Sébastien "Buck" Côté has been around since Year 1, but honestly, people still play him like he’s just a Canadian guy with a shotgun. He isn't. If you’re just using the Skeleton Key to pop open a random barricade or trying to get cheeky kills with it, you’re missing the point of why this operator is a literal nightmare for defenders in 2026.
Buck is the king of verticality. While Sledge is great for making "big-bonk" holes from above, Buck is the only operator who can comfortably tear a site apart from the floor below.
Why the Skeleton Key is Still God-Tier
Most gadgets in Siege have a "wind-up" or a clear audio cue that screams, "Hey, I'm about to blow this wall open!" Not Buck. The Skeleton Key is an under-barrel 12-gauge that lets you switch from a full-auto assault rifle to a breaching tool in less than a second.
You’ve probably seen the "Buck vs. Sledge" debate a thousand times. Here is the reality: Sledge is quieter and can destroy bulletproof utility like Castle barricades or Maestro cams with his hammer. But Buck? Buck is faster. He can open a hole, swap back, and pre-fire an anchor before they’ve even realized their ceiling just vanished.
His destruction isn't as "clean" as a Sledge hole, but the versatility is unmatched. You can stand in a safe room on the first floor and shoot out the floorboards of the second floor. This forces defenders off their comfortable pixel peeks. If they don’t move, they die. It's that simple.
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Buck in Rainbow Six Siege: Mastering the C8-SFW
Let’s talk about the elephant in the room. The C8-SFW has some of the most obnoxious vertical recoil in the history of the game. It kicks like a mule.
A lot of newer players gravitate toward the CAMRS DMR because it’s easier to tap heads with, and yeah, 69 damage per shot is nothing to scoff at. But if you want to be a high-tier Buck player, you have to tame the C8.
The 2026 Loadout Meta:
- Primary: C8-SFW. Most pros are running the 1.5x (or 2.5x depending on the map) with a Flash Hider. If you can't handle the kick, the Muzzle Brake helps with that initial jump, but the Flash Hider is the gold standard for sustained fire.
- Under-barrel: You don't get a choice here—it’s the Skeleton Key. Interestingly, using a Laser Sight actually tightens the pellet spread of the shotgun. This is great for kills but kinda annoying for making vaultable holes, as it makes the hole smaller.
- Secondary: The Gonne-6. Always. Buck’s biggest weakness is bulletproof utility. Since he lost his frag grenades a while back (a tragedy, truly), the Gonne-6 is your only way to manually clear a Shield or a Castle barricade without relying on a teammate.
- Gadget: Hard Breach Charges. This makes Buck a one-man army. You can soft breach the floors, pop a hatch with the hard breach, and clear a shield with the Gonne-6.
The Art of Playing from Below
This is what separates the Silver Bucks from the Diamond ones. Everyone knows how to shoot down through a floor. Very few people actually take the time to learn the "under-map" spots.
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Think about the site "Armory/Archives" on Border. Every defender loves sitting behind the half-wall or in the corner by the lockers. If you go into the Ventilation room on the floor below and shoot the ceiling, you are literally shooting their feet.
You don't even need to see them to be effective. The sound of a shotgun blast coming from under your feet is enough to make any defender panic. They’ll usually run right into the crosshairs of your teammates who are pushing the main doors. You aren't just an entry fragger; you're a "positioning relocator."
Common Mistakes That Get You Killed
Stop standing directly under the hole you just made.
Seriously. If you’re playing vertical from below, gravity works against you. If you blow a hole in the ceiling and stay there, any impact grenade or C4 the defender drops is going to land right on your head.
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- The "Face-In-Hole" Syndrome: You open a line of sight and immediately stare through it for 30 seconds. Defenders see the light change and will pre-fire that hole instantly. Shoot, move, peek from a different angle.
- Ignoring the Flank: Buck is loud. The Skeleton Key sounds like a cannon. If you’re downstairs solo-bucking a ceiling, a roamer like Caveira or Vigil is going to hear you from three rooms away. Always have a claymore or a teammate watching your back.
- Wasting Ammo on Barricades: You have a limited number of shells. Don't waste them on wooden doors if you can just melee them or use the C8. Save the shells for the floors and the "one-shot" vault holes.
Actionable Strategy for Your Next Match
Next time you’re on a map with a lot of soft floors (think Consulate, Coastline, or Villa), don't just rush the objective.
Pick Buck, grab the hard breach charges, and head to the floor under the site. Open three or four holes in common anchor spots. Even if you don't get a kill, you’ve just made 40% of the objective room "unsafe" for the defenders. Once the panic sets in, use your Gonne-6 to clear the most annoying piece of utility you see, then use your Hard Breach to open a nearby hatch.
By the time you actually enter the building, the defenders will be so focused on the holes in their floor that they won't even see you coming through the doorway.
To really level up, go into a Custom Game alone. Pick Buck. Shoot out the entire floor of a room. Look at what’s above you. Memorizing those beams and furniture placements is the difference between a "lucky shot" and a calculated execution. Stick to the C8, practice the pull-down on your mouse or thumbstick, and stop playing Buck like he's just a guy with a shotgun. He’s the architect of the map—act like it.