How to Unlock Zenyatta: Redesign, Skins, and Abilities

Zenyatta is a Support hero in Overwatch 2. Read on to learn more about Zenyatta, their weapons and abilities, their patch notes history, their backstory, and more!

Zenyatta Latest Buffs and Nerfs

May 5, 2022 Patch Notes

Zenyatta Patch Notes (May 5, 2022)
Snap Kick	・New passive; quick melee damage increased (30 > 45) ・Knocks enemies back much further

Zenyatta Hero Profile

Basic Information

Zenyatta (Tekhartha Zenyatta)
	Role	Support
	Ranking
	Total HP	・ 200 ・ 50 (Base Health) ・ 150 (Base Shields/Armor)
	Voice Actor	Feodor Chin
	Nationality	Nepalese
Affiliations	Shambali (formerly)

How to Unlock

Character Redesign

Overwatch 1	Overwatch 2

Zenyatta's redesign for Overwatch2 stays loyal to its color scheme; just shifting around colors here and there. Its Orbs of Destruction are given more white accents, but the most noticeable redesign is that Zenyatta upgraded from sandals to shoes.

Zenyatta Weapons and Abilities

Zenyatta Main Weapon

Orb of Destruction	Primary Fire
	Damage: 48
	Description: Energy projectile weapon
	Secondary Fire
	Damage: 48 per projectile
	Description: Charge to release more projectiles.

Zenyatta Abilities

Orb of Discord	Type: Ability
Effect: Launch this orb at an enemy to increase the damage they take.
Orb of Harmony	Type: Ability Heal: 30
Effect: Launch this orb at an ally to heal them.
Snap Kick	Type: Passive Damage: 48
Effect: Quick melee damage increased by 50%, and its knockback is significantly increased.
Transcendence	Type: Ultimate Heal: 320
Effect: Become invulnerable, move faster, and heal nearby allies.
Role: Support	Type: Passive
Effect: Automatically heal over time.

Tips and How to Play

Orb of Destruction Has No Damage Falloff

The damage of Zenyatta's Orb of Destruction does not decrease over large distances, making them great for harassing and taking down foes from far away.

Charged Orbs Are Effective Along Choke Points

You can easily take out careless foes with Zenyatta by charging Orbs of Destruction and firing them at chest level along choke points. It is even possible to quickly use Orb of Discord right after sending out a volley of shots, increasing this strategy's deadliness.

Prioritize Orb of Harmony on Mobile Teammates

Orb of Harmony is extremely effective when used on high-speed flanking Damage heroes such as Genji, Tracer, and Pharah. The ability's fast healing over time drastically increases these heroes' survivability, allowing them to flank and continue their offensive more effectively.

Maintain Orb of Harmony Between Allies

While Orb of Harmony has priority targets, avoid letting it stay on a single teammate for too long. Properly spread out Zenyatta's healing by frequently applying it between injured allies.

Use Orb of Discord Against Key Targets

Apply Orb of Discord on priority threats such as Orisa with Fortify and Winston with Primal Rage to increase the damage they take and rapidly collapse their health bars.

Orb of Discord is also particularly effective against flanking Damage heroes, as the debuff icon allows you and your team to track them down more easily.

Positioning is Vital as Zenyatta

Knowing how and where to position yourself at all times is vital for playing Zenyatta effectively. Prioritize staying near areas that allow you to see both teams at once, as you can easily send out each of your Orbs toward priority targets from these locations.

Staying near the edge of Orb of Harmony and Discord's maximum range is a solid defensive position, but remember to move in closer to your team if your opponents choose high-mobility Heroes to avoid getting picked off.

Snap Kick Can Shove Enemies Off the Map

Zenyatta's Quick Melee attacks have significantly increased knockback due to his Snap Kick passive. Take advantage of this increased knockback by shoving foes towards pitfalls and other environmental hazards to instantly eliminate them.

How to Counter

Snipe Him from Afar

Zenyatta is one of the most brittle support heroes in the game without any evasive abilities like Lucio or Mercy, he's quite slow as well. Jump on him using Winston and get an easy kill.

Widowmaker can also easily one-shot Zenyatta with a headshot. Damage heroes should be wary of getting hit with the Orb of Discord and his alternate fire as that can be fatal.

Zenyatta Hero Counters

Zenyatta Skins

Base Game Skins

Hero Skins
Enlarge Sunyatta (Legendary)	Enlarge Ra (Legendary)	Enlarge Djinyatta (Legendary)
Enlarge Ifrit (Legendary)	Enlarge Ascendant (Epic)	Enlarge Carbon Fiber (Epic)
Enlarge Harmonious (Epic)	Enlarge Air (Rare)	Enlarge Earth (Rare)
Enlarge Leaf (Rare)	Enlarge Water (Rare)

League Skins

Hero Skins
Enlarge Atlanta Reign (Epic)	Enlarge Boston Uprising (Epic)	Enlarge Chengdu Hunters (Epic)
Enlarge Dallas Fuel (Epic)	Enlarge Florida Mayhem (Epic)	Enlarge Guangzhou Charge (Epic)
Enlarge Hangzhou Spark (Epic)	Enlarge Houston Outlaws (Epic)	Enlarge London Spitfire (Epic)
Enlarge Los Angeles Gladiators (Epic)	Enlarge Los Angeles Valiant (Epic)	Enlarge New York Excelsior (Epic)
Enlarge Paris Eternal (Epic)	Enlarge Philadelphia Fusion (Epic)	Enlarge San Francisco Shock (Epic)
Enlarge Seoul Dynasty (Epic)	Enlarge Shanghai Dragons (Epic)	Enlarge Toronto Defiant (Epic)
Enlarge Vancouver Titans (Epic)	Enlarge Washington Justice (Epic)

Event Skins

Hero Skins
Enlarge Zealot (Legendary)	Enlarge Cultist (Legendary)	Enlarge Nutcracker (Legendary)
Enlarge Toybot (Legendary)	Enlarge Fastball (Legendary)	Enlarge Sanzang (Legendary)
Enlarge Zhuge Liang (Legendary)	Enlarge Huitzilopochtl (Legendary)	Enlarge Skullyatta (Epic)
Enlarge Overwatch Contenders (Epic)	Enlarge Clockwork (Legendary)

Zenyatta Cosmetics

Victory Poses

Enlarge Heroic (Common) Base Game	Enlarge Balance (Rare) Base Game	Enlarge Harmony (Rare) Base Game
Enlarge Peace (Rare) Base Game	Enlarge Medals (Rare) Summer Games Event	Enlarge Pumpkin (Rare) Halloween Terror Event
Enlarge R.I.P (Rare) Halloween Terror Event	Enlarge Toast (Rare) Winter Wonderland Event	Enlarge Meditation (Rare) Archives Event

Voice Lines

Emotes

Zenyatta Story

Peaceful Omnic

Despite the onset of the Omnic Crisis, moderate Omnics like Zenyatta paved the way for peace. Zenyatta himself had suddenly awoken, creating a monastery in the Himalayas.

It was through meditation that they came to the belief they must also have a soul. With Tekhartha Mondatta, they wanted to help heal wounds and make a change from the Crisis. Zenyatta believed that humans needed to be engaged and so he sought his own path, helping anyone who crosses his path.

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