Junker Queen has made nothing short of a splash since she launched during Overwatch 2‘s beta. A chiseled specimen, Junker Queen is tall enough to both awaken something in you and absorb more than a few hits, earning her her well-deserved tank status. Even after the addition of another tank post-launch, Junker Queen is holding her own in the game’s meta as a popular and useful hero.
The Queen’s kit is relatively straightforward and is focused on dealing damage over time while closing the distance between herself and enemies to inflict maximum damage with her shotgun. Additionally, her abilities give her quickness and sustainability that make her health hard to deplete all the way down. While these abilities may sound too strong, Overwatch 2‘s five-vs-five match format allows tanks to flex their power a little more, as they’re responsible for almost all crowd control and peel.
Looking to rule as Junker Queen? Here’s how you can do it.
Junker Queen’s abilities in Overwatch 2
Here are all of Junker Queen’s abilities in Overwatch 2.
| Ability | Key/mouse binding | Ability description |
|---|---|---|
| Adrenaline Rush | Passive | Junker Queen heals for 125 percent of wound damage dealt. |
| Scattergun | Left-click | Primary fire. Pump-action shotgun. |
| Jagged Blade | Right-click | Active: Junker Queen throws her blade. The blade can be recalled by reactivating the ability; if it sticks an enemy, recalling the blade pulls the enemy towards Junker Queen. Damages enemies caught in the path in both directions. Passive: Junker Queen’s quick melee wounds enemies, which deals damage over time. |
| Commanding Shout | Left Shift | Increases Junker Queen’s health by 200 and nearby allies’ health by 50. Increases movement speed by 30 percent. |
| Carnage | E | Junker Queen swings her axe, wounding all enemies in front of her. |
| Rampage | Q | Junker Queen’s ultimate sees her charging forward in a, well, rampage. Enemies hit are wounded |
Junker Queen tips, tricks, and plays
Despite her lack of armor or shields like some other tanks have, Junker Queen has plenty of sustainability thanks to Commanding Shout and her Adrenaline Rush passive. Don’t be afraid to get in the thick of fights on the frontline with her: the more wounds you deal, the more health you recover. Commanding Shout can also be used to give yourself a quick speed boost, making it harder for opponents to damage you as you regain health.
While many of Junker Queen’s abilities are selfish, she has some group crowd control potential. Her Jagged Blade recall can be used like Roadhog’s hook, allowing you to pick out squishy healers and DPS heroes and pull them close to you. The closer they get, the more effective your pump-action shotgun blasts are and the more your teammates will be able to capitalize on the disruption. Commanding Shout can be used to give your allies a small amount of extra health in a pinch, giving Junker Queen some support-like utility.
Because of the time it takes to swing your blade while using Carnage, don’t try to combo a manual Jagged Blade recall into a Carnage attack. Instead, wait for the automatic Jagged Blade recall and start your Carnage attack right when the recall circle completes. This will load up your Carnage attack, making it swing right when the enemy is pulled in front of you. Look for large groups of enemies to jump into to take maximum advantage of her powerful self-heal, but don’t run too far away from your teammates—they only have one tank to protect them.
Like with most ultimates, Rampage should be held until the opposing team is properly grouped up. Take full advantage of its anti-heal property by taking out the enemy’s damage and tank heroes as quickly as possible, which will leave nothing but supports to mop up afterward. Note that because Rampage shoots projectiles, it can be blocked by barriers, absorbed by D.Va’s Defense Matrix and Sigma’s Kinetic Grasp, and deflected by Genji’s Deflect and Orisa’s Javelin Spin. If possible, wait until you see the opposing team use those abilities to unleash Rampage.
