Wrecking Ball
A resourceful and highly intelligent mechanic and fighter, Wrecking Ball rose from the laboratories of Horizon Lunar Colony to become the Junker Queen’s champion.
Location
Horizon Lunar Colony (formerly), Junkertown (formerly)
Age
16
Birthday
Oct 15
450
125
150
725
01 / 06
Quad Cannons
Automatic assault weapons.
Minor Perk — Choose 1
Steamroller
Roll impacts deal 100% more damage to Tanks.
Multi-Ball
Press Q within 5 seconds after using Minefield to deploy 7 additional mines.
Major Perk — Choose 1
Hang Time
Piledriver winds up longer, gaining air control and dealing up to 50% more damage.
Adaptive Barrier
Adaptive Shield generates a 1 second barrier on activation.
This hamster’s genetic therapy on the Horizon Lunar Colony resulted in his greatly increased size and intellect. Hammond taught himself engineering and mechanics, and escaped to earth, landing amidst the Junkers of the Australian Outback. There, he modified his escape pod into a battle mech called Wrecking Ball and became a champion gladiator and the bodyguard of the notorious Junker Queen.
Horizon lunar colony
In one of the many experiments carried out at Horizon Lunar Colony, animals were given genetic therapy to assess their adaptation to extended periods of habitation on the moon. As an unexpected side effect, several of them exhibited exceptional growth in physical size and brain function. While most of the test subjects were gorillas or other primates, there were some exceptions, including a hamster named Hammond. Like the others, Hammond's intelligence grew, and he became more curious about the world around him. Much to the puzzlement and amusement of the scientists, Hammond would frequently escape into different parts of the moon base. Though they'd always find him and return him to his cell, they never figured out the true purpose behind his nightly escapades. What they didn't know was that Hammond was busy scavenging and teaching himself the skills of a mechanic, which would soon come in handy.
Escape
The colony was eventually thrown into chaos when some of the gorillas rose up against the human scientists and took control. Not all of the subjects participated, however, and one of the gorillas, Winston, was making a plan to escape to Earth. Winston was unaware that Hammond too was searching for an exit, and had even designed his own escape pod. Winston unknowingly found Hammond’s plans in the base’s files and got to work. Hammond then built a makeshift capsule and secretly hitched it to Winston's craft as the gorilla blasted off. When the two entered Earth's atmosphere, Hammond broke off and landed in a different location: the wasteland of the Australian Outback.
Junker
Hammond modified his escape pod to enter the lucrative mech battle arena of the Scrapyard. Working his way up the ranks, "Wrecking Ball" went from contender to champion, though the pilot's identity remained a mystery to all except one. While Hammond journeys into the wider world from time to time, he’s found a happy—if somewhat chaotic—home at the Junker Queen’s side. After all, as reigning champion of the Scrapyard, he has a title to defend.
Wrecking Ball Tips
- 1Ball form momentum is Wrecking Ball's primary weapon — build maximum speed with the grapple before impacting enemies; a slow-moving ball deals minimal knockback.
- 2Adaptive Shield generates more shields per enemy hit — dive into the densest cluster of enemies before activating to maximize the shield generation and survive longer.
- 3Minefield ultimate denies large areas when spread across objectives and corridors — placement around the objective forces enemies to choose between taking damage or abandoning their position.
- 4Pile Driver's stun duration and range increase when dropping from height — grapple to elevation, then drop directly down onto grouped enemies for the maximum area impact.
Tank Overview
Tanks lead by contesting space the rest of the team can't take alone — not by standing still and soaking damage as a wall for allies to hide behind. Pressuring a dangerous angle forces the enemy to respect the threat you represent, which is what actually lets your damage and support operate safely. Tanks generally have large health pools and strong defensive tools, but those exist to let you take space, not to make you a stationary shield. Reading which angle you can hold — and when to pull out — matters far more than constant voice comms with your supports, most of whom are busy triaging the fight rather than actively topping you up.
Positioning
Where you position depends heavily on the tank and the matchup, not a fixed front-to-back rule. Brawl tanks like Reinhardt want to hold a specific angle and pressure it — not simply stand between the enemy and your team. Against dive- or poke-heavy compositions (Orisa, Ramattra, mobile flankers), playing straight front-to-back plays into their strengths and loses on most maps. Track your team's position and disengage before you're isolated, but don't expect your supports to keep you topped up mid-fight — with healing output reduced across the board, most tanks are meant to spend their HP and cooldowns on a trade and recover between fights, not during them.
Strengths
- +Large health pools and defensive cooldowns that let you contest space other roles can't survive in
- +Creates space and draws focus fire away from squishier teammates
- +Ultimate abilities can decisively swing team fights
- +Presence alone forces the enemy team to play around you, buying space and time for your team
Weaknesses
- −Healing is mostly meant to top you up between fights, not during them — expecting emergency heals mid-fight wastes your supports' resources
- −Overextending solo leads to quick elimination
- −Committing to the wrong angle can cost your HP and cooldowns and swing the fight against your team
- −High-mobility damage heroes can outmaneuver slow tanks
vs Dmon
vs Domina
vs Doomfist
vs D.Va
vs Hazard
vs Junker Queen