10. Osa
Osa having one of the highest ban rates for both PC and console is a bit of a surprise here, especially since her ban rate is even higher than that of Montagne's. But when we think about it more deeply, Osa does cause a lot of trouble to the defending team, even though there's quite a lot of ways to counter her. That's because through her special gadget, the Clear Shield, she can lead the push to take control of the bomb sites, and because her shield allows her to clearly see what's in front of her, it allows her to gather valuable intel on defender positions and advise her team accordingly. And while impact grenades are a great counter to her Clear Shield, they only really work once it's already attached to a surface.
While she's still holding it, Osa's clear shield would remain indestructible, even to an explosion from a nitro cell. So if the Osa player knows what they're doing, Osa can be a really troublesome operator to deal with, and that's essentially why her ban rate is so high. Aside from her Clear Shield, Osa is also one of the few attackers that has access to the impact EMP grenades, which are great utilities for enabling hard breaching. And when she chooses to, she can also run with the claymores as her secondary gadget, and the claymores has a great combo with her Clear Shield wherein Osa can block an entryway with it, hit it with a melee attack so that it'll become opaque, and hide the claymore behind it.
What Makes Osa Most Banned:
- She’s able to gather intel on enemy positions while pushing and without taking damage from defender gunfire
- She’s able to provide extra cover for her teammates with the use of her Clear Shields that can be deployed to many surfaces
- She’s able to block entry ways with her Clear Shields and hide claymores behind them which is great for countering roamers
- She’s one of the most effective attackers for defuser planting especially in post-plant plays since she can guard the defuser while being protected by her Clear Shield
- She’s one of the few attacking operators that has access to the impact EMP grenades which are great at enabling hard breaching
Watch Osa in Action:
https://youtu.be/2eTBEvzvxa4?t=111
9. Clash
Like Osa above, there are also a lot of ways to counter Clash. However, she remains one of the most banned operators simply because it can really be a pain to deal with her. When it comes to shield operators, she’s even better at protecting her body with her shield than Montagne. That's because her special gadget, the CCE Shield, extends to her sides and even on the top of her head. So it’s not easy to just sidestep and frag her from the sides or kill her with frag grenades. In fact, as shown in the video below, trying to kill her with a frag grenade could backfire on you since her CCE Shield could just bounce it to you while she’s slowing you down.
The best way to kill her really is to catch her unaware and frag her from the back. But if she’s playing with an organized team, that could be really hard to do, because chances are, she’s going to be backed up by at least one of her teammates. On top of her being able to protect herself from damage really well. Her CCE Shield can also electrocute attackers which causes them damage overtime while the electrocution is active, and while damaging them, she also inflicts a heavy slow effect which works really well with other defender gadgets like Thorn’s Razorbloom Shell or nitro cells.
What Makes Clash Most Banned:
- She can really slow attackers down with the electricity from her CCE shield while also dealing them damage over time
- It’s very hard to kill her since all of her body parts are protected by her shield, making her a real nuisance to the attacking team
- She’s able to gather intel while annoying and damaging attackers using her CCE Shield
- It can be very hard for attackers to push when Clash is present and the slow effects of her CCE Shield is a great combo for other defender gadgets like Thorn’s Razorbloom Shells
Watch Clash in Action:
https://youtu.be/rKBV9MI6N7A?t=44
8. Kapkan
There’s no question that Kapkan is one of the most troublesome operators in the game since he’s one of the very few that can actually inflict death with just one detonation of his special gadget. That’s because he now possesses the ability to deploy multiple EDDs in one entryway, and two or three of them are usually enough to kill an unsuspecting attacker. This has resulted in Kapkan being nerfed through the removal of the scope 1.5x on his 9x19VSN submachine gun which in my opinion provides a really good balance to the game since Kapkan with a scope 1.5x is borderline OP.
