Overwatch 2: Blizzard highlights Junker Queen’s tweaks in Season 2

A recently released fun clip highlighted the “meaningful” tweaks for Overwatch 2 Australian tank hero Junker Queen.

Reddit user Spktra shared the clip of Junker Queen facing the opposing team’s Winston on the Ilios map. Winston is a prominent enemy in Overwatch 2, wielding special features like gorilla strength, a portable shield projector, electricity-blasting Tesla Cannon and many more.

Spktra’s clip showed the user playing the Well stage, which contains a large well in the middle, where many Overwatch heroes have fallen into their demises. Junker Queen controlled by Spktra charged at Winston’s barrier while firing off her signature weapon Jagged Blade.

Winston attempted to escape by using his jetpack to leap over the well. However, Junker Queen’s Jagged Blade stays in the target’s body for a few seconds. Junker Queen can also pull the target closer by yanking on the blade. Spktra managed to recall the blade at the right moment and sent Winston plummeting down the well.

Blizzard first revealed Junker Queen in June 2022, along with Kiriko and Sojourn. As a part of the tank clan, Junker Queen offers another option for Overwatch 2’s newly introduced 5v5 format. In addition to Jagged Blade, Junker Queen also has Rampage Ultimate, which can damage enemies and prevent them from healing.

Overwatch players, however, said Junker Queen was not as effective as other tank heroes. The character had short-range abilities, a low health pool and heavy reliance on the Bleed effect. Because of that, the hero was easy to counter by enemies. Teams going up against this character could defeat her by excessive fire attacks or using certain abilities — such as Ana’s Biotic Grenade and Reinhardt’s Shield Barrier — to shut her down.

According to players who used Junker Queen before the recent update, the character was not effective for distant or close battles. It was against her advertised prowess, which was close-range combats. Furthermore, Junker Queen was not a great character to play in a team because she could not make a big contribution.

Players were also disappointed by Junker Queen’s skin options, particularly the legendary skin. According to players, there was no visible difference between Junker Queen’s legendary outfit and the default skin, except for the shoulder pad design and the hair color.

To obtain legendary skins, players must shed a significant amount of in-game currency, the Overwatch Coins. Players who want to obtain the necessary amount of Coins purely from game playing may require up to eight months to hit the goal. If they did not want to spend that time, they can purchase the skin for $20.

Other than issues with Junker Queen’s less-than-warm reception, Blizzard also dealt with other technical issues. The developer had to resolve DDoS attacks and the effects of long queue periods for interested players.

Blizzard published Season 2 last December, which contains upgrades of characters other than Junker Queen, like Doomfist and Ramattra. The developer also fixed bugs in the maps, which was the geometry issue on Shambali.

New Overwatch 2 heroes in 2023

After Blizzard added Ramatra in its Season 2 update, players already speculated about the new heroes that may come in Overwatch 2’s update this year. Mauga and Maximilien are the two heroes that players think will most likely come to the game.

Fans initially thought that Mauga would be introduced as Season 2’s hero. The character has a complicated backstory and his character design suggests its importance in the Overwatch franchise. Overwatch creators Geoff Goodman and Joshua Noh also said they wanted to make Mauga a playable hero in the game.

Maximilien is one of the top Talon members. The character took part in the Storm Rising event and gained the interest of Overwatch fans. Maximilien’s character design stands out from other characters introduced in the event, although fans still did not know his combat abilities.