When defending, roles are quite clear. There's always an anchor, who looks after its team by staying on-site watching cameras providing its teammates with information, and denaying any attack to the site. Around the site, we have the flex players, who are pivotal and stay near the site the whole time.
Then, outside of it, we find the roamers. If you don't know what a roamer is, this is your perfect guide.
What is a roamer in Rainbow Six Siege?
While anchors and flex players play on-site or near it, the roamers play around the whole map. Their aim is to make attackers lose time, utility, and drones. Any second of droning or any utility threw to kill a roamer is time and utility that attackers won't have to penetrate into the site. If attackers ignore the roamers or just can't clean them, these can be differential at the end of the round.
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Roamers in Rainbow Six Siege
Roamers are usually three-speed operators with good weapons, although sometimes utility is the deciding factor. For example, as C4's are frequently used to stop plants, a three-speed operator like Bandit isn't normally used as a roamer but as a flex. On the other hand, that can be a plus, as Pulse — who has a C4 just like Bandit — can be played as a roamer to deny plants from below, although he is more used as a flex.
Operators can play any role, it is all about the strategy followed. With this being said, these are the roamers in Siege par excellence.
Jäger
This operator places his three ADS', his bulletproof camera, or his two barbed wires, and leaves. Jäger's utility is pivotal in almost any strategy, so he is one of the most-used operators in the game. His weapons are also very strong despite the recent tweaks the Carbine has received.
Caveira
As a character once said (whose name I don't want to remember), "He's pain in my a**holes." Well, SHE is every attackers' nightmare, and that's why she's usually banned in both ranked and unranked matches. People can't stand her.
Cavaira's unique ability makes her completely silent. She can move around the map like a ghost. Not even Jackal can scan her footprints, since once she activates her ability she stops leaving them. Also, when he scans Caverira, he quickly loses track of her once she activates the ability again.
Not only that but her weapon set is impressive even for a roamer, as she can play with one of the best shotguns in the game as a primary, and the Luison as a secondary gun, a pistol with a silencer. She also has two impact grenades in her pocket, so when she's struggling against a certain attacker, she can open a wall to escape. These can also work to help during the preparation phase, or in certain late-round situations.
Ela
Back when she was first released, she was the best operator in the game. No doubts about it. Her Scorpion, a 40-bullet lightwave carbine with almost no recoil and a very quick fire rate, was possibly the best gun in the game. She also had two impact grenades and four Grizmot mines — which stunned way more aggressively than nowadays. She was broken, and that's why she was nerfed various times in the past.
Ela isn't that OP these days but she's still good. She has no impacts anymore, sadly. Her Scorpion has received many nerfs too. She's far from what she used to be. But her weapon in good hands can be a nightmare for the attackers. If you don't feel confident enough to play with the Scorpion, she can also be played with what is one of the best shotguns in the game, which literally wins every close-range gunfight.
Her Grzmot mines and her shotgun sometimes make her the perfect flex, although historically she has been played as a roamer — especially if we talk about ranked matches.
Vigil
The South Korean operator is another perfect option to use if you need a roamer. He has two impact grenades, which can be used to escape from gunfights or to open rotations on-site. His weapons are also very strong, as he has an SMG-12 as a secondary gun.
However, his ability isn't the best. He is invisible to drones when it is activated, although they know that he's close to where they are dronning due to the small jams the drone perceives. If you know how to play with the ability, you can always try to fool your opponents, make them believe that you are in a corner of a room while you're in another, or even in a completely different room.
Alibi
The Italian operator brings with her three Prismas that project a hologram of her. This hologram will always be of her wearing her standard uniform and headgear, so beware! Our advice is that you play her without any special skin equipped. Once attackers shot one of her holograms, they get pinged four times for the following few seconds.
Her weapon, which has a very high fire rate and that can be equipped with a x1.5 sight, is perfect for a roamer. She also has two impact grenades and can be equipped with the Bailiff 410, a weapon used to open rotations or angle sights.
Mozzie
Mozzie is a very complete operator. His ability deploys three autonomous bots that hack any attacking drone, which then he can use and move around the map. That also applies to Twitch drones! He can combine that and his C4 to produce incredible plays or late-round unexpected twists. However, his bots are usually used to make the attackers' droning job difficult. He can also be combined with a Mute, which makes that job even harder.
Oryx
He may be a two-speed operator, but he was born to roam. His ability is the Remah Dash: when activated, he runs through everything. He can destroy any wall, so his destruction power is welcomed during the preparation phase. He can also climb hatches, a very fun and useful ability in maps like Coastline or Consulate, which have a few hatches that he can use.
His weapon kit includes the SPAS-12 and Alibi's Bailiff 410, which he can use to open hatches by himself.
Melusi
Melusi is a three-speed operator with a very strong weapon, the MP5, and two impact grenades. Her ability deploys three gadgets called Bunshees, which slow down any attacker that gets close to them. This means that she can deploy them and just leave the site and exclusively focus on her roaming responsibilities.
Aruni
Just like Melusi, Aruni can deploy her gadgets and leave the site to focus on roaming responsibilities. She can use his robotic arm to open rotations, which combined with her gadget make her a very useful defender. Just like Mozzie, she also has the P10 Roni, a very strong weapon to roam.
However, due to her abilities, she is also usually used as a flex. To do that, she can be equipped with the Mk 14 EBR, which brings a x1.5 sight with it.
Thorn
The newest addition to Siege is a hell of an operator. Her weapon, the UZK50Gi has hit the live version in a very strong state and could be nerfed anytime soon. Alongside it, the C75 Auto is her secondary gun. Both of them make her incredibly OP in gunfights, especially those that are close-range. She is usually seen deploying her three gadgets, which are activated once the attackers get close to them.
How do I improve at roaming in Rainbow Six Siege?
It is very important to have good game sense and self-control. You must understand the attackers and try to anticipate their next move. Stay alive as much as you can and don't overpeak, sometimes not dying and just making attackers lose time is the best move. Ah, and forget about spawnpeaking! Although that can work sometimes, it is very risky and can put your team one man down — which means attackers won't have to focus on cleaning you, the roamer, which also means that they will have more time and tools to attack the site.
As always, communication is also important, so try to communicate with your teammates. It is also very important to listen, as teammates who are watching cameras will probably give you instructions to catch attackers red-handed.