Another reason why Kapkan has one of the highest ban rates in the game is that his special gadget, the Entry Denial Device, or EDD for short, isn’t just great at inflicting death or damage to the attackers. They’re troublesome in that with his presence alone, he can make attackers slow down since they’ll be forced to check each entryway for his traps, and that’s really annoying for a lot of aggressive players, or teams who excel at rushing. The EDDs are also great for intel gathering since each explosion from them creates a loud sound that will compromise the general location of where the attackers are coming from.
What Makes Kapkan Most Banned:
- Can inflict fatalities with just one detonation of his special gadget, the EDDs, because he can now deploy more than one of them on an entryway
- His presence alone is enough to slow down attackers because they’ll have to check each entry way for Kapkan’s EDDs
- His EDDs are also great utilities for gathering intel because the explosions from them are loud and gives a good idea of where the attackers are
- Having to check each side of the entryway for Kapkan’s EDDs can also leave attackers vulnerable to defender gunshots
Watch Kapkan in Action:
https://youtu.be/pl1h-_xjGsQ?t=369
7. Blitz
Blitz, in the hands of a player who really knows how to use him, especially when he’s playing in an organized team, can be really tough to deal with. That's because of his Flash Shield which protects most of his body, especially his head, from gunshots while he’s leading the push. The scary thing about Blitz’s Flash Shield is that, as its name implies, it can blind opponents that are facing him even from a considerable distance. So when opponents can’t stop Blitz by shooting at his foot when he’s charging, they’d run, and that would leave them vulnerable to him shooting them with his handgun.
That is why it’s very understandable why his ban rate is one of the highest, because in the hands of a capable and organized team, Blitz is an offensive menace. He can lead the rush or push, and defenders won’t be able to focus on countering him by shooting at his pistol hand or feet because then they’d be vulnerable to the other attackers. But if they just ignore Blitz and focus more on the other attackers, they run the risk of Blitz suddenly charging at them and blinding them with his Flash Shield.
What Makes Blitz Most Banned:
- Can lead the push or a rush without suffering much damage due to his special gadget, the Flash Shield
- Can blind defenders that are near him with his Flash Shield rendering them vulnerable to his melee attack or gunshots
- It can be quite hard to stop him by shooting at his feet or pistol hand but running from him is also dangerous as he could frag you with his pistol
- He can be a very troublesome distraction because while he’s charging along with an organized team, you can’t focus on his other teammates because you have no choice but to stop him first
Watch Blitz in Action:
https://youtu.be/A4zGz2oqSOA?t=20
6. Valkyrie
Valkyrie’s intel gathering capabilities is top notch and is probably the best in the defender side. That is why if your team doesn’t have a player who’s good at using Valkyrie, it would be wise to ban her, since that would eliminate the risk of an enemy player who’s really good at playing her, use her against you. That’s essentially the reason why her ban rate is quite high, because for most players, dealing with an experienced Valkyrie player is very difficult, especially since each of her Black Eye cameras can be hard to find.
When not in use, Valkyrie’s Black Eye cameras won’t emit a blue light, and because of their size, they could appear to be just another detail in the backdrop. So without an IQ in the attacking team, it could be a real pain to deal with Valkyrie, since she could be gathering intel on your whole team’s position without you knowing. And if you focus too much on trying to find where her Black Eye cameras are, you could leave yourself vulnerable to enemy gunshots, or you could end up wasting too much time.
What Makes Valkyrie Most Banned:
- She’s able to gather intel on attacker positions without attackers knowing since her Black Eye cameras can be hidden at angles that are hard to see
- Her Black Eye cameras can be accessible by her whole team and when not activated can be a real pain to find
- She has access to the nitro cell which can be used to deadly effect with her Black Eye Cameras when placed under a wooden floor that attackers usually take when pushing
- When placed in a very hard to see spot, her Black Eye cameras can cause a lot of distraction to the attackers when they’re used to keep pinging them
Watch Valkyrie in Action:
https://youtu.be/kfzgzVWlrUs?t=45
5. Dokkaebi
Speaking of intel, Dokkaebi doesn’t only possess the ability to gather it. She’s also one of the best intel-denial operators around. That’s because her special gadget, the Logic Bomb, forcefully makes defender phones ring loudly. Not only will that loud ringing tell the attacking team where the defenders are, it will also mask a lot of the sounds coming from them, so it’s really good for both sneak attacks and rushing. And while the Logic Bomb is actively making the defenders’ phones ring, they won’t be able to use their cameras.
