Overwatch 2 Junkrat [Full Hero Guide]

Junkrat falls in the damage category of characters. He is a returning character from Overwatch 1. Let’s have a look at him in Overwatch 2 and learn about his abilities and playstyle in detail.

Overview Of Junkrat

The chances of you winning a game in Overwatch 2 heavily revolve around your team and the synergies in it. Each player has a designated role in a team, and a certain number of characters fulfill very specific niches in a team. A strong team will utilize these roles to their maximum potential and plan accordingly. Junkrat falls in the category of DPS Heroes, who are at the forefront of the offense and are responsible for racking up kills for the team.

In the game, Junkrat is depicted as an anarchist and a mercenary. His way of dealing with most problems is to blow them up simply. He is obsessed with demolishing things and people alike. His incendiary approach is apparent in his playstyle, utilizing frags and mines to blow the opposition away. 

Junkrat is in a unique position when it comes to being a damage dealer. He can use his frag launcher as his primary damage source, but he can also make use of traps to catch the opponents off guard. This gives him a lot of utility and he can adapt to various playstyles. 

Junkrat’s Weapons

As discussed earlier, Junkrat is a damage hero with one primary weapon, which is his Frag Launcher. It is the main source of his damage. Now let’s have a look at his weapon in detail.

Frag Launcher

As you can see from the image above, the Frag Launcher is a bulky grenade-launching gun. It lobs explosive projectiles over mid to long-range distances. 

The main mechanism of the gun revolves around shooting these explosive projectiles, which can bounce and ricochet off the walls and the ground. The rate of damage is albeit a bit slow compared to some other fast-paced damage dealers like Soldier 76, who utilizes an automatic rifle. However, the damage is nothing to scoff at with direct hits landing you 120 points of damage to the HP. And if that wasn’t enough, the splash damage from the explosives can account for 10 to 80 points of damage. 

A thing worth noting is that since his main weapon relies on explosions for damage, you cannot score headshots with it. The tradeoff between the rate of fire and damage dealt can be mitigated since the explosives have a bigger than usual area of effect as well. Even if you fail to target the opponent with a direct hit, chances are that they aren’t going to escape unscathed, thanks to the splash damage. Combined with his abilities, Junkrat appears to be a lethal hero.

Junkrat’s Abilities

Junkrat has 2 basic abilities and an ultimate attack that requires a charge before being used. His abilities grant him both offensive and defensive utility. His passives also perfectly complement his kit and playstyle. The following are Junkrat’s Abilities in Overwatch 2: 

• Concussion Mine
• Steel Trap
• Rip-Tire

Let’s have a look at his abilities first, and then the ultimate.

Concussion Mine

• Cooldown: 8 Seconds (per charge)

With the concussion mine ability, Junkrat throws out a knockback mine which can be detonated on command to deal damage. This ability can serve as a perfect defensive maneuver to damage enemies when they least expect it. You can place it in your opponent’s path and detonate it when they are trying to rush. 

Although the mine itself can be destroyed, it also deals heavy damage in case unsuspecting enemy waltzes into your territory. It covers a respectable radius around it and deals 30-120 points of damage depending on how close to the explosion the enemy is. It can be kept on the ground indefinitely until it is detonated. It’s worth knowing that you can only have a single mine out at a time, and if more than one mine is deployed, the older one will vanish.

A creative way to use this ability is for movement. Junkrat can choose to detonate the concussion mine while he is on top, to launch himself through the air. This can catch opponents off guard as you blitz through the air and secure the kill. It can also be used to clear corners and save yourself from a prefire by launching off at an unorthodox angle. You can also use it to quickly get to the upper levels of a map by jumping to a high elevation.

The ability has a cooldown of 8 seconds, making it fairly easy for the player to utilize it again and again.

Steel Trap

• Cooldown: 10 Seconds
• Duration: 3 Seconds Root

Similar to the first ability, Junkrat’s steel trap, as the name suggests, is a trap. Junkrat places a crippling trap on the ground to target careless enemies. The steel trap is bulkier than the concussion mine and it takes more damage to destroy it. It deals a staggering 100 points of damage if the opponent is caught in it. 

Just like the first ability, Junkrat can only have one steel trap out at a time. If a consequent steel trap is placed, the first one is automatically destroyed. It has a cooldown of 10 seconds but the player will not be placing traps all the time so it is inconsequential. 

Rip-Tire

• Duration: Up To 10 Seconds

Now let’s discuss Junkrat’s ultimate ability, Rip-Tire. Junkrat whips out a huge tire, clearly influenced by Mad Max. The players can drive this tire and detonate it. It can deal massive amounts of damage with the explosion, ranging from 50 to 600 points of damage. Players can choose to discharge it on their own or wait for the timer to run out, causing it to explode at the end of it. 

