Zarya

Zarya
"Together we are strong."
Real Name	Aleksandra Zaryanova
Age	28
Nationality	Russian
Occupation	Soldier
Base	Krasnoyarsk Front, Russia
Affiliation	Russian Defense Forces
Voice	Dolya Gavanski (English) Alexia Lunel (French) Maddalena Vadacca (Italian) Mitsuki Saiga (Japanese) Fernanda Mammana (Brazilian Portuguese) Laura Torres (American Spanish) María Jesús Varona (European Spanish)
Quotes	Quotation page
Role	Tank
Health	200 (Open queue) 350 (Role queue)
Shields	200
Character Video

Zarya is a Tank hero in Overwatch.

Summary

Aleksandra "Zarya" Zaryanova is a Russian, pink-haired soldier who loves to play around with particles and gravity. Her primary weapon of choice is a particle cannon which can shoot beams and balls of energy, and create shields for herself and her allies. A powerful Tank, Zarya can turn the damage she absorbs into energy to fuel her weapons, dishing out damage as she defends her team.

Official tips

• Zarya is a heavily shielded tank that uses barriers to protect herself and her allies.
• Fire her weapon's primary beam at nearby enemies, and its secondary fire at long range.
• The Graviton Surge pulls enemies into it and damages them.

Abilities

Energy

Type

Passive Ability

Damage blocked increases Particle Cannon damage.

Damage:

+1% per point of energy

Ammo per shot:

-2 points of energy per second

Ammo:

100 points of energy

Reload time:

+1 point of energy per 5 points of damage absorbed

• Details

Ability details:

• Energy increases the damage of both of Particle Cannons firing modes, but do not increase the damage of Graviton Surge.

Particle Cannon

Type

Weapon (Primary Fire)

Effect Type

Beam

Zarya’s mighty Particle Cannon unleashes a short-range beam of destructive energy.

Damage:

95 per second
4.75 per round

Headshot:

✕

Rate of fire:

20 rounds per second

Ammo:

100

Reload time:

1.5 seconds

Max. range:

16 meters

• Details

Ability details:

• The beam will ignore Genji's Deflect and D.Va's Defense Matrix.

Example Video

Particle Cannon

Type

Weapon (Secondary Fire)

Effect Type

Arcing Splash Projectile

Alternatively, Zarya can lob an explosive charge to strike multiple opponents.

Damage:

45 per shot

Headshot:

✕

Rate of fire:

1 shot per second

Ammo per shot:

25 rounds per shot

Ammo:

100

Reload time:

1.5

Area of effect:

2 meters

Projectile speed:

23.5 meters per second

• Details

Ability details:

• Energy level increases explosion radius.

Example Video

Particle Barrier

10 seconds

Type

Ability

The Particle Cannon can emit a personal barrier that shields Zarya against incoming attacks, redirecting their energy to enhance her weapon’s damage and the width of its beam.

Health:

200 barrier

Duration:

2 seconds

• Details

Ability details:

• Particle Barrier behaves differently compared to normal barriers, acting more like additional Health than Reinhardt's Barrier Field. Attacks that normally pass through a barrier and deal damage, such as Winston's Tesla Cannon, will still have their damage and effects absorbed by Particle Barrier.
• As long as Particle Barrier has at least 1 Health worth of absorption left, it will prevent all incoming negative effects.

Example Video

Projected Barrier

8 seconds

Type

Ability

Zarya surrounds one of her teammates with an energy barrier that simultaneously absorbs fire and boosts the power of her Particle Cannon.

Health:

200 barrier

Duration:

2 seconds

Max. range:

30 meters

• Details

Ability details:

• Projected Barrier behaves identical to Particle Barrier. For more ability details, see Particle Barrier.

Example Video

Graviton Surge

Q

1875 points

Type

Ultimate Ability

Effect Type

Arcing projectile
(initial cast)
Area-of-effect (ability start)

Zarya launches a gravity bomb that draws in enemy combatants and deals damage while they’re trapped.

Damage:

5.5 per second

Duration:

4 seconds

Area of effect:

9 meters

Projectile speed:

23.5 meters per second

• Details

Ability details:

• Certain movement abilities, such as Tracer's Blink, allow heroes to escape from the pull of Graviton Surge.
• The projectile from Graviton Surge is destroyed if it hits an enemy Zarya's barrier or D.Va's Defense matrix, but if it hits Winston's or Reinhardt's barrier it will simply activate where struck. It may still not be a good idea to fire it at those places, as they will lessen or negate your team's ability to combo with it.
• The projectile can be deflected by an enemy Genji, making it hostile towards your own team, as if cast by an enemy Zarya.

