[Update]: Overwatch's Halloween Terror 2020 event has arrived alongside an assortment of awesome cosmetics, as well as the Soldier 76 weapon rework!

Even though he has been buffed time and time again, Soldier 76 is simply not good enough for the modern version of Overwatch. With high healing power and a reliance on burst damage, the current meta doesn't leave much room for a slow-and-steady character, especially not one who has to compete for a spot with long-ranged powerhouses like Ashe and Widowmaker.

So after unsuccessfully trying to buff him through numerical changes alone, Blizzard has now decided to take things in a bit of a different direction. Instead of giving him one more point of damage, the new experimental update has completely removed bullet spread from the equation, and instead added a constant vertical recoil.

In other words, under the new system Soldier 76's rifle will no longer have any sort of randomness to it. Your aim will steadily rise upwards while you're shooting, but if you expertly pull down your crosshair, you'll be able to make your bullets land in roughly the same spot - perfect for a chain of headshots at close to medium range.

Personally, I think this is a brilliant idea. The numbers and recoil pattern can always be adjusted if Soldier 76 ends up being overpowered, but the important thing here is that Blizzard has removed random chance from the equation. So instead of spraying and praying that your shots hit, you can actually practice your aim, master the recoil pattern, and eventually even challenge heroes like Ashe in a straight up duel!

Whatever your thoughts on the matter may be, I'd highly recommend jumping into a costume game with the experimental settings and giving it a proper try. It really is quite an interesting departure from Soldier 76's original playstyle, and for me, a pretty fun divergence as well!