Zarya Guide: Strategy & Gameplay “Together we are strong.” (2024)

Table of Contents

• 1. Strengths
• 2. Weaknesses
• +3. Strategy
  • 3.1. Overview
  • 3.2. Abilities
    • 3.2.1. Energy
    • 3.2.2. Particle Cannon (Beam)
    • 3.2.3. Particle Cannon (Explosive Charge)
    • 3.2.4. Particle Barrier
    • 3.2.5. Projected Barrier
    • 3.2.6. Graviton Surge
• 4. Changelog

This guide takes an in-depth look at how to play Zarya in Overwatch.We look at the strengths and weaknesses of the hero, and we go overmechanics, recommended strategies, and things to beware of.

The guide has been written based on our extensive experience playing thegame since before the Closed Beta began, and it relies on our decades-longFPS experience. That said, our aim is to keep the guide relatively brief andeasy to understand, making it accessible to veterans and new players alike.

If you have any comment on the guide's content or structure, please letus know in the comments! :)

Stamp of Approval

This guide has been reviewed and approved by michr, formerly one of the best Day of Defeatplayers in Europe, who now plays Overwatch for OWKings. He also writes forGosu Gamers.

• High damage potential
• Half of her health is a self-regenerating shield
• Can effectively provide short-term immunity for herself and for one ofher teammates
• Ultimate ( Graviton Surge) is one of the most effective incapacitatingultimates in the game, setting up her allies very well

• Less health than the other tanks
• No movement abilities or escape mechanisms
• Her shields ( Particle Barrier and Projected Barrier) havea short duration, making timing them difficult
• Cannot protect multiple allies at once in the way thatWinston or Reinhardt can
• Difficult to aim with

In this section, we will briefly go over the main strategies you shouldemploy as Zarya. We will begin with an Overview, and then we will go indepth more about each ability that Zarya has.

Zarya is one of the 5 tanks in Overwatch. She has the lowest health ofall tanks, and she also has the slimmest model, which makes it difficult forher to protect her allies with her body, but also makes her difficult tohit by her enemies.

What Zarya lacks in health and bulkiness, she makes up for through herlarge damage output (she has the potential to be the most damaging tank, andextremely damaging overall even considering offense heroes) andthrough the powerful Projected Barrier she can place on allies toshield them from damage. Making very frequent use Projected Barrier isessential.

That said, since Projected Barrier only works on a single target, Zaryahas no way to protect all of her team at once as Winston,Reinhardt, or even D.Va do. This means that she works best aspart of a team that already has one of these tanks. Indeed, Zarya functionsas a sort of tank-damage-support hybrid, and this is how she should beplayed.

As Zarya, your place is with your team and near or on top of the objective.However, you will look to do as much damage as possible with your Particle Cannon weapon, instead of trying to keep your allies safe(though, as stated, Projected Barrier should be used nearly on cooldown).

Aside from this, Zarya's Graviton Surge ultimate plays a veryimportant role. It is a fairly easy to use ultimate that will frequentlyincapacitate several enemies (sometimes, even 5 or 6 of them) for 4 seconds,giving her other teammates an excellent opportunity to land their ownultimates.

Zarya has a passive called Energy, which increases the damageof her Particle Cannon (both its beam and explosive charge) wheneverdamage is absorbed by her Particle Barrier or Projected Barrierabilities.

The Particle Cannon charge ranges from 0% (base damage) up to 100% (whichdoubles its damage output). Each 5 damage absorbed by one of Zarya's twoshields increases Particle Cannon's charge by 3%. Finally, theParticle Cannon's charge decays on its own at a rate of 2% per second.

There are a number of indicators available that communicate the level ofEnergy that your Particle Cannon has.

• A number is displayed beneath your crosshair, ranging from 0 to 100.This is the clearest indicator.
• Your crosshair becomes thicker the more Energy your Particle Cannonhas.
• The width of the beam increases the more Energy your Particle Cannon has(which actually increases its collision size, making it easier to hitenemies with it).
• The energy orb that hovers inside your Particle Cannon increases insize the more Energy it has.
• The sound made by the Particle Cannon's beam changes.

Note that Zarya's model lights up the more Energy she has, so your enemieswill be informed of how much damage you can do at any time.

With all this in mind, it is our opinion that you should never use yourParticle Barrier or Projected Barrier specifically to boost your Energy.This is because those abilities' survival qualities are much more importantthan a boost to your DPS, and making sure that you keep yourself and yourallies alive should be the priority. So, in short, use your Barriers when youneed to for their damage-blocking effects (as we outline in the sub-sectionsthat follow), and simply take advantage of the extra damage you gain fromthis.

