Discuss the operators - Buck

[The3rdWalker 1,263]

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 Buck.

• Iceycat's Buck Guide 
• Serenity17's Buck Guide 
• Buck 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 1,263]

Buck is the most versatile character in the game; however the recent patches have made him a bit odd.

• Let's start with Buck's skeleton key, even since the recent patch to focus on environmental damage it still delivers a punch to the opponent. The great thing about Buck is that you can punch a hole in any reinforced wall and take the enemy by surprise. Unfortunately, sometimes, it takes more than one round to penetrate the wall - it really depends where you stand. Buck is a very good support operator in the sense that he can make holes for the team to see through or even crawl under (if you fire two shots you can likely prone under it).
• Buck's DMR has an incredible fire-rate, I would recommend running it without an ACOG (and you can reference Matimi0's video for this), as well as a flash hider.
• Buck's AR is interesting, again I recommend it mostly without an ACOG as the recoil can overwhelm you, however if it is truly necessary (you're on a large map) then I would say take it. Depending on your preference you can pick your barrel modification, I personally like flash hider for those head shots.
• Between stun or frag grenades, it is really up to personal preference - I love them both.
• Now, there are some interesting ways to play Buck that can really benefit your teammates (clubhouse especially). In some situations, reinforced walls leave a gap at the top and can give some really good peek spots, some maps of this include: - Clubhouse - Consulate
• In consulate you can peek into the office with almost all control of the desk area, in clubhouse you can do the same with garage.
• Buck's strong suit would is bomb, as you can punch a hole through the wall to the diffuser and catch an unsuspecting defender off guard.

Overall, Buck is just an amazing support operator and he is even great on his own. My best advice to playing with him is to make holes in places you can crawl under in if your alternatives are blocked, and to heavily use him on bomb.