Zarya is probably one of the harder tanks to pick up and play, as she's also the tank with the lowest health pool to play with, and her shield doesn't last very long. To offset this, she can also manage to output a pretty decent amount of damage as well though. She doesn't have as much ability to be a 'team player' as other tanks I find, but if played right she can be used to devastate teams pretty well.
Passive - Energy Buildup
This is what will make or break a good Zarya. If you can maintain high energy levels, you are a force to be reckoned with, but if you can't build it up enough your particle cannon might as well be a fly swatter barely stinging the enemy team. You build this up by using your energy barriers on either yourself or your team mates, any damage they absorb will build energy up for you, the more energy you have, the harder your gun will hit.
Particle Cannon
This is Zarya's main attack, the gun will fire a stream in front of her continuously, the longer it's held on one target the more damage it does. This can make it pretty easy to just swing your gun around and the stream will eventually connect with something, but you won't do much damage that way. Her alternate fire uses more ammo than the particle stream, but lobs a single grenade like explosive charge. Be warned, the explosive charge can damage you as well as the enemy if it explodes near you, it can be blocked by your barriers, but it will not charge your energy up if you do.
Particle Barrier and Projected Barrier.
This is Zarya's ability to project a barrier around herself and she can also protect one team mate with this at the same time. Proper use of these two abilities is vital to how well you play Zarya. If you are expecting a large burst of damage to either you or a team mate, toss a barrier up and watch your energy levels grow. A good time for this is a Reaper ult, or if you hear a Junkrat's ult coming.
Ultimate - Graviton Surge
Zarya's ultimate is essentially a gravity bubble that sucks everything around it in and deals damage to them when they are trapped in it over time. Alone, it doesn't do much damage, but when used properly you can suck the entire enemy team into it and leave them all vulnerable to your cannon's alternate fire, dealing splash damage to everyone trapped in it. You can wipe a whole team with this if you catch them bunched up together.
Zarya can be a lot of fun to play, try her out and keep your energy high and you can rule the battlefield with her!
Passive - Energy Buildup
This is what will make or break a good Zarya. If you can maintain high energy levels, you are a force to be reckoned with, but if you can't build it up enough your particle cannon might as well be a fly swatter barely stinging the enemy team. You build this up by using your energy barriers on either yourself or your team mates, any damage they absorb will build energy up for you, the more energy you have, the harder your gun will hit.
Particle Cannon
This is Zarya's main attack, the gun will fire a stream in front of her continuously, the longer it's held on one target the more damage it does. This can make it pretty easy to just swing your gun around and the stream will eventually connect with something, but you won't do much damage that way. Her alternate fire uses more ammo than the particle stream, but lobs a single grenade like explosive charge. Be warned, the explosive charge can damage you as well as the enemy if it explodes near you, it can be blocked by your barriers, but it will not charge your energy up if you do.
Particle Barrier and Projected Barrier.
This is Zarya's ability to project a barrier around herself and she can also protect one team mate with this at the same time. Proper use of these two abilities is vital to how well you play Zarya. If you are expecting a large burst of damage to either you or a team mate, toss a barrier up and watch your energy levels grow. A good time for this is a Reaper ult, or if you hear a Junkrat's ult coming.
Ultimate - Graviton Surge
Zarya's ultimate is essentially a gravity bubble that sucks everything around it in and deals damage to them when they are trapped in it over time. Alone, it doesn't do much damage, but when used properly you can suck the entire enemy team into it and leave them all vulnerable to your cannon's alternate fire, dealing splash damage to everyone trapped in it. You can wipe a whole team with this if you catch them bunched up together.
Zarya can be a lot of fun to play, try her out and keep your energy high and you can rule the battlefield with her!
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