The Junker Queen was the newest Tank added before Ramattra, and her kit is…interesting. She has a pump-action shotgun, Scattergun, and a Commanding Shout, which grants temporary health to herself and nearby allies while increasing movement speed. She can also use Jagged Blade, which deals wounds to enemies for damage over time, granting healing to her. It can also be thrown and recalled – doing so when it’s stuck in an enemy will pull them forward.
Her axe, Carnage, damages enemies in front and inflicts wounds, while Rampage causes her to charge forward, dishing out wounds and applying anti-heal.
All in all, a lot is going on with her kit, but unfortunately, even after buffs, Junker Queen isn’t a very good Tank right now. If you toss her knife and recall it, it will pass through any enemies in your path, which means more healing over time. But it’s not enough to combat Roadhog’s burst damage, and her damage isn’t as good as D.Va or Zarya. She doesn’t have the mobility of Doomfist and Wrecking Ball, the damage mitigation of Reinhardt and Orisa, the sheer utility of Sigma or the one-shot kill potential of Roadhog.
It also doesn’t help that her anti-heal and wounds are cleansed with Kiriko’s Protection Suzu. If you’re facing a highly uncoordinated team and a team that pours enough resources into you, there may be some success. But you’re better off playing any other Tanks to achieve the same results with less trouble.
How to Play Brigitte
Ever since she was reworked with the introduction of Role Queue, Brigitte has been in a weird spot. Too many buffs and she becomes extremely dominant. Too little, and she’s borderline useless. Her current state is weird, but let’s break down the kit.
Brigitte can deploy Repair Packs, which heal allies for a period and have a slight cooldown. She also has a shield, which can be broken like any other, but when it’s up, she can use Shield Bash to damage an enemy. Hitting enemies with her flail triggers Inspire, which provides healing over time to allies, and she can also use Whip Shot to knock enemies back (which also triggers Inspire).
Her Ultimate, Rally, provides healing and temporary health to nearby allies, which dissipates after some time. There’s a cap to the temporary health, though.
So in all, Brigitte is fine in deathball-esque compositions where the entire team moves close together, and can also provide some protection against flankers. However, she’s outclassed in damage and raw healing output compared to Kiriko. Lucio’s Speed Boost and Sound Barrier get more value than Inspire and Rally. Even Mercy can feel better in more situations due to her mobility and damage-boost abilities.
With her stuns and armor dispersal removed, Brigitte is nowhere near her Overwatch peak. Burst damage is strong right now, and she doesn’t provide enough survivability for herself and her team. It’s difficult for her to even stay alive against Doomfist, who’s still pretty good despite his recent nerfs. But hey, if you’re dealing with a DPS Moira trying to flank your team, then she may be a decent answer since no aim is required. Don’t count on always winning the 1v1, though.
How to Play Junkrat
Junkrat was on the receiving end of some odd nerfs to his Steel Trap duration and deployment time. Nevertheless, he’s one of the few characters in the game with hard CC that can stop an enemy in its tracks.
Junkrat is essentially Demoman from Team Fortress 2. He lobs grenades which travel in an arc, depending on the height of your aim. He can toss Concussion Mines and detonate them, knocking back enemies significantly or propelling himself into the air to rain grenades on below.
Unlike every other character with explosives, he takes no self-damage from them, and even drops bombs on death – which can outright kill the weaker heroes if they happen to be near him.
RIP-Tire is his Ultimate and provides some very high burst damage. When it’s deployed, the tire can be controlled from a third-person perspective and manoeuvred towards an enemy, then detonated. The tire can be shot and destroyed, but it can also climb walls and jump. Its range is also ridiculous. Even if Junkrat is immobile while the tire is out, killing him won’t stop it.
Junkrat can be hard-countered by heroes like Pharah (when she has enough height to avoid his bombs), or Sojourn, Soldier 76, Cassidy and Widowmaker (if far enough away). Even Zarya and D.Va can make life rough with Barrier and Defense Matrix, respectively. Nevertheless, he’s still pretty good. His grenades have some decent range, and a direct hit can deal 120 damage. They can also bounce off walls.
