Overwatch hero guide: Zarya

Guide by Staff Contributor

Published on May 23, 2016

The more damage she absorbs, the deadlier she becomes. Zarya wants you to fight her.

Overwatch hero guide: Zarya

Role: Tank

Zarya is a fantastic tank to get to grips with, able to deal serious damage and protect herself and allies in the heat of battle. She absorbs damage and turns it on her enemies but she's hard to master, and has low health compared to other tank heroes.

Strong against: Genji, Symmetra, D.Va

Weak against: Pharah, Reaper, Bastion

Zarya's abilities

Particle Cannon

Zarya's Particle Cannon has two attacks. The primary fire is a short-range energy beam and the secondary fire an energy bomb with area of effect damage to hit multiple targets.

Particle Barrier

When Zarya surrounds herself with the Particle Barrier she's able to absorb incoming attacks and redirect them to deal more damage from her weapon and widen its beam attack. It lasts for two seconds.

Projected Barrier

Zarya can surround an ally with the Projected Barrier, which again protects the hero but also boosts the damage of Zarya's Particle Cannon. It lasts for two seconds.

Ultimate Ability: Graviton Surge

Graviton Surge explodes causing damage, but also drags enemies in and traps them for four seconds.

Zarya strategy tips

Zarya starts off any match weak. Your first priority is absorbing attacks with both barrier abilities and turning it into energy and damage. Be careful: both have long cooldowns so make sure you don't waste the barrier when you're not in a firefight.
Goad your enemies into firing at you and then absorbing their attacks. If they see the barrier is up they won't attack for fear of buffing Zarya. Run into grenades and activate in time to absorb the energy
Zarya is the weakest tank, so try teaming her with another tank hero or offensive player to make the most of her abilities, especially Projected Barrier.
Graviton Surge needs to be used carefully on multiple enemies to have the maximum effect. Combine it with Reaper's Death Blossom or Pharah's Barrage to take out entire teams of enemies.

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