The newest addition to Overwatch’s roster of heroes is Zarya, the Russian athlete with big guns, and a big heart. Fun fact: She’s based on a real person.
Aleksandra Zaryanova lived through a small part of the Omnic Crisis. As a child, she was witness to the destruction that the war had brought upon her home, a remote Siberian village. Russian forces had defeated the robots and shut down their omnium, but Aleksandra didn’t want to just stand by on the sidelines and was determined to become strong enough to help others.
She was recognized by the national athletics program as a potential star and she trained extensively on bodybuilding and weightlifting. Well on the road to a life of fame and fortune, Zarya cuts her journey short as the long-dormant Siberian omnium launches an attack right before a tournament. She chose to rush home and enlist in the local defense forces, considering this incident as her chance to use her strength for a purpose greater than herself.
In the gameplay trailer we get to see Zarya interact with herself on the opposing team as well, and at some point, we also see her gain Infra Sight via her ally Widowmaker. While Zarya isn’t the stealthiest character in the game, Infra Sight is good for ambushing her opponents. This lady is a walking tank you wouldn’t want to mess with.
Zarya packs some major firepower, with a Particle Cannon being her main weapon. This cannon can fire a short-range beam of destructive energy, or an explosive charge in order to strike multiple opponents. It’s also capable of producing a Particle Barrier, a personal shield that protects Zarya and redirects the energy of enemy attacks to really up the damage that the Cannon can cause.
We already know that Zarya’s not selfish, so she shares the Projected Barrier with teammates. It acts in pretty much the same way as her Particle Barrier, both protecting her allies and routing more energy into her Cannon. They say people have different ways of showing that they care, and Zarya’s way is apparently yelling “Get in there!” while encasing you in a shield. Her ultimate ability is the Graviton Surge, which is a gravity bomb that pulls enemies in and deals damage while they’re trapped.
It looks like Zarya’s built to be a balance between offensive and defensive, and that would probably be a good thing for everyone on the team. We’re wondering if she can opt to drop the Cannon and just punch someone’s lights out, though. Maybe we’ll find out when Overwatch opens beta in Fall 2015?
