A crazed patriot from America's heartland. Tough and well-armed, he's versatile, capable on both offense as well as defense, and has a total disregard for his own safety. He is well known for his spectacular rocket jump; in defiance of all good sense and judgment, the Soldier can detonate a rocket at his feet to launch himself skyward.
STATISTICS
Fall Speed: 9
Aerial Control: 9
Weight: 8
Ground Movement: 8
Size: 7
Traction: 6
Jumps: 5
Aerial Speed: 4
Soldier's advanced weaponry comes at a cost to control, balanced out by his good weight and reasonable ground speed. Players have to stay in strict command, as a large part of playing successfully is predicting the enemy team's movements and directing attacks in a way that proves beneficial strategically. Soldier is bulky enough to tank some damage before getting slaughtered, allowing a suicide run at the appropriate time and place. At a sprint and using all weapons at his disposal, he's likely to be one of the first in his team to reach the enemy base and a good candidate to get the flag.
SPECIALS
NEUTRAL SPECIAL - ROCKET LAUNCHER
Soldier fires a rocket from his launcher, travelling at the speed of Fox's blaster lasers and in a straight trajectory. The rocket explodes on contact in a Bob-Omb sized hitbox, dealing
15% damage and high knockback. They have infinite range. Holding the input allows the player to aim the launcher before firing, the mechanics of this working in a similar way to the cracker launcher in Brawl. That angle is then saved for use whenever shooting rockets, unless the input is double-tapped, defaulting it to shoot horizontally straight. After firing four rockets, Soldier is forced into a heavy cooldown period to reload the weapon - you can cancel out of this early, leaving you with less rockets in the chamber. The fastness of Soldier's rockets may seem a boon at first, but the fact they don't linger in the air at all means that you can't afford to waste them either. Soldier is victim to damage and knockback from his own rockets, though is not hitstunned or juggled like opponents. You have to be careful using them in close-quarters - this can be advantageous, however, in getting around the stage, especially once you have the flag and are at a high percentage.
Hitting the bottom of a foe's hurtbox forces them up into the air in a temporary state of stun. This allows for a further attack to juggle them, or other allies in the nearby vicinity to take advantage. Go for a combo, or simply break up the composition of a raiding party for [literally] higher-levelled players to handle. Keep in mind, the effective options you may take also depend on the foe's percentage and weight; if in a very bad condition, this is a viable KO move. This technique means that Soldier's naturally aggressive playstyle is supplemented by this outwardly long-ranged weapon, by pushing opponents out of the way. Knock them into your allies' traps, or jump up there to deal with them yourself - Soldier enjoys picking out weak opponents in the enemy line-up and making them suffer.
Soldier takes a single grenade of the two stored on his belt and lobs it up at a high angle. It is slightly bigger than Snake's but the horizontal-vertical angle is flipped and the speed at which the grenade falls is more than halved. The grenade acts as Snake's do, standing on the stage or flying in the air for a while before exploding, causing
12% damage - to which Soldier is vulnerable. Enemies can pick up and throw the grenades back at Soldier, though he has plenty of ways of throwing them right back. Knockback is twice that of Snake's grenades, lingering for twice as long and covering an area twice as wide. Grenades are a straightforward way to easily funnel enemies into the team's traps and projectiles. The catch? Soldier can toss only two grenades in quick succession, if the input is double-tapped, before having to restock on grenades from his pouch - not quite as laggy as reloading the rocket launcher, but sizeable. The lag is less punishing if only one grenade is used. The arc of the grenades can be affected if the input is also held, allowing a lower angle but further range. Unlike Snake's grenades, this doesn't change the detonation time of the grenades, as Soldier only unpins the grenades once the input is released.
That is, unless you hold the input
and press a directional input. Soldier cracks his knuckles, grabs a grenade (or two) from his bandoleer and unpins. The player is free to move around as they please or simply stand still. The grenades tick down as normal and eventually explode while still in Soldier's hands! This deals the normal amount of damage and knockback [times two with two grenades], always dealing backward knockback to Soldier due to holding the grenades in front. This has the obvious function of acting as a suicide KO on opponents, though in practice this depends on the layout of the stage. On largely horizontal maps, this doesn't KO, it more acts as a way to reset Soldier and whoever else may be unfortunate enough to be standing next to him, shooting both players back closer to their respective bases. The grenades can be knocked out of Soldier's hands like any other item, however, and the blast from the grenades will knock the flag out of your hands, or the opponent's for that matter.
