Check out her kit before the beta next week
It’s wild to think that we were talking about Junker Queen in the originalOverwatchfive years ago— where has the time gone? With the sequel coming into focus and trying its best to justify itself (now as a free-to-play, battle-pass-powered game), the long-time-coming tank hero has stepped “out of the lore and into the light,” as Blizzard puts it.
“Tanks play more aggressively inOverwatch 2,” and as one of the first new characters for the game’s Season 1 launch, Junker Queen has to exemplify that shift. Players can charge into battle, wound their opponents, and stay in the fight with a life-leech passive.
While this trailer sells the overall Junker Queen power fantasy (and has some fun edits), Blizzard alsoshared an overviewof her kit. Some of the values will surely be in flux during theOverwatch 2beta, but it’s nice to have the ability names down before jumping in.
Junker Queen abilities
I want to see a Roadhog main take this kit for a spin.On my team, I mean!
“When Reinhardt was first prototyped, he was able to throw his hammer into the enemy team — an ability that was cool in theory, but awkward in practice, requiring him to go pick up his hammer to defend his team any time he threw it,” said Blizzard. “Despite not making it into Reinhardt’s final kit, this prototype ability heavily inspired Jagged Blade.” Lore-wise, Junker Queen can recall her knife, “Gracie,” using a magnetic gauntlet.
The team also said that Junker Queen could’ve used her axe, “Carnage,” as her primary weapon, but “historically, making a melee hero inOverwatchhas come with its own set of challenges.” Case in point, Genji’s Dragon Blade, which ended up becoming his Ult.
I like the idea of Junker Queen’s life-steal passive being fueled by damage-over-time wounds she inflicts on foes, and she’s also got a bit of Lúcio (with her team-movement-speed buff) and Ana (with her anti-heal Ultimate). I am usually not very comfortable as a tank player (I’m bad with shields), and while I’m not expecting any sudden miracles inOverwatch 2, I can still latch onto some of Junker Queen’s abilities, in theory at least.
She’ll excel up close
“Junker Queen was built forOverwatch 2‘s 5v5 playing field,” according to Blizzard. “She has an unparalleled ability to claim space, and she is terrifying to deal with up close. She’s brawly, toeing the line of a berserker tank, and we were cognizant of that in this new tank paradigm.” We’ll see how she fares in the beta on June 28 —.
We know thatOverwatch 2Season 1 will also includeSojournand a new (fox-commanding?) support hero. That’s who I’m most curious to see up close.
