Overwatch 2 Soldier 76 guide: Abilities, tips & how to unlock
Want to become a master of Overwatch 2's main infantryman? Check out this Soldier 76 guide for all of his abilities, some tips, and how to unlock him.
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Each hero in Overwatch 2 has a number of intricacies that you often don't realize until you've played them for a while, so finding them out early can really give you a helping hand. We'll explain these for Soldier 76, so you can make the most of the DPS hero.
Abilities explained
| Name | Type | Effect |
| Heavy Pulse Rifle | Primary Fire | Automatic assault weapon |
| Helix Rockets | Ability | Launch a volley of explosive rockets |
| Sprint | Ability | Run faster while moving forward |
| Biotic Field | Ability | Deploy a field that heals you and your allies |
| Tactical Visor | Ultimate | Automatically aim your weapon at targets in view |
| Role: Damage | Role Passive | Damaging an enemy temporarily reduces the healing received |
Tips for playing Soldier 76
As of the time of writing, Soldier 76 is the only hero in the game to have recoil, as opposed to the increased bullet spread that most other heroes with automatic weapons have.
This means that you will need to get used to his specific weapon rise instead of just burst firing, but it does mean that all of his shots will be accurate, so long as you keep the crosshair on the enemy. This gives him a relatively high skill ceiling that rewards players with good aim and recoil control.
His other three abilities are fairly straightforward and self-explanatory though, but that doesn't make them any less strong. Much like his recoil, Soldier is the only hero in the game with a dedicated sprint button, giving him reliable mobility if he gets jumped on.
Biotic Field is fantastic to take the pressure off of your healers and gives you the license to be a bit more aggressive and nomad if the situation calls for it.
Finally, the Helix Rockets are just a great extra source of damage that can help finish off a kill or put pressure on an enemy.
If you're good enough, you could try landing it on one of the squishier targets in the game, as a direct hit on a Tracer combined with a melee will send her straight back to spawn.
One thing you can do with the Helix Rockets as well is use them to rocket jump, which is when you jump at the same time as firing rockets at your feet. The effect of this is a larger jump, due to the slight knockback effect of the rockets, allowing you to reach previously inaccessible areas and angles.
Finally, Soldier 76's Ultimate Ability Tactical Visor is essentially an aimbot for a short period of time. This can be a very strong Ult if you manage to catch the enemy team by surprise - especially when combined with Ana's Nano Boost Ultimate, but it is very easily countered.
The three main counters to your Ult will be D.Va (via Defence Matrix), Genji (via Deflect), and any hero with a shield. The main thing these three counters will do is to block your bullets, rendering the Ultimate completely useless.
As Tactical Visor is a transformation Ultimate, as opposed to a channelled one, you won't have to worry about stuns cancelling the Ult, although that will, of course, limit your time using the ability.
How to unlock Soldier 76 in Overwatch
Thankfully, as Soldier 76 is one of the base heroes in the game, he is unlocked by default.
About The Author
Harry Boulton
Harry is a Guides Writer at GGRecon, having completed a Masters of Research degree in Film Studies. Previously a freelance writer for PCGamesN, The Loadout, and Red Bull Gaming, he loves playing a wide variety of games from the Souls series to JRPGs, Counter-Strike, and EA FC. When not playing or writing about games and hardware, you're likely to find him watching football or listening to Madonna and Kate Bush.
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