Gadgets are a quintessential part of Rainbow Six Siege’s core gameplay. An operator can be made or broken based on which gadget you can run on them and whether you can use them to their full effectiveness. With that in mind, here is an analysis of which type of gadgets suit which type of player, as well as recommendations and strategies on who should use them or how to. Keep in mind this information is subject to change and was written during Year 4 Season 1.3 patch.

Breach Charges

A breach charge is the simplest of each gadget available to the attacking team, even being restricted in where you can place them to make them an easier option for beginners. That doesn’t mean they don’t have a use for veteran players, however. Having three charges available to you from the start of a round allows for some creative play as well as constructive.

For advanced manoeuvres, the best qualities of the breach charge are the amount of noise they make and the fact you can detonate them at a distance. This allows you to blow a wall, alerting enemies towards that direction, while you come in from the opposite side for some easy kills.

Recommended for use on Blackbeard, Blitz, Fuze, Gridlock, and Jackal.

Look at Doc, he knows what's about to happen.

Claymores

Claymores have the highest skill cap required to use them to their full potential. An accomplished claymore user will be able to predict where defending roamers will go and blow them to bits before they get a chance to intercept you. This knowledge comes purely from practice. Knowing map layouts and standard roaming rotations for each map is what makes claymores powerful. You can also plant them while already on site if you have saved it for that long. Any roamer that runs onto site while you’re taking objective will be less likely to see the red light indicators at their feet. Alternatively, you can just stick them on your flank and forget about them.

Another tactic is to plant them beside drone holes, so they peek out the other side. Not only does this obscure the red light somewhat, but it allows for some cheeky damage on roamers in an open corridor. However, be aware that this often doesn’t result in a kill, as the explosion is partially blocked as well. (As of writing this, claymores are disabled in the current patch.)

Recommended for use on IQ, Maverick, Thatcher, Twitch, Ying, and Zofia.

Frag Grenades

These things are the undisputed rulers of attacking gadgets. Although claymores have a higher skill floor, the skill ceiling for these grenades is arguably the highest in the game. Those that can equip them (Sledge, Buck and Finka) should be doing so in all their games. Being the only throwable gadget on the attacking side that can damage walls, structures, enemy equipment, and players from a distance, the versatility of frag grenades is unparalleled. They are so good in fact, that when Ubisoft has moved frag grenades from one operator to another, it has a drastic effect of their win rate.

Sledge's and Buck’s kit are synergistic with the frag pick. Their goal is to destroy a site's surrounding floors/ceiling with their respective equipment. Dropping a frag grenade through the grates when you’re a floor above the objective is extremely effective. Skilled players will be accustomed to how to correct cook a grenade for the amount of time they need to. Immediately throwing one and praying it does something will most likely prove ineffective, especially if there is a Jaeger on the opposing side.

Smoke Grenades

Smokes have a niche role in Rainbow Six Siege. Their MO is that they obstruct vision, something you’d think is great, right? Well, the problem is it obstructs both team’s vision equally. Not only that but, with the announcement of Warden added in Operation Phantom Sight, they may prove even less effective than before. However, they tend to be exceptional for certain strategies and operators.

Glaz is the perfect example. Being the only operator that can utilize a thermal scope, he completely ignores the effect of smoke grenades, and he’s lucky enough to be able to equip them. Just throw a smoke down a long corridor, ADS, and look for yellow heads. Just be aware that the enemy team will know you’re coming, as this is a very common strat. Another reason to use them is for smoke plants. Having someone like a Monty throw a cloud of smoke on a bomb site and shield up to have a team plant behind them can prove to be exceptional on certain points.

Recommended for use on Glaz, Montagne.

Protip: Never peak a Glaz

Stun Grenade

If you want to be a fast player, one who rushes in as fast as they can and picks up kills like that Ash main that aced you that one time, then stuns are the optimal choice. Frags, while arguably more effective, are unavailable to operators with a maxed speed stat. They’re simple to use, just throw them in a room (all three of them if you wanna play safe and you know there are multiple enemies in a room) and run in guns blazing. Just be careful that they affect you and friendlies too. You can also use the noise they create to bait someone to give away their position like with breach charges.

Once again, the newly announced Warden offers some consistent counterplay to stun grenades in a similar way that he does with smokes, though whether he is a contender for being a meta pick remains to be seen. Stuns will prove to be effective against all others on the enemy team regardless.

Recommended for use on Ash, Capitao, Dokkaebi, Hibana, Lion, Nomad, and Thermite.

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