Rainbow Six leak reveals Tachanka Elite skin coming in Year 5

The Lord of Siege himself Tachanka is getting a rework in Year 5, but that’s not the end of it all. Everyone’s favorite Russian gunner is also getting an Elite skin in the coming months, just ahead of the release of his gameplay overhaul.

The Lord and Savior of Siege, Tachanka, is beloved despite his meme status in the tactical shooter. However, he remains one of the few starting 20 operators without an Elite skin to show off.

That’s changing in Year 5, with the Russian gunner getting a skin in the special cosmetic line in the coming months.

Snippets of the skin have been shared by various dataminers, giving us a new look at the otherwise heavily armored turret operator.

Tachanka’s Elite skin features the fan-favorite topless, showing off his tattoos on his chest and his back. He does keep the pants on, opting for a mix of navy, green, and brown. It’s a lot like Bandit’s Axle 13 Elite skin, which was released in May 2019.

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However, there’s one thing that stays on ⁠— and that’s the helmet. After all, it wouldn’t be Tachanka without it, and who wants to know what’s truly under the mask?

It comes just in time for Tachanka’s rework, expected to drop sometime in Season 3 or 4 this year. Instead of having a turret, he runs around with his LMG, blowing open holes to shoot his new incendiary grenade launcher through.

“The incendiary grenade launcher not only fits his theme of like World War II, old weapons, but also adds a real interest into his gameplay that’ll move him from being a meme character to a meta pick,” game director Leroy Athanassoff told Dexerto back in February.

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The operator rework is the first of its kind in Siege. While individual gadgets have been overhauled ⁠— like Amaru’s Garra Hook in Operation Steel Wave ⁠— this is the first head-to-toe rework in the game’s history.

There’s no set release date for the Tachanka rework ⁠— or the Elite skin ⁠— currently. It’s unlikely to drop in Year 5 Season 2, given there’s two new characters in Ace and Melusi to play around with.

However, with the number of new operators dropping to one from Season 3 onwards, it should fit perfectly with giving the fan-favorite Russian operator a new lease on life in Siege.