To get the job done in Rainbow Six Extraction, you need to make sure you choose the right Operator. Fortunately, you have a decent roster of Operators that each have useful abilities to choose from. But even though most of these soldiers are well-equipped to fight the Archaean parasite, there are some that are definitely better than others.
While each of these characters can be viable in the right situations, not every Operator was created equal. We're going to take a look at each of them and determine which veteran of the Rainbow Six Siege crew is the best or worst at fighting alien zombies.
18 Tachanka
You'd think that being able to deploy a powerful mounted light machine gun would make you a valuable asset on a zombie fighting team, but surprisingly, this isn't the case. Tachanka's ability winds up being one of the least useful in the whole game. You can certainly mow down hordes of Archies with it, but there rarely seems to be a good time to ever put it down. Swarms of enemies are coming from all angles and this LMG lacks the mobility to handle those threats. Not to mention the fact that's it very loud, which makes it completely useless for objectives that require stealth.
If you're able to coordinate your team so that you can place this gun down in a good spot and cover the Operator that's manning it, then it could make for a good defensive weapon. Otherwise, it's kind of trash.
17 Fuze
Fuze's ability is a little odd. He plants charges on a breakable wall that can be remotely triggered. When they go off they release a cluster of grenades on the other side of that wall. In theory, this could be a pretty nifty ability. In practice, it's a little finicky to use. If these charges were detonated like proximity mines then they'd be great. But since they require you to detonate them manually, you really need a team that has decent recon abilities or gear so you can see what's behind a wall for these charges to be effective. If you're lacking that, then all you can really do with this ability is plant these charges and pray that you kill something when you set them off. They also make quite a ruckus when they explode, so using them is a good way to alert all the Archies in the area.
16 Capitao
Capitao should be one of the best Operators in the game. After all, his ability is that he gets to lug around a crossbow that fires either smoke or venom bolts. Sadly, the crossbow is pretty underwhelming in action. It requires pinpoint accuracy to be effective and even if you land your shots it simply doesn't do enough damage to be viable. There are other Operators with better abilities that can do what Capitao does but better. It's rather odd that he's one of the last Operators that you can unlock as he's not much of a reward for grinding out all that XP.
15 Nomad
Another late-game character that's fairly disappointing. Nomad's ability gives her special mines that can knock back enemies and get rid of hazards. It can be an alright ability if you're tackling an objective that features aggressive swarms of enemies. But again, there are characters who have more useful abilities and there's plenty of REACT Tech you can equip that will do the same job as these mines. This leaves Nomad feeling pretty inessential. That's another strike for The Architects.
14 Hibana
Hibana has the ability to shoot explosives onto walls and remotely detonate them. This winds up being a lot better than Fuze's ability in that you don't have to guess when to set them off to kill enemies behind a wall. If an enemy walks by one of these explosives, you detonate it to take them out. Nice and simple.
But, as is the problem with a lot of offensive Operators in Extraction, these bombs make a lot of noise. If you need to be stealthy, Hibana is a pretty terrible choice. Considering that a lot of objectives favor a silent approach, this character causes more problems than she solves. Not to mention the fact that you need to be consciously aware of where you fire these explosives. There are many surfaces that are incompatible with these sticky bombs, which can leave you scrambling to find a good spot to place these things. It's not a bad ability, but it's just not practical in a lot of situations.
13 Smoke
This is another Operator whose ability is decent, but not a necessity. As you may have guessed by his name, Smoke throws remotely detonated smoke grenades that emit a toxic gas that's harmless to humans, but very deadly to Archaeans. When hordes of enemies are approaching, these things can be a convenient way to damage them all at once. They work well as traps or as offensive explosives. The only real downside to Smoke is that you can simply equip something in your explosives slot that will do a similar job. Why take someone who does something that can be replicated with plain old REACT Tech? He can be handy to have in your squad, but there are better options to take out into the field.
12 Gridlock
The last member of The Architects is the best of her group, although she's still not quite one of the best Operators you can select. Her ground traps can slow down and damage enemies, which can be of great use when you need to set up defenses. The slower an enemy is the faster you can shoot it. It's the kind of ability that can be paired with other Operators to become highly destructive. Unfortunately, when compared to some of the other defensive abilities, it's not as potent. Again, there's technically nothing wrong with Gridlock, she's just not a top-tier pick.
11 Sledge
Who doesn't love a big old hammer? Sledge is a unique Operator in that instead of a special explosive, gadget, or ability, he just smashes walls down. If you're ever in a rush to reach an Extraction Zone or get to an MIA Operator, Sledge can just use his hammer to knock down any breakable wall and create his own routes to objectives. In addition to that, he can also bash Archies over the head with it to stun them. He can even stun some of the tougher enemies such as Tormentors when he reaches higher levels.
He narrowly avoids making the top 10 because this is a bit of a niche ability. You're rarely going to need to break a wall down as there are plenty of ways to get where you have to go. Plus, doing that makes a racket and leaves a hole in the wall which gives enemies another entry point to attack you from. However, being able to stun anything that gets too close to you or your teammates can be a nice move to have in a pinch. So while he's not the best, he ranks higher than the previous Operators by virtue of the fact that hitting things with a sledgehammer will always be fun.