That means that their ability to gather intel on the attackers will be massively reduced. This South Korean operator can also hack the mobile phones of defenders that are out of commission, giving her whole team access to all defender cameras, including special gadgets like Maestro’s Evil Eyes, Valkyrie’s Black Eyes, or bulletproof cameras. When that happens, defenders are forced to destroy their own cameras to prevent attackers from gathering intel on their positions. And that’s basically why Dokkaebi’s ban rate is so high. The way she handles intel is very troublesome.
What Makes Dokkaebi Most Banned:
- A rush that has been initiated by her Logic Bomb can be very hard to stop since the loud ringing from the phones can make it hard for defenders to hear the attackers
- The loud ringing of the defender phones due to Dokkaebi’s Logic Bomb provides the attackers with a good idea of their current locations
- Defenders can be forced to destroy their own cameras when Dokkaebi is successful in hacking one of the dead defender’s phones since that will give the attackers access to all defender cameras
- She’s also great at blocking defenders from gathering intel because while her Logic Bomb is active, they won’t be able to use their cameras
Watch Dokkaebi in Action:
https://youtu.be/OndQIG5xGqk?t=167
4. Kaid
Kaid’s hard breach preventing device, the Electroclaw, is the hardest to disable, and that’s basically why his ban rate is very high. On the attacking side, the one that can enable hard breaching the best is Thatcher, because the range of his EMP grenade is wide and that also makes him the best at countering Kaid’s hard breach preventing capabilities. So when a team bans Thatcher, which still happens most of the time despite a number of nerfs on him, it only makes sense for the other team to ban Kaid as well.
That way, the attacking team would have an easier time to enable hard breaching despite not having Thatcher around. Banning Kaid is a really good move if you’re starting out as an attacker because being able to perform hard breaching goes a long way when it comes to winning the round. In sports terms, it’s like already having round one in the bag. Sure, Bandit and Mute can prevent hard breaching as well, but since their gadgets need to be put on the ground, they won’t be able to do it when Maverick is on the attacking team.
What Makes Kaid Most Banned:
- It can be very hard for the attackers to perform a hard breach when Kaid is around and Thatcher is banned
- Since his Electroclaws have a wide reach, when Thatcher is banned, it can be hard for attackers to disable them with alternative hard breach enabling utilities
- Kaid can also make it hard for attackers to go through tight angles since he can electrocute barbed wires and deployable shields
- Kaid can be very deadly at medium to long-range due to his TCSG12 which is essentially a sniper rifle
Watch Kaid in Action:
https://youtu.be/PNMKotNasn0?t=66
3. Jackal
Jackal’s special gadget, the Eyenox Model III, allows him to track defender’s footprints even though they’re eight meters away from him. Once successfully, the tracking will lead to that particular defender being pinged for twenty seconds. That’s a long time considering that Siege ranked matches only lasts for around two minutes. With Jackal around, especially when he’s accompanied by Dokkaebi and Lion, there’s a high possibility that the defenders’ roamers will be neutralized. Either by being hunted and killed, or by being on the run all the time.
That’s the main reason why Jackal is banned most of the time. His anti-roam capabilities is just borderline OP even after all these years, and having at least one roamer is important for the defending team in order to disrupt attackers from just easily pushing through the objective spot. And even when you know that there’s a Jackal in the attacking team, it could be quite hard to counter him because he has claymores that he can leave to guard his back, and he has the ITA12S shotgun for his secondary weapon, which he can use to create rotation holes and outmaneuver the defender who’s hunting him.
