Overwatch 2’s Newest Beta Begins Today

The next beta for Overwatch 2 has just launched as of writing this piece, and players are watching their email with anticipation for when they’ll be added to it. The beta lasts for three weeks, ending on July 18th. But don’t worry about not making it in, as Blizzard put out a statement saying that their goal is to have all people who have signed up for the beta by the 14th, and that the July 18th date may be extended as needed.

With the release of the Overwatch 2 beta also comes the release of the game’s latest hero, Junker Queen. The appropriately named ruler of Junkertown, Junker Queen is a tank, and not just due to her Dungeons and Dragons Barbarian via Mad Max aesthetic, but also because of her kit, giving her plenty of abilities to keep her in the fight, and slowly bleed her enemies dry.

Junker Queen’s durability stems from her two main self healing abilities. Her passive, Adrenaline Rush, allows Junker Queen to regenerate health lost in combat. Meanwhile, her Commanding Shout not only heals herself for 200, but also shares half of that with nearby allies and gives herself a 30 percent movement boost.

But Junker Queen doesn’t just stay in the fight, she takes it to the enemy. And even without her Scattergun, she’s got plenty of ways to hurt them. Her Jagged Blade bleeds opponents dry, giving her quick melee attacks damage over time, and allowing her to throw her axe and teleport it back to her. Combine that with Carnage, where she swings her ax wildly to do some AOE damage, and you’ve got a lethal combo. And that doesn’t even take into account her ultimate, Rampage, a bulls rush into the enemy, where Junker Queen is not only cutting through them with her axe, but not allowing them to heal. All told, she is a force to be reckoned with.

Also releasing alongside the Overwatch 2 beta is the game’s newest map. Unlike what had been speculated previously, the map was not a revamped version of Junkertown, but instead Paraiso. Paraiso is a hybrid map with a backstory connection to Lucio in the form of the club he used to DJ at, Clube Sinestesia.

And these won’t be the only new additions going forward, with Blizzard committing to releasing a new map or a new hero every nine weeks, and claiming that they’ll continue this in perpetuity, meaning there will never be a drought of new content for the future game. And a good thing too, as the developers have announced that Overwatch will be merging into Overwatch 2 starting on the official October release. Not to worry, all content unlocked on your Overwatch account is being transferred over as well, so no coins, unlocks or lootboxes will be lost. Until we all get into the beta, good luck Heroes!