Junker Queen has had a tumultuous time in Overwatch 2. Her initial beta state was quite powerful, but since then, Junker Queen hasn’t been able to make a splash in the competitive scene. One of the newest tank heroes in Overwatch 2, Junker Queen has a rockstar kit with a huge swinging axe, a throwable knife, and a feast or famine ultimate ability. Unfortunately, she’s only existed in an underpowered state for the majority of her existence, so Blizzard is touching Junker Queen up yet again with another buff in the latest Overwatch 2 patch.
Junker Queen is the big balance update in this Overwatch 2 patch with her buff, but some other characters were touched up as well. Zarya, Brigitte, and Moira all got some balance changes that will hopefully allow them to compete more at the competitive level. In addition, this January patch introduced the new Battle of Olympus event, which features a new game mode, some new voice lines and player titles, and some skins to earn as well.
Overwatch 2 January 2023 balance patch
Junker Queen’s buff may hopefully put her on the track to viability in Overwatch 2 with some big changes to her kit. Adrenaline Rush, her passive, will now heal the remaining wound damage when an enemy dies with wounds on them. Additionally, her Carnage ability will now have its cooldown reduced by 2 seconds per enemy it hits. Jagged Blade was reworked slightly, dealing only 50 direct damage. However, it will also apply a 30-damage wound to the impacted enemy.
Zarya’s buff will see her energy gained reducing at a slower rate, with the energy degeneration amount reduced from 2.2 to 2 per second. Additionally, her energy will begin degenerating from 1 to 2 seconds.
Brigitte and Moira received some minor buffs as well. Brigitte’s shield was buffed from 250 HP to 300 HP, and Moira’s Biotic Orb will now restore Moira’s Bionic Energy (a resource used for Moira to heal her allies) while dealing damage.
Check out the full patch notes here.
Image by PC Invasion
