Overwatch 2 Junker Queen guide: abilities, strategies, counters, and more

By Jesse Lennox Published October 10, 2022

The hero roster for Overwatch 2 is massive. Not only do you have the entire cast returning from the first game, but there will be three brand new heroes right at launch, plus even more scheduled to come in later seasons. Naturally, these new heroes will be the most appealing for anyone who has been playing the game for a long time and is looking for a new experience. Each of the three new heroes, Sojourn, Kiriko, and Junker Queen, fill one of the game’s three roles of Damage, Support, and Tank.

Junker Queen is the new Tank class hero, which has been given a lot more importance in the meta with Overwatch 2. Now that the game has slimmed down the team sizes to just five-versus-five, with only one Tank allowed per team, whoever fills that role has a lot of responsibility on their shoulders. If you’re picking Junker Queen, it would be wise to at least know a few tactics before launching into a competitive match where an entire team is depending on you. Here’s a full Junker Queen guide to get you started.

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Junker Queen overview

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Junker Queen, as a Tank, is meant to be in the fight for the long haul. She’s on the more offensive end of the Tank spectrum, though she shouldn’t be the one leading the charge without backup. She comes packing a Scattergun, which is a shotgun that, as you would expect, does best up close and personal. Its primary fire is a basic blast, with six shots before a reload is needed. Her other weapon is tied to her melee. Instead of a basic punch or swinging her gun, Junker Queen has a knife she will whip out that not only hurts on impact but inflicts a wound on enemies that deals damage over time.

That damage over time is important because of her passive, Adrenaline Rush. This converts all damage dealt through wounds into restored health for Junker Queen.

Junker Queen abilities

Junker Queen using her dash attack in Overwatch 2. — Image used with permission by copyright holder

Jagged Blade: When beginning an encounter where enemies are outside of shotgun or melee range, this will be your opening gambit. When used, this move throws Junker Queen’s knife, which has the same wound effects as her melee, but has an extra function as well. After the knife goes its max distance, it will return like Thor’s hammer, and any enemy it hits on the return trip will be pulled toward Junker Queen for follow-up attacks.

Commanding Shout: This is a team buff, but it really is centered around Junker Queen herself. It will boost her own HP by 200 points, plus increase any teammate’s by 50 and give everyone a 30% movement speed buff.

Carnage: This is a great gap closer. With it, Junker Queen rockets forward, swinging her ax in a wide arc that hits for 90 damage and also causes wounds on anyone hit.

Rampage: Finally, Junker Queen’s ultimate has her rocket forward, spinning her ax like a propeller blade. Not only does this do damage plus inflict wounds, but it also prevents any target you hit from getting healed for a short duration of time.

Best way to play Junker Queen

Junker Queen holding a shotgun and axe in Overwatch 2. — Image used with permission by copyright holder

Based on her abilities, Junker Queen is clearly meant to be a very offensive Tank. While her primary weapons are all close-range, she has a number of ways to either draw enemies in or close the gap herself. Plus, thanks to her Adrenaline Rush passive, most attacks end up giving her healing so she can stay aggressive for longer even without a Support hero giving her their full attention. The only instances where you will want to back off are in open areas where enemies can stay at range and pick off your health.

Junker Queen’s abilities, specifically her Jagged Blade and Carnage abilities, combo very well with one another. Your Commanding Shout is a perfect backup plan to keep in your pocket for dire circumstances or when you want to turn the tides of a push and really get aggressive.

Rampage will take some good positioning and timing, but if you manage to clash with a group of enemies, it will rip right through them, plus make any follow-up eliminations easy thanks to its effect of removing their ability to be healed.

What characters counter Junker Queen

Image used with permission by copyright holder

Junker Queen is a beast at close range, so most long-range heroes prove to be quite difficult to deal with. Ana, in particular, with her Sleep Dart and Biotic Grenade, can shut Junker Queen down without much recourse. Widowmaker likewise has an easy time staying safe and hitting such a big target.

For Damage classes, Pharah is Junker Queen’s worst nightmare. Not only is she again an easy target for missiles, but Pharah’s ability to stay high up in the air makes her nearly untouchable. Plus, even if you manage to get close, Pharah has her Concussive blast to fall back on to escape.

Jesse Lennox has been a writer at Digital Trends for over four years and has no plans of stopping. He covers all things…

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Best characters in Concord

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Hero shooters, fighting games, and RPGs are the best examples of game genres where picking the right character makes the biggest difference. Each game wants to be balanced, especially competitive ones like Concord, but that only gets more difficult the more characters that are included. Concord has a large roster of 16 Freegunners, and no two are exactly alike. Each one has a unique weapon, two abilities, and tweaks on their movement options at least. Unlike a lot of other games in the genre, these heroes aren't cleanly divided into roles like Tank, DPS, or Healer. Instead, you need to experiment with each one to figure out which you like and which always get you eliminated. That, or you could let us give you the inside info on which are the best characters in Concord right now.
Lennox -- the best self-sufficient DPS
Did the author of this guide have a little bias toward Lennox before playing? Perhaps, but it turned out that he is actually one of the top DPS picks in the game. He comes with two different pistols, one more powerful and slow-firing and a secondary with a shorter range and faster rate of fire. The first can essentially snipe enemies if you can line up the shots, while the second covers you if someone gets in close. His passive takes away his biggest flaw: reloading. If you swap weapons as you run out of ammo, that gun you swapped out will automatically reload when you switch back to it. His exploding knife skill is deadly and easy to integrate into combat, and his regeneration means you can keep yourself fighting even without a healer or health pack around.
Haymar -- the best zoning DPS
Haymar is a more technical character than most. Her bow only has one shot before needing a reload, so you need to be on point and not try to tank encounters head-on. The longer you aim your bow shot, the more damage it deals, so ambushing is the best approach. Blinding Flash has a ton of utility since it completely blinds anyone it hits, and Wall of Fire can be placed to cut off routes or deal direct burning damage. Since she has such great air mobility, you can find all the best angles to control the flow of a match.
Kyps -- the best support disruptor

One look at Kyps' design will tell you almost everything you need to know. She's a spy character and meant to be played as one. Her pistol deals good damage, but her low HP pool means you want to stay out of direct firefights. She's best for objective game modes since she can place traps around the map that will ping enemies if they pass through to reveal their locations. Her other tool is a grenade that shreds shields and disables enemy abilities. If things get a little too hot, she also gets temporary invisibility after a dodge to make a sneaky getaway.
Emari -- the best offensive tank
There are a few tanks to pick from in Concord, but Emari is the most balanced in our opinion. She obviously has a ton of health and a passive buff that reduces damage to her body, but her scrap cannon can shred enemies in seconds at close range. If you stick to close-quarters areas, or need to defend an objective, she's essential for your squad. In terms of abilities, Armor Generator grants any teammates in range armor to buff them up for a fight, and Projectile Shield is the standard energy shield you see in almost all hero shooters. It's just as good here for leading a push through a chokepoint.
Jebali -- the best support healer
Healers are a bit rare in Concord and tend to be restricted to pure support and are not all that fun to play. Jebali is a kind of hybrid healer who can hold his own. He's got a flashy rifle that works best in close and midrange, but it's his two orb abilities that you need to watch out for. Hunter Orb is a homing orb that deals damage to whoever it hits, while Life Pulse shoots an orb that creates a healing AoE for all allies. However, the trick is that the more damage you do with the Hunter Orb, the better the Life Pulse is. This lets you stay offensive and provide support for your team without having to completely withdraw from offense.
IT-Z -- the best hit-and-run attacker

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