What Makes Jackal Most Banned:
- When Jackal is around, it would be very hard for the defending team’s roamer to be effective because most of the time, they’ll be hunted down
- Jackal’s intel gathering capabilities is borderline OP because he can track defender footsteps, and ping them for twenty seconds
- Even without pinging them, Jackal will have a good idea of where the roamers went, since he’ll be able to see their footprints through his Eyenox Model III
- His tracking is very hard to counter when you’re a roamer, especially when he’s accompanied by other attackers
Watch Jackal in Action:
https://youtu.be/UmteC7C4iRE?t=86
2. Mira
Among all the defending operators, Mira has the highest ban rate because depending on the map, she can really make it hard for attackers to push. Some examples of those maps are Villa and Oregon. In Villa, if there’s a Mira, it would be much harder to win against the defenders if the objective spot is on the aviator and games room. That’s because with her Black Mirror, she’ll be able to provide a one-way view of the study area in favor of the defenders, so it will be very risky to push through that area especially if you can’t block the Black Mirrors’ view with smoke grenades or other utilities.
And most competent attacking teams will bring smoke grenades, however, the study area would also be usually protected by anti-projectile utilities in order to protect Mira’s Black Mirrors. This will usually force attackers to attack through the main stairs, the red stairs, and the area around the 90-degree angle, which would be much more dangerous than the study area if Mira wasn’t present. That’s basically the same thing when it comes to Oregon’s basement, since she will be able to make it very hard to push the blue bunker and laundry, so the attackers will have to try the freezer or the back stairs which would be much more difficult.
What Makes Mira Most Banned:
- She can make it very hard for attackers to push some areas of the map and force them to attack using paths that would be more difficult to them
- Through her Black Mirrors which creates a one-way view to the other side, she provides the whole defending team a great way to gather intel on enemies while safely behind cover
- She has access to the nitro cell which can be used in conjunction with her Black Mirrors and stop attackers from pushing
- Her Black Mirrors have a great combo with Azami wherein Azami fortifies the bottom part of the unreinforced wall where the Black Mirror is attached
Watch Mira in Action:
https://youtu.be/ZUcdACdvyjA?t=207
1. Thatcher
Most objective spots in Siege’s maps would be very hard to defend when the walls that lead to the outside are breached. That’s why Thatcher remains the most banned attacker in the game. With Thatcher around, it would be hard to prevent attackers from successfully performing a hard breach, even with a Bandit who’s really skilled at ‘Bandit tricking’, or even with Kaid. That’s because the reach of Thatcher’s EMP grenades are really wide, plus he has three of them. So if the Thatcher player knows how to mix up the timing, he can offset the Bandit or Kaid trick on the other side.
Aside from being the best when it comes to enabling hard breaching, due to the wide range of the EMP blast from his special gadget, Thatcher is also great at disabling defender gadgets en masse. Not only their utilities, but the reticle on their sights will be disabled too. That is why if your team is starting out in defense and you failed or forgot to ban Thatcher, you could be having a hard time winning the first three rounds. And sure, you’ll be able to use him when it’s your turn to be attackers, but at that point, you could be down to 0-3 in the match.
What Makes Thatcher Most Banned:
- Due to the wide area of effect of his three EMP grenades, it becomes much easier for attackers to perform hard breaching
- His three EMP grenades doesn’t only enable hard breaching, they can also disable a lot of defender gadgets including defender reticles
- It’s quite hard to counter him while he’s enabling a hard breach because he also has claymores to protect him from run outs or flankers
- Unless Kaid or Bandit are able to time their gadget’s deployment extremely well, they won’t be able to stop Thatcher from enabling a hard breach
- He’s also an excellent entry fragger or backline support because his assault rifles can be equipped with scopes that provide high zoom levels
Watch Thatcher in Action:
https://youtu.be/pfNM_k6IJ_s?t=130
Attention operator, please be advised. There is a new directive from Six. Read up on these related articles, and prepare for deployment:
