Heroes of the Storm Wiki
Register
Advertisement
Zarya
Zarya

"Zarya, ready for duty."

Basic Info
Title Defender of Russia
Role Support Support
Difficulty Medium
Franchise Overwatch Overwatch
Price Gem625 / Money7,000
Release Date September 27, 2016
Base Stats
Attack Type Ranged
Health 2292
Health Regen 4.7734
Resource 100 Energy
Unit Radius 0.8125
Attack Speed 4.00
Attack Range 4.5
Attack Damage 20
Data Page

Zarya, the Defender of Russia, is a ranged Support Hero from the Overwatch universe. [1] Aleksandra Zaryanova is one of the world's strongest women and was a promising athlete, but all that changed when the Siberian omnium reawakened. As a soldier in the Russian Defense Force, she now proudly uses her strength to protect the ones she loves.

Zarya is a Support who can enable deadly allies and is good at preventing burst damage.

Background[ | ]

Overwatch This section concerns content exclusive to the Overwatch universe.

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.

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 robots 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. 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.[2]

Gameplay[ | ]

Zarya is a ranged Bruiser who combines protective shields with strong damage capabilities. Zarya is capable of shielding herself and nearby allies. Upon taking damage, shielded targets (herself included) increase Zarya's Energy, which can greatly increase her damage potential. Her Basic Attack animation is unique, as it allows her to hit multiple enemy targets at the same time.

Strength[ | ]

  • Offers great protection with her Shields against burst damage
  • Her Basic Attacks allows her to damage multiple enemies
  • Does not require Mana

Weaknesses[ | ]

  • No crowd control until Level 10
  • Extremely dependent on her Energy level
  • Requires the player to carefully analyze the battlefield and shield targets that are likely going to be attacked.
  • Very limited mobility

Abilities[ | ]

See Data Page for a table of scaled values at key levels.
Energy Icon
Energy

Each time Zarya's Personal Barrier or Shield Ally absorbs 9 damage, her Energy is increased by 1. Each point of Energy increases Zarya's damage by 2%. After 0.5 seconds, Energy decays by 3 per second.


Type: Offensive damage modifier
Affects: Self

  • Damage absorbed through Zarya's Shields is only limited by the Shield amount of Personal Barrier and Shield Ally. Talents that increase their Shield amounts thus also increase the maximum possible Energy gained from them.
  • Damage bonus stacks additively with itself and multiplicatively with other offensive damage modifiers affecting Zarya's damage output.

Particle Cannon

Type: Physical Damage
Affects: Enemies
Properties: Attack Modifier, Splash

  • Zarya's Basic Attacks Splash to all enemies in a 1.0 x 6.25 rectangle in front of her. Her main target must still be within her attack range.
  • Splash cannot hit more than 4 times per second (even if Zarya's Attack Speed is increased).
  • Splash hits 62.5ms (1 server tick) after the primary target is hit and does not happen if the primary target is killed by that Basic Attack.
Particle Grenade Icon
Q
Particle Grenade
Cooldown: 8 / 0.75 seconds

Launch a particle grenade that deals 75 damage to enemies within the area. Deals 50% damage to Structures.

Stores up to 4 charges.


Type: Spell Damage
Scaling: 4.00%
Affects: Enemies
Targeting: Point target
Cast time: 0.1875 + 0 seconds
Range: 13
Area of Effect: Circle
Radius: 2.25
Missile speed: 26

  • Structure damage penalty stacks additively with other offensive damage modifiers that can affect Particle Grenade's damage.
Personal Barrier Icon
W
Personal Barrier
Cooldown: 10 seconds

Gain a Shield that absorbs 560 damage for 3 seconds.


Type: Shield
Scaling: 4.00%
Affects: Self
Targeting: No target
Cast time: Instant
Shield Ally Icon
E
Shield Ally
Cooldown: 12 seconds

Grants an allied Hero a Shield that absorbs 420 damage for 3 seconds.


Type: Shield
Scaling: 4.00%
Affects: Allied Heroes
Targeting: Unit target
Cast time: Instant
Range: 10
Graviton Surge Icon
R
Graviton Surge
Cooldown: 60 seconds

Launch a gravity bomb that detonates after 1 second and draws enemy Heroes toward the center for 2.5 seconds. Affected Heroes take 30 damage a second.


