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Some heroes have received their kit for Overwatch 2, while others have mostly remained the same. Zarya is one such returning hero who has received a few changes to her abilities, slightly altering her playstyle to a point. The following guide will dive into Zarya’s abilities, class, and role in the team, along with some tips regarding making the most out of the hero in a match.
Overwatch 2 is in its second post-release week and drawing in new players daily. The sequel to the highly successful and popular MOBA game boasts of a similar playerbase to its predecessor and brings back all of the heroes from the original game.
Zarya is new to Overwatch 2
If you’re looking to play as Zarya in Overwatch 2, you won’t need to play over 100 matches to unlock her, as she is freely available from the beginning of the game. She is one of the 15 freely available heroes for new players, which can be used to participate in matches early on.
You may use Zarya as a playable character in the practice arena to get the hang of her various abilities. However, her moveset can be slightly tricky to get used to and even more complicated to master.
Zarya’s class and abilities
Zarya is a tank-class hero in Overwatch 2. Thus, she has a new role passive ability, which reduces the knockback received and the ultimate regeneration when taking damage for being healed by 30%. This makes tanks more sturdy but also limits them from becoming too powerful.
Zarya's abilities are primarily defensive, allowing her to gain more attack power when using her protective barriers. This is an essential skill to master, as it can make Zarya an influential tank that can also deal significant damage after absorbing attacks. Below is a list of all her abilities.
Particle Cannon: This is Zarya’s primary weapon and has two firing modes. The primary fire unleashes a concentrated energy beam, most effective at mid to close range. The alternate fire launches energy grenades in a parabolic arc, which deals damage on impact in a small radius.
Particle Barrier: This is Zarya’s most useful ability, which generates a bubble barrier around her for 4 seconds. When his ability is active, incoming damage hits the barrier and is stored for a time.
Projected Barrier: This is essentially the same as Particle Barrier; however, Zarya can cast it upon a teammate in this instance.
Note: The above two abilities share a cooldown and charges (of which there are two). Thus, you must maintain both abilities carefully and mitigate when to use them for yourself and when to assist allies.
Energy: This is Zarya’s second passive, which is also one of the best ones in the game. It lets Zarya accumulate energy from the damage absorbed during Particle Barrier and Projected Barrier. The accumulated energy increases the damage that Zarya can do from her Cannon, although the accumulated energy will run out over time and will need to be replenished.
Graviton Surge: This is Zarya’s ultimate ability, where she tosses a gravity surge in the direction she is facing. Once it lands, it generates a black hole that pulls in enemies in its 6-meter radius and displaces them.
Those were all the abilities that Zarya possesses in Overwatch 2. Below is a section on tips for the character, highlighting how best to utilize her in a match and be helpful to your team.
Tips for Zarya
Zarya is a tank hero, so her role in Overwatch 2 is one of the defenders. Her Particle and Projected Barrier are the most valuable tools in her arsenal, which can save ally heroes from being taken down and boost Zarya’s attack power for quite a while.
Using the barriers wisely, like on teammates performing ultimates, is a great way to provide them the seconds they need to unleash the attack. Maintaining an energy level by absorbing damage on the barrier is also a great way to keep your DPS fully topped up, making Zarya a heavy hitter.
Zarya’s ultimate isn’t handy, but when paired with other AOE attacks from teammates, it can turn a small area into a kill box. However, as it is a projectile, be careful when launching it directly at enemy heroes like Genji, who can deflect it, or D.Va, who can absorb it.
