Overwatch 2 Junker Queen's abilities set her apart from other tanks in the game. After years of fan speculation about her release and role in the game, she was officially announced as part of the Overwatch 2 release date event. Junker Queen is a tanky hero, but much more aggressive than other shield tanks like Reinhardt.
She was designed specifically for Overwatch 2's new 5v5 format, which favors much more active tank heroes. She also has abilities that heal and buff her teammates, providing a bit more support to the team while also dealing a lot of damage. Join us as we give you a brief overview of the Junker Queen set as it stands, along with some tips on how to play her.
Here is the full list of Junker Queen abilities in Overwatch 2:
- bleed
- adrenaline rush
- Serrated Blade
- Command Shout
- Carnage
- Rampage
Sawn-off shotgun - main weapon
Junker Queen's primary weapon is the pump-action shotgun. It can hold six projectiles and has a fairly fast reload time. Each shot deals 80 damage if you hit your target the most, and unlike many other shotguns in Overwatch, the sawed-off shotgun is effective at medium range. Also, if you land headshots, you can kill most Overwatch 2 enemy heroes with half as many shots.
Adrenaline Rush Passive
Junker Queen's passive ability allows her to heal from damage dealt over time, inflicting wounds on enemy heroes. These wounds are similar to a bleed effect, dealing damage over time to enemies that also restores Junker Queen's health. This gives her a lot of survivability, which is very important considering how important the solo tank role is in a 5v5 game.
Jagged Blade - Secondary Weapon
Junker Queen's secondary weapon is a throwing blade named Gracie, which she can recall using her magnetic gauntlet. If you manage to hit the target, the Jagged Blade will deal 80 damage and inflict a wound that will deal an additional 15 damage over time. If you pick up the blade while it's stuck in an enemy, it will be pulled towards you, like Roadhog's hook.
As seen in Zenyatta's new strike, the Overwatch team appears to be experimenting with new melee animations. The Junker Queen has been treated similarly, as her fast melee attack uses a blade instead of a fist. Her melee attacks also wound the enemy, dealing damage over time and granting her passive healing.
Commanding Shout - Movement Ability
Commanding Shout refers to Junker Queen's role as a natural leader. This is an AoE ability that grants her 200 additional health (the new name for all forms of temporary HP) and her nearby allies an additional 50 health, and increases everyone's movement speed by 30%. This is the first speed buff we've seen in the game since Lucio's speed buff, and the first given to a tank. The area of effect is approximately 20 meters, and the ability expires after three seconds.
Lucio's and Junker Queen's speeds stack, so they can be combined if you want to charge at the enemy and gain the upper hand. The extra survivability that Command Shout gives will make this more likely than Lúcio's speed boost alone, and you can use that to either break out of a dead end or catch up to your target for a final push. This ability was significantly stronger in the beta, but Blizzard toned it down for the full release to keep Junker Queen from becoming too powerful.
Carnage - Activated Ability
Junker Queen's other ability is a melee attack in which she uses a huge ax that was shown in her cinematic trailer. The developers revealed that they wanted Junker Queen to have some melee elements to match her ferocious attitude and berserk playstyle, but they didn't want to make her a melee hero. Thanks to Genji's original design, which had a katana as his primary weapon, they learned that melee-focused heroes weren't really suited to the type of play they wanted to see in Overwatch 2.
Activating Carnage swings Junker Queen's ax straight ahead, dealing 90 damage to enemy heroes and dealing an additional 40 damage to them. When activated in a large crowd of enemies, the potential for damage and passive healing is huge. The developers also revealed that the Junker Queen Carnage and Jagged Blade abilities came from the original idea of having Reinhardt throw his hammer. These abilities work much better for her as she can remember her weapons with her magnetic gauntlet.
Rampage - Ultimate Ability
Speaking of which, Junker Queen's magnetic glove is the key to her ultimate Rampage ability. She activates the gauntlet to create a magnetic field around her, spinning the knife and shotgun in front of her in a whirlwind of death. She then dashes forward about 25 meters, inflicting wounds on every enemy she hits.
Rampage can generate a whopping 100 healing points for each enemy hit, and also adds a debuff that prevents them from healing for a period of time, similar to Ana's anti-nada. However, using Rampage can be risky. Similar to Reinhardt's ability in Overwatch, you can't control dash once it's activated. What's the point of all this healing if you're just flying off the map or missing every enemy in sight? The high risk and high reward in this ult is definitely in line with the type of character Blizzard is trying to create with Junker Queen.
That's all you need to know about Overwatch 2's Junker Queen abilities. While you're here, why not read about Overwatch 2's Sojourn, another new hero to join the roster? Here are all the Overwatch 2 role explanations, our Overwatch 2 tier list, and our guides to the best supports and DPS you need to practice with.