Type: Crowd control
Affects: Enemy Heroes
Targeting: Point target
Cast time: 0.15 + 0.225 seconds
Range: 10
Area of Effect: Circle
Radius:
- Impact: 4.0
- Periodic: 3.0
Tickrate: 2.0 per second (x5)
Damage per tick: 15

  • Graviton Surge pulls affected Heroes to within 1 radius of its center point and sets their Movement Speed to 0%.
  • Affected Heroes can still attack and use their Abilities.
  • Heroes can get out of Graviton Surge using Movement Abilities.
Expulsion Zone Icon
R
Expulsion Zone
Cooldown: 45 seconds

Launch a gravity bomb that deals 124 damage and creates an expulsion zone for 3.5 seconds. Enemies who enter the affected area are knocked back and have their Movement Speed reduced by 50% for 1 second.


Type: Spell Damage, Crowd control
Scaling: 4.00%
Affects: Enemies
Targeting: Point target
Cast time: 0.1 + 0 seconds
Range: 10
Area of Effect: Circle
Radius: 3.3
Tickrate: 2.0 per second (x7)
Impact delay: 0.75 seconds

Talents[ | ]

1
Demolitions Expert Icon
Demolitions Expert

❢ Quest: For every 5 enemy Heroes hit by Particle Grenade, its recharge rate lowers by 0.4375 seconds, up to 3.5 seconds.

❢ Reward: Once Particle Grenade has hit 40 enemy Heroes, its radius is increased by 15%.


Bonus radius: 0.3375
Together We Are Strong Icon
Together We Are Strong

For 3 seconds after gaining Shield Ally, every 5.35 damage done by the bearer contributes 1 Energy to Zarya, up to 40 Energy per Shield.


Scaling: 4.00% (damage requirement)
Feel the Heat Icon
Feel the Heat

Zarya's Basic Attack deals 50% additional damage to enemies in melee range. While above 40 Energy, Zarya's Basic Attack size is increased by 35%.


Type: Bonus damage
Scaling: -
Affects: Self
Range threshold: 3.0
Extended Attack area: 1.35 x 8.4375

  • Feel the Heat uses its own base damage value, which is 50% higher than the original, causing the given percentage to stack multiplicatively with offensive damage modifiers.
Maximum Charge Icon
Maximum Charge

Regen Globes now instantly grant 20 Energy.

❢ Quest: Spend 150 seconds at or above 50 Energy.

❢ Reward: Gain an additional 20 maximum Energy.

4
I Am the Strongest Icon
I Am the Strongest

Personal Barrier absorbs an additional 140 damage.

Passive: Damage absorbed by Zarya's Shields contributes 20% more Energy.


Type: Bonus Shield
Scaling: 4.00%
Affects: Ability
Give Me Twenty Icon
Give Me Twenty

❢ Quest: Regeneration Globes increase Shield Ally value by 15, up to 300 permanently.

❢ Reward: After collecting 20 Regen Globes, permanently reduce the cooldown of Shield Ally by 2 seconds.


Type: Bonus Shield
Scaling: -
Affects: Ability
Speed Barrier Icon
Speed Barrier

Shield Ally increases the allied Hero's Movement Speed by 50% for the duration.


Type: Status effect
Affects: Allied Heroes
Properties: Movement Speed
Defensive Shielding Icon
Defensive Shielding

Upon expiration or breaking, Personal Barrier and Shield Ally grant 75 Physical Armor against the next 2 Hero Basic Attacks for 6 seconds, reducing the damage taken by 75%.


Type: Defensive damage modifier
Affects: Allied Heroes, Self
Properties: Block, Physical Armor

  • Does not stack with itself or other positive Armor effects. Other defensive damage modifiers may stack.
  • If the target has certain Talents which give Block stacks (those Talents being Illidan with Reflexive Block, The Lost Vikings with Olaf the Stout, Muradin with Dwarf Block, Rexxar or Misha with Grizzled Fortitude), the Block stacks will be shared and capped at a maximum of 4. Additionally the duration of all Block stacks from either Talent will all be set to that of the most recently applied Block stacks.
7
Pinpoint Accuracy Icon
Pinpoint Accuracy

Particle Grenade deals 30 more damage and Slows Movement Speed by 25% for 2 seconds to enemies hit by the center of the blast.


Type: Bonus damage / Crowd control
Scaling: 4.00%
Affects: Ability / Enemies
Properties: Slow
Center radius: 0.75

  • Center radius is unaffected by Demolitions Expert bonus.
Deep Burn Icon
Deep Burn

Hitting a Hero with Particle Grenade causes Basic Attacks against them to generate 2 Energy. Lasts 3 seconds.