It is an AOE attack with a huge damage radius. Anyone caught even near the detonation will be sure to suffer damage. An important thing worth noting is that while the ultimate ability is active, players cannot control Junkrat himself, and he is vulnerable to dying. But the silver lining is that even if Junkrat gets killed while the ability is active, the Rip-Tire will not be affected and will continue along its path and explode. 

You can take out multiple enemies if the ability is used strategically. It is advisable not to spend it on killing a single opponent, as its utility lies in its AOE trait. The tide of a match can be shifted in an instant if the ultimate is used properly and can even be the decisive factor between victory or defeat in Overwatch 2.

Passives

Junkrat has passives that complement his playstyle and overall kit. It would be very detrimental if the explosions from his weapons and abilities affected Junkrat himself, but thankfully that is not the case. This is due to the passive, Total Mayhem. 

This makes it so that the explosions deal no damage to Junkrat, be it from the Frag Launcher or the Concussion Mine. This passive also allows Junkrat to drop bombs after he is killed. So even after the opponents have killed you, you can still kill them, or at least damage them. 

The other passive is the damage role that he shares with other damage heroes. Eliminating an opponent grants Junkrat enhanced movement and reload speed. 

Playstyle For Junkrat

Junkrat is a damage hero, but his abilities give him both offensive and defensive strengths. He can use his main weapon to deal high damage and provide support fire, while his traps can be utilized as defensive tools to stop the enemies from approaching you. Junkrat really fulfills a versatile role in the game.

Tips And Tricks

Following are some tricks and tips for Junkrat and how to play with him in Overwatch 2:

• Junkrat’s role in the team is to provide indirect damage mostly. Due to the low accuracy of his main weapon, the explosions serve more as a minefield for the opponents rather than direct damage. It enables your teammates to capitalize on the cornered enemies and eliminate them effectively. 
• While traversing the map, Junkrat can use his concussion mine for increased mobility. You can use it to catch your enemies off guard or to reach areas of higher elevation. The knockback effect of the mine can also be used to push enemies into pits. 
• While placing your concussion mines and steel traps, you should pay attention to the areas you place them in. The placement of these traps is key if you want the opponents to walk into them. Focusing on placing them in hard-to-see areas will give you more success with them. 
• It is important to strategize when using your ultimate ability, Rip-Tire. Like Junkrat’s other abilities, it can be destroyed by the opponent if you give them a chance. Pick a safe spot to launch the ultimate from so that you aren’t targeted directly but also pay attention to not being predictable with your route.

Junkrat Changes From Overwatch 1 To Overwatch 2

A lot of characters were tweaked as they were ported from the first game over to Overwatch 2. The changes depend on the character that you are looking at, but they can range from major overhauls to minor tweaks. For example, Bastion got a big rework. 

This isn’t the case for Junkrat, as only a couple of minor changes have been made to him. From what I can tell, Junkrat had the hitbox of his frag launcher projectiles increased, making it easier for him to hit enemies with it. Other than that, the speed at which his trap comes out has been increased. This allows for him to set the trap more quickly, and even mid-combat, in hopes that the opponent walks into it. 

My Experience With Junkrat

Many OW2 players seem to have the thought of Junkrat being one of the useless characters in OW2. At first, I used to have the same way of thinking, it was until I decided to give Junkrat a try. He might have been useless in Overwatch 1, but things are very different with Overwatch 2.

What I have found so far while playing Junkrat is that he can be a really good counter for the Tanks in OW2. Not only that but with Junkrat, I can easily dive into the enemy’s backlines and deal massive damage to the supports. Also, players who have great control over their movements, for example, Raze mains in Valorant, Junkrat is going to be a perfect fit for them.

Summary

Overwatch 2 has been the talk of the town recently, and for a good reason. Back when it was originally released in 2016, it managed to garner a huge player base over the years it was active. With Overwatch 2, developers Blizzard Entertainment has decided to go with a free-to-play model. This approach seems to have been massively successful as the player count keeps rising. 

Understanding the strengths and weaknesses of your hero is vital to victory in Overwatch 2. It is necessary to understand your role in the team and how you can support your teammates and lead everyone to victory. The game features a ton of different characters with various archetypes.

This concludes my Overwatch 2 Junkrat character guide. I discussed his abilities and the weapons that he uses in complete detail. The best playstyle for using the character has also been mentioned, with some tips and tricks for new players. I hope that the guide was useful in learning about Junkrat. If you are more interested in other archetypes of characters like Supports or Tanks, you can check them out! Let me know what you think about Overwatch 2 in the comments below!