The primary fire of Zarya's Particle Cannon channels an energybeam directly front of her, in the direction of her crosshair. Any targetsthat the beam touches take a base of 80 damage per second (which increases with Energy charge). The Particle Cannon has 100 ammo, and each secondspent channeling it consumes 20 ammo.

Overall, the Particle Cannon's beam is a pretty good weapon, but it trulyshines when its damage is amplified by your Energy level.

When using the Particle Cannon beam, the first thing to keep in mind is thatthe beam is very long, much more so than the visual effect wouldindicate. To test it, simply use it to knock over some of the objects inyour spawn room. This is important to know, because it means you can damageenemies who are pretty far away from you, which comes in handy especiallywhen you are chasing down someone with low health.

Aside from this, you will simply use the beam to damage anyone in itsrange. There is not very much feedback provided to help you tell when yourbeam is actually damaging your target, but with practice you will get a feelfor this.

It is also important to keep an eye out on your Energy level. Even when theEnergy is low, your beam is quite damaging and it allows you to perform well.However, when your Energy is high, your beam becomes extremely dangerous,and in these moments you are encouraged to really dive into the enemiesaggressively (without getting yourself killed) and devastate them.

It should go without saying that, since the beam has limited range,using it on enemies that are too far away has no effect. At these times,you should instead use the Particle Cannon's alternate fire (explosivecharges), which we explain below.

The alternate fire of Zarya's Particle Cannon fires an explosivecharge (an energy orb) at a location in front of her. The orb travels in anarc, so you will have to aim up in order to compensate for this. Withsufficient practice, this should not be an issue.

Each orb costs 25 up to ammo, so Zarya can fire 4 orbs with her 100 ammocapacity, before needing to reload. It is important to note that since the orbscost "up to" 25 ammo, Zarya can also use these orbs with as little as 1remaining ammo in her Particle Cannon (meaning that you can fire a full damageorb with 5 ammo, for example). The orbs deal splash damage in an area,and they also knock back any affected targets (a small distance only, though).Zarya herself can take damage from the splash effect, if she is in range ofit.

Each orb deals a rather low base damage of about 45, but this is alsoincreased by Zarya's Energy level, as with the Particle Cannon'sbeam.

The explosive charges of the Particle Cannon are Zarya's only means of doingdamage at range. While using them is a bit clunky, she still has more rangeddamage potential than any of the other tanks. The knock back effect is alsoquite significant, as it allows Zarya to disrupt enemy positions, push playersoff of ledges or bridges, and sometimes even knock enemies off the map.

Usage of the ability is fairly simple. When an enemy is outside of therange of your Particle Cannon beam, shoot explosive charges at them,correcting for the trajectory drop-off as you do so. Given the AoE effect ofthe explosive charges, firing them at groups of enemies (including things likeTorbjörn turrets) is beneficial, and this is something you shouldchoose to do over using the beam even at close range. Finally, it is worthusing an explosive charge instead of the beam if your ammo is very low (10or lower). Otherwise, you should always use the beam.

Keeping track of your Energy level is still important when using theexplosive charges, and you should try to do as much damage as possible whenyou have high Energy levels.

The Particle Barrier is a 2-second shield that Zarya places onherself, which absorbs up to 200 damage from any enemy abilities. As statedearlier, every 5 points of damage absorbed by the Particle Barrier increasesZarya's Energy by 3%.

It is very important to note that Particle Barrier will absorb all thedamage of any attack that hits Zarya while the Barrier is active, even ifthat damage exceeds the Barrier's remaining capacity. For example, Tracer's Pulse Bomb deals 400 damage if it is stuck to Zarya. If Zarya has herParticle Barrier active when the Pulse Bomb explodes, this will consume theBarrier (as its damage exceeds the Barrier's capacity) but it will also meansthat none of the damage from Pulse Bomb will reach Zarya. It is useful to knowthis because it allows Zarya to survive several of these very damaging one-shotultimates (like Junkrat's RIP-Tire or D.Va's Self-Destruct).

Particle Barrier is Zarya's only means of protecting herself from damage,so it is important that you use it to block as much incoming damage aspossible throughout a game, especially when that damage threatens to kill you.But absorbing damage with Particle Barrier also has the important role ofcontributing to your damage output, which makes it all the more essential thatyour Barriers actually blocks damage.

You will need to evaluate each situation to tell whether or not youshould use the Particle Barrier. Obviously, if there are no enemies around, orif no one is damaging you, then you need to save the Barrier. Aside from this,every time someone is dealing damage to you (as long as it is not very lowcollateral damage), you should use the Barrier. Moreover, if you can baitopponents into focusing you down when your Barrier is available and you caneasily use it, you should do so (as long as your passive damage increase is notalready very high), since this is an effective way of both increasing yourdamage and distracting the enemies.

