‘Overwatch’ Update: Junkrat buff on the way to PTR soon

Junkrat is a delightfully chaotic character in the Overwatch world, but some players have complained he doesn’t always require a ton of precise mechanical skill. However, according to a post on the official forums, it sounds like some changes are coming to the public test realm that will increase Junkrat’s mobility and give him more opportunities to be used strategically.

Overwatch update: Junkrat buff likely on the way to PTR soon

According to Overwatch principal designer Geoff Goodman, the development team is looking at changing the number of charges on his concussion mine ability.

“Currently on our internal builds, Junkrat has two charges of his concussion mine,” he said. “This allows you to do all kinds of cool stuff, like launch yourself into a fight and still have a charge to escape with, or launch yourself up into a Pharah and still have a charge to try and kill her with.”

Theoretically, players can do this now, but you have to wait for concussion mine to cool down before deploying a second one. This change would give Junkrat two mines to deploy one right after the other, making those high-skill trick plays much easier to pull off.

“We’re also looking at making his [ultimate ability] a bit better,” Goodman added. “We’re experimenting with a movement speed increase or a health increase on the tire. We wouldn’t do both things, but in either case, it should be more reliable to use in more situations.”

Goodman didn’t say when these updates would hit the PTR, but it’s possible they’ll arrive around the same time as the changes to Roadhog Overwatch director Jeff Kaplan mentioned Tuesday.

More Overwatch news and updates

For more on Overwatch, check out the rest of what Mic has to offer. Here is an intro to the cute, new “Wholesome Overwatch” subreddit, a look at some gorgeous Overwatch-themed PS4 and Xbox One controllers, a cool Easter Egg in the new Horizon Lunar Colony map and a criticism of Blizzard’s failures in its design of Symmetra.