Why is Soldier 76 seemed to be looked down upon by many Overwatch players?

[DeliveryGodNoah_v1legacy]

Edit: So I tossed away my better judgement in favor of over-glorifying my contributions to the team. I still feel sore for trying so hard and feeling like I'm not recognized more for it (you can call it stroking my ego if you want. It feels good to know at least someone on your team understand your contributions) but I do still feel like Soldier (or really, any DPS) is underappreciated sometimes. I'm not strictly talking about character designs either (though I like Soldier. Maybe it's just his voice actor that sells it so well for me).

So I have three Overwatch characters I'd consider myself really good with:
Zarya (highest win/loss ratio of any character I play)
Solider: 76 (Most often to obtain most of the gold medals in every game)
Zenyatta (Have the most achievements unlocked for)

However if I had to choose one I have the most fun playing, it's Soldier: 76. I get a very satisfying feeling from his hitscan weapon, and nailing tricky grenade shots is so much fun. That, and the healing pod is not only useful for yourself, but any of your other teammates in a pinch.

Now, I'm not saying I deserve ALL THE PRAISE IN DA GAME, but I do feel like when I do get a very outstanding achievement with the character, I'm kind of shunned aside in favor of another character.

For example, this Tuesday I was playing, and I got 52 elims, and four gold medals. The card only displayed my elims, but that's not the issue. The issue I had was, I received 0 votes, while our teams Lucio, with about 4,500 healing, got 6 votes. If I remember correctly, there was also the enemy team Zarya getting a card for shield bubbles, and I can't remember the other card.

Now I know what you're thinking, I probably shouldn't put so much thought into votes on a card. Okay. Fine. Maybe it was just because the other team was salty. (doesn't explain why I didn't get any recognition from my own team, but whatever)

But I've also run into people saying that Soldier is just for those people who play Call of Duty and games like that, and that's the only reason they do so well with him.

First of all, can we stop saying that. He barely controls anything like a character from Call of Duty.

Second of all, so what? If someone does well with a character because they are similar in playstyle to other games they do well at, isn't that a good thing? Shouldn't that be applauded a little?

It just seems like anytime I do really well (and I mean REALLY well) with Soldier 76, I get brought down by people by saying my contributions weren't as impressive as a character who only had to stand near the whole team and hit "E" when it was appropriate.

 

[Johnny Novgorod]

I dunno, I guess he's the jack of all trades character when you comapre him to the other flashy characters. The safe/boring/nominal option. And I guess people equate him to CoD because he's a soldier, not a gorilla or a 5 year old in a mech. Why do you care what people think anyway?

 

[Glongpre]

#1 - Most people give props to their healers, however, 4500 healing? That seems really low, and it seems like you just carried your team to victory.

#2 - 76 got a huge buff to damage, and thus, everyone picks him. So he is just the flavour of the month to cry about.

So likely everyone was salty because 76 buffs are making him appear in every game. Just like when Genji was in every game.

Don't worry OP, keep at it, you seem to have a great 76. Smells like victory.

 

[DeliveryGodNoah_v1legacy]

I dunno, I guess he's the jack of all trades character when you comapre him to the other flashy characters. The safe/boring/nominal option. And I guess people equate him to CoD because he's a soldier, not a gorilla or a 5 year old in a mech. Why do you care what people think anyway?

I know, I know. I didn't used to care, but after playing over 200 hours of the game so far it starts to bother me when I'm not at least given a pat on the back for at least giving a shit to play well enough to help our team win. I know everyone contributes to the team, but there's usually a reason those cards pop up, and it's because you contributed something to the team above what your teammates did.

 

[DeliveryGodNoah_v1legacy]

#1 - Most people give props to their healers, however, 4500 healing? That seems really low, and it seems like you just carried your team to victory.

#2 - 76 got a huge buff to damage, and thus, everyone picks him. So he is just the flavour of the month to cry about.

So likely everyone was salty because 76 buffs are making him appear in every game. Just like when Genji was in every game.

Don't worry OP, keep at it, you seem to have a great 76. Smells like victory.

I don't think they started out as Lucio. They might have switched halfway through the match.

And yeah, I was actually worried about the buff, haha. I played Soldier very well before the buff since everyone was smitten with McCree at the time. I guess that might be a good reason why people find accomplishments less impressive since more people are playing and doing pretty good with Soldier.

