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Junker Queen A.K.A., the Ruler of Junkertown, will be gracing our screens with her presence in the highly anticipated Overwatch 2 release. A beloved character that has been a part of the Overwatch Universe for a while, but has not yet been playable, is one I am personally stoked for.
She will be the newest Tank Hero to join the game in its up-and-coming release in early October. Another highly anticipated hero, Sojourn, will join her. As a long-time player of Overwatch, I have not been this excited for a new hero in a while. Hello, new main!
Lore
Who Is Junker Queen?
Junker Queen is not an entirely new face to the Overwatch fandom. She has been a fan favorite to become a playable character for quite some time, so it is great to see her have her moment. She has been featured in Overwatch Lore for other characters, as she is the Ruler of Junkertown. Players of the game have seen her plastered on walls and given a spotlight in the currently playable Junkertown map.
Many thought she would become a playable hero with the introduction of the Junkertown map to the game in September of 2017 but were sorely mistaken.
Becoming Queen
Overwatch’s original animated short “The Wastelander” details the story of the Junker Queen ultimately became the Ruler of Junker Town and took her rightful seat on the throne. Before being given her royal title, she was Odessa “Dez” Stone.
Dez and her family were natives of Junkertown when the Junker King at the time, Mason Howl, kicked her out along with her entire family. They were left to fend for themselves and suffer in the wastelands of Australia. She details how every single day was a battle.
When Dez grows up, she re-enters Junker Town, more specifically, into the Scrapyard. In the arena, whoever reigns supreme at the battle’s end becomes the town’s new ruler and leader. The battle continues on in the arena until the losers plead for mercy.
Dez dominates every opponent while showing them mercy and care, something foreign to the Junker King. After a climactic battle, she comes out on top, revealing her back story to the king, reminding him of what he did to her and her family all those years ago.
As the newly appointed Queen of Junkertown, her first order of business was to assign a punishment to Mason, formerly Junker King.
She assigns him an all too familiar retribution by exiling him from Junkertown completely. Following her win in the arena, and dealing with the punishment of the fallen king, she is met with cheers and applause from her fellow junkers.
Junkrat & Roadhog
Both Junkrat and Roadhog are locals of Junkertown. The timeline is unclear on whether they were around when Junker Queen and her family were banished, but they were definitely there when she became Queen.
Sometime during her rule, Roadhog and Junkrat attempt to steal from her while also blowing up her property. A ploy led by Junkrat, no doubt, with his keen obsession with explosives. Their punishment was, you guessed it, banishment from all of Junkertown. She even threatened to shoot at them if she ever saw them try to re-enter Junkertown.
A short amount of time passed, and Junkrat and Roadhog concocted a plan to re-enter Junkertown while also gaining revenge on the Junker Queen. Their detailed procedure can be seen played out in the Overwatch animated short “Junkertown: The Plan.” It is no surprise that their plan failed miserably, leaving them still exiled from their once home.
It is still up to speculation as to what exactly Junker Queen’s relationship is to the rest of the heroes in the Overwatch universe. But, as Ruler of Junkertown, she will undoubtedly be intertwined with other Junkertown natives.
Junker Queen’s Skills
Adrenaline Rush: A passive ability that allows her to heal herself over time as she takes damage. As a tank hero, this is especially helpful because you will not have to think about healing yourself or getting a healer’s attention. Your health will simply replenish passively.
Scattergun: This is the only gun the Junker Queen yields. It is a pump-action shotgun, similar to Ashe’s. It will do an average of 80 damage on your opponents and holds six bullets of ammo at a time before needing to be reloaded.
Jagged Blade: Her secondary weapon is both a melee and projectile weapon. You can use it simply like a standard blade, but you will also be able to throw it. On direct impact, it deals up to 80 damage and will wound your opponent up to 15 damage. This ability also has a cooldown of 6 seconds.
Commanding Shout: This is Junker Queen’s second and more impactful healing ability. When using the Commanding Shout, your own health will increase by 200HP, AND nearby teammates will also experience a boost of 100HP. On top of that, it will also increase your overall movement speed by 30%. The max range for healing allies is not clear just yet. The cooldown on this ability is 11 seconds.
Carnage: Another one of her melee abilities, but this time with a swinging ax! Very Thor Odinson of her. When this ability is in effect, you will swing your ax to deal large amounts of damage. On direct impact, your enemy will get hit with 90 damage; on a wound, it will deal 55 damage. The cooldown for this ability is only 8 seconds.
Rampage: Junker Queen’s Ultimate is very ultimate, and I am so looking forward to pressing “Q” in my first game as her to see what it can do! Her Ult is a straight-up melee attack gone wild. She will charge forward in a frenzy and deal damage.
Something extra spicy about this Ult is that while she is in it, enemies cannot receive healing from their healers. This is a supplement to an Ult we have not yet seen in the game, so it will be very interesting to see how it plays out in-game.
How To Play As A Good Junker Queen
Be Aggressive
To play as a good Junker Queen, and really make a difference in matches, you need to be aggressive. There are passive tanks like Reinhardt and Orisa, who typically throw their shield up and stay further back, guarding either the point, the payload, or wherever the majority of their team is.
In contrast, Junker Queen has the ability to lead the charge and get up close and personal with enemies. Due to her healing skills and success with melee weapons, playing aggressive is a must if you choose her. If you find yourself in a sticky situation, use her Commanding Shout, boost up on some health, and escape.
Positioning
You will find Junker Queen to be very successful in hand-to-hand combat. So, use her strengths to your advantage. Have knowledge of the maps and position yourself in choke points. Or any routes you know teams tend to take, hide out there.
