For the first time ever, an operator in Rainbow Six Siege is getting a significant overhaul and ditching their primary weapon. Tachanka is dropping his turret weapon in favor of a grenade launcher as part of a Year 5 update for the character. Tachanka has long struggled for relevancy in the game, but that looks set to change.
IGN is reporting that while the character will still have access to the firepower of a DP28 LMG, which will now be his primary weapon. His new gadget will be the Kulakov Incendiary Grenade Launcher, which can be used to deny opponents access to certain parts of the map. This means that the character will no longer be tied to one location while attacking with their gadget.
According to art director Alex Karpazis, this new weapon pairing will make the character more effective and versatile. "The design team thought it worked super well with the legend of his weapon. And it ties in well with his kit. He can roam, and he can make holes to shoot his incendiary grenades through."
You'll also finally be able to remove Tachanka's helmet and see his face with the character's new cosmetic items, should you want to.
The name "Tachanka" is actually a reference to a horse-drawn Russian machine turret, but the character will retain the name while ditching their namesake.
Rainbow Six Siege has been out for over five years now, but continues to be huge. Its next big update is called Void Edge, which will introduce two new operators.