Soldier is my best hero, and I enjoy everything about his kit, but I feel like he has been so weak for way too long. I am currently plat-diamond border on dps (rank, not level) and I’d like some insight into the state of the hero and how he can (if he can) be played effectively. All opinions welcome!
Soldier is very viable however Soldier requires to find off-angles to find maximum value. Occupying the high ground, Soldier is one of the best heroes for it as he is very mobile and self-sustaining and if you get dived landing his helix rockets can put you in the favorable position in the fight.
Soldier is in great state since his helix rocket cool down was reduced
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I’m pretty sure both Soldier and Tracer are the most balanced heroes in the game.
there are 2 dps roles, soldier can play both of them. if you play him on the front lines behind the shield you will mostly break the enemy’s shields and get some helix burst down kills. if you play soldier as a flanker you might feel like you are getting more kills, regardless both options give a lot of value, you might feel that the flanker one gives more however because you’ll get more kills, even so it is not the case, it might feel like more fun to you.
Soldier is weak. Viable sure. Weak yes. Double shield a very common composition still. Makes soldier incredibly weak and really all together useless.
This implies that the enemy is playing double shield correctly, which in plat you can be fairly certain they aren’t.
Soldier is a sub-optimal pick but you can still make him work. You’re just going to have a slightly harder time building ult than most other DPS would.
You are under the assumption double shield takes some skill. In his rank generally front line pressure from other tanks isn’t really a thing.
If he is the only one shield breaking which he will be the majority of the time and the tanks aren’t pressuring the other tanks the value he can get is minimal.
Imo Soldier only works in some games, if there are shields or a balled up enemy that is supporting each other well Soldier will have a tough time.
If you find yourself not being able to keep an angle and put real pressure on you are pretty much countered. Soldier shooting shields is kind of worthless unless he has help to break them right away.
Soldier’s problem is that his ult does not grant as much value as most other dps ults.
So, u need to make sure u are not farming ults, but go into the mindset of widow that u need to get kills or not do meaningless dmg at all, cuz that will feed enemy support ults and they grant more value than what soldier’s is.
So, it’s a gamble to play him since his ttk is lower than mccree and widow, but his self-sustain and resistance to dive and flexible dmg blocking is his strongsuit, just need to use that to get kills instead of just applying pressure.
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Widow and McCree just do his job so much better.
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Two sides to this question.
On one hand, Soldier is in a pretty weak state right now. It is unlikely you will see him in high ranks or in the pro scene that much. Problem he every other hitscan is more reliable in securing kills than Soldier.
Now that is not to say Soldier is unviable. On the contrary, Soldier can be a great pick. He pumps out consistent damage at medium range, can disengage fairly easily, is straightforward (great for players who want to play hitscan but aren’t comfortable on Widow or McCree), and can secure kills when taking off angles and the high ground.
Overall, yeah he is a bit weak, but if you want to play him, go for it. He is far from a throw pick, that’s for sure.