DAS PIEROGI

 So you want to play Zarya? Well look no further, Goat here has all the answers you seek. First things first, Zarya is not a main tank, and never will be a main tank, but she is a FANTASTIC off-tank. Now, having said that, let's get into the build!

Maximum Charge  should be a no-brainer as a level 1 talent, being able to increase your maximum energy allows you to have a higher maximum damage output, not to mention gain energy from regen globes, and have a potentially larger shield for  Pain is Temporary . Feel the Heat  is generally a talent you only ever want to take against 3 or more melee heroes on the enemy team, as it is GREAT for burning them down.

Level 4 is always going to be  Speed Barrier . This talent lets you give your allies a good engage OR disengage depending on the situation at hand. A lot of people like  Give Me Twenty , but I feel like the extra shield and CD it gives just doesn't compare to Speed Barrier's flexibility. Say an ally was getting pummeled down, would they rather have a shield AND a speed boost or a slightly bigger shield? If your main tank wanted to be able to keep up with the enemy team easier to CC them, would they want a slightly bigger shield or a shield AND a speed boost? There's just no competition in my opinion.

Level 7 is where you can really take either  Pinpoint Accuracy  if you're really good at aiming and landing your grenades, or if you aren't/if they're melee heavy, you can take  Explosive Barrier  to give you some nice AoE damage when your shield expires or breaks. Keep in mind that ALL of Zarya's damaging sources scale with energy! This also applies to  Explosive Barrier 's damage!

Level 10 is uncontested in my personal opinion.  Expulsion Zone  allows you to literally zone your opponents from a specific area, as well as apply damage that scales with energy to all enemies hit on cast.  Graviton Surge  is good for setting up wombo combos, but the amount of times your team actually pulls off the wombo combos don't ever seem to be enough to suffice taking it. People can also escape from it with movement abilities, while expulsion zone is a hard area denial for a short duration. I'll also say it once more, ALL of Zarya's damage sources scale with her energy.

Level 13 will almost always be  Pain is Temporary . Being able to convert your energy to a massive shield in a pinch is amazing, and this shield ALSO generates energy, so it can be a buy-out with no real cost if they keep hitting you. The only downside is you do have to activate it, which means silence can ruin your day, and it can't be activated while  Personal Barrier  is active. Alternatively, you could take Endurance Training  if you aren't confident with active abilities, as the 20 armor you get is really nice. 75 energy is also far easier to sustain when you complete  Maximum Charge .

Gain Train  should ALWAYS be picked at level 16.  Cleansing Shield  can seem nice, especially when the enemy team is loaded with hard CC, but being able to shield two allies at once gives your team double the sustain you were giving them before, and both shields gather energy for you, so it doubles your battery as well.

To finish off this guide, you're DEFINITELY going to want to take  Unyielding Defender . I'd argue you were actually trolling if you didn't. Being able to reset the cooldowns of BOTH your  Personal Barrier  AND  Shield Ally  is absolutely insane. You thought your team had sustain BEFORE? Now the sustain you give THEM AND YOURSELF is doubled. This talent is actually mandatory in all situations in my opinion. Grenade build just isn't good, so don't take  Grenadier . Both  Gravity Kills  and  Clear Out  also don't compare to  Unyielding Defender .

Now that you've read my guide, there's no reason for you to embarrass me when you play my main. Thanks for reading!