Table of Contents
The Winter Soldier is one of the best Duelist in the game currently. He offers a strong close to mid range ability set, and an ultimate that will seemingly last forever. In this guide, we will start with an overview of his abilities for new players. If you already know the basics of the character, skip down to the next section where we will give you tips and tricks to improve your consistency. Finally, we will offer guidance on if Winter Soldier is the right character for you.
Basic Ability Guide (For Beginners)
You can find a bulleted list of the character's abilities in game under their character tab. This portion of the guide will cover the same info, as well as some extra information and tips that the game doesn't clearly outline. If you already have a basic grasp of the character, skip to the next section for more advanced tips.
Winter Soldier's abilities all tie in with his primary weapon, Roterstern. This 3 shot hand gun fires explosive rounds. By explosive, it simply means the rounds can attack your main target and an opponent behind them if they are very close together. This won't happen too often, so it's mainly a 3 shot weapon. It reloads relatively quickly, but the weapon has synergy with his abilities.
He has a passive ability called Ceaseless Charge that lets you automatically reload each time you use an ability. It also grants bonus hp to ability uses, but we will get into that in a moment. This passive is what really makes this character shine. You can skip the need to reload this powerful weapon by instead dealing more damage.
Winter Soldier has 3 abilities that give him a range of options:
Troopers Fist is an dash plus uppercut that pulls nearby opponents into it's path. The dash attack does 25 damage, and the uppercut does an additional 65 damage. This is perfect for closing the gap on an evasive opponent to finish them off. In an emergency, you can use it as a way to dash behind cover. Thanks to your passive ability, you also gain 50 bonus hp on activation and automatically reload your weapon!
Tainted Voltage is a projectile that you can fire that does 55 damage on impact. Any enemy hit will also gain a 35% movement reduction for 2 seconds. This move is great for finishing off a fleeing opponent. If the damage doesn't kill them, they get slowed down and you auto reload to finish them off. It has quick 6 second recharge time, so you can use it often without worry of needing to reserve it. Thanks to that passive ability again, you get 30 bonus health and a full reload on activation. For a more niche usage, the ability can knock down flying opponents, allowing you to take them out easier.
Bionic Hook is a grapple attack that you can fire to reel in an opponents. You charge the move for up to 4 seconds, and the range it reaches depends on the length of the charge. At immediate usage, it can reach up to 10 meters. If you charge the full time of 4 seconds though, it can expand its reach to 20 meters. The first opponent it hits will immediately be pulled toward you and receive 15 damage. Like the other abilities, your passive will give you 30 bonus health and instantly reload your weapon. You want to use this grapple to single out important targets. That can be a fleeing opponent, someone who needs to be separated from a healer, or the healer themselves if you get a good angle. It has an 8 second recharge time, so you can use it often, but be a little more reserved with it than your blast.
For Winter Soldier's ultimate, he slams the ground with his bionic arm in a move called Kraken Impact. On activation, you soar into the air and hover with a target radius you can attack. Once chosen, any opponent inside will take damage and receive a "mark of culling". Basically what this means your opponent get the last 20% of their health bar restricted, and if their hp dips to that mark, they die. If any opponent dies while marked, Winter Soldier gets to use his ultimate... AGAIN! You can do this over and over until either you die, you fail to kill a marked opponent before the mark expires, or the 7 second window to reactivate the ultimate expires. If you hear someone in game screaming "AGAIN!", you know Winter Soldier is getting some value from his ultimate.
Tips and Tricks For Gameplay
Winter Soldier's ultimate ability can be reset if a marked opponent dies by any source. That means you don't have to be the one to land the killing blow to use your ultimate AGAIN! Enemies instantly lose their mark if you die, so don't be afraid to let your team help confirm some kills.
For another ultimate ability tip, you don't have to select your target immediately. You will actually hover in the air for a few seconds, allowing you a chance to properly aim. Use this to your advantage if this is your second + time using it. The opponents are already marked, so let your team damage them some more. Even if they lose their mark while you're in the air, they will get a new one when they get hit again. Essentially, taking your time can sometimes give you and your team more value from the ability by extending the time they are marked.
For a final ultimate ability tip, ANY enemy kill counts as a reset for you. This includes Loki Clones and freshly revived enemies. If you want to keep enemies running while your ultimate keeps returning, target the Loki Clones you see one by one. Each time will give you a 7 second window to use another ult, followed by a 2-3 second window to choose your target. Stalling can let more opponents return to battle, netting you continuing value from the ability.
Use Winter Soldier's abilities often. Don't just shoot and spam abilities when you get into trouble. Single out players to separate from the group and use your abilities to ensure they stay separated.
Ideally you want to be close quarters with opponents, hence why you have a grapple and a dashing uppercut. Get in close and aim for those headshots to make a huge impact. Since abilities reload your gun, you can really maximize your accuracy by shoving that gun barrel right in their face after pulling them in.
If opponents are sticking together and hiding behind shields and walls, its okay to stay back and fight at a distance. You just need to keep shooting. Build up your ultimate by landing hits, then use it on the team to give your team a chance to break them apart.
Utilize your projectile like a damaging reload. It recharges quickly, and the ability finishes faster than a regular reload. This will let you keep serious pressure on opponents while reserving those higher cooldown abilities.
Is Winter Soldier For You?
Winter Soldier is a aim-centeric character, meaning you need to be accurate to perform well. His abilities are key to maximizing damage and kills, so you have to be good at managing both cooldowns and gun play at the same time. His movement speed is low, so you have to be ready to fight to the end as you may not have the chance to walk away.
If you are good at aiming and want a more aggressive form of Hawkeye, Winter Soldier might be for you. You do very high damage if you can aim your shots well, and even more if you can properly manage your abilities. His ultimate can be very fun to use, but it only matters if you can make an impact throughout the match,
If you want a simple character that isn't dependent on your aim, Winter Soldier may not be for you. You move slowly, so you have to make your shots count. The same applies if you don't like having to constantly use your abilities to make best use of the character. For a simpler character, but also a good run and gun character, check out our Punisher guide and see if he is a better pick for you!
