Rainbow Six Siege IQ: Y4S1.3 update - what she can do and how to use her

A recent update to IQ has increased her usefulness against a rather troublesome defender in Tom Clancy's Rainbow Six Siege. Attacker operatives like IQ that can detect enemy locations based on electronics usage can be vital to a team doing well.

This GSG 9 operator has more primary weapons than her counterpart Blitz, but perhaps is one of the easier of the basic operators to understand, IQ specialises in detecting electronics used by enemy forces. For those that wish to use her, also consider looking at our Rainbow Six Siege guide hub if you want more general tips and tricks to get the most out of each round.

IQ operator guide

This guide will go over the changes made to IQ's Electronics Detector skill, as well as her weapons, stats, and gadgets. We'll also go over some top tips for using the detector and why communicating by voice chat is mandatory for this character to do well.

IQ's Stats

Armour: 1
Speed: 3

IQ's Weapon Loadouts

IQ has an obvious upside with all three of her primary weapons being very good. She has the AUG A2 assault rifle, the 552 Commando assault rifle, and the G8A1 light machine gun. Each has their obvious upsides and downsides but are all highly viable and competitive. Her downside is that like Blitz she only has access to the P12 handgun as a sidearm, though she is nowhere near as reliant on it.

IQ's Gadgets

The list of gadgets on offer for IQ are the breach charge and claymores. They're both somewhat useful, so it's up to you how best to use them. Claymores do offer a bit of protection from ambushes which considering the amount of time spent staring at her screen is a plus.

IQ's Skill

Having one of the more valuable abilities, IQ's RED MK III "Spectre" is an electronics detector that pinpoints the location of any electrical device, displaying them on her monitor as pulsating circles.

Depending on where it is, such as on the floor or at mid-level height for example, indicates a clue as to what you are looking at. If it is mid-level, you may even be looking at Pulse, as IQ is a direct counter to his ability. In the most recent update, IQ can now detect Echo whenever he is using his PDA.

Should I pick IQ?

It's a bit of a golden rule that to play Rainbow Six Siege effectively, you need to verbally communicate with your team. IQ is a prime example of this in action, as she can see electronic devices, but it's up to you to actually tell your team. If you do that frequently, then she is a hugely effective team member and can defend herself with her three excellent primary weapons.

As IQ focuses on detecting electronic gadgets, it's a good idea to know which operatives on the defensive side have vulnerable gadgets for her to detect. Check out our main Rainbow Six: Siege operators guide which has links to each individual operator, as well as an overview on the more universally useful ones and which ones beginners should consider learning.