Aiming the rocket launcher below, Soldier fires a single rocket, dealing
15% damage to himself and anyone within range, boosting him into the air or juggling opponents just as the rockets do in his neutral special. When used on the ground, the move propels Soldier up two Ganondorfs at default percentage, while if used in mid-air, the rocket is simply shot straight down and the inertia cuts height to just one Ganondorf. Soldier can crouch during the move's start lag, limiting knockback to Soldier so that it only shoots him up the default two Ganondorfs, stopping the move from becoming a forced suicide at high percentages. Besides the obvious function as a recovery, this move acts as a way to juggle Soldier as well as the opponent into the air, and given the likely disparity in percentages between the two, gives some much-needed versatility, the resulting knockback on both players leaving Soldier with a potential multitude of situations to follow up. In the air, crouching instead slightly angles the rocket launcher so that against walls, Soldier is pushed slightly backward and up. This can be used to easily wall climb up long vertical stages, or simply as a way to fire rockets past an obstacle blocking Soldier's projectiles.
Pressing the input defaults to activating the Buff Banner, holding the input changes between the two. Pressing the input when the backpack is already active unequips it. The items themselves, for the uninitiated, are backpacks with long pointy flags pointing out of their top.
Equipping the chosen backpack, Soldier gains a small meter the colour of his team underneath his percentage. This can be seen by team mates, but not foes. As damage is dealt or received by the Soldier player, this meter fills up, and when full, a smart bomb radius buff is given to all team mates and their projectiles, traps or constructions, following a loud, rallying trumpet call. This includes Soldier. Weaponry belonging to and a circular aura below affected allies glow the team colour for the duration of the effect, which lasts ten seconds. BuffeBanner charges up through Soldier dealing damage, while the Battalion's Backup charges through him taking damage. For the Buff Banner, this means dealing
60% damage to foes. Once achieved, the effect is an increase of 1.5x to all damage on attacks and the same multiplier to any hitstun dealt on opponents. For the Battalion's Backup, Soldier has to be dealt
35% damage, giving out a buff that reduces damage by 35% and
15% percentage of non-grab super-armour to ignore hitstun. Self-damage does not count toward this total.
At any time, Soldier can swap between the two and there is a slight window of opportunity to swap out both backups - allowing you to activate the effect at any future time - by double-tapping the input. Likewise, you can simply swap from one to the other to preserve one's ef fect while building up the other at the same time. The buffs affect the players, specifically, so even traps on the opposite side of the map under a player's control gain the buff. However, players who are shooting projectiles from a different camera zone into Soldier's do not have their attacks boosted. While the radius may seem huge, on stages bigger than Hyrule Temple boasting half-a-dozen camera zones, this actually isn't that big. The use of the backpacks in general should be extremely obvious in a team game like Capture the Flag. A Soldier player should be wary about using the buffs at the wrong time or place. Assessing the condition of the fight and acting accordingly is a huge part of using this special most beneficially.
SMASHES
FORWARD SMASH - DIRECT HIT
Soldier takes out a more advanced looking rocket launcher and looks into the scope, start-up here on par with Snake's forward smash: fairly brisk. Soldier shoots a single rocket in a straight trajectory, though this can be angled slightly, travelling 1.8x to 2.2x as fast as his normal rockets - insanely fast and has infinite range. The rocket is controlled much like Snake's NIKITA side special - except that it travels so quickly, you only gain control over its vertical positioning, pushing it up or down at a moderate pace to hit opponents or scoot around obstructions. The rocket deals
20-30% damage to opponents and unlike normal rockets, doesn't deal any damage to Soldier. While the rocket travels through camera zones, the view of the Soldier player follows it there through the logical use of the scope, allowing eyesight into the layout of players and other machinations in the raid to come. At any time, the rocket can be cancelled out of like the NIKITA, by pressing the shield input, causing it to drop in height at an increasing speed before it explodes on contact. Direct Hit has some limited use as a way to 'snipe' if the flag is in the process of being captured and no time is left to directly intervene, or simply to help bombard enemy reinforcements.
