Rainbow Six Siege Character Classes Revealed

In Rainbow Six Siege, players can choose from 20 different character classes with unique gadgets and abilities. Today Ubisoft revealed ten of these classes.

The classes are split into two categories, Attackers and Defenders. Here's a brief run-down of each from Ubisoft:

Attackers:

Sledge – "Sledge is the perfect Operator for the player who just wants to take care of business and doesn’t care if he or she makes some noise while doing it. Armed with a heavy-duty breaching hammer, Sledge is capable of destroying surfaces like walls, floors and barricades with speed and no small amount of force."

Thermite – "Like Sledge, Thermite doesn’t mind bringing the ruckus when it comes to getting a job done. His powerful thermite breach charges are capable of eating through the ultra-strong reinforced walls like they’re made of cotton candy."

Ash – "Ash is perfect for players who favor distance over up-close-and-personal combat. She can fire a long-distance breach charge, making her a handy Operator to have if you are down to only a couple of teammates."

Thatcher – "Armed with special EMP grenades, Thatcher can knock out all electronics in range for a short period of time. Use Thatcher to help your team get the upper hand against Defenders like Pulse, whose heartbeat monitor lets him track people through walls."

Twitch – "Surveillance is key Rainbow Six Siege, and with Twitch, your surveillance can do some damage. Twitch has a handy little drone that can deliver electric shocks, dealing minor damage and disabling traps. She’s the perfect Operator for people who like to look before they leap."

Defenders:

Castle – "Once everyone has spent their wall reinforcements, they will look to Castle and his durable Kevlar barricades. These can be placed in windows and doorways and take about 12 melee hits to bring down (as opposed to the average barricade’s 3 hits). Sledge can knock it down in 2 hits with his hammer, but the noise he makes will be more than enough warning for the Defenders behind Castle’s walls."

Smoke – "Smoke is the silent killer. He can deploy and remotely detonate a chemical gas charge that deals damage to everyone in range of the smoke. Dropping a charge near a potential breach point ensures you’ve got an extra line of defense should Attackers make it through. Hit them with the gas and let the bullets fly."

Pulse – "We’ve all wondered what it would be like to be able to see through walls. With Pulse’s heartbeat monitor you can do just that. Track your opponents’ heartbeats and determine their locations to help your team prep for attack."

Rook – "Nobody wants to go into battle naked (or no one sane does, anyway). Rook ensures his teammates go into the fight with some extra armor that might mean the difference between living to finish the round and going out in the first 30 seconds."

Mute – British SAS – "Like Thatcher, Mute can knock out all electronics, but unlike Thatcher’s grenades, Mute operates a special jamming device that remains active until it’s destroyed."

As you can see, many characters are well-suited to cancelling out certain opponents. The trick is building a team with a strong mix of abilities and then using these gadgets smartly for maximum impact.

Both sides also have access to a character class called Recruit. The Recruit is a wild card. He doesn't have any unique gadgets but he can be customized more than any other character. He allows teams to have more control over their strategy.

These ten characters will be playable in the closed alpha test coming soon. You can register for a chance at the alpha at their official website. During the test, players can try out maps set in a house and airplane.

Ubisoft is planning to hold a closed beta down the line as well. You can guarantee yourself a spot in the beta by pre-ordering. You can also can sign up for a waiting list for the test without pre-ordering but you may not get in.

Rainbow Six Siege is expected to debut later this year on PS4, Xbox One and PC.