Let’s just hope they’re ready to be destroyed (or conquered) by the mythical skin! Junker Queen Zeus!
Imagine that you load a game of Overwatch, you choose a hero and head towards the objective. Everything seems to be going well, but then you turn a corner and you’re faced with a huge and angry australian zeus.
The Season 2 Mythic skin comes with customizable variants, including different colors, armor pieces, and weapons. Separate equipment, Junker Queen Zeus he embodies an overloaded electric aesthetic that can be seen in all the visual effects of his abilities.

Greg KnowltonSenior Visual Effects Artist, gave us his thoughts on the journey it took to junker queen from ruler of the dump to ruler of the gods.
Visual effects fit for a queen
“The most important differences between the mythical designs Y legendary are the updated visual effects and customizations. We incorporated visual effects into mythical designs to pay homage to mythical fantasy.
You will see hints of lightning in his abilities. For example, the muzzle flash from your shotgun generates electricity when you fire. “When junker queen throw to Gracieyou will see how lightning strikes its enemy, “says Knowlton.
“Her ultimate transforms into a huge metal and electricity storm. The lightning effects of his abilities give the impression that his attacks are more powerful because he doesn’t just shoot lightning, but directs it with his magnetic gauntlet.
Creating these ideas and translating them into the game is a multi-faceted process that involves many parts of the development team. Overwatch and requires a lot of thought. How do we get the most out of our art while prioritizing gameplay? How do we preserve the identity of a hero? How do we make sure that no one has a competitive advantage?”
We built our ideas around the heroes and looked at how they fit into the theme of the season.” “The skills of junker queen focus on the magnetism of his gauntlet. It has a supercharged electric aesthetic, so we played with that within the theme of Zeus«.
“The rays are amazing, just like the queen. the mythical fantasy of Zeus it’s perfect for her.”
Greg Knowlton

Turn the queen into a god
Whenever we add new content to the game, we keep in mind the memory requirements needed to run it on different platforms. The game does not update well if we use too much memory. “We constantly innovate by creating new textures for visual effects because we don’t want to clutter memory, and we always put performance first”Knowlton says.

«philosophically, we try to stay away from procedurally generated textures, so almost all of our textures are made by hand. A good example is the lightning that falls on the target of Gracie. The lightning itself was painted by hand, and in addition added unique shaders«.
Another facet of the optimization of the mechanics through special effects includes the design elements that give identity to the hero, both in his story and in the gameplay.
«Our team insists on verifying that mythical designs do not give a competitive advantage»it states Knowlton. “Allies will see the skin’s updated VFX, and enemies won’t have to relearn a visual aesthetic to play against that skin.”.
“What I mean is, when you see Pike firing around a corner, you recognize that they are his shells before you even see it. It’s part of his design,” he says. “So when we create new textures, the hero has to be recognizable and true to his nature. We want them to know who’s shooting.”
If designers and artists modify these basic effects, players could get the wrong impression or unclear messages between skins about what a hero is capable of on the battlefield.
Legendary equipment for mythical designs.
“It really does take a perfect storm to create an iconic design, and not just the visual effects,” he says. Knowlton. “The concept art team creates something inspiring, and then the visual effects have a lot of freedom to build something that fits the concept and the world of Overwatch«.
Concept art, modeling, technical art, visual effects Y Sound; they are all part of the team that works hand in hand to inspire, shape ideas and create a unique experience around a new mythical design.
«When we made the mythical waiting room of junker queenthe sound team was very excited after seeing the animation, and that inspired the sound design to start earlier,” he explains. Knowlton. “I usually work before the sound crew starts, but hearing those sounds beforehand helped me visualize what we needed for this waiting room.”

“What I like the most about this job, creating a mythical design, is the collaboration and communication between the team,” he says. Knowlton. “When a hero becomes Mythic, you have to collaborate with multiple teams: sound, concept art, modeling, technical art. Everyone is there and everyone makes significant contributions.”
“I also really appreciate the way the team builds the heroes in the backend,” Knowlton continues, “so that it’s possible to come up with mythic level designs. We had to build the Mythic Skins system from the ground up, and thanks to the amazing team of tools, we’re able to add these amazing skins to the game.”
like before Overwatch 2 we didn’t have this ability, mythic designs are exclusive to the game we enjoy now.
“Thanks to the work on the backend, we have the ability to modify the look and effects in a similar way to how we modify the skin of a hero,” he explains. “The heroes are now playable and all of their ability VFX have been set, giving our team a lot of freedom to explore and create alternate skins, like the mythic Zeus«.
We are very happy to see that players enjoy the game design. I hope you guys have fun with the new mythic skin, enjoy the visuals, and get ready to smash your enemies with Junker Queen Zeus«, concludes Knowlton.
Don’t forget to log in Overwatch 2 and complete the Premium Battle Pass before February 6 to get the skin Junker Queen Zeus. You can get more EXP boosts by teaming up with friends and completing challenges.