Soldier 76 guide – 2017 – Overwatch

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Soldier: 76’s abilities and strategy tips

As we’ve already mentioned, there’s much that’s familiar about Soldier: 76’s fundamental combat capabilities. Nevertheless, here’s a quick rundown of how each of his core Abilities work in battle.

Heavy Pulse Fire [LMB] – There’s nothing at all that’s particularly complicated about Soldier: 76’s standard weapon. It’s the kind of high-powered, laser-firing pulse rifle that you’ve seen in many games before, and it’s capable of rattling off a rapid series of shots that do a good job of ripping through the target’s health pool. Even better, the magazine clip size is pretty generous all things considered, reducing reload downtime.

Helix Rockets [RMB] – When you really need to go for the kill hard, switch over to this weapon’s Helix Rockets alternate fire by hitting the right-mouse button, and then fire a big old pile of rockets into your opponent’s face. You also get a good bit of splash damage when firing at multiple targets too, and it’s a good way of taking out high HP units like turrets and tanks from range.

Sprint [SHIFT] – Holding down the Shift button allows Soldier: 76 to gain a temporary burst of additional speed. Not only is this boost great for catching up with the rest of the team after you’ve respawned, it can also help you make a break for safety if you come under the kind of fire you really can’t handle all by yourself. The cooldown on this ability is pretty short too, so make sure you’ve got eyes on its availability at all times and make free use of it.

Biotic Shield [E] – Along with his impressive burst damage, Soldier: 76 also brings a little utility to team fights in the form of his Biotic Shield Ability. Drop one of these fellas onto the floor and you’ll not only provide yourself with a heal-over-time boost – a particular advantage in duels – you’ll also provide the same benefit to any friendly Heroes who are close proximity to its radiating effect.

Tactical Visor [Q] – Soldier: 76’s Ultimate Ability is, in effect, an ultra-accurate aim-assist that makes it extremely easy to flick between targets and polish them off in quick succession – simply wait for your target to fall within the expanded reticule and then fire. Note that this ability auto-focuses on the chest areas of enemies, preventing you from pulling off more critical headshots. Just something to keep in mind.

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Map-specific tactics for Soldier: 76

Here’s a little advice for doing well with Soldier: 76 on Overwatch’s many maps.

Soldier 76: Assault tips (Hanamura, Temple of Anubis, Volskaya Industries)

Flank hard with Soldier: 76 when it comes to attacking on these sorts of maps. You have a certain amount of survivability when it comes to rushing through a chokepoint into a side area and healing yourself up, but keep in mind the enemy will know you’re on the prowl. If your team are taking a point and the enemy’s coming, be ready to drop a heal for everyone’s benefit.

When defending, Soldier: 76 is pretty good at picking off enemy health bars bit by bit from range, and making them feel very nervous about continuing the push. Keep watch for any flankers and make sure you regularly patrol the different approach points if you’ve no targets in sight.

Regardless of the side you’re on, try to attack with your Ultimate from an unexpected direction and with a height advantage wherever possible. Soldider: 76 isn’t exactly shy about announcing the start of Tactical Visor, so you need every element of surprise you can draw upon.

Soldier 76: Control tips (Ilios, Lijiang Tower, Nepal, Oasis)

Once the point’s been taken, do a little patrolling back and forth to make sure every entrance point is being covered – sooner or later, someone will break away from the mass brawl and try to flank. Soldier: 76 excels at midrange fighting, which means once a point has been taken he’s in great job to pick off would-be assailants before they can start pinching it.

A quick note on using your Ultimate in these sorts of close-quarters environments, although it’s relevant to all fights. Try to gain an element of surprise before unloading Tactical Visor, and drop a Biotic Shield on the ground first (if it’s available). The extra heal can often be enough to scrap another victim or two for your tally as the enemy team scrambles to deal with the threat you represent.

Soldier 76: Escort tips (Dorado, Route 66, Watchpoint: Gibraltar)

When escorting the Payload stay just behind your frontline and ensure you’re constantly spitting out damage. Often players make the mistake of shooting anything that’s exposed – enemy tanks in particular. Sure, this is a good idea if they’ve put themselves in an extremely vulnerable position, but your aim should always be trained on the enemy damage dealers or healers. This way you’ll be putting far more pressure on your opponents!

Soldier 76: Hybrid tips (Eichenwalde, Hollywood, King’s Row, Numbani)

Combine the above tips and you’ve got the perfect combination. Focus on the right targets, stay behind your frontline and when holding the point – always be on the lookout for any flankers or healers.

Unit Lost’s Soldier: 76 guide

We’ve started the process of adding Unit Lost’s series of videos to our hero guides, and Soldier: 76 is up next. Make some time to watch the whole of this video, as it’ll go a long way in helping you put all of our advice into practise.

Although the video’s a little old at this point, there’s still much to be learned from it!

Soldier: 76 counters and match-ups

All Overwatch Heroes have their counters, but that also means each one has juicy targets of their own to focus on. Here’s how things shape up for Soldier: 76 in the current metagame.

We’ve focused on the top three threats in the table below, but we’ve added some extra notes after.

Mercy, along with any other squishy backline Support Heroes, make for great Soldier: 76 targets, and she’s particularly vulnerable if you can catch her without a partner by her side. Heroes like Pharah who exploit verticality and mobility are very vulnerable to 76’s Ultimate ability too, and Roadhog makes a notably solid sponge for you to charge up your Ult with.

Soldier: 76 excels at medium range, which means anyone who gets really close to him can cause a major problem – hello Genji! While Soldier: 76 can rattle through Reinhardt’s shield, it does at the same time counter his ability to tap rear targets during a push. Mei can, of course, leave him very vulnerable as well thanks to her freezing effects.

Soldier: 76 Skins, Victory Poses, Emotes and Voice Lines

There are all manner of emotes, skins and assorted other customisation options that can be unlock for Soldier: 76 through gameplay. Here’s a quick reference chart for every single one of them – you can see all the skins in our gallery just above!