Zarya Build Guide “Are you in need of personal training?”

Zarya is a Support who combines protective tools with strong offensive capabilities. She has a unique Basic Attack that allows her to hit multiple enemy targets at the same time. She can cast a Shield on herself or provide a Shield to allied Heroes, get Energy based on the damage absorbed by any of her Shields, and deal additional damage based on how much Energy has been stored, however, her Energy will slowly decay over time. As a consequence, in order to play Zarya effectively, it is important to predict incoming damage to cast Shields at the right moment, a move that will allow you to maximize both damage mitigation and Energy generation.

• Particle Grenade should be fired when at high Energy to deal more damage or to interrupt enemies who are channeling an Objective.
• Personal Barrier can be used to absorb damage from Structures in order to quickly fill your Energy.
• Try to anticipate incoming damage when using Shield Ally and Personal Barrier to maximize your Energy gain.
• You can use Expulsion Zone to block an enemy Hero in a corner.
• Graviton Surge requires you to predict how enemy Heroes move, else it will miss them.
• Zarya lacks mobility, therefore it is important to have a good position when enemy Heroes are nearby or missing.
• Zarya's Basic Attacks hit all enemies in a straight line and therefore should be used to hit multiple Minions or Mercenaries when possible.

Zarya is a hybrid Hero with the survivability of a Bruiser, the potential to deal as much damage as a Ranged Assassin when high on Energy, and the utility of a Support.

When drafting her, make sure that your team composition will not lack a main Tank, a solid Offlaner, and a Healer because a Support like her cannot cover any of these key Roles.

It is better to pair her with a Marksman rather than a Mage, else your team will lack ranged sustain damage. Zarya should always be with a Marksman and help them with Shield Ally when needed.

Since she can provide Shields, Zarya shines against burst compositions that feature a Mage who can deal burst damage (Jaina comes to mind) and sometimes even an aggressive Melee Assassin (such as Kerrigan).