Zarya - Overwatch Guide - IGN (2024)

The mighty Zarya is one of the many Characters found within Overwatch. She acts as a shield for her allies, protecting both them and herself with barriers of energy. For more on her, the skills she has and ways to play her, continue reading the page below!

Role

Zarya is a Tank who focuses heavily on defensive abilities. Her main weapon is a short range cannon, firing a continuous beam of energy. She can also project shields around either herself or an ally, that absorbs all incoming damage and makes her own weapon stronger. Finally, her ultimate allows her to trap several enemies at once, and can be used in combination with many other characters to guarantee many kills.

Her downside is her lack of range, and mobility. She is a slow moving tank, with no options for closing distance or hitting long range targets. Of the various Tanks, she also has some of the more situational skills. Her barriers only last a few seconds, making them far less useful overall and more desirable during specific instances of combat. This makes Zarya a powerful, but situational character.

Bio

Ability

Zarya Tips

Tips for Playing as Zarya

• Zarya is an aggressive tank. She is best played on the front lines, constantly taking damage. This is because she needs her shields to take damage, so that she can gain a damage buff.
• Although not directly powerful, her Ultimate is one of the best in the game. Use it on objective points to have the enemy team sucked up into a ball, then start shooting your particle cannons alternative fire at them.
• When using Graviton Surge, make sure to tell your allies, as they can capitalize on its use, ensure the enemy team is wiped out.
• Although short lived, her shields can block all forms of damage. With proper timing, you can block entire ultimate abilities for both yourself, and an ally.
• Like all other tanks, Zarya works best in close quarters. She lacks a mobility skill like the other tanks though, so care must be used with her, or else you'll be caught out and picked apart.

Tips for Countering Zarya

• Zarya, thanks to her shields, is very good at tanking through damage. Characters who can do long term, consistent damage are best at dealing with her. Soldier 76 is a great example of this, as he can constantly be putting damage on her.
• High, spike damage characters can get the job done as well, but care needs to be used so you don't hit her shield and charge up her damage.
• Mei is a very powerful counter, as freezing her will prevent her from activating shields.

Skins

Below are all the skins that can be purchased/unlocked for Zarya.

Story

"Together we are strong."

Aleksandra Zaryanova is one of the world's strongest women, a celebrated athlete who sacrificed personal glory to protect her family, friends, and country in a time of war.

Aleksandra was born in a remote Siberian village that was on the front lines of the Omnic Crisis, which began some thirty years ago. Although Russian forces defeated the robots and shut down their omnium, the region was devastated by the conflict. Only a child at the time, Aleksandra was surrounded by the post-war destruction, and as she grew older, she swore that she would gain the strength to help her people recover.

To learn more about others, head over to our Characters page!

Focusing on weightlifting and bodybuilding, Aleksandra was identified by the national athletics program as a potential star. She trained extensively, moving up the ranks while representing her country, and was expected to shatter longstanding records in the upcoming world championships. But on the eve of the tournament, an attack came from the long-dormant Siberian omnium, and her village was thrust into war once again. Aleksandra immediately withdrew from the competition and rushed home to enlist in the local defense forces, sacrificing the life of fame and fortune she might have had.

Now she serves—a symbol to some, a stalwart fellow soldier to others. But for Aleksandra, it is a chance to use her great strength to protect the ones she loves.

[Via playoverwatch.com]