Example Video

Strategy

Zarya is a challenging Tank to play, though one of the most rewarding when played well. She gains Energy by absorbing damage with her barrier abilities, increasing her own damage substantially. At maximum Energy, she is a monstrous threat to the enemy team, tearing them apart in seconds with her Particle Cannon. Her Ultimate has some of the highest playmaking potential in the game, with the ability to trap entire teams in a single spot for her allies to fire upon. All of this comes with a severe weakness: she is the softest of the Tanks, with the lowest base Health out of them and only an infrequent, short-duration barrier to protect her and her team.

Weapons & Abilities

• Energy (Passive): Zarya spawns with 0 Energy and can gain a maximum of 100 Energy. Energy is gained when her Particle Barrier or Projected Barrier absorb damage, at a rate of 1% energy for every 4 points of damage absorbed. For every 1 Energy Zarya has, the damage of her Particle Cannon is increased by 1%. Energy will slowly decay over time at 2% every second.
  • Maintaining a high level of Energy is critical to Zarya's gameplay. At low Energy levels, Zarya isn't much of a threat. At high Energy levels, Zarya is a significant damage dealer that the enemy team ignores at their peril.

• Particle Cannon: Zarya's main weapon. The primary fire, when held down, shoots out a hitscan beam that deals continuous damage to the first enemy it hits. The secondary fire consumes more ammunition and shoots out a grenade-like ball of energy that detonates when it hits an enemy or solid surface, dealing damage in an area. This detonation will damage Zarya; the damage will be negated by Particle Barrier, but does not return any Energy.
  • The primary fire is useful for taking down single targets, while the secondary fire is useful for damaging groups or hitting particularly evasive enemies like Tracer. Switch between the two depending on the situation.
  • The primary fire pierces Genji's Deflect and D.Va's Defense Matrix. Contrary to some reports, it does not ignore enemy armor.

• Particle Barrier: When activated, Zarya will completely surround herself with a barrier for a brief period of time, absorbing a large amount of damage and making her immune to all negative effects (such as knockback or stun) while the barrier holds. Damage dealt to the Particle Barrier contributes to her Energy.
  • Be cautious when activating Particle Barrier. It has a lengthy cooldown time and a short duration, leaving Zarya vulnerable during the time when it's down. Don't activate it unless your enemies are already firing at you.
  • Particle Barrier is best used when you predict a sudden incoming burst of damage, such as running into a Reaper around a corner or when you see Junkrat's RIP-Tire getting within explosion range.

• Projected Barrier: When activated, Zarya grants the targeted ally a barrier that will completely surround them for a brief period of time, absorbing a large amount of damage and making them immune to all negative effects (such as knockback or stun) while the barrier holds. Damage dealt to the Particle Barrier contributes to Zarya's Energy. This ability autotargets the ally closest to Zarya's crosshairs.
  • Projected Barrier behaves otherwise identically to Particle Barrier in terms of damage absorption and immunity to negative effects.
  • Much like Particle Barrier, the short duration of Projected Barrier means that you must choose an ideal time to use it. Predict when an ally is about to take a large amount of damage and use it to both keep them alive and give yourself Energy.

• Graviton Surge (Ultimate): Zarya's Ultimate ability. When activated, Zarya fires an energy projectile in an arc. When the projectile impacts a solid surface, it creates a temporary gravity well that continually pulls in all nearby enemies and deals damage over time to them.
  • Although Graviton Surge is not a devastating Ultimate on its own, it is easily the most powerful Ultimate in the game when coordinated with other Ultimates.
  • The projectile from Graviton Surge is destroyed if it hits an enemy Zarya's barrier or D.Va's Defense matrix, but if it hits Winston's or Reinhardt's barrier it will simply activate where struck. It is still not a good idea to fire it at those places, as they will lessen or negate your team's ability to combo with it.

General Strategies

• When played poorly, Zarya contributes only average damage, mild absorption with her barriers, and her Ultimate. When played well, Zarya is able to cleave through teams with the damage provided by high Energy and can save both herself and a single teammate from otherwise certain death. Despite her power when played well, however, she's still somewhat lacking as a Tank when it comes to either blocking off a point (like Reinhardt) or disrupting the enemy team (like Winston). Consider pairing her up with either of them instead of going as your team's only Tank.

• A good way to consistently gain Energy is to engage your opponents before activating Particle Barrier. Your enemies will have less time to react and stop hitting your barrier if they're already firing at you. Approaching your enemies and activating Particle Barrier immediately will likely cause them to simply retreat until the barrier is down before returning to firing at you.

