Overwatch 2 Soldier 76 Guide: Abilities, Tips, How To Unlock

While he is one of the more straightforward heroes in the game, this Overwatch 2 Soldier 76 guide will help you get to grips with the assault rifle master. Each hero in Overwatch 2 has a number of intricacies that you often don't realise until you've played them for a while, so finding them out early can really give you a helping hand. So, make sure to carry on reading down below to see our full Overwatch 2 Soldier 76 guide, including all of his abilities, some tips, and when he is unlocked.

• Find out who the best heroes are by checking out this Overwatch 2 tier list.

Overwatch 2 Soldier 76 Abilities

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As mentioned, Soldier 76 is one of the more straightforward heroes in the game, possessing many familiar abilities and actions to other big FPS titles. However, that doesn't make him any less powerful, or fun.

So, check out all of Soldier 76's abilities in Overwatch 2 below:

• Heavy Pulse Rifle
  • Type - Primary Fire
  • Ability - Automatic assault weapon that fires hitscan bullets
• Helix Rocket
  • Type - Alt Fire
  • Ability - Launch three explosive projectile rockets that deal both direct and splash damage
• Sprint
  • Type - Ability
  • Ability - Run faster while moving forward
• Biotic Field
  • Type - Ability
  • Ability - Deploy a static field that heals you and any allies while inside
• Movement and Reload Boost
  • Type - Passive
  • Ability - Gain a movement speed and reload speed boost after an elimination
• Tactical Visor
  • Type - Ultimate Ability
  • Ability - Automatically aim at any targets in your view for a short period of time

Most of the abilities here are quite straightforward to use in the first place, but there are quite a few mistakes that you can run into if you're new to the hero.

• If you're new to Overwatch in general, make sure to have a read of this Overwatch 2 beginner guide for some early game tips.

Overwatch 2 Soldier 76 Early Tips

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One of the biggest differences between Soldier 76 and every other hero in Overwatch 2 is real. As of this current time, 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 straight forward 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. This, of course, does do damage to yourself, but that's where the Biotic Field comes in handy again.

Finally, Soldier 76's Ultimate Ability Tactical Visor is essentially an aimbot for a short period of time. It will lock on to the nearest enemy to your crosshair, allowing you to spray onto them with perfect accuracy. 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 Channeled one, you won't have to worry about stuns cancelling the Ult, although that will of course limit your time using the ability.

• In the mood for a mech? Check out our Overwatch 2 D.Va guide here.

How To Unlock Soldier 76 In Overwatch 2

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Thankfully, as Soldier 76 is one of the base heroes in the game, he is unlocked as default, allowing you to jump straight into the character. This is probably for the best, as he is one of the best onboarding heroes for anyone new to Overwatch 2 wanting to try a Damage character.

So, that wraps up this Overwatch 2 Soldier 76 guide, which should hopefully have given you some tips to get to grips with the hero. If you're wanting some help with a more challenging healer though, why not check out our Overwatch 2 Ana guide here.