Get a good flank going, and you can wipe a few opposing players. If you’re dealing with enemies who can’t aim, RIP-Tire is very potent. If you’re facing trouble with flankers like Reaper, Genji or Tracer, Junkrat can dish out a lot of damage, deleting them before they know what hit them. Whether it’s a close-quarters map or you need some significant burst damage without precise aiming, he’s worth trying out.
How to Play Cassidy
Cassidy is one of the most straightforward Damage dealing heroes to play. He can Combat Roll, which is like a dodge and instantly reloads his revolver, the Peacekeeper (and it’s usable in mid-air). Magnetic Grenade sticks to enemies and explodes, dealing more damage when stuck. Alternate fire with the Peacekeeper causes it to Fan the Hammer, firing all the remaining rounds quickly, which is decent against high-health targets up close.
His Ultimate, Deadeye, will target all enemies in sight and deal more damage the longer it’s channeled. The downside is that Cassidy is vulnerable during this entire time and can be killed before it goes off.
Heroes like D.Va can use Defense Matrix up close to nullify it, while Genji can deflect the bullet back to kill Cassidy. It can also be interrupted by Sigma’s Accretion, Roadhog’s hook, Orisa’s Javelin, Ana’s Sleep Dart, and other CC abilities.
However, overall, your success with Cassidy is all on the raw precision damage. The Peacekeeper is very powerful, and while the damage drop-off makes it better for mid-range engagements, it can still deal a whopping 140 damage per headshot. Even body shots can be devastating, dealing 70 per round. Precision damage is the way to go, but hitting a headshot and finishing off an enemy with a body shot is good enough.
While not quite as potent in higher ranks like Sojourn and Ashe, Cassidy can be good against the likes of Echo (who is pretty strong), Mercy (if she’s not flying all over the place), Pharah and Reaper (at mid-range). It’s all dependent on your raw aiming skills and positioning.
How to Play Echo
With so many nerfs being handed out left and right, Echo has become a good pick, though her skill floor and ceiling can make her tough to master.
Echo possesses Flight, which is used to either dodge to the side or take to the skies. In the air, if the jump button is held, she can slowly descend with Glide. It’s a lot finer control than Pharah’s hover. Her primary attack is Tri-Shot, which fires a triangular spread of shots, and her alternate attack is Sticky Bombs, which are fired in a volley and detonated after a short time.
Focusing Beam sees Echo firing a beam, slowing down a bit, but dealing high damage to targets (and barriers) below 50 percent health. Her Ultimate is Duplicate, which allows for copying a targeted hero. She can use their entire kit and build their Ultimate very quickly. The downside is that her health is lower than the hero being duplicated.
There are several ways to play Echo. Hitting enemies with Tri-Shot while closing the distance and applying Sticky Bombs to kill or highly damage them is good. Alternatively, you can hit them with Tri-Shot and then a Focusing Beam to finish them off. The combo of Tri-Shot, Sticky Bombs, and Focusing Beam deals pretty significant damage to Tanks, and Flight is a good way to flank and get the drop on foes.
Of course, you can play more conservatively but being airborne makes you a prime target for hitscan like Sojourn, Soldier 76, Ashe, Cassidy, and Bastion, so beware. Duplicate’s efficacy depends heavily on who you’re duplicating and the situation. Choosing a Roadhog, using the hook for a quick kill or stalling the point with Rebreather, and then going Whole Hog is good. Duplicating a healer usually isn’t, unless you’re a healer down and want to stall the point. However, you’d be better off duplicating a Tank and stalling, especially given their increased survivability.
It’s worth noting that Echo will recover some health after leaving Duplicate, but you’re somewhat vulnerable when it ends. Get away quickly with Flight, when you can.
While Echo may not be a “must-pick” simply due to how strong Tracer and Sojourn still are, she’s still pretty good. A competent Echo is something to be feared, especially with a Mercy pocket and no hitscan to oppose her.
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