymore. Her studies helped her attain quite a knack for deduction, with her skills earning her a detective position in the prestigious Royal Thai Police. While she’s been able to use her ability to connect seemingly unrelated dots to solve cases, a grave injury left her without an arm and a leg. It’s thanks to Jaimini “Kali” Shah and her Nighthaven crew that Aruni got another shot at helping others. With their advanced prosthetics, Apha is once again able to go to the front lines. Using the codename Aruni, she became Nighthaven - and temporarily, Rainbow’s - resident heavy defender.

As a Defender in Rainbow Six Siege gameplay, Aruni is equipped with her Surya Laser Gate. Deploying this on walls will create a laser grid that covers its entranceway. While this lets Defenders pass, it damages Attackers and destroys all projectiles that pass through it. While most other projectiles can disable the actual Gate, this is still a waste of ordinance and can give Aruni and her team time for a counter-attack. And for players who like Operators with as many weapons as possible, Aruna's prosthetic doesn’t just give her a boosted melee attack but also punches through walls, hatches, barricades, and Armor Panels, and destroys most gadgets.

12 Goyo

Use Fire To Block Locations, Areas

When a bomb caused the loss of César Ruiz Hernández’s father and sister and gravely injured his mother, he was taught at a young age to be careful with his surroundings. After graduating from the Heroic Naval Military School, his tactical sense and forward-thinking in his days with the Fuerzas Especiales earned the attention of Team Rainbow. While his days of fighting antiquities trafficking with UNESCO and INTERPOL ended, his induction into Team Rainbow as Goyo introduced them to a rather deadly crowd control specialist.

Thanks to his Volcan Canister, Goyo is capable of unleashing carpets of flames in areas that practically deny players of Rainbow Six Siege entry into these zones. These canisters are deployable on all surfaces including furniture, transforming any room into a death trap under Goyo’s protection. Goyo can synergize Kapkan and Maestro for long-ranged activation, while his area denial potential is enhanced with other skirmishers such as Melusi, Aruni, and Wamai.

11 Wamai

Reroute Projectiles To Ruin Long-Distance Attacks

It’s thanks to his remarkable ability to stay longer underwater that earned Ngũgĩ Muchoki Furaha the admiration of his peers and aided in his careers in both the Kenyan Navy and the Kenya Special Boat Unit. Believing he’s “not from here,” Furaha spent much of his time from one dive site to the next to break his previous freediving records, with Nighthaven offering him a private boat and more downtime opportunities to enjoy this hobby. When Furaha temporarily transitioned into Team Rainbow, he went under the codename Wamai, a defender capable of rendering projectiles obsolete.

Thanks to his Mag-NET, he can deploy a unique gadget capable of stopping a projectile in mid-air and redirecting it toward itself. It then forcibly detonates the projectile, usually out of range from its intended target. A unique synergy here would involve Goyo’s Volcan Shield dormant in an area near the Mag-NET, with the enemy’s Frag Grenade being used to detonate Goyo’s deadly fire trap safely. Players who understand how deadly projectiles can be in Rainbow Six Siege gameplay know better than to underestimate the capacity of Wamai’s kit.

10 Maestro

Dual-Purpose Camera Turret For Adaptable Defense

Maestro is a very solid choice on most objective sites in the game. He's a three-armor one-speed operator, meaning he's much better suited towards playing an anchor as opposed to a roamer. His gadget further supports this playstyle. Maestro's Evil Eye cameras are entirely bulletproof (and melee-proof), and can only be destroyed by certain Attacker gadgets, like frag grenades or Sledge's Hammer, for example.

His camera has thermal vision which is incredibly useful when defending against a team planting the defuser inside of a smoke screen. His Evil Eye can also fire energy beams that don't do a lot of damage per beam, but the damage certainly stacks up over a few seconds. All of the above is not even mentioning that he has a fantastic primary weapon that can be attached with an ACOG. Maestro is a really strong Defender in the right hands.

9 Echo

Stun Enemies To Start Counter-Attacks

Quite possibly the most banned Defender on this list in the Ranked game mode, Echo is a three-Armor one-Speed Defender and is one of the most powerful operators in the game. Echo has two Yokai Drones that hover around the floor or on the ceiling, going nearly invisible when doing the latter.

These drones can spot enemies and fire ever-recharging concussion blasts that disorient Attackers for a short period of time. This concussion effect doesn't impede movement like Ela's Grzmot Mines, but it does prevent Attackers from planting the Defuser. This means an Echo in a safe location can easily prevent Attackers from accomplishing their objective if time is running short. Along with his stellar gadget, Echo has a fantastic primary weapon and also a secondary sub-machine gun.

8 Mute

Disable Enemy Comms Prior To Retaking Sites

Mute is one of (if not the absolute best) counter-intel operators out there. Mute is another 2-2 operator, coming equipped with four Signal Disruptors that disrupt enemy drones in the area, as well as other gadgets, like hard breacher's gadgets and Jackal's Visor.

They also stop Dokkaebi from having the chance to call the player's phone, provided they're in range or a Jammer. Well-placed Jammers can really stop the Attackers from gaining useful intel into certain rooms, making Mute a great pick for just about any objective in the game. On top of that, Mute has some serviceable weaponry, including a secondary sub-machine gun.

7 Kapkan

Transform Entrances Into Bomb Traps

Self-sufficiency is the name of Maxim Basuda’s game, leading an active career in Russia’s Ministry of Internal Affairs and then the Spetsnaz where he became known for his expertise in tactical operations, information gathering, and hostage rescue. Upon his recruitment into Team Rainbow, Basuda became known as Kapkan, whose tactical prowess extends to his gadget, the EDD MK II Tripwire.

Known affectionately as Booby Traps, Kapkan can seal entryways to transform them into deadly traps. When properly positioned along inconspicuous objects or in varying heights, the Booby Traps can debilitate the enemy’s offensive and delay Attackers for a significant amount of time.

6 Valkyrie

Diversify Surveillance With Additional Angles

Valkyrie can be one of the most frustrating and difficult Defenders to play against. She's a 2-2 Operator, and her Black Eye Cameras can be thrown just about anywhere on the map. She gets three of them, so with the right placement, she can cover a huge area of the map with cameras that can be pretty difficult for the Attackers to find.

She can be an invaluable asset to roamers on her team, allowing them to have a ton of extra information they typically wouldn't, giving them the chance to act in situations where they normally would need to be more cautious. Valkyrie's weapons are definitely lackluster, but as a support operator, she truly shines.

5 Lesion

Slow Down Enemies With Damage Over Time

Lesion is one of the most difficult Operators to catch off-guard. He's a 2-2 Operator, and his gadget is a Gu Mine that continually gives him more to throw over time. These Gu Mines are very nearly invisible once on the ground, and when stepped on, they make a loud noise, deal damage over time, and stop the Attacker from sprinting.

The Gu Mine can be pulled out, but it leaves the victim vulnerable for a second or two to do so. Lesion can blanket a wide area with his Gu Mines throughout a round, making it very difficult for Attackers to feel comfortable. Lesion also has a pretty decent primary weapon, allowing him to easily act on the intel he gathers.