The latest patch for Overwatch 2 comes with a wide variety of bug fixes and hero tweaks, including several substantial improvements to Soldier 76's damage output and kit which has led to the hero wreaking havoc in a lot of matches. Soldier 76 has always represented one of the simpler and easy-to-learn characters in Overwatch 2, but with his damage output now exceeding what most of the game's heroes are capable of, fans have begun to grow even less confident in the state of Overwatch 2's hero balancing.
Soldier is the first character that new players will play as if they go through the game's short tutorial experience. Armed with a fully-automatic hitscan assault rifle which is effective at most ranges, Soldier 76's weapon is itself his prime feature. He's also the game's only character who has the ability to sprint without cooldown, and can periodically deploy a small canister which is capable of healing both himself and his allies. His Ultimate ability allows him to aim automatically at foes within view for a short time, and while the character was considered by most to be in a comfortable position in terms of balancing, the latest update to Overwatch 2 has made some changes that fans aren't too pleased with.
The game's recent patch made considerable changes to Soldier 76 alongside other characters, boosting not only his primary fire damage output, but also his Helix Rocket damage and Biotic Field healing output as well. While the step up from 18 to 19 damage-per-bullet might not seem like a lot, it's proven to have a considerable effect on the hero's overall time-to-kill on enemy targets, to such an extent that Soldier has quickly become a popular pick for players who queue Damage. The Overwatch 2 community has had a lot to say about the game's latest update, with many fans taking to Reddit in order to discuss the recent changes made to Soldier 76.
Many have found themselves perplexed over how such a tiny increase in damage-per-bullet can have such a drastic effect on gameplay, but when factoring in the headshot multiplier and other damage-boosting effects that can be gained from heroes such as Mercy or Zenyatta, it's no wonder that the character is currently a prime choice for Overwatch 2 fans looking for raw damage output. Even this small boost in damage still nets an extra 30 points of damage per clip, each of which can be emptied quite quickly.
Overwatch 2's latest update has made changes to several characters beyond Soldier 76, with some of the most controversial of these adjustments being directed toward Torbjorn and Symmetra. The shifting of power from these characters' turrets into their weapons has led to some fans fearing that characters' gameplay identities could be lost going forward, with many players now even less confident with Blizzard's balancing choices than before.
Overwatch 2 is available on PC, PS4, PS5, Switch, Xbox One, and Xbox Series X/S.
