Tachanka rework for Rainbow 6 revealed at Six Invitational

The leaks are true ⁠– Tachanka is receiving a rework in Rainbow 6, with the changes to the Russian operator set to be released sometime in Year 5.

Tachanka has been revered as one of Siege’s most legendary picks ⁠– despite his status as one of the game’s biggest memes. The Russian operator has been one of the least viable characters in Rainbow 6 since release, with his bulky turret leaving him vulnerable.

However, he will be getting a new life in Year 5, with a rework to the operator’s kit allowing him to fill a new niche in defender strategies and hold a solid place in the game’s meta.

The goal with the Tachanka rework was to keep the legendary roots of the Russian turret operator deeply embedded in the game, while also making him a viable pick in the meta.

“Tachanka was probably the [most difficult operator to choose for a rework],” said Leroy Athanassoff, the Rainbow 6 Game Director, in an interview with Dexerto. “Tachanka is beloved by our community, so we knew we had to do something that was true to the character.

“We literally went through the same process as making a new operator, so it’s almost nine months of working behind the scenes to make sure his gameplay is interesting and fits in the meta.”

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In a game so reliant on mobility, his turret kept him locked down to one place too much, making him easy to counter. Now, Tachanka is taking his turret with him, with his LMG becoming his new primary weapon.

With tons of damage ⁠– to both enemies and walls ⁠– the major drawback of his new primary is its slow rate of fire. However, it will give Tachanka the option to get around the map and find new angles to hold from, rather than being locked down to one position.

He won’t be losing his industrious flair with his new gadget too. Instead, Tachanka will be equipped with a molotov grenade launcher, with the ability to zone off areas of the map and force attackers to rethink their strategies by blocking off paths with fire.

“Typically, when we are reworking anything in Siege, we have to look at why they aren’t meta,” explained Athanassoff. “If a gadget is out of meta, then we look to add a super high-tech gadget that is interesting for the defending team. However, Tachanka isn’t the kind of character to use a high-tech device.”

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“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.”

Tachanka’s rework is part of Ubisoft’s renewed vision for Rainbow 6, with the developers of the tactical FPS looking to rework some of the game’s more outdated mechanics. From Year 5 Season 3 onwards, they will only release one new operator a season in an attempt to ship more core gameplay updates.

These include map bans, a replay system, and more, which were teased during their Year 5 and Year 6 roadmap on February 16 at the Six Invitational.

The Tachanka rework has no set release date, but should be out before the end of Year 5.