I’ve finished this season’s battle pass and now find myself chipping away at optional challenges and cosmetic bits until Juno arrives with the next big update. Chances are she’ll be my new main. She’s a fast, mobile support hero who can speed up allies and attack from a distance, while also ensuring the team stays healed up and ready to enter the fray.
I can do all this with Lucio, but having to continually switch to him out of obligation, rather than enjoyment, has made me resent the musician over the years. I will be playing support for as long as Overwatch 2 remains a constant in my life, but the worst part about that is having to pigeonhole myself into specific heroes, because I want to win and do not have an opportunity to learn others without putting myself at a disadvantage. But when it comes to Juno, she is similar to Lucio in terms of both speed and many of her abilities, meaning she should synergize with teams in much the same way.
Let’s take a run through her abilities and exactly how they work now the weekend playtest is over, and before she makes her proper debut. My first impressions are incredibly positive, so, if they hold up, she might be the strongest support hero to enter the fold since Ana roughly eight years ago. When it comes to Lucio, he healed up sped up team members passively, depending on what music you were outputting at any specific team, which makes Juno a little bit different to play.
I’ll be interested to see whether any adjustments are made to either the amount of healing or damage dealt by Juno’s blaster in the next couple of weeks, especially after players spent an entire weekend putting it through its paces. From a few games though, Juno can easily hold her own in a fight, but won’t last very long without a tank or fellow heroes waiting nearby. By using a cute little jetpack, Juno can soar into the air to escape enemies or get the drop on them from high above.
A pretty essential tactic when you take into account both her other abilities along with how valuable it is to have a support character who can stand alongside their allies while also escaping the chaos at any moment to support them from a safer vantage point. Complementing the Glide Boost, the Pulsar Torpedoes can be used to both damage enemies and heal allies with a number of homing missiles that all lock onto every single target in range before unleashing a deadly and/or healthy barrage. It could be used to clear a point before advancing too, which, if combined with Hyper Ring, is a surefire way for Juno to help turn the tide.
This ability basically forms a large ring which a character can then pass through in order to gain a burst of speed. Similar to how Lucio will speed up characters, but in a more instanced and temporary way to avoid being too cheesy. I imagine this is best used on a contested point or when a payload is at a standstill.
It won’t deal enough damage to wipe out enemy teams, but it will encourage other heroes to rush a point knowing they will be handily supported. Juno is evidently inspired by Lucio and the popularity he has amongst support players, yet is also trying to differentiate herself with an altered moveset while keeping the faster movement and emphasis on combat that makes heroes like this so fun to play. My personality is a great fit for support heroes like this, and always will be, so to see a hero like Juno emerge and act as a reminder why Overwatch 2 is such a charming, frustrating, and beautiful game to me is just what I needed.
Here’s hoping she can deliver and yeet Lucio from my rotation… It features team sizes reduced to five, aiming to create faster and more action-oriented matches, while PvE elements add to the options available.
