Maestro is the Italian stud of Siege. He was the community’s best place for thicc-ness well before Gridlock arrived on the scene and what’s even better is that he’s in an awesome spot, meta-wise right now. So if you like annoying gadgets, overpowered guns, and a stocky italian guy giving the business to the attacking team, then Maestro’s the perfect fit.

Ability - Evil Eye

Named after a superstition, Maestro’s rage-inducing gadget is a bulletproof camera that has thermal vision and laser zaps that can not only damage enemies, but destroy gadgets as well. Keep in mind, he only gets two of them and when you’re shooting with them, they are vulnerable to being destroyed. They have a crazy amount of pressure that can be used both on- and off-site, and can even be placed outside for some very fun shenanigans. If an opponent is not prepared to deal with an Evil Eye, they are helpless to being pushed into an incredible disadvantage, not only from the information it gives you, but from the damage it can provide. And while Evil Eyes are great gadgets, let's get into what makes Maestro such a good operator overall.

Primary: I hesitate to call it a choice between the ALDA 5.56 LMG and the ACS12 shotgun just because of how good the ALDA really is. The ability to equip an ACOG to this thing makes it an actual living nightmare for the attacking team. Its rate of fire is crazy, its recoil is very manageable, and its damage is average. While these things individually may not be impressive, together it forms a laser beam with a 4x scope, making Maestro a terrifying defender that holds any corner. The only reason to use the ACS12 shotgun on Maestro is for memes, which is still fun to do and can be viable with a very cooperative team, but if you’re trying to get better or climb low ranks, you want to have the ALDA on at all times.

Secondary: Maestro has a much closer decision between the Keratos .357 and the Bailiff 410. If you’re looking for a standard issue pistol on Maestro, the Keratos is your safest bet with its high damage output. What makes the Bailiff unique, however, is that it acts as a shotgun as well by supplying a small, but crafty amount of soft destruction that can make kill holes or pop open hatches. Both cater to different play styles, but again, the ALDA is so good, it almost doesn’t matter what you pick as your secondary.

Utility: Maestro can bring in either some barbed wire or some impact grenades. Wire is always helpful in slowing enemies while also giving away their position with a careful ear. By putting it at a choke point, such as the bottom of yellow stairs on Consulate, and you have the perfect setup to pick people off from behind White Truck. Impacts can be used to form rotation holes or, in much nicher situations, can kill a downed opponent that crawled around a corner. With this in mind, it’s probably best to take the wire, but a case could be made for either based on playstyle.

Tips

• While the majority of this article has basically just been a big ad for using the LMG, I do want to point out how good an Evil Eye is at clearing hard breach or other gadgets. Let’s say you’re defending Aviator Room on the map Villa. An Evil Eye placed on the desk in the Study room can pick off Hibana pellets or Thermite charges that are placed on the walls, as well as keep an eye on anyone pushing the objective.
• Do be aware, while your Evil Eyes are bulletproof, they can be taken out by an Ash or Zofia explosive round or a well-cooked frag grenade.
• Lastly, getting back to the roots of this article, don’t think that Maestro is just some gadget addict who has to be on his phone all game. You are encouraged to flip through cams, but you’re equally useful to the team by holding angles (assuming you took the ALDA). Sometimes the Evil Eyes can be used as glorified bulletproof cameras, but they still give off similar levels of pressure to the attacking team when they don’t know if/when that camera behind them is going to turn on and start zapping.

Hopefully this has shown you some of, if not the main appeal that Maestro brings to the table. He is very fun to play as and can be a menace to attackers from the moment they spawn to the last few seconds where they’re forced to plant. There are, of course, many ways to play Maestro, so don’t take this article as scripture, it’s more so just highlights of what he can provide in a game.