Discuss the operators - Smoke

[The3rdWalker 1,264]

This series has been re-created to facilitate the gameplay, metagame, and strategy discussion that often gets buried or lost in the abundance of others posts that flood this sub.

The goal of this series is to not only give new players a primer on an operator, but also for midlevel or competitive players a chance to share the knowledge that they have accrued in their experiences and maybe let people know something that they did not know before.

Today's operator is Smoke.

• Serenity17's Smoke Guide 
• Iceycat's Smoke Guide 
• Smoke Wiki

The community has outlined a couple of things that they want to converse about with every operator, but feel free to branch out should you feel a piece of information warrants its own discussion.

• The operator’s primary or ideal role in the team. (DISCLAIMER: Operators can be played in a number of different ways. There is no single way to play an operator. This is probably the most subjective segment of the discussion series, and hopefully will spark debates or help us learn things we did not know before.)
• The operator’s gadget and how it will help the team achieve its goals. Please share any tidbits you may know to help expand discussion.
• The operator’s loadout, and how best to optimize it. This includes primaries, secondaries, and secondary gadgets.
• What maps and game modes does this operator do well on?
• What maps and game modes does this operator struggle with?
• What teammates synergize well with this operator?
• What opposing operators check or counter this operator?
• What strategies have you adopted while playing this operator? What is something that a new player should know * when playing this operator, or what is something you know that would help a veteran player take that next step?
• What is your overall opinion of this operator? Where would you rank them among the other operators?

[The3rdWalker 1,264]

Smoke commands many options as a defending operator and is probably the most flexible one in all of Siege.

Commanding the infamous SMG-11, Smoke is allowed to pick a shotgun as a primary not only as a weapon but also a tool to create long distance murder holes for the pocket sniper. Shotguns also allow defending operators to move up and down the map quickly through hatches, creating flanking opportunities, causing an objective camping Smoke to sometimes appear behind the attacking team.

Smoke has the potential to be a roamer and though some people swear by this, I believe he is best played near the objective where he can stall for time and crowd control with his smoke grenades. If you die with 3 bombs left, you were a Rook who didn't drop his armor.

• People really do underestimate the Smoke bomb. If it's 30 seconds left and you basically know which door the enemy is going to have to rush to get to the objective, smoke it. It will either force them to charge right through it and damage themselves, or make a panic rush to another entrance.

Smoke has access to the nitro cell AND his smoke bombs which make him a fun "trappy" kind of archetype. He synergizes very well with Valkyrie because he can use her cameras to watch his traps from safety without needing line of sight to activate them when it's time.

Smoke works better on objectives where you can narrow down the choke points to 2 or 3 doors so your smokes can be a nuisance.

Overall, Smoke used to be considered a weak pick until his true potential was realized with the SMG-11. Without his trusty sidearm he would not be the pick he is today, yet he is a solid defender while also not being entirely necessary like Rook or Valkyrie.

• Roam if you want to spawn peek with the SMG-11 but return to the objective ASAP. By ASAP I mean right after you get that first kill or you miss the guy you were shooting - whatever that outcome, haul back.
• Careful of your smokes on Hostage. I've smoked out the Hostage before.
• For the love of god, do not throw all your smokes in quick succession - space them out so that as one dissipates, you set off the next.
• You can also throw the smokes on top of a defuser and defuse it without the attackers seeing you or stopping you. On daytime the attackers cant see in but you can see out through the smoke. He is very Versatile and that's why he is one of the 3 must haves on defense along with Valkyrie and Rook.