How does Junker Queen fit into the Overwatch 2 tank lineup?

Tank players have a lot of change coming when Overwatch 2 officially launches, and one of the best changes is the addition of the new hero, Junker Queen. This character, who debuted as the disembodied voice on a loudspeaker in the Junkertown map, is one of the big draws for participants in the summer beta test of the upcoming sequel. Blizzard shared some details about this new character’s development, plus we have some observations from a couple encounters during the beta.

What’s your status… effect?

First off, Junker Queen is unique among the tanks for her use of status effects. The core of her kit is Wounds, doing a damage-over-time to enemies that prevents them from healing. Not only does she inflict the negative effect on enemies, but Junker Queen’s Adrenaline Rush passive is a life-steal mechanic that heals the character for the wound damage she deals out to opponents.

Her other status effect is Commanding Shout, which increases Junker Queen’s health by 200 and her nearby allies’ health by 100. In addition, this ability increases movement speed by 30%.

As a design exercise, these status abilities are more reminiscent of support heroes than other tank tools. Wounds has some similarities to Ana’s Biotic Grenade, while Commanding Shout feels like a blend of Lúcio and Brigitte abilities. But the combination offers Junker Queen some built-in resilience that encourages players to charge hard and fast into rival teams, which is a big factor in several of the tank redesigns in Overwatch 2.

Weapons and abilities

Junker Queen has a lot of options on the hardware side. The game designers explained that they took inspiration for Junker Queen from her existing in-game lore. She’s the current champion in the Scrapyard, so she was already established as a dangerous and resourceful fighter. The resulting gameplay kit reflects the wide range of skills the leader of such a cutthroat crew.

Her primary weapon is the Scattergun. It’s a pump-action shotgun best at close range. The secondary fire is actually a different weapon: a throwing knife ability called Jagged Blade (although Junker Queen herself has charmingly named it “Gracie”).

The first time you activate Jagged Blade, she throws the knife. Activating it a second time recalls the blade to her magnetic gauntlet. Landing a direct hit with the first use of Jagged Blade will apply good old wounds to the enemy. But you don’t have to treat it as a hit-scan skill shot. If you hit an enemy on the knife’s recall, you’ll pull them closer to you, closer in range of the Scattergun.

The last weapon in Junker Queen’s arsenal is an axe and ability named Carnage. She swings the axe in a slow, but wide arc in front of her and applying wounds to all enemies in from of her. The ability applies the Adrenaline Rush passive.

Junker Queen’s life-steal passive is also a critical component of her ultimate. With Rampage, the character charges forward and not only applies wounds, but also prevents healing for any opponent caught in her path.

A raw and regal addition to the tank roster

There’s a lot to take in with this new tank, but once you start wrapping your head around Junker Queen, she’s a ton of fun. Her boomarang-like Jagged Blade ability is especially fun, and it’s a great way for spacial thinkers to impact the game and take opponents by surprise. It’s also the closest she gets to a ranged attack. Junker Queen is all about closing fast to deal big damage. The play style is perfect for anyone who likes the berserker character fantasy: brash, fierce, and in your face.

Junker Queen’s abilities are all powerful, but it might take a little practice to manage the cooldowns correctly and take full advantage of her survivability potential. Once you start pushing toward the higher end of the skill cap, aggressive tank players will enjoy dunking and junking their enemies in-game.