To get the most out of the Overwatch 2 Junker Queen character, you need to understand her abilities and the best ways to use them to survive on the battlefield. Master this and it can become an absolute threat among the Overwatch 2 characters and the roles offered.
One of the biggest Overwatch 2 Hero changes is that teams now have a single front-line hero instead of a duo of tanks. It is this role that Junker Queen introduced herself to and found successful in this role. He’s unlikely to share the limelight, so if you want to be the center of attention, you could do much worse than pick him.
However, when you lock Junker Queen on the hero selection screen, you sign a certain mentality. It can do a massive amount of damage, but it’s also very easy to kill yourself. Contradictory as it may seem, and despite her fearless demeanor to her face, the Junker Queen requires a lot of discipline to survive. Playing with it is like being on a knife-edge between life and death, which is very fitting as he has a great fondness for knives. It’s not like most Overwatch 2 tanks and has relatively little to protect its team, so it’s all about using powerful ‘scar’ effects to focus on you and keep you at the center of the damage.
Here’s everything you need to know about playing Junker Queen in Overwatch 2 so that you’re a whirlwind of chaos instead of a light wind in the face of the enemy’s defense.
General Junker Queen Strategy
Check out the new Overwatch 2 battle pass to see what you can earn as you play.
The Junker Queen is an aggressive, close-range tank in Overwatch 2 that’s all trying to get in the face of players and stir up trouble. If you’re the type of player who finds they’re doing their best in the middle of a fight, he really is the best option.
To get the most value out of it, you need to actively endanger yourself by making it a bit of a stretch move. He has excellent stamina as his bleed effects will cause him to gain health mid-fight.
However, they are quite lacking in damage reduction. It doesn’t have a consistently effective way to protect its team, so it’s a tank that lives or dies with the ‘offensive is the best defense’ mentality. Keeping the enemy’s eyes on you and securing kills fairly quickly is the way to go.
Junker Queen Abilities
Junker Queen passive, Adrenaline Rush
Description: Recovery from wound damage inflicted in a short period of time.
Junker Queen’s passive ability, Adrenaline Rush, is a great way to try to survive in the middle of fights. Jagged Edge (including melee ability) can inflict the ‘scar’ debuff using Carnage or Rampage Ultimate.
- This passive is key to Junker Queen’s survival. This effect gives him a lot of ability to sustain himself on the battlefield and stay in combat.
- That being said, it’s just so powerful. It just prolongs your survivability in a fight a bit. Not a substitute for healing and you cannot eat Ultimate damage levels with it. Don’t just trust him.
Junker Queen Scattergun, Primary
Description: Short range shotgun blast
The Scattergun is the Junker Queen’s primary weapon and can deal a decent amount of damage at optimum settings. It fires a burst of bullets, so it can deal varying amounts of damage depending on how many hits. Therefore, if you want to get the most out of it, you want to make sure you are close to an enemy.
- The Scattergun can do a lot of damage up close. Still, he’s not very good at dealing ranged damage due to his pellet spread.
- If enemies are not within the effective range of the Scattergun, use your abilities to close that range. If they refuse to come to you, use your Serrated Sword to do them, or use your command shout to muzzle them.
Junker Queen #1 Ability, Jagged Blade
Description: The Junker Queen’s blade has two functions, both of which cause a ‘scar’ debuff. It replaces melee, but you can also throw the blade at enemies. If it hits them, it will also draw the enemy to you when you call them back.
This is a really fun skill and versatile and a great way to bring your heroes to you if they are trying to escape or if the squishier targets refuse to reach your attack range. By changing your melee as well, you can deal more damage and restore some more health for you through the Adrenaline Rush passive to stay in combat longer.
- While it may be tempting to try to pull someone off the enemy back line, take the easier hits. Jagged Blade is extremely difficult to hit from longer ranges, so always aim for easier targets.
- Use this ability primarily to attract enemies to you. and then use your Scattershot shotgun, Carnage, or any combination of the two to secure the kill.
- Make sure you know what you are attracting towards you. Be careful if you suspect the enemy has Ultimates. It’s all well and good to bring you a Reinhardt… Until that World Shatters you in your head.
Junker Queen 2nd Skill, Commanding Scream
Context: While it gives you a burst of health, it also gives some to allies around you. Everyone affected also experiences a short burst of movement speed.
Commander Shout is the closest the Junker Queen has come to protecting her crew. This ability gives health to your team, but remember, it’s only part of what you’re giving yourself. However, this can be invaluable in clutch situations where you and those around you are about to take a little more damage than you can handle.
- This is one of your absolute best talents and should be kept when you need it. because it has a very long cooldown and can have a tremendous impact at the right moments.
- This ability is quite versatile and can be used in a number of situations. The first is an initiation so your team can crush the enemy team with some extra health, or you can use it to increase your stamina in a fight and regain extra health right before you die.
Junker Queen 3. Talent, Carnage
Context: Junker Queen swings an ax to apply the ‘scar’ debuff while also dealing damage.
Slaughter is the best way to ‘wound’ your enemies. It returns the most health and can hit multiple targets in front of you. It has a heavy wind so the slash isn’t instant, but it makes a big rift in front of you and deals decent damage.
- This is one of the best ways to deal with your Adrenaline Rush passive. Go up to someone’s face and swing the ax.
- Carnage has a long wind so only use it if you’re very close to your enemies. If they’re too far away, they can see the animation and go out of range.
- This is a great way to finish off a non-tank hero after hitting them with your Jagged Edge ability. and dragging them in front of you.
Junker Queen Rampage Ultimate
Description: Junker Queen charges forward, dealing damage, ‘scars’ and anti-healing to all affected.
Carnage is only the second ability in the game to apply anti-healing to enemy players after Ana’s Biotic Bomb. It’s a ridiculously powerful debuff, as other characters cannot heal when affected by it. This Ultimate has a large radius as well, so hit as many as you can, take wound damage to survive, and kill anyone you can while under the effects of the brutal hit.
- The anti-heal applied with this Ultimate can make it devastating. You have enough time to confirm killing affected enemies before they receive any healing.
- You can use this ultimate to do some pretty weird maneuvers. As content creator OWGrandma points out, you can use Rampage to get around.
- Have a plan for what will happen next. If you attack an enemy team, you will keep them between you and your allies, so try not to isolate yourself. Therefore, if possible, it is best to use the ultimate power to get behind the enemy team and then charge your team.
