Who Is Zenyatta?
Zenyatta is one of the support heroes in Overwatch 2. He is a popular pick because of his utility. He provides support for the entire team with his infamous Discord Orb. However, Zen has weaknesses that leave him vulnerable to attacks. To best utilize Zenyatta’s kit, you need to know how to play him.
Zenyatta Intro
Zenyatta, also called "Zen" by the Overwatch community, is a powerful hero due to how much damage he does. Support heroes that can do both healing and damage are some of the most powerful in the game due to how effective they are overall. His kit has a Discord Orb, a Harmony Orb, two forms of fire, a snap kick passive, and a Transcendance ultimate.
Being one of the most popular supports in the game, Zen is useful to most team comps. He does high damage and low healing, but his ultimate does such rapid healing that it prevents most deaths.
Zenyatta combos well with heroes that do high damage. For example, he combos well with Soldier because the Discord Orb, when combined with Soldier’s primary fire, causes mass destruction. He also pairs well with supports like Ana and Baptiste.
However, it’s hard to play Zenyatta if you don’t know how. Here are fifteen tips to help you play Zen more effectively.
15. Don’t Forget To Heal
Although Zenyatta is used more for damage, that doesn’t mean you can’t heal. Healing is a major part of his kit, and if you want to get the most out of him, you need to be willing to heal. Zen’s healing is the easiest to use since all you have to do is click a button. After you click the button, you’re done; you don’t have to do anything else.
The Harmony Orb automatically heals the teammate you put it on. Keep an eye on the health of your teammates and send out your Harmony Orb depending on who needs it. Although healing a tank is always a good idea, keep an eye on the DPS in particular because they’re the ones who will be farther away, where your second support might not be able to reach them.
14. Positioning
Zenyatta is slow; that’s no secret. Zen is one of the slowest heroes in the game. On the bright side, he doesn’t make any noise when he walks. Since he floats, he has no footsteps. However, the con is that he’s vulnerable to dive heroes like D.Va and Winston.
You should position yourself according to where your team and the enemy team are. Don’t just hug the tank or sit in the back; play dynamically and stay on the move. Not only does it make you harder to kill, but it also increases your chances of leaving a strong impact on the game.
13. Secondary Fire
Zen has a powerful secondary fire that takes a few seconds to charge up. However, once it’s charged, you can instantly kill enemies if you hit their heads. Even body shots can destroy an enemy squishy. Instead of only using your primary fire, consider incorporating the second fire into your play style as well.
You can do this by charging up shots before team fights. Right as the enemy charges in, pelt them with your orbs and cause chaos. Although your secondary fire is harder to use during a team fight because it is slow, that doesn’t mean you can’t use it if you see a window of opportunity.
In general, your primary fire is probably going to be more effective, but that doesn’t mean there aren’t situations where your secondary is the better option. Use your entire kit, not just one or two things.
12. Snap Kick
Zen gained a new ability with his melee. When he kicks someone, it knocks them back. Not only does this act as a method of self-defense, but it can also knock enemies off the map if you position it well.
With this knowledge, you should be positioning yourself near the edges so you can kick enemies off the map. You should also keep in mind that a snap kick does damage, just like every melee in the game. Get extra damage and knock enemies back by using it whenever someone gets too close.
Along with that, snap kick is annoying. It’s annoying to deal with since you get knocked back suddenly. Be a nuisance to the enemy. Snap kick them for no reason whatsoever other than to be annoying. By doing this, you’ll make use of Zenyatta’s entire kit.
11. Communication
Communication is key when you’re playing Zenyatta. The reason is that you’re vulnerable to many enemies. Sombra, Genji, Tracer, Doomfist, D.Va, and Winston are just a few examples, but there are plenty more. If your team doesn’t know you’re getting attacked, there’s no way they can help you.
Although mic communication is the easiest way to communicate, you don’t need voice chat to alert your team to your situation. Overwatch added a ping system where you can ping enemies and ask for help when necessary. If you’re a keyboard warrior, you can also put it in the text chat, but in the middle of a fight, that’s not ideal.
Use the ping features to create easier access to help. Don’t isolate yourself and refuse to call for help. It’s easy to get attacked, then blame the DPS or tank for not turning around, and yeah, they should be more aware, but you should also help them by communicating. Help them help you.
10. High Ground
Zen works decently well on the high ground, depending on where you are. Zen has long range, and although they nerfed his range recently, he’s still useful on the high ground. Especially if you have hitscan DPS who like to hug the high ground or a mobile tank who can get to you in a moment’s notice.
A good spot is the second point on Dorado, where there’s a bridge overlooking the entire objective. You can use this spot to get better Discord Orbs. The better a view you have, the more Discord Orbs you can land on your enemies.
Along with that, it also gives you an advantage because you have a perfect view of where your teammates are. Yes, Discord Orb is the most useful part of your kit, but your Harmony Orb is another thing that will benefit if you learn to play more on the high ground.
9. His Ultimate
Zen’s ultimate is defensive. It prevents sudden death and heals at a rapid rate. It prevents death from high-damage ultimates, like Genji’s or Soldier’s. It doesn’t stop the large burst of damage, however. Examples of this are Junkrat and D.Va’s ult. It will only save Zen since he becomes invincible when he uses it.
One of the most annoying things is when a Zen panic ults to save himself. Although it is useful to save yourself to keep the Discord Orb in the fight, your ultimate is extremely useful for countering enemy ults. Panic ulting is useful at times, but you should avoid it if you can.