Projected Barrier is an ability that works almost identically to Particle Barrier, except that instead of shielding Zarya herself, itallows Zarya to shield an ally. Projected Barrier absorbs more damage(400, instead of 200), and it has a slightly shorter cooldown (8 seconds,instead of 10).

Like Particle Barrier, Projected Barrier has a 2-second duration, and italso absorbs all the damage of any attack that hits the shielded target whilethe Barrier is active.

Projected Barrier is Zarya's only means of protecting herallies, but it is very effective at this. Moreover, damage absorbedby the Barrier also increases Zarya's Energy, increasing herdamage, and it also builds up her ultimate charge.

The short 2-second duration of the shield can make it difficult to use,because often, by the time your allies realise that they have been shielded,it is too late for them to re-commit to a fight they were retreating from,or to go in and cast their ultimate. As a result, communication is veryimportant for making proper use of Projected Barrier. If you can tell an allyPharah, Reaper, or Genji (by voice) that you willshield them if they dive the enemy team with their ultimate, this can havedevastating consequences.

Failing to achieve these moves that rely on good communication, you shouldalways keep an eye out for any allies who can benefit from your shield.The best examples are allies who have gone into the middle of the enemyteam (as the examples mentioned above), allies who are fighting at thefront line and taking damage (Roadhog, Soldier: 76), or anyally who is involved in a duel.

Aside from these protective uses, you should look to maximise usage ofProjected Barrier to increase your ultimate charge and damage bonus. Wheneveryou see an opportunity to have a Projected Barrier block some damage, youshould take it (going so far as to coordinate with your teammates to shieldthem and then have them get in range of enemy fire).

Graviton Surge causes Zarya to lob an energy orb forward, whichpersists for 4 seconds at the location where it lands. While active, GravitonSurge orb will suck in any nearby enemies onto it, and it will hold themthere.

Enemies who are stuck in a Graviton Surge will take a small amount ofdamage every second, and they can still use all of their abilities, as wellas attack. However, the enemies cannot move out of the Graviton Surge, andmost movement abilities that would help them escape will not work. There area few heroes who can get out of Graviton Surge, however, and we list thembelow.

• Reaper can use Wraith Form.
• Tracer can use Recall, or she can Blink twice inquick succession.
• Genji can use Swift Strike.
• D.Va can use Boosters.
• Reinhardt can use Charge.
• Widowmaker can use Grappling Hook.

Graviton Surge is not useful for the damage that it deals, but it isimmensely useful for its ability to not only hold enemies in place for 4seconds, but to instantly group them up as well. This means that GravitonSurge is the best set-up ultimate in the game. It facilitates the usage ofa very large number of powerful ultimates and abilities which are otherwisedifficult to land. To mention only a few examples, think ofHanzo's Dragonstrike, Pharah's Barrage, orTracer's Pulse Bomb.

In addition to this, Graviton Surge is a good opportunity for Zarya touse her own Particle Cannon explosive charges to deal damage to thetrapped enemies, which can result in a lot of damage (especially if Zarya's Energy level is high).

Because of the great teamplay combinations that Graviton Surge is part of,it is highly recommended that you save this ability until you can pair itwith the ultimates of your teammates, or at least until enough of yourdamage-dealing teammates are around to be able to benefit from it. Using GravitonSurge without the help of your team is much weaker, and getting anything outof it at all will rely on you being able to use high-Energyexplosive charges.

Lastly, when setting up Graviton Surge combinations, keep in mind that thereare several heroes who can counter them quite effectively. Zenyatta's Transcendence can negate the damage, while Winston's Barrier Projector, Reinhardt's Barrier Field,D.Va's Defense Matrix, and Mei's Ice Wall canblock it altogether. Notably, keep in mind that Genji can use his Deflect against the initial Graviton Surge projectile to deflect theability back against your team, which can have devastating consequences.

• 06 Jul. 2016: Added a mention that Genji can Deflect Zarya's Graviton Surge, turning it against her team.
• 22 May 2016: Updated the guide following michr's review.
  • Improved the references to Zarya's potential damage output to highlight that it is high even for offensive hero standards.
  • Added a mention that her beam is hard to aim with.
  • Improved the recommendations for when to use the beam or the explosive charges.
  • Added a mention that using Projected Barrier to increase ultimate charge is very important.
  • Removed Lúcio's Sound Barrier as a counter to Graviton Surge.
• 14 May 2016: Guide added.

+ show all entries- show only first 2 entries