  • If multiple Zaryas are on a team, they can all benefit from Deep Burn applied by another Zarya regardless of if they have the Talent or not.
Explosive Barrier Icon
Explosive Barrier

Upon expiration or breaking, Personal Barrier explodes, dealing 110 damage to nearby enemies.


Type: Spell Damage
Scaling: 4.00%
Affects: Enemies
Properties: Area of Effect
Area of Effect: Circle
Radius: 3.25
10
Graviton Surge Icon
Graviton Surge

Cooldown: 60 seconds
Launch a gravity bomb that detonates after 1 second and draws enemy Heroes toward the center for 2.5 seconds. Affected Heroes take 30 damage a second.

Expulsion Zone Icon
Expulsion Zone

Cooldown: 45 seconds
Launch a gravity bomb that deals 124 damage and creates an expulsion zone for 3.5 seconds. Enemies who enter the affected area are knocked back and have their Movement Speed reduced by 50% for 1 second.

13
Unstoppable Competitor Icon
Unstoppable Competitor

Personal Barrier makes you Unstoppable for up to 2 seconds.


Type: Status effect
Affects: Self
Properties: Unstoppable
Spell Barrier Icon
Spell Barrier

Upon expiration or breaking, Personal Barrier grants Zarya 75 Spell Armor for 3 Seconds, reducing the damage taken from Abilities by 75%.


Type: Defensive damage modifier
Affects: Self
Properties: Spell Armor

  • Does not stack with other positive Spell Armor effects. Other defensive damage modifiers may stack.
Endurance Training Icon
Endurance Training

While at or above 75 Energy, Zarya gains 20 Armor, reducing all damage taken by 20%.


Type: Defensive damage modifier
Affects: Self
Properties: Armor
Pain is Temporary Icon
Pain is Temporary

Cooldown: 30 seconds
Activate to consume all Energy and gain a Shield that absorbs 0.5% of Zarya's maximum Health per Energy consumed and lasts for 3 seconds. Zarya may only have one personal Shield active on herself at a time.


Type: Shield
Scaling: -
Affects: Self
Targeting: No target
Cast time: Instant
16
Cleansing Shield Icon
Cleansing Shield

Causes Shield Ally to remove all disabling effects and reduces its cooldown by 3 seconds.


Type: CC removal
Affects: Allied Heroes
Gain Train Icon
Gain Train

Shield Ally now grants an untalented shield to a nearby ally upon impact.


Type: Shield
Scaling: 4.00%
Affects: Allied Heroes
Properties: Bounce
Radius: 8.0

  • Prioritizes the closest allied Hero to the primary target of Shield Ally.
Born in Battle Icon
Born in Battle

While at or above 75 Energy, Zarya's cooldowns regenerate 25% faster.

20
Gravity Kills Icon
Gravity Kills

Increases Graviton Surge's duration by 1 second and it Silences Heroes caught in its area.


Type: Crowd control
Affects: Enemy Heroes
Properties: Silence
Clear Out Icon
Clear Out

Reduce Expulsion Zone's cooldown by 25 seconds and increase its duration by 1.5 seconds.

Grenadier Icon
Grenadier

All Particle Grenade charges are returned at once.

Unyielding Defender Icon
Unyielding Defender

Cooldown: 60 seconds
Activate to reset the cooldowns of Personal Barrier and Shield Ally.


Type: Active
Affects: Abilities
Targeting: No target
Cast time: Instant

Builds and guides[ | ]

Icy Veins Zarya Guide

Zarya Community Build Guides @ HeroesFire

Zarya Community Build Guides @ Heroes Hearth

Skins[ | ]

