The short version of this R6 operator tier list: Ace is still the best attacker in ranked, Mira is still the most banned operator in the game, and Operation Split Fire just knocked Dokkaebi and the defender DMR crowd down a peg. Ubisoft’s own numbers had Ace banned in 48% of Platinum-and-above PC matches last season and Mira in 89%, and nothing in the Y11S3 balance pass touched either of them. Below you get separate attacker and defender tables from S to D, a mini breakdown of every S-tier pick, a ban-priority table with PC and console numbers side by side, and what rose or fell with the new season.
We play Siege ranked daily on client accounts, from Copper placements up to Champion, so the placements mix Ubisoft’s data with what actually wins rounds in solo queue. If you want the ladder itself first, our guide to how the Copper to Champion ranks work covers it.
Current season context and how we built this list
This list covers Y11S3 Operation Split Fire, which launched on September 1 with the new defender Noor, plus the Y11S3.1 patch from September 22 (last checked September 2026). Split Fire runs into early December, so this is the live meta for the whole autumn.
The hard numbers come from Ubisoft’s Y11S3 Designer’s Notes, which publish win delta against presence and the top 10 ban rates per side, for Ranked, Platinum and above, split into PC and console. One catch you should know upfront: those charts cover Y11S2.3, the last patch of the previous season, because Ubisoft publishes them as the justification for the new changes. Ubisoft prints ban rates as exact labels; presence and win delta are plotted on a scatter chart, so any presence or win delta figure below is our read of that chart, rounded. Ubisoft’s next set of numbers normally lands with the mid-season designer’s notes.
So the method is: start from last season’s Platinum+ data, apply every Y11S3 and Y11S3.1 change on top, then use operator judgment for everything the charts do not show. We flag where each placement comes from. Two definitions help. Presence is how often an operator shows up in rounds; win delta is how far the operator’s round win rate sits above or below the average. An operator with high presence and a positive delta is strong and everyone knows it. Low presence and a positive delta is the sleeper zone.
Attacker tier list
Attack is decided by hard breach and by who can clear utility without help, and the table reflects that. Ban rates are Ubisoft’s Y11S2.3 Platinum+ PC figures; a dash means the operator was outside the top 10 bans.
| Tier | Attacker | Role | Plat+ PC ban rate (Y11S2.3) | Y11S3 change |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| S | Ace | Hard breach | 48% | M1014 damage 28 to 30 (Y11S3.1) |
| S | Ram | Floor and utility clear | 20% | None |
| S | Thermite | Hard breach | 15% | Exothermic Charge 200 to 220 hp, M1014 buff |
| A | Solid Snake | Flex | 24% | None |
| A | Dokkaebi | Intel and roam pressure | 37% | SMG-12 and MK14 nerfs, Jegeo Payload rework, EMP swapped for Breach Charges |
| A | Maverick | Hard breach | 17% | AR-15.50 damage 67 to 59, more first-shot recoil |
| A | Thatcher | Anti-gadget support | 10% | None |
| A | Nomad | Flank watch | – | None |
| A | Sledge | Soft destruction | – | Hammer swing 1 to 0.8 seconds (Y11S3.1) |
| B | Kali | Anti-gadget sniper | – | CSRX 300 and SPSMG9 buffs |
| B | Buck | Vertical play | – | Skeleton Key ammo 31 to 36 (Y11S3.1) |
| B | Lion | Scan support | – | EE-ONE-D warning 1.5 to 1.4 seconds |
| B | Montagne | Shield | 5% | Countered by the new defender Noor |
| B | Grim | Area denial and intel | – | None |
| B | Zofia | Entry frag | – | None |
| B | Twitch | Drone utility clear | – | None |
| B | Hibana | Hard breach | – | None |
| C | Blackbeard | Shield rifle | 3% | Countered by Noor |
| C | Blitz | Shield flash | 3% | Countered by Noor |
| C | Glaz | Smoke sniper | – | None |
| C | Fuze | Cluster clear | – | None |
| D | Capitão | Area denial | – | None |
Where we deviate from the raw numbers: Dokkaebi was the second most banned attacker last season (37% PC, 25% console) with a positive win delta at roughly 40% presence, which is S-tier on paper. Split Fire hit her from four directions at once: SMG-12 damage dropped from 28 to 16, her MK14 lost 4 damage, the Jegeo Payload now needs an unbroken connection to the target’s phone, and her EMP Impact Grenades became Breach Charges. We have her in A on the strength of the gadget alone, and she could slide further once the mid-season numbers land. Thermite goes up to S despite a lower ban rate than Dokkaebi or Snake, because Y11S3.1 buffed both his charge (220 hp) and his M1014, and he was already the third most banned attacker on console at 22%.