UP SMASH - BEGGAR'S BAZOOKA
The Beggar's Bazooka is taken out of hammerspace by Soldier and pointed upward - this move poses many similarities to Snake's up smash, including the start-up lag. After charge, three rockets are fired upward [each has a slight chance of firing slightly off-centre due to the bad quality of the weapon]. Each rocket deals
10% and low-medium knockback that simply acts as a way to juggle unless on a camera zone that has a low ceiling. These also do not cause self-damage. These projectiles from the poorly-constructed bazooka differ from the rest because of their range, which is poor - charged fully, a single rocket will misfire out of the bazooka dealing double the damage and knockback with the usual infinite range, but anything less, and the three rockets come raining down. Charge decides
when, ranging from one Ganondorf to three before they start to fall, dealing
4% and the same knockback as they hit the ground. This is to Soldier's benefit, however, as used out of a dash, this gives a nice defence to his back as he rushes with the flag or to guard the air above him for allies by blocking enemy projectiles. Obviously, the potential for just flooding the air with falling rockets is good if you're on the defensive, verging on enemy invasion and know their planned point of entry. If you're desperate, these lingering rockets make for a good 'wall' to use your neutral special against, if you want to get height before you 'suicide' back to home base.
DOWN SMASH - LIBERTY LAUNCHER
From his crouching position, Soldier equips a modified Liberty Launcher, though for now it resembles the Team Fortress 2 model exactly. As won't come as any surprise, the launcher can be angled slightly, though this is of slightly more importance than before. After charging, Soldier shoots a rocket from the Liberty Launcher, travelling 40% faster than the normal Rocket Launcher. Upon contact with any obstacle or a foe, the rocket explodes, dealing
15-30% damage and medium-high knockback. However, that's not the end of the move - detonating, the rocket releases a torrid of smaller rockets, shooting out to form a circular area full of team-coloured explosions [in other modes, they're red, white and blue]. The size of this circular area varies depending on charge time, being as small as Pokéball Snorlax initially flying off-screen, or as big as when he re-enters it for his attack. This lasts for ten seconds - only one rocket can be fired at a time, using the input while one is still airborne will have Soldier push a button on the Liberty Launcher to detonate the rocket prematurely, having the same effects. Enemies caught within this area are dealt damage of
1.5-2.5% damage a second and random, largely negligible hitstun, to further screw up any setting up. Allies within these areas are given any buff you currently have active, and of course any damage dealt to opponents can be used to charge up Buff Banner, being extremely useful in densely-populated areas. Likewise, you can truly disturb an enemy team's constructions as the default height will have rockets hitting anything grounded and then nibbling away at anything that's left in the following firework display.
If the input is spammed, Soldier swings his shovel wildly in two different attacks, dealing
5% each and low knockback, close-ranged only due to being one-handed. On a foe's shield, this has a decent pushing effect, forcing them out of your face. The hits come out fast enough to fulfil basic requirements for a good jab. The range on the shovel, not great it may be, is enough to reasonably destroy any projectile without damaging Soldier at the same time. If you have the benefit of a rocket right out there, say from your up smash or a thrown grenade, that will add to the size and damage of the hitbox here. Pressing the input has Soldier perform a slower backhanded strike with the shovel, dealing
8% and turns the foe around as happens to a Spy in Meet the Soldier. The stun effect mirrors Mario's cape, the foe also left in a slightly dizzied state for a fraction of a second. This can be of amazing use if standing in the way of an enemy stealing your team's flag, or a foe trying to get up to you on a high platform, as the move comes out quickly, just not compared to your multi-hit jab.
Soldier takes out and fires his shotgun hastily, dealing
10% damage and low-high knockback, depending on how close the foe was to Soldier. The shell spreads out if not initially hitting anything, like an opponent or the stage, creating tiny projectiles that can detonate nearby trigger-based traps. These projectiles travel blindingly fast, even being able to catch up to your own rockets if this move is used efficiently. Continually pressing the input while running has Soldier continuously firing the shotgun with slight delay, making it your go-to input for ambushing foes close-up. It's just as good for detonating projectiles that are aimed at you, especially when on the run toward or from the enemy base, possibly necessitating that opponents focus on the Soldier if they have a huge defensive line full of this kind of set-ups. In combination with your buff, this can make Soldier into a great decoy for an ally who is faster or more able to actually capture the flag than you, as you take the heat from then in an initial rush into battle.
Taking out the heavy Equalizer, Soldier swings into the background from the foreground, or vice versa depending on where he's facing, having poor-range due to being one-handed and a small pickaxe at that. This deals
12% damage to foes and high horizontal knockback - this is a fairly important basic input for Soldier as it allows him to rebound foes back into projectiles or simply KO them easily when he's on the edge of a camera zone with an actual side blast zone. The end of the pickaxe's hitbox constitutes a sweet spot that deals higher knockback, instead in a diagonal direction rather than strictly horizontal. Soldier generally prefers aerial foes, so having a KO option that also may result in leaving the foe airborne and far away from him is a decent option. Normally, the move is very powerful against shields, but the sweet spot especially is devastating, basically one-hit KOing a foe's shield. Used after your one-hit jab, this can be a great way to force an opponent out of shielding and into being offensive, if they were previously stalling for their team to catch up to their push or simply blocking damage from your rockets.
Soldier swipes underhand with his one-handed shovel, bringing it up to his full height in a circular swinging motion. The shovel deals
5% as before, except that the foe is launched upward if hit by any point of the attack. This is a decent KO move, but sacrifices potency for range, as it hits in front and above Soldier. Hit foes into your lingering rockets or simply hit them out of the way when dashing, good. If used on projectiles you've created - mostly your grenades or up smash rockets - the move hits them back into the air as if a shuttlecock. Considering how short-ranged this move is anyway, this isn't remotely aggravating to avoid using, as you have to hit with the actual hitbox of the shovel. This works on enemy projectiles, but only the ones that don't detonate on impact, like Snake's grenades. Though if hit with the apex of this move, the explosion that is created will probably be out of danger's way for Soldier.
Having a similar animation to Ganondorf's same input, Soldier sits and kicks forward across the ground with one leg, Soldier equipping the Gunboats for the duration. The attack deals
7% damage and mild-medium vertical knockback - great knockback growth - so this is another move that largely flows into projectile spam. It also pushes shields back like your jab, but at a longer range, making it a good mix-up along with your forward tilt. Perhaps the real purpose of this move, though, is as an ineffective 'counter,' as while Soldier takes damage from traps or attacks to his leg during the attack, he does not take knockback due to the nature of the Gunboats. This for once allows Soldier to cause himself 'self-damage,' with it working toward the goal of his Battalion's Backup down special, as well as just being a generally useful move to use against foes using grounded traps.
AERIALS
NEUTRAL AERIAL - FRYING PAN
While not strictly exclusively to Soldier, he is perhaps the most in-character class to use the weapon with his strenuous grip on reality. Onto the move, Soldier takes out the frying pan and attacks in broad swipes from the bottom of his hurtbox to his top, then reversed in a way akin to a jab, basically covering it entirely as does every other neutral aerial. A more specific angle for the swipe can be chosen by using the directional input alongside the standard input, allowing a versatile amount of directional swipes. Foes struct by the frying pan are dealt
8% damage and low-medium knockback - it gets them out of your face when they're far too close, again, it's a neutral aerial. As in your up tilt, though, you can redirect projectiles, again made less useful and annoying by the low range of the frying pan, though the hitbox is slightly larger at least. The relevance on this on neutral aerial comes from your buff - allies outside the smart bomb blast radius range likely still have projectiles coming through on your position. At the same time as redirecting the projectiles into a more advantageous position, you can also pass on the buff over to them. Requiring some skill, being able to swat away Snake's grenades and other fodder projectiles can also be useful.
BACK AERIAL - ESCAPE PLAN
Soldier takes out the Escape Plan - largely a clone of the Equalizer - and swipes it in a similar motion to his forward tilt, except behind him. This deals a familiar
12% damage and medium downward knockback, as well as the shield damage of the forward tilt. Aside from that, having a KO move that clears the air behind you isn't bad. The real potential of the move comes through when using that aforementioned suicide technique to blast away from the enemy base. If you strike a wall or other, allied structure with your Escape Plan, Soldier halts his momentum and turns around to pull his Escape Plan out of the wall, acting like Luigi's side special when misfired into the side of a stage. This means you aren't completely at the mercy of the physics engine when you rebound off the side of walls or other things when making your way back to the base, and even turn yourself around so you lose no time and can immediately begin dashing on your way.
FORWARD AERIAL - RESERVE SHOOTER
As in Team Fortress 2, the Reserve Shotgun is taken out 15% faster than the Shotgun - equating to the same decrease in start lag from the dash attack. The weapon has the same range and trajectory as the shotgun and deals the same damage when hitting opponents, carrying with it the benefits of using a good spread of the shell into the air. What differs from the normal shotgun is that opponents, or any projectile that isn't destroyed by the initial attack, is carried along at a speed matching Sonic's dash speed, opponents hitstunned into place as they're forced along for the ride. This goes on for a full platform and deals
1% a maximum of five times, depending on how close the opponent was. This is the most blatant spacing move Soldier has in his arsenal, letting you push around foes and displace them from their team or push them into your own's traps. In a general MYM Brawl context, there's also something to be said for pushing around those giant controllable platforms in the air without outright destroying them, essentially stunning the foe on the other end of the move.
UP AERIAL - MARKET GARDENER
Taking out an entrenching shovel, Soldier performs an uppercut motion using it as a bludgeoning tool, almost resembling the Mario Bros up special. This has the same effect as your up tilt in rebounding projectiles, except in the air, again the small hitbox of the Market Gardener making this is a move that is high unlikely to interfere when unwanted. The shovel deals multiple hits of
3%, more hits depending on the speed of ascent. Going at a fairly low speed, from a normal jump for example, results in only one or two hits, while being propelled by a Rocket Jump - especially at a higher percentage - may lead to more than five in one go. The knockback from the attack also depends on the speed factor - more hits the better, becoming a KO move around the four-hit mark. At low percentages, the 'normal' version is simply a good way to juggle the foe and it is nice not having to deal damage to yourself, if you know you could never KO an opponent this early in their stock. This move is an important melee option when pursuing an airborne opponent and are in a camera zone where a star KO is viable, but the opponent is DIing insanely to avoid your rockets.
Soldier equips the Mantreads [which is to say they magically appear on his feet] to execute a stall-then-fall down aerial, mirroring Ganondorf's same aerial in animation. The further the distance, the faster the fall and the greater damage and knockback is dealt,
10-30% damage plus low-extremely high knockback, the high end only accessed when Soldier has fallen the equivalent depth of New Pork City's top to bottom platforms. The fall can be DI'd slightly left and right, as with other stall-then-falls. Obvious physics ensue against standing foes on the ground, as they bounce off of it for easy juggling or aerial sniping depending on percentage. If landing on grounded traps or constructions with the move, the boots reduce the immediate knockback from them by 75%, enabling you to actually survive when parachuting into enemy territories at a high percentage from multiple Rocket Jumps. In the air, the same effect is had on attacks being used from a lower opponent, allowing Soldier to evade KOs from telegraphed aerials or strong projectiles. Forgetting Soldier's unique suicidal tendencies and natural likelihood to get high into the air, in a game mode where stages are gigantic and vertical KOs the most prominent, he excels in directly crashing a party of clumped up enemies.
GRAB GAME
GRAB - COW MANGLER 5000
The Cow Mangler 5000 is taken out and fired by Soldier, discharging a thin stream of electricty twice the reach of a Brawl grab, though losing some speed; it's certainly usable out of a shield, but not always viable in melee range and has worse end lag. A foe struck by the electricity is stunned in place, as if hit by Zamus' down tilt, initiating the grab. Opponents can be hit while still in the air, suspended in the air where they were caught. This is only possible on foes who fall into the beam, however, because of its strictly horizontal course. Opponents are not alone in being targets for the Cow Mangler 5000 - enemy and allied constructions or other elements - player-tall traps or minions - can be 'grabbed' and the following pummel and throws can then be used as normal. The move can be cancelled out of the same as all grabs and will prioritise grabbing opponents, ignoring everything else in favour of an in-range opponent. While this all may sound staggering in its versatility, it does leave Soldier unprotected and is easily counter-attacked.
GRAB SMASH - SECONDARY FIRE
The grab input can be charged to use an actual attack instead of the grab - essentially becoming a grab smash. Bright energy builds up at the end of the Mangler, indicating its 'charge.' The Cow Mangler follows this by firing a beam of energy that varies in size, from Lucario's final smash to Samus', at the highest range reaching all the way to the ground. Though this beam does have infinite range, the beam is only as long as two platforms in length and only causes hitstun for as long as it passes through opponents, as well as constant
1-2% damage, only lasting a number of seconds. The end lag is terrible, as Soldier wrestles the overheating Cow Mangler. The secondary effects of being hit by the the beam are what make it truly worthwhile. Opponents are left on fire for ten seconds after the move, dealt
2% a second passively, their burning hurtbox dealing any of the enemy team's players or anything else for
3% a second if in very close range to the character. This makes the job of large set-up characters far harder - they do have the initial thirty seconds, however, meaning this will mostly hamper them, if hit, in expansion. The beam can be shielded fully and this can fully block the beam, so you require assistance from allies to reliably land the move.
The damage from this attack is reduced to only 20% against enemy constructions, though it does have the effect of 'short-circuiting' them for around five seconds, little over double how long it usually takes the beam to pass through an object. These few seconds can be vital for a raiding team to invade an area occupied by a mass of grounded turrets. While hypothetically this move can't reach elevated constructions, temporarily halting their use around the entrances to other camera zones should be helpful in the first push, which is supported by the short duration of this effect, giving your team a window of opportunity. Against Soldier's own projectiles - his rockets and, if achievable, grenades - static from the beam suspends them in mid-air as aerial trap. Only by further contact do they explode, or if on a timer like the grenades. This allows for Soldier to follow up with his reflective moves on his own projectiles, though of course requires quite a bit of preparation. You will also need a wipe open space for this to work, as even at the beam's amazing speed, it will take it time to catch up - thankfully most of Soldier's weaponry is fired from the shoulder as well, so a non-charged beam will do just fine. As with the rest of this move, this may be a strategy best used when your team is on the defensive.
Rapidly firing the Cow Mangler albeit in what is still an average pummel, the effect differs on constructions and opponents. Constructions then differ depending on their allegiance. Allied ones are given a buff to attack power, 1.1-1.5x attack damage and knockback for ten seconds, used five times before the Cow Mangler overheats and Soldier suffers bad end lag. The buffed construction also gains csuper armour, producing an electric aura purely for visual effect, keeping Soldier from buffing that construction for the duration of the aura. This little interaction here gives Soldier some busy work in the thirty seconds pre-match, though he is likely to have to choose which allies or objects to buff so that he doesn't fall behind getting to the gates that separate the two teams. Not quite the opposite effect is had on enemy constructions, simply short-circuiting them as your grab smash does for 2-10 seconds, though in enemy territory and then the end lag, Soldier is going to be victim to the owner's reprisal. On foe's, the electricity pulls them off the ground - or further into the air - at a rate of one SBU a pummel. This deals
5% a hit. The opponent will want to escape the grab desperately, not only because of follow-up throws, but because after six hits, the foe is burnt to ashes and KO'd. A pummel KO in this mode where the stages prevent most ordinary KOs and a respawn timer exists may seem overpowered: the foe will have nine team mates to damage Soldier and ensure that if the move does KO the grabbed opponent, he is immediately killed afterward.
BACK THROW - COW MANGLER 5000
The Cow Mangler 5000 is charged up for one final attack. Building up a ball of energy, this is then shot toward the grabbed opponent, the projectile as big as a max-sized super scope shot, dealing constant
1% damage and pulling the foe along as it tears across the screen, further imitating the super scope item from Brawl in its speed. The ball will only degrade and eventually be destroyed upon contact with a solid object, like a wall or enemy construct. As it pushes against them, it slowly diminishes in size until it is reduced to nothing. Once it reaches a small size, an enemy attack will also destroy the projectile. Up until that point, any explosives that hit the ball will instead increase its size, potentially to that of Bowser at its greatest, also increasing the amount of damage it deals. Especially in an unreachable nook or cranny, like an entrance, it should be simple to feed the energy ball rockets to keep it at maximum strength, deterring opponents from setting up around that area, as like all of your other projectiles, this one too can be redirected. Keep in mind, though, the projectile is so unsturdy that cutting it off from a stream of rockets will probably lead to it being destroyed wherever its destination. Nevertheless, that doesn't stop it from being a valuable distraction.
