A design fit for royalty: An inside look at her majesty, the Junker Queen

news.blizzard.com:

Junker Queen joins the Overwatch 2 roster as the newest tank hero with a big axe and even bigger ideas. As we saw in The Wastelander cinematic, the Scrapyard’s sovereign is fierce, resourceful, and no stranger to survival. And now, she’s come to claim her rightful throne.

Junker Queen’s playstyle and kit were built from her pre-existing Overwatch lore. The Junkertown map showcases her tough, almost brutal, personality, and we wanted her abilities and playstyle to match that energy. This type of design—constructing a character’s kit to match their established identity—is called top-down design. Junker Queen was in Overwatch’s narrative well before we had a design for her kit, which meant she had big community expectations resting on her stately shoulders. Now, as she steps out of the lore and into the light, let’s jump into the design of her kit and check out how you can expect her to play. 

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 and aggression. 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, so we equipped her with a primary fire that fits her playstyle. Scattergun is a pump-action shotgun with a small spread that makes it extra scary at short range. Adrenaline Rush and Scattergun enable her to play into enemies while giving her the survivability she needs to make space for her team and