Zarya
The Best Solo Carry Heroes in Overwatch
Despite having her charge rate reduced some time ago, Zarya still stands as one of the best tanks to carry with in Overwatch. Once she reaches around 80% on her weapon charge, Zarya can easily cut through an entire group of enemies with little resistance. This is only enhanced by the incredible range of her beam, making escape for most characters nearly impossible. Her alternate fire is also quite potent as it offers a healthy amount of splash damage if you have a group of enemies clustered together in a tight room.
Zarya is also fantastic for soaking up damage and saving teammates lives via her barriers. These temporary personal shields not only increase your damage output but can save your teammates. Yet, proper bubble placement is key, so try to not use them haphazardly or as soon as you have them off cooldown. Try and wait for your Winston or Reinhardt to charge into combat and either bubble them right before impact or as they move in. This will not only get you a lot of charge, but take the focus away from the front line briefly. She is a character about exploiting opportunities to feed more energy into her weapon and turn the tables against foes.
Yet, it’s her ultimate that truly makes her a potent hero to rise through the ranks with. Graviton Surge can literally win entire matches if placed and used properly. Try not frivolously use Zarya’s ultimate, as you always want to make sure that you have back up to kill everyone dragged in. When starting up a game, look at your roster and ask yourself how the Graviton Surge can benefit your team. It will be critical to understand how to effectively combo it with other hero abilities and know which teams her powers are not suited for. Some heroes like McCree produce inconsistent results due most teams having a barrier to protect them from his Deadeye.
Remember, these aren’t the only heroes we recommend you play in Competitive Mode, but if you’re looking for a new hero for Season 4 give these a try. These are perhaps some of the most consistent choices for both attack and defense across all of Overwatch’s game modes that aren’t as reliant on others. Yet, that’s not an excuse to just be a lone wolf, as this is a team game at its very core, so always make sure to communicate and work together.
