Junker Queen joins the Overwatch 2 roster as the newest tank hero with a big ax and even bigger personality and taste for carnage.

We’ve been given a press release from the developers with more information on how this scrapyard queen will play on the battlefield and from the sounds of it, she’ll be an absolute beast.

You can check out Junker Queen’s recently released gameplay trailer here:

According to the devs, Junker Queen’s playstyle was built from her pre-existing Overwatch lore which shows her as a brutal warrior wielding a mighty ax. The Junkertown map showcases her tough personality, and her play style was made to match.

Adrenaline Rush and Scattergun

Adrenaline Rush is the cornerstone of Junker Queen’s identity as a tank. The passive ability heals her from all damage over time dealt by wounds. Many of her abilities apply wounds that cause enemies to slowly drain health. This life-steal passive adds to her survivability. Pushing the boundaries of brawling, Junker Queen feels more like a berserker tank whose survivability is directly connected to how many enemies she’s wounding.

All of Junker Queen’s abilities encourage her to get up close and personal with her enemies. This is where her Scattergun comes in. This pump-action shotgun may have a small but it can be scary at short range.

Adrenaline Rush and Scattergun allow her to hit hard while also ensuring that she can survive multiple hits, helping the to fulfill her role as a tank.

Carnage

Carnage is Junker Queen’s ax and the name of its main attack skill. It consists of a big, sweeping swing that wounds all enemies in front of her, dealing damage to them over time and activating Adrenaline Rush.

The devs have admitted that making a melee-focused hero can be challenging. For example, Genji’s Dragon Blade used to be his primary weapon but didn’t translate well in-game so in the end, it was transformed into the powerful Ultimate players know today. They say they didn’t want to take Junker Queen down a similar path, so her ax was incorporated into this ability.

Jagged Blade

Jagged Blade is Junker Queen’s secondary fire and comes with both active and passive abilities. The active ability triggers when you press secondary fire, causing her to throw the knife in her off-hand.

Her knife, which the Queen calls “Gracie,” inflicts a wound that causes damage over time if she lands a direct hit on an enemy. Her magnetic gauntlet can recall the knife by re-activating secondary fire. Recalling Gracie will pull any enemy that’s been directly hit, so be wary of your surroundings. If you’re struck by Gracie, you’re heading straight for the Queen.

To make her more intimidating up close, Jagged Blade’s passive ability wounds enemies when using Quick Melee when the knife is in her hands. These abilities that apply wounds all serve her life-leech passive, Adrenaline Rush.

Commanding Shout

To enhance her tank status Junker Queen is equipped with Commanding Shout, an ability that heightens her own survivability while also helping her teammates around her, increasing the health and movement speed of both herself and any nearby allies.

As the first team movement speed buff since Lúcio, Commanding Shout helps Junker Queen close the gap between her and the enemy team. Her ability to close distance was intentionally designed as a movement speed buff, rather than something sneaky like a teleport because this helps reinforce her character as someone who dives into battle head first.

Rampage

Rampage is Junker Queen’s Ultimate. She charges forward, grievously wounds enemies, and prevents them from healing. It’s the first ability since Ana’s Biotic Grenade to apply an anti-heal.

Paired with Adrenaline Rush, Rampage is one of Junker Queen’s strongest survivability assets; it applies a deadly wound to anyone in its path, giving her the potential to restore a significant amount of health with Adrenaline Rush depending on the number of wounds she manages to apply.

Rampage also charges her gauntlet and creates a cloud with her knife and ax around her while she charges into the enemy team in a display of the raw, visceral power.

A new Queen, born to rule

Junker Queen was built for Overwatch 2’s 5v5 playing field. She has an unparalleled ability to claim space and will be terrifying to deal with up close. She toes the line between the berserker tank. Tanks in general will play more aggressively in Overwatch 2, and Junker Queen is certainly no exception.

From the sounds of it, Junker Queen is going to make quite the impact on the game and could be fairly OP if the developers are anything to go by. I suppose we’ll find out when she’s unleashed onto the game this October for free.

Overwatch 2 will be available for PlayStation 4, PlayStation 5, Nintendo Switch, Xbox One, Xbox Series X|S, and PC when it launches in October via Early Acess.