'Overwatch' hero spotlight: How to suck less with Junkrat
Want help with a different hero? Click here to check out our master Overwatch guide, where you'll find links to tips and strategies for each hero in the game.
Each Overwatch hero is a special snowflake.
Different guns, different abilities, different movement speeds, different quirks. Learning to excel with one hero doesn't mean you've mastered Overwatch.
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Playing a hero the "right" way only gets you so far, of course. Positioning, team formation (on both sides) and overall skill level are still important; you can play a hero perfectly and still lose. But you probably won't win until you learn to play whoever you're using right.
We've got you covered. Read on for tips, strategies and ideal maps/modes to help you suck less at using Overwatch's Australian grenade fountain, Junkrat.
Ability breakdown
Weapon: Frag Launcher. Each trigger press fires a single explosive sphere that detonates on impact with an enemy or after a few bounces. Direct hits cause high damage, with a small amount of splash damage to surrounding enemies. Junkrat takes friendly fire from his own grenades. Five rounds per clip.
Concussion Mine: Remote-detonation mine that remains active until it explodes, is destroyed or another is placed. Inflicts knockback and the same damage as a single Junkrat grenade on enemies. Does not harm Junkrat but can be used to launch him into the air.
Steel Trap: Temporarily immobilizes any enemy that steps on it, though they're still able to shoot. Like the Concussion Mine, a Steel Trap remains on the ground indefinitely until it is trigger, destroyed or another one is placed.
Total Mayhem: Whenever Junkrat is killed his body drops a small cluster of grenades wherever he was standing. This happens automatically.
Ultimate ability: Rip-Tire. Junkrat releases a remote-controlled tire bomb that can jump and climb over most walls/obstacles, and detonate at the press of a button (though it explodes on its own if too much time passes). Rip-Tire's blast is very powerful and should kill most enemies in its vicinity. It has a health bar of its own and is susceptible to enemy fire.
How to Junkrat
The best place for Junkrat to be is out of sight. You want to know where enemies are coming from and maintain enough vertical clearance to lob an endless stream of grenades in their general direction.
That indirect fire can be used in a few different ways. If you want to create a bottleneck to funnel your enemies in one direction, a stream of grenades from Junkrat can shut down an alternate approach.
Dealing damage from out of sight is also useful against entrenched enemies, like Bastions and Torbjörn turrets. In either case, just remember: it's better to overdo it when you can't see your foes. Fire until you stop seeing hit markets, and then empty a few more clips just for good measure.
For Junkrat, positioning is often a question of what cover is available and where grenade support will be most helpful. His arcing grenade shots can cover a large distance so the rear ranks isn't a terrible default when you just want to cover the ground ahead.
Make sure to exploit the added mobility that Junkrat's Concussion Mines provide. They won't launch you as high as Pharah does with her Jump Jet, but many perches are still in reach. Getting Junkrat up high makes it easier to aim grenades and put them where they can be most helpful on the battlefield.
Offensively, both the Mine and the Steel Trap work best as "oh sh*t" buttons to slow down an enemy push. The Trap in particular can be helpful in Control matches and "Defend" scenarios, but both it and the Mine tend to be more effective when thrown at an approaching threat.
Rip-Tire is one of the deadlier Overwatch ultimates, but you've got to be careful since it's so susceptible to damage. Worse, the revving engine gives away its position, making it tough to get the drop on enemies.
Since you're in control of Rip-Tire, try to guide it along a circuitous route that flanks your target(s). This is definitely a multi-kill kind of ultimate, so steer it in during a pitched battle and detonate before anyone sees it coming.
Best maps/modes: Assault (Hanamura, Temple of Anubis, Volskaya Industries), Escort (Dorado, Route 66, Watchpoint: Gibraltar) and Hybrid (Hollywood, King's Row, Numbani) maps are all very Junkrat-friendly.
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Topics Blizzard Entertainment Esports Gaming
Adam Rosenberg is a Senior Games Reporter for Mashable, where he plays all the games. Every single one. From AAA blockbusters to indie darlings to mobile favorites and browser-based oddities, he consumes as much as he can, whenever he can.Adam brings more than a decade of experience working in the space to the Mashable Games team. He previously headed up all games coverage at Digital Trends, and prior to that was a long-time, full-time freelancer, writing for a diverse lineup of outlets that includes Rolling Stone, MTV, G4, Joystiq, IGN, Official Xbox Magazine, EGM, 1UP, UGO and others.Born and raised in the beautiful suburbs of New York, Adam has spent his life in and around the city. He's a New York University graduate with a double major in Journalism and Cinema Studios. He's also a certified audio engineer. Currently, Adam resides in Crown Heights with his dog and his partner's two cats. He's a lover of fine food, adorable animals, video games, all things geeky and shiny gadgets.
