How to counter Zarya in Overwatch 2?

Overwatch 2 is the latest addition to the list of hero-shooter games released by Blizzard Entertainment. The publisher introduced the title as a means to continue the legacy of its prequel Overwatch, which was first launched in 2016.

Overwatch 2 has three main categories - Tank, Damage, and Support. Zarya belongs to the tank class and has proven to be extremely potent in medium-to-close-range fights. She hails from Krasnoyarsk Front, Russia, according to the Overwatch's lore.

Zarya has a total of four abilities excluding her primary weapon which makes her one of the best combatant tanks in the entire game.

Overwatch 2: Zarya is one of the oldest tanks to exist

Overwatch 2 has received the majority of its roster from its prequel as all the former heroes and maps have been carried over with a few balance changes and tweaks by Blizzard. These alterations were introduced to enable a smooth transition of the heroes into the standard 5v5 format that the publisher has adopted instead of the 6v6 matches featured in the previous title.

Zarya is one of the oldest tanks to exist in Overwatch and continues to be a top-notch hero when it comes to being a fighter with high health points and defensive abilities. She does not possess any evasion abilities and has to depend on timing her abilities perfectly to survive on the battlefield.

Zarya’s abilities in Overwatch 2

Before learning about Zarya's counters, it is important to note her abilities. Zarya is able to deal increased damage based on how much incoming damage she absorbs but there is a catch to this effect. Here is a list of all her abilities with a brief description.

Particle Cannon (Primary Fire): Shoots out an energy beam that is linear in shape.
Particle Barrier (L-Shift): Creates a protective barrier around Zarya to absorb incoming damage.
Projected Barrier (E): Creates a particle barrier around an ally to block incoming damage.
Graviton Surge (Ultimate): A graviton ball that pulls enemies towards it in the area of effect.
Energy (Passive): Increases damage of the Particle Cannon as damage is absorbed by barriers.

Four heroes can counter Zarya

Zarya is not impossible to take down in Overwatch 2 but has the ability to quickly output an insane amount of damage that can one-shot most damage and support heroes. In addition, she can also protect her teammates and gain damage buffs at the same time.

Here is a list of the heroes best suited to take down Zarya.

Sombra
Pharah
Bastion
Zenyatta

Sombra can quickly hack Zarya and disable her ability to cast barrier bubbles, which will make her an easy target to take down. Since Zarya uses her shields to defend and attack, disabling these abilities renders her useless, and she becomes a sitting duck for the team to take down.

Pharah can take down Zarya’s bubbles with two perfect rocket hits easily and can remain airborne which is out of her particle cannon’s reach and bombard her with rockets till she goes down. It is also effective to concuss Zarya away from crucial team fights so that she cannot directly participate or provide assistance to her teammates.

Bastion is a great counter to almost all tanks and is rightfully called a “Tank Killer,” as he can output a huge amount of damage in his sentry gun mode that can burst through shields and pound down tanks to their last bits of health. Bastion can also use his grenade ability to deal additional damage to Zarya before her shield ability replenishes.

Zenyatta is a great counter for tank heroes as he can cast his Orb of Discord on them to take amplified damage and restrain healing as well. This is a great ability that makes Zarya easy to take down even after amping her damage up due to incoming damage vulnerability.

These are the best heroes that can break through Zarya in Overwatch 2 and stop her from repeatedly shielding her allies and essentially damage-buffing herself for the rest of the game.

Edited by Adelle Fernandes