Ace: why he is S
Ace is S because he is the one attacker every team wants and nearly half of Platinum+ PC lobbies refuse to face: 48% ban rate on PC, 63% on console, with around 40 to 45% presence and a win delta of roughly +1% on Ubisoft’s chart. The S.E.L.M.A. breach charges open a reinforced wall from safety without needing a teammate to clear Bandit or Kaid first, and Y11S3.1 even buffed his M1014 from 28 to 30 damage. Kaid and Bandit shocks on the wall, Mute jammers and Azami kunai on the breach line all slow him down, and so does good old shooting him while he deploys. Players who throw the charges on the first wall they see waste him, because Ace’s value is in which wall you open and when.
Ram: why she is S
Ram is the sleeper. She sits in Ubisoft’s “underpicked, too strong” quadrant at roughly 13% presence and about +1.2% win delta, level with Ace for the best on the PC chart, and she still gets banned 20% of the time on PC and 25% on console. BU-GI Auto Breachers clear floors and hatches and wipe defender utility in one go, which is exactly what solo queue attackers never coordinate otherwise. Mute and Bandit denial on the floor, Azami kunai and defenders who simply move off the floor she is clearing all blunt her. Skip her if you treat the charges as a kill tool; her win rate comes from the utility they wipe.
Thermite: why he is S
Thermite gets the biggest pure buff of the season on attack: Exothermic Charge damage up from 200 to 220 hp and the M1014 up to 30 per pellet. His breach is loud and committal, but it opens the biggest hole in the game and in solo queue that matters more than subtlety. Bandit and Kaid on the wall, Mute denying the plant and anchors who hold the breach line instead of standing next to the wall all shut him down. He is also a bad pick if you never drone the wall first. A dead Thermite on an unshocked wall is the most common way we see attack rounds lose on Consulate and Villa.
If you would rather spend this season climbing instead of learning which wall Ace should open on every map, our Rainbow Six Siege rank boost team handles ranked climbs and placements on your schedule, with exactly these operators.
Defender tier list
Defense is more concentrated than attack. Two operators take most of the bans, and the data rewards anchors who stall with utility over roamers who hunt kills.
| Tier | Defender | Role | Plat+ PC ban rate (Y11S2.3) | Y11S3 change |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| S | Mira | Anchor utility | 89% | None |
| S | Kaid | Wall denial | 45% | None |
| S | Thorn | Anchor trap | 5% | None |
| A | Azami | Rebuild and deny | 15% | None |
| A | Bandit | Wall denial | 8% | None |
| A | Aruni | Entry denial | 10% | MK14 damage 60 to 56, no Muzzle Brake |
| A | Valkyrie | Intel | 3% | None |
| A | Mute | Drone and breach denial | 4% | None |
| A | Clash | Shield stall | 4% | SPSMG9 damage 33 to 35 |
| A | Smoke | Anchor denial | – | None |
| B | Tubarão | Utility slow | 2% | AR-15.50 damage 67 to 59, no Muzzle Brake |
| B | Noor | Anti-shield denial | New | New operator |
| B | Kapkan | Trap | – | Entry Denial Device 60 to 62 hp |
| B | Echo | Intel and stall | – | Sonic Burst refill 16 to 15 seconds |
| B | Jäger | Anti-projectile | – | None |
| B | Rook | Armor support | – | None |
| B | Fenrir | Area denial | – | Dread Mine gas spread 2 to 1.9 seconds |
| B | Maestro | Camera and anchor | – | Evil Eye battery 8 to 9 seconds |
| C | Vigil | Roamer | – | SMG-12 nerf |
| C | Castle | Barricades | – | Armor Panel melee hits 9 to 10 |
| C | Caveira | Roamer | – | SPAS-15 damage 24 to 26 |
| D | Warden | Anti-flash anchor | – | SMG-12 nerf |
Where we deviate: Mira and Kaid both plot slightly below zero on Ubisoft’s win delta chart (roughly -1%, at around 44 to 46% presence) and we still have them in S. The negative delta is mostly a selection effect. They are banned so often that when they do get through, they are picked on sites where defense is already hard. Rook is the opposite case: he sits near +2.7% win delta at only about 2% presence, the highest defender dot on the chart. We keep him in B because a tiny, dedicated player base inflates that number, and his armor does nothing for your solo queue teammates who never pick it up. Castle drops to C even after the Y11S3.1 buff, since he plotted at roughly -1.5% win delta last season and one extra melee hit on a panel does not fix that.
