As a general rule of thumb, Zarya's capability of tackling each hero depends on a number of factors: how much energy she is currently at, how much and how easily she can get energy, whether her barriers are off or on cooldown, how close they are to going off cooldown, etc. Additionally, I will rate each hero based on Zarya's effectiveness against them. The higher the rating, the more effective she is.

Doomfist (9/10)

Doomfist's abilities deal high damage, but they are largely telegraphed, meaning that you have ample time to react and apply a barrier to yourself and/or an ally and you can gain a lot of energy. Additionally, all of his abilities are disabled if he gets caught in a Graviton Surge, so it is unlikely that he will survive it. Doomfist's large hitbox also makes it easy for you to track him with the Particle Cannon beam. That being said, your barriers will not negate the stun or knockback of his Rocket Punch, so be careful when there is a pitfall nearby.

Genji (7/10)

Genji's mobility can make him difficult for you to pin down, but you can challenge him without much trouble if he does try to fight, as you have a lot of health and your Particle Cannon beam will ignore his Deflect. Additionally, each of your barriers will require two Dragonblade swings to destroy, so putting one on whoever he is targeting will massively help you in shutting him down. He will most likely wait for your barriers to be on cooldown before activating his ultimate, though. It may be a good idea to use Graviton Surge to trap him so that he can't reach anyone, especially if he is under the effects of Nano-Boost. Remember that he can deflect your Graviton Surge projectile and give your team a nasty surprise.

McCree (8/10)

There is very little McCree can do against you if you have a lot of energy. Your high health makes it tricky for even a skilled gunslinger to take you down. You can use your barriers to negate his Flashbang and Peacekeeper damage, and even save a stunned ally from otherwise certain death to his secondary fire if you're quick enough. If you are at a high energy level, have a barrier available, and feeling brave, you can challenge him while he is channeling Deadeye and quickly kill him before he can get any kills. Your personal barrier might even save an ally from a lethal shot!

McCree can't escape Graviton Surge, but he can stop nearby channeled ultimates. Be mindful of this!

Pharah (6/10)

This is largely a stalemate. Although your primary fire is a hitscan attack, Pharah can easily stay out of its range, and of course it is difficult to hit her with your secondary fire. On the other hand, if she is indeed out of range, her rockets will likely have to travel a long distance, making it easy for you to dodge them (you can easily gain energy by walking into them whilst shielded as well). When the gap becomes smaller, you have the advantage if you have a lot of energy and/or a barrier available. However, she might use her ultimate solely against you, given how powerful you are at high energy. You may still be able to kill her under the aforementioned conditions or even simply take cover if possible.

Reaper (5/10)

Reaper excels at taking down tanks and, while you have a better chance against him than other tanks do, you will still be at a disadvantage. If your barrier is on cooldown, you must be cautious and respect his presence or he will make short work of you if you are caught off guard. Even with your barrier available, his shotguns will quickly tear them down, which can be a good thing, but he will be able to finish you off unless you're at an extremely high energy level, as his lifesteal will allow him to heal through some of the damage. He can also use Wraith Form to escape Graviton Surge. Despite all this, you can quite easily kill him when he is channeling Death Blossom, his slow movement makes him an easy target and it doesn't always kill Zarya quick enough (if you have a barrier, you can survive it entirely). With all that being said, you can take Zarya against a Reaper, you just need to be wise and stay near your team.

Soldier: 76 (5/10)

The winner of this matchup is usually determined by who is in the other's effective range. If you engage Soldier in close quarters combat where he cannot make a clean escape, you will have the upper hand. Aside from that, his kit allows him to outplay you in several ways. The theoretical damage per second of his Heavy Pulse Rifle is approximately the same as yours at a high energy level. He can also score critical hits and use Helix Rockets to deal even more damage. His Biotic Field makes him very effective at challenging you despite your larger health pool, and in rare situations might narrowly save himself or other teammates caught in your Graviton Surge. He can even use sprint to create distance so that you can't damage him, whilst he still deals maximum damage. However, his Tactical Visor is wasteful against Zarya since he cannot headshot while it is active, and her barriers will prevent Soldier from targeting her or an ally. It's not necessarily always your job to take down Soldier, so just enable one of your allies who can.

Get up close and personal when tackling Soldier: 76.

Sombra (4/10)

Although you are a tough nut for Sombra to crack, her Hack will severely disrupt you, preventing from you from saving your allies with barriers or setting up combos with your Graviton Surge, and the escapability of her Translocator allows her to do so with impunity. Additionally, her EMP will effectively cut your HP in half instantly, and without your barrier you will be highly vulnerable to attack. However, if any of your barriers are active, the EMP will destroy them, giving you a surge of energy and leaving any blue health intact, though your off-cooldown abilities will still be disabled. Watch and listen for incoming Translocators and de-cloaking sounds respectively so you can react to an incoming EMP. Your Graviton Surge disables her Translocator, and her using EMP while trapped will usually be a huge waste, so your team will have the upper hand if you can trap her and other enemies. Another thing to note is that Sombra is usually played in the role of support, so the enemy team will only have one defensive ultimate to work with, if any at all.

Sombra will usually sneak around, being careful not to make a sound in order to thwart your prowess.

Tracer (4/10)

Tracer's kit can really give you a hard time, especially if she takes of advantage of your barrier cooldowns. Her small hitbox makes her difficult to hit and her Pulse Pistols can easily damage you because of your much larger hitbox. Her ever-versatile Blink allows her to chase you down when she has the upper hand, or escape when you do, and her Recall makes her even more difficult to kill. Her Pulse Bomb can one-shot you unless you have a barrier ready. That being said, if she gets caught in your Graviton Surge, she is pretty much already dead, as she will not be able to move and her Blink and Recall will be disabled. If you can keep your energy high and not get isolated, this matchup is very much winnable.

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