Soldier (Highlander)
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In the standard 6v6 format, Soldier boasts high mobility and damage, and is vital to his team's success. Unfortunately, in Highlander, he is easily denied by classes not generally run in Sixes; his rocket jumping is greatly hampered by Engineer and Heavy, and his slow ground-speed makes him an easy kill for the enemy Sniper. As such, he is arguably the least important class in the Highlander format, and generally spends much of the game distracting the enemy team or ambushing key targets such as the enemy Medic or Sniper.
Contents
Gameplay
The Soldier's role is quite similar to the 6v6 roamer, concentrated on distracting the enemy team and bombing the enemy in order to kill an important target. Additionally, along with the Scout, the Soldier's job is to watch the flanks and stop any flanking efforts by the enemy Scout or Soldier.
Sometimes, the Soldier will be sent on suicide missions to in order to kill one of the combo classes or forcing the enemy Uber.
Other responsibilities of the Soldier include destroying minisentries on King of the Hill maps and utilizing hiding spots to surprise unsuspecting enemies.
Unlockable weapons
It is very rare that Soldier will use his stock loadout in Highlander; several of his unlocks improve his ability to gain key picks or distract the enemy team.
Primary weapons
- Direct Hit - Utilized particularly on Payload and Attack/Defend maps. Thanks to the 25% damage bonus, the Direct Hit excels at destroying Level 3 sentries before the enemy Engineer can react.
- Black Box - Popularized by vhalin of The Syndicate, the Black Box is a weapon used primarily to increase the Soldier's survivability. Its 'heal on hit' attribute allows Soldier to distract the enemy team significantly longer than with other launchers. As a trade-off, Soldier's bombing capabilities are greatly diminished, as the Black Box's reduced clip size makes it difficult for him to continue fighting after a rocket jump.
Secondary weapons
- Buff Banner - Often used when Soldier joins his team's combo instead of bombing. If he can survive long enough, the Buff Banner grants him and his teammates greatly increased damage output, forcing the enemy to retreat or die.
- Gunboats - The Gunboats reduce rocket jumping self-damage, increasing Soldier's health pool before bombing and improving his chances of gaining a key pick.
- Concheror - Grants minor passive health regeneration and a deployable buff that increases movement speed to Soldier and his teammates and returns damage dealt as health. Good for both defensive holds and offensive pushes.
Melee weapons
- Escape Plan - Used more often in 6v6, the Escape Plan's speed boost increases Soldier's chances of surviving while on low health.
- Pain Train - Sometimes used by Soldiers to aid their team with its doubled capture rate.
- Disciplinary Action - Often used on large maps without setup time, to help the slower classes get to the front lines as quickly as possible.
