I’ve mentioned it a few times but Junkrat is my favourite of all the characters in Blizzards first person shooter Overwatch. In short (and bearing in mind, that every Overwatch character has a full and integrated backstory) Junkrat is an anarchic, explosives expert with a mistrust of robots and corporate businessmen. His main weapon is a grenade launcher but he does have a few other gadgets at his disposal as well.
Here’s a video of me as Junkrat getting Player of the Game which is always nice to have. Well, I wasn’t going to put a video up of where I truly sucked, would I?
With many hours clocked up playing Junkrat these are the things I’ve learned about him and his explosive and chaotic playstyle. I should also say at this point, that I do not consider myself an expert. Overwatch is a game where there’ll always be someone better and someone worse than you, and you have to keep learning and improving as you go. Having said all that, this is what I’ve learned.
Junkrat’s Arsenal
Junkrat has four weapons and one passive attack at his disposal and it’s good to get to know all of them very well.
Concussive Mine
His Frag Launcher is his primary weapon that lobs grenades. Unlike other characters, Junkrat’s grenades bounce and are fired in an arc which makes him perfect for attacking over walls. However, the launcher does only have five grenades before you need to reload so you should always try to ensure you’re running around fully loaded (which to be fair you should be doing for every character really.) It’s also worth bearing in mind that you’re not immune to the damage of your own explosive grenades, so no firing at absolute close range unless you have to.
Concussive Mine
Junkrat can also drop Concussive Mines which he can detonate causing damage and anyone caught in the explosion is thrown away in the explosion. These mines can be used to trap bottlenecks or doorways to catch the unwary, or just thrown directly at someone or a group of enemies before following it up with a well-placed frag launcher shot.
Steel Trap
No direct damage with this one, or at least not much but once a character is caught in the trap they’re stuck for several seconds which is just enough time to be blown up by your Frag Launcher grenade, Concussive Mine combo.
Rip-Tyre
Rip-Tyre is Junkrat’s ultimate ability, and involves Junkrat pulling a rip cord on a giant explosive wheel. Once activated, you can direct the wheel as you need to (even up walls) and then detonate it for a lot of damage. There are two things that are really worth noting. The Rip-Tyre can be destroyed before you detonate it and while you are directing the Rip-Tyre you have no control over Junkrat and are consequently very vulnerable to being attacked. If you die you do continue to control the Rip-Tyre until it explodes or is destroyed.
Total Mayhem
As a final sting in the tail, Junkrat is rigged with explosives so if you are unfortunate enough to be killed the explosives go off and deal heavy damage to any enemies close to you.
More Hints and Help
Junkrat should ideally be in one of two positions. The first position is up fairly high where his Frag Launcher has an advantage and you can rain down grenades, mines and traps on your enemies below. If you’re forced to get into close quarters, I’d advise two strategies, either steel trap them and run away to get distance or if it looks like a grim situation run up close and try to take them out with your Concussive Mine and Total Mayhem.
When you use your Rip-Tyre try to be as hidden as possible until the last moment. As with all Ultimate abilities, the enemy will know when you’re using it. If you approach from a very open and easily visible point, you’re Rip-Tyre will likely be destroyed before it gets close. However, if you climb it up a building and drop it down from below, it’s unlikely they’ll be quick enough to react. Oh, and try to not be anywhere near enemies when you use it, or you’ll just get dropped while you’re controlling it.
Try to get the hang of the bounce and arc of your Frag Launcher. It can take some getting used to. Remember, one of the positive side-effects of using the Frag Launcher is that you don’t always have to hit something for it to affect the game. Continually barraging a doorway, corridor or chokepoint is going to cause your enemies to think twice about going through there for fear of being hit by these crazy bouncing grenades.
Anyone, familiar with playing against Junkrat knows that they only have 5 grenades and will wait for the pause as you reload before advancing on you. Sometimes, only using three or four grenades and keeping a couple handy can fool them into thinking you’re reloading and they’ll advance, only to be met with those ‘spare’ grenades.
My last piece of advice, is that you need to recognise when you’re going to die and make sure you run towards your enemy so Total Mayhem can do its thing. I on the other hand just charge into the fray anyway regardless of if I think I’m going to die. What? I like chaos and it’s fun.
That’s my brief Overwatch play guide to Junkrat and I hope this has given you a few things that you weren’t aware of to try, if not there was always the video you can watch and mock and troll my skill, or lack of it. If you have any advice for me though, let me know in the comments. I’m always looking to improve.
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Jim Franklin
Jim Franklin is a freelance writer, living in Derby UK with his wife and his player 3. When time allows he likes nothing more than losing himself in a multi-hour gaming session. He likes most games and will play anything but prefers MMO's, and sandbox RPG's.
