It’s wild to think that we were talking about Junker Queen in the original Overwatch five 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 in Overwatch 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 also shared an overview of her kit. Some of the values will surely be in flux during the Overwatch 2 beta, but it’s nice to have the ability names down before jumping in.

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 in Overwatch has 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 in Overwatch 2, I can still latch onto some of Junker Queen’s abilities, in theory at least.

“Junker Queen was built for Overwatch 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 — sign up if you still need to.

We know that Overwatch 2 Season 1 will also include Sojourn and a new (fox-commanding?) support hero. That’s who I’m most curious to see up close.

Filed under... #Blizzard #Overwatch 2 #PC #PS4 #PS5 #Switch #Trailers #Xbox One #Xbox Series S #Xbox Series X

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