Zarya Skins
 
Rare Defender of Russia
Backstory: Aleksandra Zaryanova is one of the world's strongest women and was a promising athlete, but all that changed when the Siberian omnium reawakened. As a soldier in the Russian Defense Force, she now proudly uses her strength to protect the ones she loves.
Zarya Defender of Russia
Gem625 / Money7,000
Defender of Russia
Zarya Maroon
Free
Maroon
Zarya Steel
Free
Steel
Zarya Industrial
Gem120 / Shard75
Industrial
Epic Cyberdemon
Backstory: Reverse engineered from Overwatch's cyberization techniques, the Jigoku battle armor offers most of the benefits of cybernetic augmentation without requiring invasive surgery.
Features: Altered voice-over, themed abilities.
Notes: This skin theme is part of a shared theme of Caldeum Complex skins.
Zarya Cyberdemon
Gem350 / Shard400
Zarya Cyberdemon Indigo
Gem350 / Shard400
Indigo
Zarya Cyberdemon Cyborgdemon
Gem350 / Shard400
Cyborgdemon
Zarya Cyberdemon Golden
Gem350 / Shard400
Golden
Zarya Cyberdemon Restored
Gem350 / Shard400
Restored
Zarya Cyberdemon Cyber Oni
Gem525 / Shard600
Caldeum ComplexCyber Oni
Rare High Gravity
Backstory: The Tobelstein Reactor is an emergent technology, and its full potential has yet to be tapped. Rumor has it that the Gravitic Harness is the next great advancement in energy projection.
Zarya High Gravity
Gem120 / Shard75
Zarya High Gravity Quartz
Gem120 / Shard75
Quartz
Zarya High Gravity Cobalt
Gem120 / Shard75
Cobalt
Zarya High Gravity Crimson
Gem120 / Shard75
Crimson
Epic Thunder Guard
Backstory: Armed with their Mjolnir Cannons, Zarya Aleksdottir and the Thunder Guard serve as the Midgard megalopolis' last defense against the Jotunheim Republic and their frost golem army.
Features: Themed abilities.
Zarya Thunder Guard
Gem350 / Shard400
Zarya Thunder Guard Spectre
Gem350 / Shard400
Spectre
Zarya Thunder Guard Emerald
Gem350 / Shard400
Emerald
Zarya Thunder Guard Citrine
Gem350 / Shard400
Citrine
Zarya Event Skins
 
Epic Phantom Knight Fall of King's Crest
Backstory: The Black Knights have served as the mercenary protectors of Raven Court since age immemorial. It is only natural that their commander, Zarya, the Phantom Knight, serves as one of the four generals of the Raven Lord's army.
Features: Altered voice-over.
Notes: This skin theme is part of a shared theme of Fall of King's Crest.
Zarya Phantom Knight
Gem350 / Shard400
Zarya Phantom Knight Geist
Gem350 / Shard400
Geist
Zarya Phantom Knight Infernal
Gem350 / Shard400
Infernal

Portraits[ | ]

Zarya Portraits
 
Carbot Zarya Portrait
Carbot Zarya
Gem120 / Shard75
Cyber Oni Zarya Portrait
Cyber Oni Zarya
Gem75 / Shard40
Illustrated Zarya Portrait
Illustrated Zarya
Gem75 / Shard40
Overwatch Zarya Portrait
Overwatch Zarya
Gem75 / Shard40
Phantom Knight Zarya Portrait
Fall of King's Crest Phantom Knight Zarya
Toon Phantom Knight Zarya Portrait
Fall of King's Crest Toon Phantom Knight Zarya
Gem75 / Shard40

Zarya Emblem Portrait
Zarya Emblem
Gem75 / Shard40
Zarya Hero Portrait
Zarya Hero
Zarya Mastery Portrait
Zarya Mastery

Sprays[ | ]

Zarya Sprays
 
Carbot Zarya Spray
Carbot Zarya
Gem120 / Shard75
Cute Phantom Knight Zarya Spray
Fall of King's Crest Cute Phantom Knight Zarya
Gem75 / Shard40
Bear Spray
Bear
Gem75 / Shard40
Emoji Zarya Spray
Emoji Zarya
Gem120 / Shard75
Máscara de Zarya Spray
Nexomania Máscara de Zarya
Gem120 / Shard75
Phantom Knight Zarya Spray
Fall of King's Crest Phantom Knight Zarya

Emojis[ | ]

Zarya Pack 1 Emoji Zarya Pack 1 Zarya Happy Zarya Pack 2 Emoji Zarya Pack 2 Zarya Angry
Emoji Name Shortcut Emoji Name Shortcut
Emoji Zarya Pack 1 Zarya Happy Zarya Happy :zaryahappy:
:zarhappy:
Emoji Zarya Pack 2 Zarya Angry Zarya Angry :zaryaangry:
:zarangry:
Emoji Zarya Pack 1 Zarya ROFL Zarya ROFL :zaryalol:
:zaryarofl:
:zarlol:
:zarrofl:
Emoji Zarya Pack 2 Zarya Cool Zarya Cool :zaryacool:
:zarcool:
Emoji Zarya Pack 1 Zarya Sad Zarya Sad :zaryasad:
:zarsad:
Emoji Zarya Pack 2 Zarya Oops Zarya Embarrassed :zaryaoops:
:zaryaembarrassed:
:zaroops:
:zarembarrassed:
Emoji Zarya Pack 1 Zarya Silly Zarya Silly :zaryasilly:
:zarsilly:
Emoji Zarya Pack 2 Zarya Love Zarya in Love :zaryalove:
:zaryainlove:
:zarlove:
:zarinlove:
Emoji Zarya Pack 1 Zarya Meh Zarya Speechless :zaryameh:
:zaryaspeechless:
:zarmeh:
:zarspeechless:
Emoji Zarya Pack 2 Zarya Surprised Zarya Surprised :zaryawow:
:zaryasurprised:
:zarwow:
:zarsurprised:

Quotes[ | ]

Main article: Zarya/Quotes


Development[ | ]

Even before the launch of Overwatch in 2016, the designers on the Heroes of the Storm team were practically beating down the starting zone barriers to begin implementing some of the now-iconic Overwatch heroes into the Nexus. Tracer was the first to debut, but Zarya was earmarked almost immediately as a must-have addition to the roster. It was up to game designer Jade Martin whose Hero designs include Dehaka, Ragnaros, Cassia, Qhira, and others, to translate the back-and-forth bruiser from Overwatch into the Nexus. Zarya was one of Jade's most played Overwatch Heroes, and he knew that he not only needed to create a translation that would pass muster for internal designers, but also bear the scrutiny of diehard Zarya fans. “Anytime we look at bringing a Hero into the Nexus we always consider our fans’ expectations for the character. It’s not just the public either; all of us on the team are huge fans of Blizzard games and lore,” says Jade. Making sure they stay true to expectations means digging into what draws people to these characters and “finding the core of what players love and translating it into the gameplay experience. We target that early and make it our goal.” says Jade.

Just like in Overwatch, Jade and the team knew that Zarya's core gameplay needed to be that in-your-face, “hit me and see what happens” style. With that in mind, Zarya was originally destined to become a tank whose primary purpose was one of standing up front and taking the hits for her team. However, the unique aspects of her original abilities screamed for her to take on more of a hybrid bruiser role, where she could exist at the frontlines and be a lethal threat if played well.

Translating a character initially designed in a first-person shooter over to something played from a top-down perspective meant that certain sacrifices had to be made. One was losing the component of “aim” that acts as a major skill determiner in FPS games. To retain some skill-based reflex checking, Zarya's alternate fire (shooting orbs of energy) became a spammable accuracy-reliant ability in Heroes. To further reward those players who knew they had the chops, Jade says they created talents like “Pinpoint Accuracy” which grants bonus damage if you hit those perfect shots.

The Overwatch design team was involved throughout the process of re-imagining Zarya for Heroes. When it came time to create a second Heroic Ability (the Heroes of the Storm equivalent to an ultimate), Jade and the Overwatch team collaborated and even dug up some of Zarya’s early ability explorations before creating the zone-controlling counterpart to Graviton Surge, Expulsion Zone. In addition to these design riffing sessions, Overwatch designers were also brought into early playtests, to make sure that the “feel” for Zarya in the Nexus was a true representation of what they originally created.[3]

Trivia[ | ]

  • Zarya first appeared in Overwatch (May 2016).
  • Zarya is voiced by Dolya Gavanski.
  • Zarya was one of the two heroes revealed at Gamescom 2016.
    • She is also the second Overwatch hero in the game, the first being Tracer.

Gallery[ | ]

General[ | ]

Concept art[ | ]

Abilities[ | ]

Videos[ | ]

References[ | ]

External links[ | ]


Heroes
 
Bruiser Bruisers ArtanisChenDeathwingDehakaD.VaGazloweHoggerImperiusLeoricMalthaelRagnarosRexxarSonyaThrallVarianXulYrel
Healer Healers AlexstraszaAnaAnduinAurielBrightwingDeckardKharazimLi LiLt. MoralesLúcioMalfurionRehgarStukovUtherTyrandeWhitemane
Melee Assassin Melee Assassins AlarakThe ButcherIllidanKerriganMaievMurkyQhiraSamuroValeeraZeratul
Ranged Assassin Ranged Assassins AzmodanCassiaChromieFalstadFenixGallGenjiGreymaneGul'danHanzoJainaJunkratKael'thasKel'ThuzadLi-MingLunaraMephistoNazeeboNovaOrpheaProbiusRaynorSgt. HammerSylvanasTassadarTracerTychusVallaZagaraZul'jin
Support Support AbathurThe Lost VikingsMedivhZarya
Tank Tanks Anub'arakArthasBlazeChoDiabloE.T.C.GarroshJohannaMal'GanisMeiMuradinStitchesTyrael
Unknown Mekkatorque
Advertisement