• Exploit the secondary fire of Particle Cannon by firing it at oncoming enemies and then ducking back in behind cover to avoid return fire. Despite being a Tank, Zarya can generally absorb less damage than the other Tanks, making cautious play important. You should ideally try to minimize the amount of time you're exposed to enemy fire while still threatening enemies who get too close with your presence.

• Look for opportunities where you can predictably absorb damage with Particle Barrier, such as by running into the grenades from Junkrat's Frag Launcher or the attacks from several of Symmetra's Sentry Turrets. This will help you to maintain a higher level of Energy in order to threaten your opponents more effectively.
• Both of Zarya's barriers act like a separate health pool, If used to block high damage ults from heroes like Tracer, D.va, or Junkrat it will totally negate the damage and likely instantly bring you to full charge, but only if it stays active at the time of the explosion. This can also be exploited to save squishier heroes from such ultimates, if they are close enough and you have the reaction time.
• Using a particle barrier while being frozen by Mei's Endothermic Blaster or Blizzard will free the player from the slowing effects of freezing. Use this right before a Mei completes a freeze on a player to surprise the Mei and force her to retreat or use her Cryo-Freeze. Additionally, this can be used to free players trapped in Mei's Blizzard, as it gives 2 seconds for Zarya or a shielded player to leave the radius of the ultimate unslowed. Already frozen players will not be unfrozen by a Projected Barrier but frozen players are vulnerable and likely to be shot at; consider shielding them for a good source of Energy.

• A substantial portion of Zarya's Health is composed of shields. When you see yourself getting below 50% Health, duck into cover to give your shields time to regenerate. This will allow you to keep fighting far longer than staying out in the open constantly will.

• Projected Barrier is one of Zarya's strongest abilities. It gives a single ally a substantial increase in Health, allowing them to absorb more fire than normal, as well as giving you Energy. Allies like Reaper and Roadhog benefit immensely from Projected Barrier, especially when they are using channeled Ultimates, as it will stop them from being interrupted temporarily. An ally Reinhardt holding up a barrier can also be a good Projected Barrier target, as all damage that would be absorbed by his barrier is instead absorbed by Zarya's barrier. It can also save an ally like Mercy from being killed by enemy flankers if applied in time. Rather than throwing it out randomly, consider the enemy team's composition and position and decide whether throwing it on an ally for extra Energy is better than saving it in case of a flank by an enemy hero like Genji.

• Graviton Surge is one of the trickiest Ultimates in the game to use correctly, but is devastating when deployed at the right time. It is also one of the slowest-charging Ultimates of any hero, making proper use of it critical. In general, pay attention to the Assault heroes on your team and wait for their Ultimates to be up before deploying Graviton Surge. Try to fire the projectile so that it will land in the center of the enemy team in order to catch as many of them as possible. When combined with an Ultimate like Reaper's Death Blossom or Pharah's Barrage, you can easily wipe out entire enemy teams in a single blow. Using it when none of your allies have their Ultimates will usually result in only one or two kills at the most, or possibly even no kills if the enemy team has a Reinhardt blocking most of the damage.

Good Counters to Zarya

Countering Zarya mostly comes down to a change in playstyle, rather than a specific hero. Timing one's shots to cause Zarya to use her barriers early will leave her vulnerable, due to a lack of charge and invulnerability. Heroes with a lot of agility and/or power are good choices.

Tracer can dodge Zarya's beam with ease, even while it is on high charge, and her Recall lets her escape from a poor attempt to kill. Her fast reload can be used to fake Zarya out; fire a few shots, wait for Zarya to use her barrier, then reload and get up in Zarya's face. However, always be mindful of Tracer's low health, and be ready to Recall.

Reaper has enough power to tear through Zarya's barriers before they naturally dissipate, which is useful if Zarya is surrounded by the enemy team. While alone, Reaper can time his shots carefully to avoid giving Zarya energy, then tear through her with his Hellfire Shotguns. His Wraith Form also allows him to get out of Graviton Surge which is a definite lifesaver.

Mei can frustrate Zarya in many ways; Cryo-Freeze will force Zarya to either walk away or waste energy waiting for Mei to thaw out, and Ice Wall will stop Zarya dead in her tracks, as she has no mobility options asides from walking around it. However, Mei doesn't have the killing power nessecary to put down Zarya, who is capable of taking two headshots from Mei's blaster.

Widowmaker won't be able to kill Zarya with one headshot but her extreme range makes her hard for Zarya to hit. She can lay down surpressive fire with her rifle and her Grappling Hook provides her with a reliable escape.

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. As a soldier in the Russian Defense Forces, she is proud to use her strength to protect the ones she loves.

Zarya is distrustful of omnics, even those who seek co-existence with humanity. One of her personal heroes is Vasily Alekseyev. She enjoys eating cabbage pierogis.

