Maverick is an attacking operator with Delta Force, aka The Unit. He was released on September 4, 2018 as part of Y3S3: Operation Grim Sky. This guide covers everything you need to know about Maverick’s gadgets, weapons, synergies, counters and lore, with some tips and tricks to help you get the most out of him.

TEAM – Attacker / ARMOR – 1 / SPEED – 3

Gadget: Exothermic-S “Suri” Torch

Maverick uses a DIY handmade tool called the Exothermic-S “Suri” Torch, or simply blowtorch. The blowtorch is a powerful gadget, having the ability to burn holes into any soft or reinforced surface.

The blowtorch has 5 canisters, which are loaded into the torch and manually fired by Maverick. The primary use of the torch is to burn open murder holes and make small entry ways through walls that have been reinforced by the defenders.

The blowtorch has a limited range, and must be manually used in place of a weapon at all times, leaving Maverick vulnerable while in use. While it deals a small amount of damage to other operators, it takes just over an entire canister to kill an enemy, making it highly ineffective as a weapon.

The torch can also be used on regular soft surfaces, barricades, Castle’s armor panels, and even hatches to make new lines of sight or entry points. It is quieter and less noticeable than punching holes in surfaces.

Regular, non-reinforced hatches are destroyed almost immediately with one quick burn from the torch, making Maverick useful at preserving the attackers breaching charges.

Maverick Role

Maverick isn’t a straightforward alternative to a regular hard breacher, such as Thermite or Hibana. However, using the right techniques he can still offer the team equally useful breaching opportunities.

The most basic—and often most effective—use of the blowtorch is to make small murder holes in reinforced walls, allowing the attackers to peek into objective and take out the defenders. This is best done at low angles, and facing towards common hiding spots or corners of objective sites. A pre-occupied Echo or Maestro won’t hear or see your hole while using their gadgets, allowing you to quickly follow up and net a kill.

The blowtorch can be also be used to clear gadgets, especially useful if your team doesn’t have a Thatcher or Twitch. By burning holes in the bottom of reinforcements, Maverick can see and eliminate items like Shock Wire batteries and Mute Jammers. Follow this up with an Exothermic Charge or some X-Kairos for maximum effect; just be careful of defenders who will try to shoot Thermite’s feet as he places a charge.

See the Tips & Tricks at the end of the guide for more useful tips to turn Maverick into a true asset for the attackers.

Maverick Loadout

*Suppressor's dampen a weapons sound at the cost of reduced damage.

The AR-15.50 is fairly standard DMR, handy for sniping and playing from a distance. But given Maverick’s utility requires him to be present and in close-quarters, the M4 is the better primary weapon. Equipping the M4 with a silencer will add to the stealth play his gadget excels at; if your holes are hidden from plain view, the lack of bullet indicators will help them stay hidden for longer.

The 1911 TACOPS is Mavericks only secondary, so be mindful of the low capacity for any time you need to use it.

Rounding out his loadout should be the Claymore, which can be used in conjunction with the blowtorch is make an unexpected death trap. Burning a small hole in the bottom of a reinforcement will allow Maverick to place his Claymore to cover the inside of site. Experiment with your placement, and try to take note of spots that see a lot of traffic. In a typical objective site, defenders have common safe areas they’ll either hide in or retreat to; think about where they might run to while defending objective, and lay your trap there.

Maverick Counters

Who Maverick Counters

• Maestro (Hard Counter): one zap from Maverick’s blowtorch will immediately destroy an Evil Eye. This can be effective from behind reinforced walls too, when paired with IQ’s scanning ability.
• Bandit (Soft Counter): Maverick can open up reinforced walls and get a clear line of site to destroy Bandit’s Shock Wires. The Shock Wires are always on the floor, which makes them easy to find.
• Mute (Soft Counter): Maverick can open up reinforced walls and get a clear line of site to destroy Mute’s Jammers. The Jammers are always on the floor, which makes them easy to find.
• Mira (Soft Counter): Maverick can use his blowtorch to completely destroy a Black Mirror. There are 4 small struts—2 above and 2 below—on a Mirror that when destroyed, will completely destroy it. Learn where these struts are and you can quickly counter Mira. 

Who Counters Maverick

• Kaid (Soft Counter): Electroclaws can be very difficult to locate and destroy through a reinforcement. Kaid can place his gadget anywhere on a reinforcement—or even around it—and render Maverick helpless without the help of IQ.
• Mira (Soft Counter): Mira can use her Black Mirrors to watch a reinforcement and get the jump on Maverick before, or while, he is using his blowtorch. 

Maverick Synergies

• Thermite/Hibana: in lieu of a Thatcher on the attacking team, Maverick can effectively destroy gadgets such as Shock Wires and Jammers, allowing another hard breacher to safely open the walls.
• Buck/Sledge: if Maverick uses his blowtorch to destroy large portions of a reinforcement, a soft breacher like Buck or Sledge can finish the job by opening up the remaining surface.
• IQ: IQ can use her scanner to locate electronic gadgets, such as Electroclaws and Evil Eyes, from behind reinforced walls. By pinging their locations, Maverick can quickly destroy them.

Tips & Tricks

• Opening reinforced hatches is one of the most difficult things to do as Maverick. But using this method, Maverick has enough fuel in his blowtorch to open up 2 hatches, with a little left over for murder holes. Trace any 2 sides of a hatch, in an L shape but importantly ensuring that one of those sides is burned an additional time. To make this easier, your first side should be burned from left to right, and then again from right to left. Finish off by burning the final side as you walk backwards off the hatch—you don’t want to be standing on it when it breaks. This should only take slightly more than 2 tanks of fuel.
  
• Pay attention to the crosshair as it changes when using your blowtorch. The crosshair will shrink and tighten when you’re in range of a surface. Use this to measure how high on a wall you can successfully burn without wasting fuel.
  
• Maverick can completely destroy large portions of a reinforcement, without having to destroy the soft surface it is placed on. To do this, trace a straight line across the entire width of singular reinforcement—it must reach both sides. Then, do another identical line at any point below the first. The reinforcement between these two lines will be destroyed, allowing a soft breacher to open a large hole into objective site. This can be done with slightly over 2 tanks of fuel.
  
• Without a dedicated hard breacher, Maverick can still make a hole large enough for operators to easily fit through, and without wasting too much fuel. While crouching, aim the blowtorch straight ahead at head height, then burn a square into the wall. The top of the square should be at your eye level while crouching. Once the square is complete, the middle will automatically be destroyed. The hole will be large enough for operators to crouch through without any additional maneuvers. This should take about 2 tanks of fuel.
  

Maverick Background & Lore

• Real Name: Erik Thorn
• CTU: Delta Force, aka The Unit
• Birthday: April 30, 1982
• Place of Birth: Boston, Massachusetts
• Height: 1.80m
• Weight: 82kg

"Maverick enlisted with the U.S. Army and later became an Intelligence Officer, serving in Kabul. He joined The Unit and stayed in the country to gather intel, building networks of allies and safe houses, and to track hostiles." - Maverick in-game bio