Mira: why she is S
Mira is S by the only vote that matters: 89% ban rate on PC and on console at Platinum+. When a team leaves her open, Black Mirrors turn a single wall into a one-way firing line that attackers have to break with hard breach or Thatcher first. Ace, Thermite and Hibana break the mirror wall, Thatcher EMPs it, and attackers can shoot out the canister to open the mirror. Mirrors on walls that attackers can simply walk around are wasted. If a mirror is not watching the plant, it is just a window.
Kaid: why he is S
Kaid is banned in 45% of PC and 50% of console Platinum+ matches because his Rtila Electroclaws electrify reinforced walls and hatches from places Thatcher cannot easily reach. On the key walls of most bombsites, a Kaid plus a Bandit forces the attack to spend two utility pieces before the breach even starts. Thatcher, Twitch drones, Kali’s V-Lance and Ram clearing the floor above all deal with his claws. Do not pick him if you want to roam. His value is almost entirely in prep phase and the first 30 seconds of action.
Thorn: why she is S
Thorn is our favourite pick on this list because she is S-tier and almost nobody bans her. Ubisoft’s chart puts her at roughly 28% presence with around +1.7% win delta, the highest win delta of any defender above 20% presence, while her ban rate is only 5% on PC and 3% on console. Razorbloom Shells punish the exact moment attackers push onto site. Twitch and Thatcher clear the shells, and slow, droned entries take the sting out of them. If you hide shells in the same spots every round, Plat+ attackers will learn them fast, so rotate your setups.
Ban priority table
Bans in Siege are two-sided: each team bans one attacker and one defender, so the question is always which single operator hurts your side most. Here is the Y11S2.3 Platinum+ data side by side, with our read of where each one goes in Split Fire.
| Operator | Side | PC ban rate | Console ban rate | Split Fire outlook |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| Mira | Defender | 89% | 89% | Stays the top defender ban |
| Ace | Attacker | 48% | 63% | Stays the top attacker ban, M1014 buffed |
| Kaid | Defender | 45% | 50% | Unchanged |
| Dokkaebi | Attacker | 37% | 25% | Should fall after the SMG-12 and Jegeo nerfs |
| Solid Snake | Attacker | 24% | 19% | Unchanged |
| Ram | Attacker | 20% | 25% | Likely rises as Dokkaebi bans move |
| Maverick | Attacker | 17% | 15% | Should fall after the AR-15.50 nerf |
| Thermite | Attacker | 15% | 22% | Likely rises after the charge buff |
| Azami | Defender | 15% | 12% | Unchanged |
| Aruni | Defender | 10% | 4% | Should fall after the MK14 nerf |
| Thatcher | Attacker | 10% | 6% | Unchanged |
| Bandit | Defender | 8% | 8% | Unchanged |
Our ban advice for solo queue is simpler than the table. On defense, ban the hard breacher your team is worst at stopping; in practice that is Ace nearly every game. On attack, if Mira is open, ban her. If the enemy already took her (or your team did not), Kaid is the next ban that makes Ace and Thermite’s life easier. The console column is worth a look even if you are on PC: console lobbies ban Ace far harder (63%) and treat Ram and Thermite as bigger threats, and our guess is that controller players find it harder to contest a breach in a straight gunfight.
Rising and falling vs last season
Split Fire was a nerf season for the guns that carried last season, and a buff season for the gadgets that did not. Here is the direction of travel for the operators the changes actually touched.
