Okay, so, I’ve been playing a ton of Overwatch 2 lately, and let me tell you, Zarya has been a real pain in my side. I was losing my mind trying to deal with her, so I decided to buckle down and figure this whole “Zarya counter” thing out. I did it, guys!
First, I spent hours just getting wrecked by her. High energy? Forget about it. She’d just melt me. I tried different characters, different strategies, nothing was really working consistently. I even tried to play Zarya myself just to get the feeling of her. It helped me to realize that Zarya is a monster to counter Roadhog!
Then, I started digging around online, reading guides, watching videos. You know, the usual stuff when you’re desperate. There’s a lot of talk about characters like Winston and Rein, and yeah, they can work, but it’s not always that simple. I’ve played a lot against them as Zarya, but when I played with them against Zarya, I also got obliterated a lot.
Rein’s shield is a big help, and up close, he can definitely out-damage her, even if she’s charged up. Plus, you can do that little trick where you cancel your hammer swing when she uses her bubble. That’s key. But, if you mess up your timing, she’s just gonna get more powerful.
And Winston? His mobility is great for dodging her beam, but his damage is pretty low. I found that I had to play super defensively and just hope my team could capitalize on the space I was making. If Zarya is well played, it’s still a struggle against her with Winston.
My Key Discoveries
- Don’t Shoot the Bubbles! This is like, rule number one. It’s so tempting to try and burst her down, but feeding her energy just makes things worse. This is the most basic rule, but I still saw a lot of teammates don’t obey it.
- Keep Your Distance It’s a game of patience, don’t rush in front of her, or you will get melted soon. Zarya’s beam is scary up close, but she’s less effective at range. I started using characters with good ranged attacks to poke her down and force her to use her bubbles early.
- Bait and Punish This one took some practice, but I started getting good at predicting when she’d use her bubble and then waiting it out. Once it’s down, she’s way more vulnerable. Then I’d unload everything I had.
- Rammatra is the chosen one! This one was the game changer for me! I’ve seen a lot online guides said Rammatra hard counters Zarya. I didn’t believe it until I tried it myself. I could easily bait her barrier and destroy it with my damage.
Honestly, it took a lot of trial and error, and I still have matches where I struggle against a good Zarya. But, I’m feeling way more confident now that I have a better understanding of her weaknesses. It’s all about being patient, playing smart, and not feeding her energy. If you guys have any other tips, let me know! I’m always looking to improve. But currently, I will recommend using Rammatra to counter Zarya. It is well tested!
