She might be the Queen of Junkertown, but Overwatch 2’s punk rock-inspired berserker tank has remained one of the least-used heroes in the game for a while.
Along with having no shielding capability, her tuning has resulted in Junker Queen being severely underused by players on the competitive ladder, according to stats site Overbuff. But a recent hero balance change to several of her abilities aims to get her usage rate moved in the right direction.
Blizzard today released season four’s mid-cycle patch notes. And despite nine other heroes getting balance changes, Junker Queen stood above all others as being the recipient of the most significant buffs.
Starting with a couple of small buffs to Scattergun ammo and the size of Jagged Blade, the Aussie tank got a boost to the immediate impact of her Rampage ultimate ability. Meanwhile, perhaps her most important tanking ability, Adrenaline Rush, was buffed to make its healing multiplier two times the damage dealt by wounds, up from 1.25.
Junker Queen balance changes
- Scattergun ammo increased to eight, up from six.
- Jagged Blade projectile size increased to 0.2 meters, up from 0.15.
- Rampage deals 40 impact damage, but wound damage is decreased to 60, down from 100.
- Adrenaline Rush healing multiplier increased to two times damage dealt by wounds, up from 1.25.
For the game’s developers, these changes are intended to make Junker Queen a more viable option as a tank who can lead the charge without necessarily changing what her general playstyle should be.
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“These changes increase Junker Queen’s front-line presence by increasing her self-healing and offensive sustainability,” Blizzard said. “We’ve also increased Jagged Blade’s projectile size so it’s more consistent to land.”
With the changes just going through, it may take a second for players to see Junker Queen’s usage rate move up the ranks of tanks. And while it may not put her in the same stratosphere as heroes like Reinhardt, Sigma, or Ramattra, it’s certainly an adrenaline rush in the right direction.