Soldier takes out his shotgun and shoots at the opponent, the same basic move as the dash attack, dealing the same knockback and
10% damage. Used at melee range and without any use of the pummel, this is simply a quick shortcut for a decent KO or spacing throw. On an elevated foe, this is a great defence against incoming projectiles or foes, and somewhat covers Soldier's retreat out of the grab. Double-tapping the directional input has Soldier dash forward before shooting at the foe, running a maximum of a platfrom from the foe's position until forced to fire. Using this throw out of a grab helps Soldier to speedily get back on the offensive while guaranteeing the foe can't follow. By playing around with the pummel and the double-tap, Soldier can 'snipe' the quirker traps that are stuck on the ceiling of camera zones or on top of platforms. Likewise, useful against grabbed constructions, as you can pummel then go damage or destroy it while not halting a strategic push because of the double-tap option.
Equipping the shovel, Soldier is over-enthusiastic in pounding his helmet with it to pump himself up, referencing one of his Team Fortress 2 taunts. After a short start-up, he launches at the opponent, gaining super armour that withstands any attack without him taking knockback. He'll then jump on top of the grabbed foe, even if it means jumping more than twice to reach them, his adrenaline apparently breaking the already nonsensical two-jump logic of Smash. Once he is on top, the player regains control, this being one of those 'open-ended' throws. Moving in either directions simply has Soldier move into the air as the opponent goes into a couple seconds of free fall, jumping has Soldier footstool them for the same effect. What is obviously preferable is using an attack like your rocket jump to cause huge knockback on the likely already highly damaged opponent, due to the extremely close range. Of course, you can use any move - if at a ludicrous height, footstool then go into a down aerial chase using the Mantreads, or throw a grenade down, if near to the ground, to begin a quasi-tech chase as they avoid the explosion or attempt to throw it away, leaving them open. You may also just use the move to elevate yourself to high spots on the map using your opponent as a make-shift platform, leaving Soldier with a lower percentage than if he had used rockets.
DOWN THROW - LIBERTY ROCKET
Soldier takes out a rocket from the stock, this time not being delivered by a launcher, and tosses it at the opponent. Depending on their distance from him, this either results in the rocket exploding for
15% damage if they're far away, or Soldier then physically grabbing and throwing them in a chosen direction if grounded or near to it. The latter of which only causes a few percent of damage, knockback varying from low-medium. After the rocket explodes, it's revealed to be of the Liberty Launcher variety, creating the same circular area as the uncharged down smash does around the unlucky opponent. They are remarkably safe from the fireworks themselves, being that they the centre of the display at all times - their allies do not share this luxure, of course. Basically, this makes the foe want to run from set-ups, while running into the enemy team makes them super vulnerable if you have any buff active and to re-iterate, a foe has no idea when you can trigger a buff due to not seeing the meter below Soldier's percentage bar while using his Buff. This may not seem your typical down throw, it does make staying on-foot an attractive option for the foe, as that prevents half the circle - the 'lower' half all blocked off by the floor. Use this on a foe who the team can't afford to be made into bait, or on one who prefer either melee range attacking or defensive set-up, as the two approaches are well and truly nullified.
FINAL SMASH
RALLY THE TROOPS - MAGGOTS
Playing on his delusional personality and promo, Soldier takes out a machete, running around at a significantly buffed running speed for the duration of the final smash. The machete item can't be dropped and gives Soldier generic slashing and stabbing attacks. Both deal the expected damage compared to similar Brawl items. What makes this final smash useful is that it allows Soldier to cut off the head or limbs of his opponents by slashing at them, instantly KOing the foe. It doesn't stop there - the body part falls to, or rolls across the ground and can be used as a throwing item by other players, Soldier being able to pick it up and add it to his 'inventory.' Any body parts in Soldier's inventory can be placed on the ground on top of a pike by pressing the down tilt, this action replacing the normal down tilt until Soldier runs out of ammo. Taunting in front of these pikes, Soldier gives off a line about how he's 'going to train you maggots' or goes on a long-winded diatribe about how he single-handedly won World War II. For as long as he does this, both meters for his two buffs build up steadily at once, allowing you access to a fully-charged one without even contacting the enemy yet. The pikes have
20-30% stamina depending on the size of the body part and act as a wall to enemy attacks in a basic sense and just to make the move that extra level of ridiculous, they can be stacked on top of each other too. By using his down taunt, Soldier causes all the body parts close-by to perform a generic attack; a headbutt, kick, punch, whatever makes sense. Sadly, pikes can't be placed on team mates or opponents' bodies. You cannot build a cage around the flag, unfortunately, as the pikes all dissipate after sixty seconds left out on the field and can't be picked back up once placed.