| Operator | Before | After | Verdict |
|---|---|---|---|
| Dokkaebi, Vigil, Warden (SMG-12) | 28 damage, 32 magazine, 129 max ammo | 16 damage, 22 magazine, 111 max ammo | Falling hard |
| Maverick, Tubarão (AR-15.50) | 67 damage | 59 damage, more first-shot recoil | Falling |
| Aruni, Dokkaebi (MK14 EBR) | 60 damage | 56 damage, more first-shot recoil | Falling |
| Kali (CSRX 300) | 5x / 12x scopes, 1s pump, 36 ammo | 3.5x / 8x scopes, 0.8s pump, 51 ammo | Rising |
| Clash, Kali (SPSMG9) | 33 damage | 35 damage | Rising |
| Thermite (Exothermic Charge) | 200 hp | 220 hp | Rising |
| Ace, Castle, Pulse, Thermite (M1014) | 28 damage | 30 damage | Rising |
| Sledge (Breaching Hammer) | 1 second swing | 0.8 second swing | Rising |
| Kapkan (Entry Denial Device) | 60 hp | 62 hp | Slight rise |
The DMR nerf is the one that changes how ranked feels. Aruni, Tubarão and Maverick lost both damage and the Muzzle Brake, so tapping long angles is noticeably less forgiving, and r/Rainbow6 was already asking whether the DMR era is over the week the notes dropped. Our take from the first weeks of Split Fire orders: Aruni is still A because her gates do the work, while Tubarão feels much worse, since his gun was half the reason to pick him. The cleanest Emerald to Diamond climb our team logged this season was a solo queue player who dropped Dokkaebi for Ram on attack and Thorn on defense and went 26 wins to 11 losses.
Noor is the other big mover. His Horus Lance Launcher sticks fire to shields and surfaces, and the Y11S3.1 patch notes spend a long list of bug fixes on exactly how he interacts with Montagne, Blackbeard and other shield operators. We have him in B for now. He hard-counters a playstyle that was already B and C tier in ranked, which makes him a pocket pick more than a default.
Where this R6 operator tier list is wrong
This R6 tier list has three weak spots, and you should know them before you trust a row. First, the numbers are last season’s. Ubisoft’s charts cover Y11S2.3, so every Split Fire placement is our projection from the patch notes plus what we see on orders, and the mid-season designer’s notes may prove parts of it wrong. Second, it is Platinum and above. In Copper to Gold lobbies, bans are less disciplined and raw aim decides more rounds, so gun-first operators like Ash, Zofia or Jäger outperform their tier here. Third, presence and win delta come from a scatter chart. We read the dots carefully, but a figure like “+1.7%” is our estimate from the plot, not a number Ubisoft printed.
There is also the operator problem no tier list solves: Siege has more than 70 operators, and map and site change everything. Kaid on a bombsite with no key reinforced walls is a C-tier pick for that round. Use the tiers to decide what to learn, then pick by site. For picks tuned to climbing rather than raw power, our best attackers for MMR and best defenders for MMR guides narrow it down per side.
Frequently asked questions
Who is the best operator in R6 right now?
Ace on attack and Mira on defense. Ace was banned in 48% of Platinum+ PC matches and 63% on console at the end of last season, and Mira in 89% on both, per Ubisoft’s Y11S3 Designer’s Notes. Neither was touched in Operation Split Fire.
What is the most banned operator in Rainbow Six Siege?
Mira, at 89% of Platinum-and-above ranked matches on both PC and console in Ubisoft’s latest published data (Y11S2.3). Kaid is second among defenders at 45% on PC, and Ace leads attackers.
Is Dokkaebi still good after the Split Fire nerf?
She is still A-tier for her gadget, but she lost a lot. The SMG-12 went from 28 to 16 damage, her MK14 dropped to 56, her EMP grenades became Breach Charges, and the Jegeo Payload now breaks if the connection to the target’s phone is interrupted.
Is Noor worth learning?
As a counter pick, yes. His Horus Lance Launcher punishes Montagne, Blackbeard and Blitz, but shield attackers were already rare in Platinum+ ranked, so we rate him B until the mid-season data shows how often he matters.
Which R6 operators are best for solo queue?
Operators who create value without teammates: Ace and Ram on attack, Thorn, Azami and Kaid on defense. All of them change a round through utility rather than relying on a coordinated team.
How often does the R6 tier list change?
Every season, with smaller shifts at each mid-season patch. Ubisoft publishes Designer’s Notes with presence, win delta and ban data at each season launch and usually again mid-season, and that is when to re-check this list.
The short version: Ace, Ram and Thermite lead attack, Mira, Kaid and Thorn lead defense, and Split Fire took the edge off Dokkaebi and the DMRs. The mid-season designer’s notes will confirm or correct the projections here, so re-check the numbers when they land. And if you would rather put this season’s hours into playing at your real rank than grinding toward it, our team runs R6 ranked climbs and placement matches on your account.
