For many players of the second beta of Overwatch 2, there is clearly a highlight: the new tank hero, Junker Queen. She is the first hero of her role specifically created for the new 5-player teams. But how is she received by the fans? MeinMMO gives you the answer.
The second beta of Overwatch has been running since June 28 for all who have already gained access. The highlight for many is clearly Junker Queen. This new, brutal tank hero aims to cause destruction and chaos in close combat.
The special thing is: She is the first tank heroine specifically designed for the new 5-player teams. Unlike heroes like Orisa or Doomfist, who were redesigned for the new tank duties, it was clear from the beginning with Junker Queen that she would be the only tank on the team.
So how does she play, and what does her design say about the future of Overwatch 2 and the differences from the first part? Fans and experts are discussing a lot about this and have a clear opinion: If Junker Queen embodies the future of Overwatch 2, then this looks rosy.
Who is Junker Queen and what can she do, you ask? This video gives you all the answers:
Junker Queen is a ‘Reinhardt with skill shots’
What can the new heroine do? Junker Queen is the newest tank in the game, and her playstyle embodies what Overwatch 2 wants to do differently compared to the first part. With her shotgun and axe, she relies on pure aggression, as she protects her team with damage instead of a shield.
These are her abilities:
- Her main weapon is a shotgun with 6 shots.
- With a right-click, she throws a knife, causing bleeding damage. If the knife gets stuck in an opponent, she can pull the knife and the opponent back. This sounds like Roadhog but works more like a ‘reverse Lucio boop’.
- If she has the knife in hand and performs a melee attack, she inflicts additional bleeding damage. If the knife is currently stuck in an opponent or a wall, she strikes normally.
- Her first ability is a powerful swing with an axe, dealing a lot of damage and causing opponents to bleed.
- Her perhaps most important ability is a shout that does three things:
- Every teammate in the vicinity moves 30% faster for a short period.
- She gains 200 HP extra, also above the maximum.
- Every teammate in the area immediately receives 100 HP, also above the maximum.
- Her ultimate allows her to run quickly forward, inflicting bleeding damage on every opponent in her path, which simultaneously prevents healing (like Ana’s grenade).
- With her passive skill, she heals for every bit of bleeding damage dealt to her by opponents.
Overall, Junker Queen is a tank that focuses on full aggression and tries to create as much chaos as possible. In our experience, she works excellently with Lucio, Brigitte, and Mei, as this allows you to overwhelm opponents.
Freedo from the YouTube channel ‘Your Overwatch’ thus describes her as a kind of mix between Reinhardt and Lucio, or a ‘Reinhardt with skill shots’.
‘No character has been more fun in the history of Overwatch’
What do the fans say? In this very video, Freedo shares his general impressions of Junker Queen, gives gameplay tips, and also assesses the long waiting times that tank players are currently suffering:
In his opinion, ‘No character has been more fun in the history of Overwatch’ than Junker Queen. She perfectly embodies what makes Overwatch 2 special as a shooter:
What I like most about Junker Queen is that she feels like the soul of a hero shooter – a combination of intelligent abilities and unique skill shots that must hit and are not traditional shooter mechanics.
She would thereby ‘set new standards for what we should expect from the game.’ He goes on to say:
I think if [Blizzard] truly thinks through these ideas and pays more attention to the other roles, the reputation of the game will change. I’m having a lot of fun with Junker Queen, but I have tons of fun with every role I play. The game just plays better when there are tanks like her that are fun to interact with.
Players on reddit have a similar opinion. MelodySC2 states, ‘I think removing most shields and switching to 5v5 is a great thing for the game. Junker Queen was specifically designed for 5v5 and it’s super fun to play her, and it’s not incredibly annoying to play against her.’
Support players feel overwhelmed and the role is comparatively unpopular
What are the current problems of the game? Despite this praise, fans see particularly one problem with the new game: the supports. Supports in Overwatch 2 regularly complain about feeling overwhelmed by the new speed of the game and the increased aggression of most characters. Supports are more useful than DPS who occasionally heal, instead of being real supporters.
This is currently also noticeable in the waiting times: Those who only want to play a tank often wait 10 – 20 minutes; supports can immediately get into a game. Of course, this is also because Junker Queen is currently new and exciting, which is why everyone wants to play her. But even in the first beta without the post-apocalyptic queen, supports were the least popular class.
Not only supports are currently suffering from the many changes:
Overwatch 2 nerfs the heroine who was already unpopular: ‘They don’t know what to do with her’
