The second Overwatch 2 beta only started recently, and in this case, players have the chance to go back to Blizzard’s anticipated sequel, test out the new character Queen Junker, and explore the new hybrid map Rio. Available to PlayStation and Xbox players too, I spent some time getting Junker Queen through the bell in the beta, and after a bunch of playthroughs, it was clear Blizzard was the winner for the role.
I say this because I’m disappointed with Sojourn, a new character introduced in the first beta. Don’t get me wrong, Sojourn is a very strong character that requires a lot of skill and ability to master, but her outfit feels too similar to Soldier 76 in my eyes to feel exciting or especially fresh. Queen Junker, on the other hand, didn’t suffer the same fate, even with abilities and moves that clearly resemble other Overwatch characters.
For starters, there is a palpable familiarity with Roadhog when it comes to Junker Queen. Both use the shotgun as their primary weapon, even though the Junker Queen’s weapon seems to have more range, at the cost of lower max damage shots due to the tighter spread. Match it with the Serrated Knife skill – it’s a throwing knife that recalls and pulls any pierced enemy towards the Junker Queen – you can see it’s not just the primary weapon, but the Roadhog’s hook/serration Knives are similar in nature. That’s not to say, however, that this ability is uninspired or dull. No, in fact, this has become one of my favorite abilities in Overwatch. This is because it’s actually a double-edged skill shot, as it requires precision in the throw, but also good positioning and recall timing if you want to force the enemy out of position. Combine that with its endless pounding, and you can see that Blizzard has nailed this ability.
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But that’s not quite what the Junker Queen can do, as she can also swing her massive axe in a cone in front of her, which will damage enemies and deal a lot of damage if it hits. It’s basically the same as Reinhardt’s hammer, except for this damage passive combo with the Junker Queen, where the mele, serrated blade, and slaughtering axe swing, all leave the target with a brief bleed effect, which is great for the Junker Queen As a reward for treatment itself. And this takes her commanding abilities even further, Queen Junker has 200 more health and 30% faster movement speed, which makes taking her down even more challenging, which is necessary as she lacks a lot of self-control. Healing abilities, no basic armor or shrouds, and no other way to protect yourself.
However, this is clearly the design style of Queen Junkers, as this is a character that is all about aggression and putting pressure on the enemy team. If you give her space to do something like this, Queen Junkers will run past your team and take it apart, but if you can isolate her and focus her, she will fall off very quickly because she lacks Lots of movement and self-defense features. That’s not to say she can’t escape the shackles, as her Ultimate: Rampage is a pretty long dash, but given its offensive possibilities, I highly recommend saving it for use when attacking, rather than retreating or trying to survive.
I say this because of one of the two abilities in Overwatch that provide the Heal Resist debuff, the other being Ana’s Bio Grenade. Since Anti-Healing is probably the most impactful debuff in Overwatch, having a second character who can provide this is a huge bonus, especially since that character isn’t a support. That’s not to say that Rampage is as influential and powerful as Biotic Grenade, because it’s not at all, mostly because of the cooldowns between each skill’s respective use, but it can change the dynamics of battles, and in this case, should be strategic use sexually.
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Since Junker Queen is still very new, there is no real way to know how/if she will go into meta. However, as players and professionals spend more time with her, we’ll start to see how well she’s used. From what I’ve seen, this is a very exciting character addition that could change the way Overwatch is played in the future, especially considering she was designed from the ground up for Overwatch 2 5v5 gameplay provided.