Rainbow Six Siege players will soon be able to be able to get a first glimpse of the long-awaited Tachanka rework, months after it was announced back at the Six Invitational Finals in February. Ubisoft has confirmed that the Tachanka rework reveal will happen on October 7 at 17:00 UTC/13:00 EDT, with the release date of the update to be confirmed.
Ever since Rainbow Six Siege was released back in December 2015, Tachanka has endured as the most prominent meme Operator in the game due to being poorly designed and largely unviable. His method of deploying his iconic mounted LMG is the source of his viability issues; it forces him to be stationary in order to use it, which leaves him open to attack from the highly mobile Operators who form Siege's meta. While the turret can tear through people as easily as it can through drywall and wood, it cannot be set up near cover as it needs room to fire from and move around. The turret also takes a long amount of time to set up and take down, time that could be better spent reinforcing and positioning.
Tachanka's rework was leaked last month and it appears that Ubisoft has fixed his immobility and low damage output issues while maintaining the core of his identity. According to the leak, the Russian Defending Operator will still have a Degtyaryov machine gun, but he will be using the more portable DP-28 as his primary weapon instead of the cumbersome RP-46. With this change in the LMG now being Tachanka's primary, there appears to be a greater focus around his grenade launcher being his new gadget which can be used a strong defensive tool.
It is certainly bittersweet to Tachanka reworked, but such a change is necessary for the long-term health of the game. In spite of (or more likely due to) his lack of competitive viability and being unfit for the very game he is in, he has garnered a worthy reputation as one of Siege's most beloved Operators with the community praising him and his qualities. With the advent of next-generation consoles, the game is bound to make big changes in order to accommodate Rainbow Six Siege on the new platforms and the Tachanka rework is just the tip of the iceberg.
For now, players will have a limited window to enjoy the remainder of their time left with Tachanka in his current state before the rework. With the Rainbow Six World Cup coming next summer, there is an opportunity for Tachanka to reintroduce himself to the competitive scene and to dominate in the manner that only he can.
Rainbow Six Siege is available for PC, PS4, and Xbox One, with plans to launch on next-gen consoles as well.