Perhaps the Tank with the most versatility in Overwatch 2, Zarya capitalizes on an enemy team's aggression to boost the power of her attacks, simultaneously protecting her allies while melting through her foes' health. Zarya's strengths are showcased when leading the charge, as her barriers allow teammates to dive into danger for a short time. Although players may wish to dive headfirst into combat with the barriers in mind, patience rewards those who allow her unique Energy system to instigate the ire of opponents, building up her power before leading a dominating push into battle.

Players looking to use Zarya in Overwatch 2 should master the relationship between her Particle Cannon and Energy passive mechanic to launch an effective offense. Zarya's Particle Barrier temporarily makes the Tank sturdier than even high-health heroes such as Reinhardt in Overwatch 2, mitigating all damage while active. Similarly, the Projected Barrier accomplishes the same goal for an ally's sake, giving them a defensive boost while contributing to Zarya's overall power. Mastering the situational awareness tied to the Ultimate ability Graviton Surge also allows players to halt enemy movements and achieve near-team wipes in the most fortunate circumstances.

Related: Overwatch 2: Brigitte Character Guide (Best Tips & Strategies)

Playing as A Tank With Zarya

The Tank role in Overwatch 2 has been adjusted going into the sequel, with heroes in this designation now having 30% more knockback resistance and providing 50% less Ultimate charge. This means that Tanks do not get disrupted by their teams nearly as often, giving players who pick Zarya more chances to stick with their groups while attacking or defending an objective through these changes to Overwatch 2's passive abilities. Additionally, damage heroes cannot farm their Ultimates on Zarya as much anymore, not necessarily making her any less of a target with Overwatch 2's change to one Tank per team, but at least reducing the chances of Zarya becoming the sole focus of an enemy team's attention while she builds the power of her Particle Cannon.

Build Energy for the Particle Cannon

The Particle Cannon fires a linear beam that slowly damages foes over time, with a number that designates how much Energy is being stored in the weapon itself. Barriers of any kind build up Energy for the Cannon, increasing the width, range, and damage on a scale from 0-100. Combined with damage boosts from other heroes like Mercy in Overwatch 2, the Particle Damage can tear through health in seconds when fully charged, especially against low-health Damage characters. Should foes wisely not approach a fully charged Zarya, the Particle Cannon has an alternate fire that shoots an exploding orb that deals damage in a small splash radius, bolstered in damage once again if players have accumulated enough Energy.

Create Barriers in Dangerous Situations

Zarya does not have nearly as much health as other Tanks in Overwatch 2, which makes her Particle Barrier an ability for players to prioritize when leading through contested locations on the map. In Overwatch 2, Zarya's Barrier now shares a two-charge system with the Projected Barrier ability, meaning she can use any two combinations of the move before adhering to the cooldown, which has been increased to eleven seconds in total. Additionally, Zarya now has more uses of the Particle Barrier on herself to build Energy, giving Support characters in Overwatch 2 room to concentrate on other characters for a few moments before the Barrier dissipates.

Players must discover the proper balance between protecting themselves with the Particle Barrier and others on the team with the Projected Barrier. Another change to Zarya's kit was the inability to target the same person with the Projected Barrier again for two seconds after the granted bubble fades. Now that players have access to multiple uses of the shared Barrier charges instead of each ability being separate, the strategy behind playing Zarya becomes more diverse depending on the situation at hand. For example, on particularly difficult pushes, Zarya players might find more success saving both uses of the Barrier for themselves to ramp up their Particle Cannon, while on defense, it may be better to bubble Supports such as Zenyatta in Overwatch 2 to ensure the team has a reliable healing source.

Trap Enemies Together with Graviton Surge

The infamous Ultimate of Zarya, the Graviton Surge launches a black hole projectile that draws enemies into its center upon landing, halting their movement. By putting a majority of an enemy team in one place, players can use this ability to give their team a chance to wipe out as many foes as possible, sometimes even with their own Ultimates. A Zarya with maximum energy can make this effect even more lethal, although smart opponents can sometimes predict the usage of Graviton Surge. Players should be wary of characters like Genji in Overwatch 2, as his Deflect ability can throw a Graviton Surge back against Zarya and her team.

Some specific coordination works best with Graviton Surge to grant an elusive Team Kill, as seen in early iterations of Overwatch with Zarya and Hanzo using both of their Ultimates. Cassidy, Sojourn, and frankly, any other Damage hero works wonderfully with Zarya since their risks can be backed up through Projected Barrier, which rewards Zarya with more damage for their recklessness. Despite the excellent damage potential Zarya has, players should be careful not to overestimate her abilities since a team that doesn't fire into her Barriers robs Zarya of any meaningful damage and makes her an easy target when on cooldown. Still a very good choice for beginners in Overwatch 2's Tank role, Zarya remains one of the best heroes in the game, especially when players adopt the right strategies.

Next: D.Va Is Overwatch 2's Most Toxic Character

Editor’s Note: A lawsuit has been filed against Activision Blizzard by the California Department of Fair Employment and Housing, which alleges the company has engaged in abuse, discrimination, and retaliation against its female employees. Activision Blizzard has denied the allegations. The full details of the Activision Blizzard lawsuit (content warning: rape, suicide, abuse, harassment) are being updated as new information becomes available.

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  Overwatch 2

  Developer:

  Blizzard Entertainment

  Franchise:

  Overwatch

  Genre:

  First-Person Shooter

  Platform:

  Nintendo Switch, PlayStation 4, PC, Xbox One, PlayStation 5, Xbox Series X/S

  Publisher:

  Blizzard Entertainment

  ESRB:

  T

  Released:

  2022-10-04

  Multiplayer:

  Online Multiplayer, Online Co-Op

  Summary:

  Overwatch 2 is the sequel to the Blizzard team-based PVP shooter released in 2016. Overwatch 2 will completely supplant the original entry, shuttering the prior title in favor of 2. This sequel reduces team sizes to five instead of six. Players will choose from one of thirty playable heroes and pick from one of three classes: damage, support, and tanks. PVP remains the core focus; however, Overwatch 2 now has a stronger emphasis on cooperative play with the addition of PvE modes - four-player cooperative excursions where players will take on different tasks against AI opponents. Overwatch 2 is a free-to-play game and will offer a battle pass option like others of its genre instead of its prior loot box system, allowing players to earn cosmetics and more each season.

  How Long To Beat:

  80-100 hours

  Prequel:

  Overwatch