I’ve said it before, I’ll say it again:
Zarya will be the best tank on ladder in OW2. I will live or die on this hill. And if I’m right, I’m going to loudly blast “told ya so” to all the naysayers. If I’m wrong, it just means the tanks I main have some chance at being the top of the food chain.
I’ve explored some very early and basic theory here, but she has a skill set no other tank in the game does: enabling and protecting allies from range.
From everything we have seen thus far, tanks who try and play tank in the OW1 playstyle (ie make space and body opposing targets) get punished. The passivity that is overtaking the tank role is going to be a rude a awakening for most players who are expecting their tank to function in an OW1 manner.
What this effectively means is that DPS who are competent space makers- Reaper, Doomfist, Tracer, Genji- are going to be more necessary than ever before, something I believe the devs very much desire, as do all the DPS mains who plague the queues.
Here’s where Zarya comes in-
These space making DPS only become more impactful with a bubble. The fact they can get bubbled twice (once into the engagement, once out) is going to become highly problematic, especially with the CC reduction that is underway for OW2.
I have some more specific details in the following thread, but in summation, by no means should anyone sleep on Zarya.