STRATEGY AND TACTICS
WOULD-BE LEADER - PROBABLE LIABILITY TO TEAM
When you're choosing a character for Capture the Flag, Soldier should be appealing to you if you're the kind of player who doesn't particularly want to play as a team member, more force yourself into a power role and attempt to carry the team as much as possible. Channelling Patton, Soldier players can try to play offensively or defensively, most likely doing a bad job unless they know the feel of Soldier's rockets and limited set-up options. Soldier plays dynamically unlike most aggressive characters, being that you can reflect his projectiles while on the run and has options available at any time to do a full turnaround and start shooting the other way if he wants. The lack of any traps or lingering hitboxes outside of the perpetually moving rockets, acts as a nice pivot in how players should assume Soldier plays - he's not meant to make roots, he's meant to be part of the push as well as filling in positions in the team, be it offensive or defensive, that other players can't or have failed to. This is a heavy order for any character...
For Soldier, though, failure is in fact an option. Getting blasted by opponents and racking up damage to insane levels - remember how I whined on about the gigantic nature of Capture the Flag stages - actually helps him, because of both his defensive buff and recovery. The key is to know when you're likely to be given a beating and take it like a man, filling up your rage meter and planning a counter-attack. As the match progresses and you build damage, move closer to the flag - opponents should be very wary of your presence anywhere near it, given that you may be able to angle your rockets for a quick escape. This works well when building up damage and makes Soldier into a great bullet sponge for the other team members.
To aid in the task of raiding and defence twofold, Soldier has access to the 'advanced weaponry' from Team Fortress 2 that gives him a small amount of perspective in the match, much needed when you're running around trying to be the hero. Your forward smash lets you see into other camera zones, your down smash lets you give your buff to a wholly different place on the stage. This is especially relevant when building up the seperate buffs - a coordinating team that is concentrating on attacking or defending at specific points benefits from the respective buffs. If acting alone, Soldier's buffs can act as a rallying point for team mates or signify in simple terms that he's further ahead than the team may have thought, encouraging reinforcement. This sort of long-ranged team play is at the core of Soldier's ability to play at either end of the field without losing ground on the more specialised classes, greatly increased in effectiveness if you have the team's backing.
Coming down to it, your options are improved tenfold by the use of your grab smash, favouring the defensive side of Soldier's playstyle. Keep in mind that you already have the rockets, mass projectiles and a long list of melee attacks, as well as the ability to specifically aim your rockets even when they're out of the launcher. Being able to suspend them mid-flight by a jolt of electricity lets Soldier ascend to dizzying heights. Create a minefield that separates two horizontally adjacent camera zones. Stall out the enemy team. Like your down smash, this can be a great rallying cry, as opponent constructions go down while giving yourself a potential armoury of hanging grenades to bat into enemies on the way.
All-in-all, though, I'm likely not telling you anything new that you couldn't figure out for yourself. Soldier is as straightforward as they come, being a great starter character for newcomers to the mode while having a degree of depth in his strategic placement, which is where the expert level players will find he's quite adaptable. His love of self-damage and ability to snap away the flag or play decoy, or leader, to the team is never irrelevant to the overall strategy, no matter the layout of the stage or team itself. You can hang back and shoot rockets at the enemy wall all day, but that isn't taking advantage of Soldier's plethora of options when going head-to-head. At the same time, the success even just that strategy can have says volumes about how well Soldier fits into most roles on the team - he's not a calculable factor, but can bring an ebb and flow to the match that can give some order to the chaos. Or you can run into the enemy base, holding two grenades and hope for the best. That's the American way.
except items, stage hazards, other players...
