What if Zen could give himself and/or his target additional shielding? I was originally going to suggest a third orb for shielding (Unity?), but I figure that’d mess with his whole harmony/discord dynamic.
Maybe if his Harmony orb is on a full-health target, it could provide a small shield boost to the target and Zen himself? Something to give Zen a little more survivability.
Good Zens still pop me, even on occasion when I’m rocking Doomfist, and to them I say, “Well played!” But the general consensus is that he’s struggling because his original design has just been powercrept out of the game. His thing was that he was dangerous with some damage and had one of the best ults in the game. But the way that game has progressed has left him largely behind, where other supports like Ana, Moira, and Baptiste can do respectable damage (less so in Moira’s case, but more reliable and tied to sustain) without being nearly as vulnerable.
Zenyatta’s uniqueness, then, is largely gone. It’s not that he can’t be effective; he can indeed, and usually the Zens you see are the ones who main him and so are crazy good with him. They’re still a lot more vulnerable than most any support hero, or really most heroes in the game. They’re still making it work despite the disadvantages he suffers as the game’s power creep has left him behind.
How might we give Zen a little help without breaking him?
I thought maybe a little boost to his defensive capabilities might make him more survivable, and also make him a little more desirable as a healer on your team. One counterpoint is that a shield overheal might run into similar dive-enabling problems as Brig’s old Repair Pack, buuuuut it can also be undone by simply damaging the target as Zen heals slowly.
I don’t know. Food for thought, anyway.