Rainbow Six Siege
What Is an Operator Ban in Rainbow Six Siege?
The pick-and-ban phase of Rainbow Six Siege where each team removes operators from the match before the rounds begin.
What is an operator ban in Rainbow Six Siege?
An operator ban removes an operator from the match for both teams. In Ranked and competitive play, each team bans one attacker and one defender before the match starts, so up to four operators are unavailable. Teams use bans to take away the enemy's best picks or the strongest operators in the current meta.
How the ban phase works
Before the first round, teams take turns voting on bans. Banned operators cannot be picked by anyone for the rest of the match, so a ban hurts both sides equally, and the smart move is banning what helps the enemy more than it helps you.
Common ban strategies
- Meta bans: remove operators that are too strong in the current season.
- Map bans: remove operators that are especially powerful on that map.
- Target bans: remove the operator a known enemy player mains.
- Protect your plan: avoid bans that break your own strategy and team composition.
Example
The team's IGL knows the enemy relies on an anti-breach defender to stop their hard breach, so they ban that defender and keep their attack plan intact.
Frequently Asked Questions
How many operators are banned per match?
In Ranked, each team bans one attacker and one defender, so up to four operators can be banned.
Do bans exist in casual modes?
No. The ban phase is part of Ranked and competitive modes, not quick or casual matches.