That way, when they come around the corner or are forced to go through a choke point, you can use your melee/projectile weapons at close range to deal the most damage. Also, use any natural coverage. Since Junker Queen is not a tank with a protective barrier or shield of any kind, you need to know the areas on the map that will provide you with that protection.
Know Your Abilities
Knowing how but also when to use Junker Queen’s multifaceted abilities is vital. Since her Scatter Gun shotgun only has six bullets per round, you will not be able to solely rely on that as your primary weapon. Take advantage of her melee and projectile abilities with her Jagged Blade and Carnage skills.
One way to maximize the amount of damage you are putting out is to supplement your abilities. Go between shooting your shotgun to throwing your blade, and vice versa. By weaving between the two abilities, you will confuse your opponent on the best course of action while also putting out immense damage.
Heroes To Team Up With As Junker Queen
Lucio – Healer
Junker Queen possesses the same sort of healing abilities as Lucio. Her passive self-healing and the Commanding Shout that heals her along with teammates in her vicinity. If you team up with Lucio, doubling those healing powers will be meta. Your team could get away with having Lucio as a solo healer, coupled with Junker Queen would be lethal for your enemies.
Pharah – Damage
Junker Queen will be dominating on the ground and point itself. So, the best DPS character for her to team up with would be Pharah. While Junker Queen can take on enemies at close range on the ground of payload/point itself, Pharah will be able to also put out ample amounts of damage from the sky and at a distance. A combination of these two heroes’ abilities will be brutal in the best way possible.
Junkrat – Damage
Aside from both being natives of Junkertown, Junkrat and Junker Queen have abilities that work harmoniously together. If you are able to time both of your Ults to go off at the same time, it will be absolutely deadly.
With Junker Queen’s Ult restricting the ability for the opposing team to receive heals, having another hero that has quick burst damage will be the one-two punch your enemies will hate. Junkrat’s Rip-Tire is the perfect addition to Junker Queen’s Rampage. They are also both prime examples of how to clear enemies off of a point or payload.
FAQs
Question: Who Are The Best Counters For Junker Queen?
Answer: Pharah is the first hero that comes to mind as a counter for Junker Queen, solely for her ability to fly. As Junker Queen, you will likely dominate on the ground, especially within close quarters. Her ability to quickly leave tight or tense areas will set Pharah apart as she tries to counter you.
If she can land her missiles as a direct hit on Junker Queen, her health will begin to deplete very quickly. She can also stay a safe distance from Junker Queen by being in the air, making her immune to her lethal melee attacks.
Zenyatta is another hero that will be able to rivel Junker Queen.
If he is able to land his Orb of Discord on her, it will amplify the amount of damage she receives at any given time. He is also able to deal with damage from a safe distance. We have gone over her lethal abilities at close range, so having a hero like Zenyatta take shots at her from a long range will be crucial if wanting to take the Queen down.
Question: Who Should I Target While Playing Junker Queen?
Answer: Everyone besides tanks. It’s not that Junker Queen is a weaker Tank Hero by any stretch; she will have the most impact on opposing healers and damage heroes. Other tanks have large shields like Reinhardt’s Barrier Field, Orisa’s Protective Barrier, and Sigma’s Experimental Barrier – something Junker Queen does not have.
She possesses more healing abilities rather than shield or protective abilities. So, if you were to 1 v 1 a Reinhardt in close quarters, he would have one leg up on you because of his shielding capabilities. Even though it will be tempting to want to go and assert your dominance over your fellow Tank Heroes, try to resist – but even I am not sure I will have the self-control once given the ability to do so.
Try to single out healers and damage heroes. Since Junker Queen’s abilities are so powerful, a well-aimed headshot with your Scatter Gun or Jagged Blade can potentially wipe out a hero with 200HP. Since she does have those aforementioned healing abilities, you can play more aggressively and go behind enemy lines to take out the opposing team’s healers, leaving your team with the most significant advantage in pushing a payload or possessing a point.
Question: How Do I Get Better As Junker Queen?
Answer: Practice makes perfect. What sets Junker Queen apart from her other Tank Hero counterparts is her secondary ability – Jagged Blade. She can use it not only as a melee weapon for hand-to-hand combat but also as a projectile weapon. Due to this unique ability, know how to use her knife skill set if you want to stand apart from the rest of the fandom that will be auto-locking her in October.
There will be a custom game in the Overwatch 2 drop called “Junker Queen Blade Massacre,” which is exactly how it sounds. In this game mode, your shotgun as Junker Queen is unavailable. The only weapons you can use are your blade with the Jagged Blade ability and your swinging ax with the Carnage ability. This game mode is an excellent place for anyone wanting to main as Junker Queen to hone in on her melee and projectile skills. Perfecting these abilities is what will make you stand out.
Question: Will Junker Queen Be Added To Overwatch 1?
Answer: Unfortunately, no. The only chance you will get to play the lovely new Queen of junkers will be on Overwatch 2’s release. With mixed reviews and opinions on the upcoming launch of the second addition to an otherwise loved game, choosing to hold out on Junker Queen solely for the second installment was a wise choice by the game developers. As a long-time fan and player of Overwatch, the knowledge of Junker Queen’s arrival to Overwatch 2 is one of the only things I am excited about.
Junker Queen Overwatch Guide: Conclusion
Junker Queen is a super versatile character. One that other heroes should be rightfully fearful of, with the Mad Max aesthetic to back it up. Early critics claim she seems more of a damage hero than a tank hero, so however you choose to play her, ensure you are doing it aggressively.
Junker Queen has so much potential to really change the way Overwatch is played, coupled with the fact that matches are dropping down to 5 v 5 rather than the original 6 v 6, and that there can now only ever be one tank hero per team. I am so excited for this new addition to the Overwatch 2 roster! In the wise words of our newest Tank Hero,
“All hail the Queen!“