Overwatch 2 Junkrat Guide: Abilities, Tips, And How To Unlock

An Australian, explosives-obsessed damage hero who thrives and destruction and chaos, Junkrat's role in Overwatch 2 is well-put in his catchphrase "it's a perfect day for some mayhem". Not the traditional character you might expect to excel in a first-person MOBA, Junkrat is in fact a fantastic addition to any roster, as well as being one of the most fun to play as. From his abilities, how to unlock the character, and essential tips, here is everything you need to know in our Overwatch 2 Junkrat guide. 

• Want to learn how to play as Overwatch 2's ex-pro gamer? Here is our full Overwatch 2 D.Va guide.

Overwatch 2 Junkrat Guide: Weapons And Abilities

Click to enlarge

Even in his loadout, you can see that Junkrat's abilities aren't tailored towards dealing out damage in the traditionally direct way like other damage heroes. Instead, his weapons and abilities are focused on being under-handedly both sneaky and annoying via traps, and explosives, and spreading extra damage across the battlefield wherever needed. 

Weapons & Ultimate

• Weapon: Frag Launcher - Basically everything that the name implies, launching bouncing explosive grenades across various heights and distances depending on Junkrat's positioning. 
• Ultimate: Rip-Tire - From wherever you activate the Ultimate, Junkrat launches the giant explosive tire on his back, launching it into the battlefield whilst steering it remotely. Within a 10-second time limit, you can detonate the tire for devasting damage, killing however many enemies are in range.  

Abilities 

• Concussion Mine: Actually carrying two of these at a time, Junkrat can throw these knockback mines out to either close-to-mid range distances between detonating one or both remotely for decent damage.
• Steel Trap: A tricky steel trap that when stepped on, the victim is dealt minor damage whilst being temporarily held in place - also alerting Junkrat to its success and an enemy's presence. 

Passive

• Total Mayhem - Not only do Junkrat's bombs inflict no damage to himself, but he also drops additional bombs upon death, damaging enemies within close-quarters range. 
• Role: Damage - Earning eliminations temporarily boost both Junkrat's movement and reload speed, a perfect bonus for a fast-paced firefight. 

With only minor tweaks, Junkrat's abilities remain generally unchanged from Overwatch 1 to Overwatch 2. In fact, these small changes have been in Junkrat's favour: it's easier to get direct hits on opponents with the Frag Launcher's 25% (0.2 to 0.25) increase in projective size and 50% (10 to 15) increase in projectile speed, along with Steel Trap damage going up by 25% (80 to 100).

• Want to learn how to play as Overwatch 2's newest support hero? Check out our full Overwatch 2 Kiriko guide. 

How To Unlock Junkrat In Overwatch 2

Click to enlarge

For legacy players coming from Overwatch 1 and have merged their accounts, Junkrat will be available to play as immediately. For first-time players, however, they will need to unlock Junkrat via Hero Challenges by continuously playing matches, like with other heroes. Thankfully, Junkrat only requires you to play twelve matches in order to unlock him. What's more, a win counts as two matches, so new players could unlock Junkrat in even less time. 

Another way to instantly unlock Junkrat is by buying the Watchpoint Pack. Available for £34.99/$39.99, the Watchpoint Pack includes the original thirty-five characters, two-thousand Overwatch Coins, the Season 1 Battle Pass, five epic skins, and seven legendary skins. 

• Looking to try out the new hero, Junker Queen? Learn all you need to know in our full Overwatch 2 Junker Queen guide. 

Overwatch 2 Junkrat Guide: Essential Tips

Click to enlarge

Not too often used by competitive players in the past, Junkrat's abilities are best used in strategies dedicated to the element of surprise - either hitting fast and hard in close-quarters combat or being an extra nuisance taking enemy attention away from your allies in a more open firefight. Nevertheless, there are some key things to keep in mind to stay alive as Junkrat for as long as possible whilst inflicting as much damage as possible in the meantime. 

Limit one-on-ones in open range

Junkrat's abilities allow the Australian explosives-lover to deal lots of damage in quick succession. However, not only does his Frag Launcher need added time to launch his bombs over wider distances, he only has 200 HP.  What's more, his bombs are pretty easy to spot in an open area. All-in-all, this makes Junkrat quickly vulnerable to lots of open fire from all directions for a quick death before you can even inflict much damage. So, you should only join open-range firefights whilst coordinating with your team, like in-game modes such as Escort, as additional supporting fire to add pressure to the enemy team - delivering final blows to opponents and getting them out of your way. 

Devastate with Concussion Mines

Initially meant as remote-activated traps, the Concussion Mines are a lot more versatile than you might think. Firstly, with Junkrat being damage-proof to his own weapons and abilities, these knockback mines are perfect for launching Junkrat forward and upwards to traverse maps quicker. Secondly, the Concussion Mines can be detonated instantly after throwing them - capable of inflicting two brutal hits of massive damage twice in a row when you're against enemies in close-to-mid range.  They can also be used in combination with the Steel Trap - detonating after the trap has been triggered for a guaranteed blow to the victim in its clutches. 

Take the high ground wherever possible

As mentioned above, Junkrat is the most devasting when taking foes by surprise. Whereas his Frag Launcher has to deal with hang-time against enemies above him, the exact opposite happens when the battle is the other way around. Where it's easier to get direct hits in close-quarters combat, that's even more the case when fighting above ground, also able to hit opponents over greater distances in less time. That's along with throwing in his Concussion Mines for extra damage and knockback when dealing with more than one enemy player at once.

His Ultimate is best used from the high ground

Along with providing extra cover, Junkrat's high ground capabilities solve the weakness of his Ultimate, Rip-Tire - being easily cancelled if shot or Junkrat is killed before detonation. Essentially becoming death from above, Rip-Tire can be the perfect solution when needing to clear out multiple enemies at once with little time for them to react. 

Keep using your Steel Trap

Although it's not the most damage-heavy tool in Junkrat's arsenal, the Steel Trap can be the difference between life and death, or defeat and victory when used the right way. In an intense team-wide firefight, players are almost never looking at what's happening on the ground beneath them - only ahead. Whether from you or one of your allies, the Steel Trap is often just what's needed to take a foe by surprise and leave them open for a kill shot; it could even deal the final blow itself. In addition, whilst you're possibly dealing damage from above by taking the high ground, laying the Steel Trap at an entrance or exit is perfect for catching out a foe planning to take you out by surprise - leaving them vulnerable for a barrage of your bombs and/or Concussion Mines. 

To summarise: keep mainly in close-to-mid-quarters combat - only otherwise if the attention is mostly off you - take the high ground wherever you can, make the most of your traps to take enemies by surprise, and don't be afraid to chain all of your abilities together to inflict ginormous amounts of damage all at once. 

• Planning to play as the new damage hero, Sojourn? Here is all you need to know in our full Overwatch 2 Sojourn guide. 

That's everything you need to know, courtesy of our full Overwatch 2 Junkrat guide. Whilst you're still learning all of the new aspects of the game, you can also brush up on how to get souvenirs, how to get mythic skins, and how to get the best crosshair settings in Overwatch 2. 

For even more Overwatch 2 guides, you can be sure to find them right here at GGRecon.