But playing Soldier this Competitive season is the reason why I'm almost to Diamond rank. That and a mix of Zarya when someone else wants to play DPS.

 

[WindKnight]

1) He's kinda bland arguably. You have all these BIG personalities and unique exaggerated designs, and he's Gruff Old Soldier. I mean he has his own little touchers to make him standout (the visor, and the jacket), but to many he's 'boring' and not 'cool'.

2) They've explicitly stated his weapons and abilities are designed for the COD and modern military shooter crowd so they have something familiar to ease them into Overwatch's distinctly offbeat sensibilities, which cause some to instinctively hate him for that reason alone.

 

[DeliveryGodNoah_v1legacy]

1) He's kinda bland arguably. You have all these BIG personalities and unique exaggerated designs, and he's Gruff Old Soldier. I mean he has his own little touchers to make him standout (the visor, and the jacket), but to many he's 'boring' and not 'cool'.

2) They've explicitly stated his weapons and abilities are designed for the COD and modern military shooter crowd so they have something familiar to ease them into Overwatch's distinctly offbeat sensibilities, which cause some to instinctively hate him for that reason alone.

I don't see either of those two reasons sufficient enough to disregard a player's accomplishments with the character though. I know that's not necessarily what you're saying either, you're just answering my question, but I hope that's not how people actually justify it.

 

[Zydrate]

He's like, the entry-level hero. In good hands he can be quite a problem, but there's a reason you play him in the tutorial. It teaches you immediately that his ult is basically a full-on Autoaim and that might appeal to some newer players; But then they run into all kinds of counters and superior players and the newbie is just a load on the team.

But I'm almost level 90 and I don't see a lot of problematic lowbies anymore. I find Soldier to be a general solid choice with decent damage and self-heals so you don't have to worry about him too much.

 

[Neverhoodian]

Because his gear and skills are somewhat reminiscent of CoD, which makes him Literally Hitler for so-called "true gamers" (aka "insufferable jackasses"). He's also the hero best suited for easing new players into the game, which can carry stigmas like "crutch" or "n00b class."

I like him, for what it's worth. He's my go-to hero if the team already has sufficient healers (I normally play Mercy, aka my Overwatch waifu). His "jack-of-all-trades, master of none" approach allows me to take on a variety of roles depending on the situation, from DPS to off-healer.

#1 - Most people give props to their healers

I wish. Maybe it's different on the PC, but PS4 players tend to vote for whoever scored the most kills or damage.

 

[Zhukov]

That isn't so much a case of people shunning 76 as people favouring the healer.

People vote for their healers because healers are seen as helpful and self-sacrificing while DPS players are seen as selfish glory-hounds.

Healers often aren't all that fun to play. They're vulnerable and almost entirely dependent on the rest of their team to succeed. A healer can't make plays, they can only keep everyone topped up, use their ults and utility at the right time and hope like hell that everyone else has a clue. Plus they rarely get the simple pleasure of killing enemies. In short, the person playing healer is often sacrificing their own fun for the good of the team.

As for the Call of Duty comparisons, the character is supposed to resemble standard modern shooter mechanics. He has a conventional weapon, he has a sprint that prevents him from firing and he can self-heal. Blizzard devs have repeatedly and explicitly said they wanted a character to appeal to players of those type of games to ease them into the game. Personally I don't think there's anything wrong with that. Hell, on the odd occasion when I play DPS (I'm mainly a tank) 76 is my go to, mostly because I'm shit with McCree.

 

[DeliveryGodNoah_v1legacy]

That isn't so much a case of people shunning 76 as people favouring the healer.

People vote for their healers because healers are seen as helpful and self-sacrificing while DPS players are seen as selfish glory-hounds.

Healers often aren't all that fun to play. They're vulnerable and almost entirely dependent on the rest of their team to succeed. A healer can't make plays, they can only keep everyone topped up, use their ults and utility at the right time and hope like hell that everyone else has a clue. Plus they rarely get the simple pleasure of killing enemies. In short, the person playing healer is often sacrificing their own fun for the good of the team.