Background

A magazine article on Zarya

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 omnics 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.

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. The magazine Богатыри reported on her departure.

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.

As the Siberian omnium continued its attacks, Atlas News interviewed Zarya.

A New Assignment

After a trio of Talon agents tried to assassinate Katya Volskaya of Volskaya Industries, Zarya was summoned to her office. After being asked whether she knew why she was here, Zarya responded that she believed she did.

Achievements

Name	Icon	Description	Reward
Power Overwhelming		Keep Zarya's Particle Cannon above 70 power for 60 seconds in Quick or Competitive play.	Pixel
The Power Of Attraction		Capture 5 enemies in a single use of Zarya's Graviton Surge in Quick or Competitive play.	Cute

Cosmetics

v · d · e Zarya Skins
Common (Free)
Classic Weapons: #1		Overwatch 2 Weapons: #1
Rare (75 )
Brick Weapons: #1	Goldenrod Weapons: #1	Taiga Weapons: #1	Violet Weapons: #1
Epic (250 )
Dawn Weapons: #1		Midnight Weapons: #1
Epic (Overwatch Archives)		Epic (Halloween Terror)
Racer Weapons: #1		Einherjar Weapons: #1
Epic (Winter Wonderland) (750 )		Epic (Battle Pass)
Frosted Weapons: #1		Tactical Weapons: #1
Epic (Shop)
Frozen Weapons: #1		Talon Weapons: #1
Legendary (1000 )
Arctic Weapons: #1	Siberian Front Weapons: #1	Cybergoth Weapons: #1	Industrial Weapons: #1
Barbarian Weapons: #1
Legendary (Lunar New Year) (1500 )		Legendary (Overwatch Archives) (1500 )
Xuanwu Weapons: #1		Workout Weapons: #1	Polyanitsa Weapons: #1
Legendary (Overwatch Anniversary) (1500 )		Legendary (Summer Games) (1500 )
Cyberian Weapons: #1		Champion Weapons: #1	Weightlifter Weapons: #1
Legendary (Halloween Terror) (1500 )		Legendary (Winter Wonderland)
Totally 80's Weapons: #1		Snowboarder Weapons: #1
Legendary (Battle Pass)		Legendary (MVP 2019)
Apocalypse Weapons: #1		Alien Weapons: #1
Legendary (Overwatch League) (300 )		Legendary (Overwatch League) (200 )
Rock Climber Weapons: #1		Charged Climber Weapons: #1	Reigning Climber Weapons: #1

v · d · e Zarya Victory Poses
Common (Free)
Heroic
Rare (75 )
Casual	Check Out This Gun	Flexing
Rare (Lunar New Year) (200 )
Big One
Rare (Overwatch Archives) (200 )
This Is Strength
Rare (Overwatch Anniversary) (200 )
Beatdown
Rare (Summer Games) (200 )
Medal
Rare (Halloween Terror) (200 )
R.I.P.
Rare (Winter Wonderland) (200 )
Toast
Rare (Battle Pass)
Cannon Up

v · d · e Zarya Sprays
Common (25 )
512	Alexandra	Avenger	Barbarian
Barrier	Bear	Cannon	Champion
Defender	Focused	For the People	Gun Show
Icon	Lift	Pink	Pumped
Shield	Smile	Strength	Surge
Tobelstein	We Are Strong		Weights
Wrestle
Achievements
Cute		Pixel
Summer Games (50 )
Weightlifting
Halloween Terror (50 )
Trick or Treat
Winter Wonderland (50 )
Matryoshka		Ornament
Lunar New Year
Calories		Dragon Dance
Uprising (50 )
Pulse	Warrior Woman		We Can!
Anniversary (50 )
Ten of Spades
Season 3
Tactical
Season 8
File:Spray Zarya Flexing Snowman.png Flexing Snowman

Trivia

Zarya as she appears in Heroes of the Storm

• Zarja (заря) is a Russian word for "dawn".
• Zarya's particle cannon was ripped from the hull of an armored vehicle during battle, and is too heavy for most soldiers to carry. Her gloves conduct and amplify the energy flowing through it.
• Zarya's design emerged from player demand for a greater diversity of genders, body types, and ethnicities.
• With her hairstyle, she bears resemblance to a Russian Blizzard employee, Tamara Bakhlycheva. It's unknown whether it was intentional or not.
• The 512 tattoo on her shoulder is apparently her weightlifting record; two of her sprays depict a 512kg set of weights. This is a higher record than any woman's set in the Olympics to date, though not the highest ever recorded (although under the current format it exceeds all present records).
• Zarya is a playable character in Heroes of the Storm.

External links

• Official Site - Zarya
• Zarya Guide on Icy Veins