Zenyatta: Tips, Maps, Counters, Abilities, and Ultimate

Key Takeaways

• Zenyatta’s best maps allow him to attack from a distance and weave between natural cover to defend himself against flankers. 
• Zenyatta’s worst maps have easily accessible flanking routes, allowing enemy heroes to take angles on him and/or dive him.
• Zenyatta counters tanks like Wrecking Ball and Doomfist due to his Orb of Discord, and his high raw damage output enables him to add significant poke pressure to any stationary enemy hero.
• Zenyatta is primarily countered by flankers and dive heroes, such as Winston and Echo, that can easily close the gap and pressure him in a favorable scenario. Use the Z League app to find a support duo who will help you if you get dove. 

Zenyatta Quick Tips

• Zenyatta has 200 total health, with 150 shields and no armor. His shields and the passive support self-healing allows him to quickly regenerate health when not in combat.
• Zenyatta’s melee attack knocks enemies back slightly when it lands, allowing Zenyatta to more easily duel enemy heroes. His melee also does 45 damage instead of the usual 30.
• Zenyatta is a support hero that gets most of his value from his damage output. If you prefer to heal more than do damage, a different hero may be more ideal.

Zenyatta Abilities Explained

Img via Blizzard Entertainment

Orb of Destruction (Primary Fire)

Zenyatta’s Orbs of Destruction deal 48 damage each with 25 ammo in a clip before he needs to reload. He can hold alternate fire to charge up a volley of five Orbs of Destruction, allowing him to deal 240 damage almost instantaneously, assuming every projectile lands. Whether to shoot them one at a time or in a volley depends on his positioning—if Zenyatta is under pressure or the teamfight is ongoing, firing them one at a time is usually ideal. Before a teamfight begins, charging volleys and trying to secure a pick on an unsuspecting hero with 200 health is a smart strategy.

Orb of Harmony

Orb of Harmony is a single-target healing ability that heals for 30 damage per second on the ally it is applied to. Orb of Harmony requires line of sight to apply, and will stay attached to an ally assuming line of sight is maintained. Zenyatta can give the orb to a different ally at any time, and it is returned to him if the targeted ally breaks line of sight for three seconds. 

Due to its low but nearly effortless healing output, Orb of Harmony is best used on heroes with lower health, especially flankers like Genji who have more trouble getting healed from the rest of the support heroes.

Orb of Discord

When Orb of Discord is applied to an enemy player, that player takes 25% more damage no matter who is inflicting the damage. Orb of Discord is returned to Zenyatta if the enemy breaks line of sight for two seconds.

A well placed Orb of Discord has the potential to put any enemy hero in significant danger, especially tanks. For example, an ally Reinhardt can easily burst down an opposing Reinhardt if the opposing Reinhardt has Orb of Discord applied. Knowing where to apply Orb of Discord is crucial to becoming a skilled Zenyatta player. At a minimum, Zenyatta players should be looking to apply Orb of Discord at all times—if it isn’t applied, Zenyatta’s impact on the match is severely reduced.

Transcendence (Ultimate)

Transcendence makes Zenyatta invincible and increases his movement speed, but while the ability is active he cannot use his primary fire or reapply Orb of Harmony or Orb of Discord. While active, Transcendence heals allies in a 10.5 meter radius for 300 healing per second, which is enough to keep allies alive, even through sustained focus fire. Transcendence should ideally be used to counteract impactful enemy ultimates, but holding onto Transcendence and waiting too long for the perfect opportunity reduces Zenyatta’s overall impact.