As for the Call of Duty comparisons, the character is supposed to resemble standard modern shooter mechanics. He has a conventional weapon, he has a sprint that prevents him from firing and he can self-heal. Blizzard devs have repeatedly and explicitly said they wanted a character to appeal to players of those type of games to ease them into the game. Personally I don't think there's anything wrong with that. Hell, on the odd occasion when I play DPS (I'm mainly a tank) 76 is my go to, mostly because I'm shit with McCree.

No, that's absolutely fine. I know that healers are fundamental, and almost always essential to a good composition, however, there have been many times that even if our healer did poorly as a healer, and I did very well (even compared to other DPS players) that I was shunted in favor of voting for the weak playing healer, and I can't help but feel like it was simply do to a petty reason of "Oh, he's playing Soldier."

And I still think it's a poor comparison. Every character (with the exception of maybe Symettra, Mercy, and Rheinhardt) all fundamentally do the same exact thing: Aim and shoot. The only differing mechanic for each character is their special abilities, each of which is just as cheap, easy to use, and useful as the others.

I mean, what's the make Tracer then? She can blink (sprint), though I realize not infinitely, she aims and shoots (though I know range is an issue) and then she can freaking reverse any damage done to her with the press of a button (being a sort of solo heal).

 

[Dreiko_v1legacy]

Isn't he the guy with the generic assault rifle in a game full of Ninja and big monkeys and mech pilots in tight bodysuits and stuff? I'm not big on fps games but just visually when I see a bhodisatva throwing prayer beads around and having 6 arms fighting with a generic space marine with an assault rifle, I can't help but root against the marine.


Mechanically he may be fun and I can't speak to that but design wise I can't help feeling underwhelmed. At least the cowboy dude has swagger in the way he shoots, you know, or the shotgun skeleton guy, he is kinda generic but has style to him at the same time.

 

[Zhukov]

No, that's absolutely fine. I know that healers are fundamental, and almost always essential to a good composition, however, there have been many times that even if our healer did poorly as a healer, and I did very well (even compared to other DPS players) that I was shunted in favor of voting for the weak playing healer, and I can't help but feel like it was simply do to a petty reason of "Oh, he's playing Soldier."

You're assuming motives. Unless people are actually saying, "Fuck that guy, he's a 76 player", you have no reason to believe that. Honestly, you're just coming across as sore because your team didn't jerk you off for your gold elims.

I favour healers because I don't much like healing myself, I know plenty of other people don't like it much and I'm grateful to people who will play a role the team needs over a role they personally enjoy.

There's basically always some clown who thinks he's hot shit and wants to play the killer classes. I could literally count on one hand the amount of matches where my team had trouble getting people to play DPS. Finding healers is the opposite. (Tanks are in the middle.)

And I still think it's a poor comparison. Every character (with the exception of maybe Symettra, Mercy, and Rheinhardt) all fundamentally do the same exact thing: Aim and shoot. The only differing mechanic for each character is their special abilities, each of which is just as cheap, easy to use, and useful as the others.

Uh... no.

Aiming and shooting with DVa, Mei, Roadhog, Reaper or Junkrat is significantly different to aiming and shooting with 76.

I mean, what's the make Tracer then? She can blink (sprint), though I realize not infinitely, she aims and shoots (though I know range is an issue) and then she can freaking reverse any damage done to her with the press of a button (being a sort of solo heal).

It makes her a specialized short range flanker/harasser suited to players with the temperament of a caffinated ferret because she's always half a second away from death and relies entirely on mobility to survive?

Are you really trying to equate the teleporting hit-and-run speedster with the general purpose bullet hose? 'Cause that ain't gonna fly.

 

[DeliveryGodNoah_v1legacy]

No, that's absolutely fine. I know that healers are fundamental, and almost always essential to a good composition, however, there have been many times that even if our healer did poorly as a healer, and I did very well (even compared to other DPS players) that I was shunted in favor of voting for the weak playing healer, and I can't help but feel like it was simply do to a petty reason of "Oh, he's playing Soldier."

You're assuming motives. Unless people are actually saying, "Fuck that guy, he's a 76 player", you have no reason to believe that. Honestly, you're just coming across as sore because your team didn't jerk you off for your gold elims.

I favour healers because I don't much like healing myself, I know plenty of other people don't like it much and I'm grateful to people who will play a role the team needs over a role they personally enjoy.