10 Rook
At first glance, you may find Rook's loadout to be pretty lackluster. All he has is a bag of armor to share with his squad. The armor reduces damage, but you could just throw some Body Armor into your gadget slot if you wanted to.
However, the real value of this armor does is that it essentially gives your team an extra life. As you know if you've played Extraction, going down once puts you into the Down But Not Out state. When you go down again, you're knocked out and covered in foam. With Rook's magic bag of armor, you can put some on after you've downed once, and you'll be able to go down again but not be out of the game. If you can keep replenishing Rook's ability, you can potentially keep getting knocked down and get back up again for as long as you want.
9 Jager
Almost every game that features heroes with their own individual abilities has that one character who's able to deploy a turret. Well, Jager is that character for Extraction. His drone-shaped turret will automatically blast any enemies that stand in its way. Its only downside is that it has a limited number of shots before it runs out. However, as you level Jager up his turret will gain more bullets and become more powerful. He's a bit of a work in progress, but for objectives that require you to hunker down and defend an area, there are few Operators better suited for the job than Jager.
8 Pulse
Pulse is one of two characters with a scanner device, although his is a little less useful. He can scan through walls to find Nests, VIPs, and MIAs. So he's a godsend for any mission that has you looking for any of those. Of course, he's not quite so helpful for some of the other objectives, but as Pulse levels up, he'll be able to scan for even more stuff and will even be able to do it passively. Being able to find your objective can be one of the biggest hurdles in this game, and Pulse can make that search a whole lot easier.
7 Ela
Why are Ela's proximity mines so much better than the previous Operators armed with explosives? Well, for one thing, these sticky mines don't need to be remotely detonated. You can throw them down and any Archie caught in the blast radius will become stunned. This means you can stagger most enemies and then waltz up behind them to deliver a takedown kill. That's all well and good, but what puts Ela's ability over the top is that they recharge over time. This means that as long you're able to wait a bit, you never run out of these mines. Some of the previous Operators gain this ability as they level up, but Ela can regenerate mines right from the start. They have a practical use for offensive or defensive tactics making her the best explosive Operator.
6 IQ
Sooner or later, you're going to need ammo, medkits, or any other boxes filled with REACT Tech. IQ is the other character equipped with a scanner, and hers lets her find and tag supplies. This can make the difference between life and death as finding spare bullets and health throughout the level can allow the mission to continue. As she levels up, she'll even be able to scan certain enemies and objectives too. It's a simple yet effective ability that makes IQ worth having in your squad.
5 Alibi
A good distraction can allow you to get out of danger, and that's what Alibi provides. She can throw down decoys that look so much like Operators that enemies will leave you alone and attack them instead. They'll even scan the Archies that are hitting it, which makes them a good recon option as well. This ability to distract your foes has a ton of uses such as letting you run away or allowing you to complete an objective in peace. As long as Alibi can put out a decoy, there's a good chance you'll be able to get in and out of a zone relatively unharmed.
4 Finka
It's rather surprising that there are only two characters who can be classified as healers. But what's not surprising is that they're two of the best Operators in the game. Finka may be the second-best healer, but her ability is still fantastic. She can activate an adrenaline boost that temporarily gives the team a dose of health. If a teammate has been knocked down, this boost can even revive them. This works anywhere on the map so even if the whole squad is scattered, Finka can still give a bit of health to soldier on. There are few situations in which Finka isn't useful making her one of the most valuable players in the Rainbow Six crew.
3 Lion
Pulse can scan for Nests. IQ can scan for ammo. Lion can scan for just about everything. Lion is the best recon Operator in Extraction because he can help you prepare for what's around the corner. He can activate his EE-One-D Drone for a short duration to see and scan enemies through walls, which means you'll never be caught off-guard because you'll be able to detect any nearby Archie. It can be very easy to become overwhelmed in this game, but with Lion, you should be able to hit those Archaeans before they even know you're there.
2 Vigil
As you've no doubt learned by now, Extraction favors stealth more than running into a room with your guns blazing. That's why Vigil is one of the absolute best Operators. His ability disrupts the senses of Archaeans for a limited amount of time. What that means is that he can more or less become invisible even when he's right next to an enemy. With this power, you can sneak around a level to find any objective or escape right out from under an Archie's nose even if it spots you. This not only makes Vigil a solid pick for any team but also an ideal choice for any solo mission you may attempt. He gets even better as you level him up as his ability will apply to the rest of his squad too. There's literally no other Operator that's more silent and deadly than Vigil.
1 Doc
While this may not seem like the flashiest pick for best Operator, Doc is by far one of the best and most essential characters in the entire game. His ability is easy to figure out. He has a pistol that's loaded with shots that boost the health of whomever he shoots including himself. This pistol does require a bit of accuracy, but it's the best way to get some emergency health when you've taken damage. In addition to healing, these shots can also instantly revive anyone who's been knocked down including Doc himself once again. He can heal, he can revive, he can even revive himself. These missions are dangerous, so you're going to need a healer. Luckily, Doc is pretty damn good at keeping everyone alive.