Overwatch Guide: Junkrat Info and Tips

If you haven’t tried Junkrat in Overwatch, give him a go soon. He’s a lot of fun — and not just because of his maniacal laugh, either. He’s basically the game’s version of a Team Fortress Demoman, and explosions are always fun.

It doesn’t hurt that he can easily kill multiple enemies every time his ultimate pops, either.

If the idea of explosions and laughing like The Joker sounds right up your alley, here’s how to master Junkrat.

Junkrat Basic Info

Characterized as a Defense character, Junkrat’s role is to get rid of anyone daring enough to enter his domain. 

He does this primarily by explosions, but he does have access to a trap to keep enemies from moving for a few seconds. 

His weapon only has one type of ammo — frag grenades. These grenades can bounce off walls and the floor, and will explode after a certain period of time or once they hit an enemy.

Abilities

• Total Mayhem (Passive) – If Junkrat gets killed, he drops several live grenades nearby. Bad news for that enemy who celebrates without dodging out of the way first.

• Concussion Mine – Junkrat throws a small mine on the ground that he manually explodes. It can deal tons of damage to enemies or be used to launch Junkrat into the air. 

• Steel Trap – Junkrat throws down a bear trap to immobilize an enemy. 

• RIP-Tire (Ultimate) – Junkrat releases a tire filled with explosives that is manually detonated and controlled by the player.

Combat Tips

As I mentioned earlier, Junkrat’s role in Overwatch is to basically just bombard enemies with explosions. While he’s okay as an offensive character, he definitely excels on defense due to his mine and trap. 

• Place your trap in shaded areas or around corners — The idea is that you don’t want the enemy to see them- otherwise they’ll just go around.

• Treat your mine like C4 in Call of Duty — When I play CoD, I’m that guy hiding behind a riot shield and detonating my C4 mid-air in your face. This is my personal favorite way to use Junkrat’s mine against enemies. Throwing it somewhere and just sitting there waiting for enemies to walk by it isn’t as fun…although I guess that’s what it was meant for. 

• Gain the high ground with your mine jump — Like the Soldier’s rocket jump in Team Fortress, Junkrat’s ability to jump high and far can give you a nice tactical advantage (or escape route) in Overwatch. Here’s a video giving you an idea of what you can do with it:

• Don’t waste RIP-Tire — I had multiple games where the Play of the Game went to a great Junkrat ultimate. Don’t use this awesome exploding tire of death unless your enemies are packed close enough together to get at least 2 kills. 

• Avoid direct combat — Between his bouncing frag grenades, traps and ability to steer RIP-Tire, Junkrat is able to deal tons of damage without direct engagement. He can’t self-heal and he doesn’t have much health, so use his trickiness to your advantage

• If you’re about to die, go kamikaze — Your passive doesn’t do any good if you die far away from the enemy team. If it looks like you’re about to bite the dust, charge in! Hopefully you can take out a few enemies with the grenades that drop — I know I got several kills with it (and have also paid the price for being too close to a recently-killed Junkrat!)

Thanks for reading, and I hope these Overwatch Junkrat tips help you get the Play of the Game in your next match!