There's basically always some clown who thinks he's hot shit and wants to play the killer classes. I could literally count on one hand the amount of matches where my team had trouble getting people to play DPS. Finding healers is the opposite. (Tanks are in the middle.)

And I still think it's a poor comparison. Every character (with the exception of maybe Symettra, Mercy, and Rheinhardt) all fundamentally do the same exact thing: Aim and shoot. The only differing mechanic for each character is their special abilities, each of which is just as cheap, easy to use, and useful as the others.

Uh... no.

Aiming and shooting with DVa, Mei, Roadhog, Reaper or Junkrat is significantly different to aiming and shooting with 76.

I mean, what's the make Tracer then? She can blink (sprint), though I realize not infinitely, she aims and shoots (though I know range is an issue) and then she can freaking reverse any damage done to her with the press of a button (being a sort of solo heal).

It makes her a specialized short range flanker/harasser suited to players with the temperament of a caffinated ferret because she's always half a second away from death and relies entirely on mobility to survive?

Are you really trying to equate the teleporting hit-and-run speedster with the general purpose bullet hose? 'Cause that ain't gonna fly.

No, you're right. I'm just retarded sometimes.

Looking at some responses, it seems if anyone is salty it's me. I'm sometimes a try-hard at games I love dearly and I get carried away when I'm not recognized for it.

I do feel like there are situations where I carried the team (sounds like I'm just being egocentric again, but I'm being sincere this time) through the match by doing things ON TOP OF elims and damage as Soldier (getting Genji off the team, emergency healing pods, kiting, etc.) and the card only displays the elim status due to limitations in the card system.

That aside though, I got too caught up in my competitive nature and decided to make a thread about it for some reason. I do still think Soldier is underappreciated since he has a fantastic voice actor that totally sells the "Gruff, tough soldier badass" and is quite a comfortable character for me to use (coming from Titanfall especially)

 

[Dirty Hipsters]

I have a simple rule about how I vote cards, I ALWAYS upvote healers and tanks.

Why? Because that's what you never seem to have enough of. Not enough people pick healers and tanks compared to the damage dealers like McCree, Genji, Reaper, etc. so I always try to upvote them and make them feel appreciated.

This is especially true if the person switched to a healer or tank out of necessity in the middle of the game. At that point they're giving up whatever accolades they might have gotten in order to actually support their team and help them win.

 

[barbzilla]

First off, I think that people may have just voted for healer out of reflex. Nine out of ten games I play, I just vote healer because I didn't notice any exceptional plays or overall not a lot of mistakes were made making it less likely to end the game with unusually high KDR. I don't do this because I think that the healer made or broke our team, I do that because most players hate healing, yet they often do it anyway because the team needs heals if it wants to be able to sustain and not be stuck in lopsided battles. So I am kind of rewarding them for giving up their comfort zone and doing something to benefit the team over their own ego.

That said I also love 76 and he is my second most played, as well as my second most medals. I think some people think he's easy mode because he does decent damage and has a ton of versatility and sustainability, this is not true of course. Sure your average player can pick him up and do decently, but the players that have elevated their play style with him are readily apparent to anyone who has played enough.

For those interested, the big things I recommend you look for are:
Did the soldier utilize his healing beacon to keep the entire team up instead of just himself?
Did the soldier land all of his grenades on enemy back line or at least body shot with it a fair amount?
Did the soldier wait for the enemy team to be weakened and their CC abilities on cool-down before popping ult?
Did the soldier utilize his sprint to disengage as well as harass back line enemies?

If you answered no to more than 1 of these, odds are the 76 hasn't put in the time to break any records, but that doesn't mean he was bad either.

Now if you are on 76 and you want to know if you are doing well, answer the previous questions, and then add on the next two:
Did you manage over 2.5k healing over the course of the game (this one isn't 100% of the time, but it is something to aim for)
Was your weapon accuracy at least 70%?

 

[kilenem]

Soldier and Mcree are the only things that can kill Phara because they have the best aim in the game. As a Junk rat Main I love Soldier.

 

[kurupt87]

Typically, DD heroes are more fun than support. Not true for everyone or for all the heroes, but because of that...

I tend to throw more recognition to the support classes than the others because they enable me to have fun on DD.