Instead, use his ultimate to counter enemy attacks. If your entire team is on the verge of death, use it to save them and keep the fight going. Using it to counter enemy ults like Soldier’s and Genji’s is the most common use, but don’t be scared to use it just to keep the team alive, even when there aren’t any enemy ults going on.
8. Aggressive Play Style
Being aggressive is nothing new in Overwatch 2. With the format being changed from 6v6 to 5v5, that puts more responsibility on the individual. Zenyatta is a powerful hero with high damage and an incredible Discord Orb. If you want to get the most out of him, you should play aggressively in many situations.
During team fights, you have the ability to be up front with the rest of your team. You’re no Ana, where you may benefit more from staying in the back to have a better view of the fight. Yes, I did tell you to get on high ground so you can get good views, but that doesn’t mean you can’t be aggressive on high ground.
On maps like Nepal, Zen thrives. He’s perfect for the environment and can do high damage in a fast-paced game. He’s perfect for games that require high damage and aggressive support gameplay.
7. When To Be Passive
Contrary to the last tip, you need to know when to play more passively. Zen is weak and can die easily. If you are too aggressive, it will be your downfall. Don’t put yourself in a position to get preyed upon. Instead, scope out the fight and choose your play style based on that. For example, if your tank is dead, play more passively since you won’t have as much protection.
Being passive isn’t a sign of weakness or bad gameplay. Yes, it can be boring at times, but playing in a more passive manner will keep you alive and can sometimes be the better play. It’s generally a good idea to be aggressive, but if you see your team handling the fight, feel free to stay back, use Discord Orb, heal, and fire some shots from afar.
6. Damage And Healing
I mentioned earlier that you need to do both damage and healing, but I focused more on the healing than the damage. Let’s talk about the balance between damage and healing. Zen is most useful when he’s doing damage, but that doesn’t mean healing is useless. I am of the opinion that you should have both of your orbs out at all times. Use Harmony and Discord to create the most effective gameplay.
If you have both orbs out at the same time, you’re doing your best to stay in the fight at all times. Beyond that, you’re always healing a teammate and letting your entire team benefit from the Discord Orb.
Damage is the most important part of Zen’s kit, but that doesn’t mean you shouldn’t use your ultimate wisely and throw out your Harmony Orb for the best gameplay.
5. Playing With DPS
You should know how to play with your DPS. They’re the ones who are going to be helping you when you get into a jam. Tank players are typically too far up to help, not to mention they have many other responsibilities. In general, you should be communicating the most with your DPS if you want to survive.
Beyond your survivability, talking to your DPS also increases your effectiveness on the battlefield. Talk to them about who you put the Discord Orb on. Don’t hide that information from them since it is vital information they need if you want them to target high-priority enemies.
Also, you should be aware. Instead of waiting for your DPS to do everything, you should monitor the enemies and see who has low health. If you see your Ashe, for example, about to kill a fleeing Mercy, put Discord on the Mercy to help secure the kill faster.
4. Playing With Your Second Support
Your second support is going to be someone who does lots of healing. The reason is because you don’t do as much healing as Zen. You’ll need to help your second support as much as you can. Without them, the odds are that your entire team is going down. I have faith in Zen players, but there’s only so much they can do to keep the team alive if they’re down one support.
Luckily, it’s easy to help your second support. Putting the Harmony Orb on them is simple enough, not to mention you can call out to your teammates when the second support needs help. The best support players call out when their teammates are about to be flanked or need help; it’s what keeps the game moving and makes you an effective player.
3. Playing With Your Tank
Your tank is the frontline, holding down the fort and keeping you safe while creating space. Tank players have countless responsibilities, so try and help them out. You can do this by putting a Discord Orb on the enemy tank. The reason is because your tank is battling that tank; therefore, the more damage they do, the better it is for everyone.
Keep Harmony on them if they’re losing health at a consistent rate. Although your second support should be able to help them, you don’t want to risk losing your tank. Avoid it by playing with them, laying down suppressing fire to help them move around, and healing them.
2. Protecting Yourself
This tip is a combination of all the tips I’ve given you before about your damage and passive snap kick ability. You need to know how to protect yourself since there will be many times when your teammates can’t get to you in time to help.
You should combine your primary fire with Discord Orb and snap kick. Discord them, then kick your opponent back and fire away. This combination will give you a higher chance of securing a kill. If a tank is diving on you, it’s much harder, but a DPS like Tracer can get melted by one headshot combined with a Discord Orb.
Still, you should make sure you’re calling for help, just in case.
1. The Orb Of Discord
We all knew this tip was coming. Throughout this whole list, I’ve avoided talking about it since I wanted to make it the final tip. Discord is the biggest part of his kit and has caused a lot of debate online over whether or not it’s overpowered. It recently got nerfed, but many argue it isn’t a nerf since it means more tank players are going to deal with the Discord Orb.
What they changed were the LOS (line of sight) and the range. Maximum range has been decreased from 40 to 35, and Discord now leaves an enemy after 1.5 seconds of being out of Zen’s line of sight. It was previously 2 seconds. With those changes, it gives Zen more incentive to put the orb on the tank players instead of the squishies, who are constantly moving behind cover or are too far out of range.
Tank players hate Discord because it makes their lives miserable. So that’s why I’m recommending you use it on tanks! I’m not even being sarcastic; you should use it on them so they die quicker. Prioritizing your targets is imperative for being an effective Zen player. Use Discord on high-priority targets so they die quicker, like tanks and supports.
