Ubisoft’s tactical shooter Rainbow Six Siege has grown massively over the years. The FPS game recently stepped onto its Year 7, reaching over 80 million players in 2022.
Smoke: the 2-speed, 2-health operator is one of the non-DLC operators in the game. This SAS defender is one of the best anchors in the game because of his loadout and utility. So, when picking this operator, here are some of the things you should know.
Smoke Operator Guide
Biography
“Sure, I care about the environment. Immediately around me, anyway.”
Though Porter wasn’t an exceptional student, aptitude tests revealed his propensity for sciences. Encouraged by faculty and his parents, he was able to follow a more unorthodox manner of education with tutors, home-schooling, and field science. He flourished in this break from formal classroom studies and quickly developed his skills in chemistry, biology, and math. Uninterested in pursuing a formal university education, Porter forged a fake ID and enlisted in the British Army. Though the rigidity of army rules wasn’t always a good fit, it was offset by the diverse range of training and experiences army life gave him. While he has been reprimanded for breaking rules, his superiors quickly recognized both his innovation and strategic perspective. He was then encouraged to join the SAS. Porter prefers to acquire knowledge and skills, such as language and music, in his own way and does not excel in a formal training capacity.
Best Weapon Loadout
- Primary Weapon: FMG-9 (SMG), M590A1 (Shotgun)
- Secondary Weapon: SMG-11 (Machine Pistol), P226 MK 25 (Pistol)
- Secondary Gadgets: Deployable Shield / Barbed Wire
- Unique ability: Remote Gas Grenade
As his primary weapon, Smoke has the option of picking the FMG-9 SMG or the M590A1 Shotgun. The FMG-9 is one of the most underrated guns in Siege. It has almost zero recoil, making it very easy for beginners, and the damage stats are also very good, considering it is an SMG.
However, the most popular and effective loadout would be to pick the M590A1 Shotgun, paired with the SMG-11 secondary. The shotgun allows Smoke to remodel the bombsites by creating the necessary rotates and angles. Smoke is also an anchor operator, so you can hold close and tight angles with the Shotgun.
On the other hand, the SMG-11 should the easy choice, as it is considered one of the best secondary weapons in the game. The recoil of this gun might be a bit difficult to control for beginners, but once you master it, the SMG-11 can be very deadly, as it has one of the highest fire-rate out of all weapons in Siege. For its attachment, we will suggest using the Flash Hider, but you could try options, according to your liking.
Secondary Gadget
As his secondary gadget, Smoke can pick barbed wires or a deployable shield. The barbed wires can assist you in slowing down the Attackers, while you detonate smoke grenades around them. However, in this current meta, the deployable shield will be a better option, as it is another hindrance for the Attackers to clear before pushing the site.
Unique Ability
Smoke’s primary gadget is his Toxic Gas Grenades. This unique gadget is a remote smoke canister that can be thrown and attached to any surface, similar to Ela’s Grizmot mines, and detonated with a push of a button. Once detonated, a cloud of yellow smoke (around 5 meters in diameter) is emitted, and any Attackers in its proximity will take 15 points of damage every two-thirds of a second. So, an Operator with full HP can be downed in just over 3 seconds with the toxic gas. A Finka boost doubles the amount of damage taken by the Smoke grenade, so that’s another unique interaction to know about.
Smoke has a total of 3 Toxic Gas Grenades in his arsenal, and all are available at the start of the prep phase. Smoke is one of the best area-denial operators in the game, so as a Smoke player you should be looking to save your gadgets till the end of the round to deny entry to the bombsites. The gas cloud will only last for 10 seconds, so if you time them correctly, Smoke can deny the Attackers from planting the defuser.
You can counter the Smoke grenades, but only they are placed down and not yet detonated. Thatcher’s emp, Twitch’s shock drones, and IQ’s scanner are some examples that you can use to get rid of that pre-placed toxic grenade.
Should you pick Smoke?
As we have stated earlier, Smoke is one of the best area and plant-denial Operators in the game. When playing Smoke, you need to be patient and stay alive as long as you can to take advantage of the time pressure the Attackers face. With more practice, you will get better at handling both the shotgun and the SMG-11, so you can never go wrong in picking this operator on any bombsite.
Tips and Tricks:
(i) Learn the default plant spots for the maps, and smoke off the area when hearing the planting sound.
(ii) Don’t feel obliged to save all your gas canisters till the very last moment of a round. If someone is pushing a hallway or a door, you can smoke the area to slow them down while you rotate to safety.
(iii) Create holes with the shotgun for new lines of sight to throw the gas canisters from safety.
(iv) Smoke himself is immune to his toxic gas, so you won’t need to worry about detonating the grenade too close to yourself.
