I love when he says "Overconfidence is a flimsy shield" or "A reminder that life is never easy". I've been learning him recently and it sure is a task when you have 4 people literally flaming you for choosing Zen.
Zen is a litmus test for playing any other character in the game. The barebones kit forces you to work your mechanics, positioning, awareness, and ult tracking more diligently than any other hero. If you can climb on zen, you can apply everything you learned to other heroes.
Ehh I respectively disagree i’m a one trick zen player in GM and feel as though his playstyle is too unique to be able to transfer onto every other hero in the game. If this was true i feel like i wouldnt be stuck in diamond on dps and tank.
@os3688 at a fundamental level they are right.. Zenyattas doesn't really have any bad matchups, he's just as much a threat to squishys as they are to him.. (aruguably he's the bigger threat).. It comes down to player skill..
@os3688 well that's just cause your probably just not good enough on those roles support is way different then tank and support notice how he said you can apply everything on zen everywhere else which is why you're stuck in those ranks the things he's talking about are basic stuff that you can do on every character those alone aren't gonna make uou rank up you have to get better with your character and understanding of the dps role or tank role
another thing that i've noticed allows Zen to be really sneaky is that he is the only hero who does not have footsteps, meaning it is impossible to hear him coming unless he is talking. very useful.
@@kawxhnDefinitely. The nerfs mostly just weeded out the bad zen players that just spammed discord on a tank instantly. Now you just wait for the tank to move up a little and apply it. Not much different.
Just recently picked up zen, been finding him extremely fun to play. And I love beating my dps and tank in kills at the end of the game. The tip on the ult usage is gonna help me a lot, but I would like to hopefully see a vid on the future displaying the best positioning spots for zen on each map, and where he should position himself within a team.
Think of positioning like a set of guidelines, theres not a best position on each map for any hero. Sure, there may be some sneaky widow spots on some maps, but on almost every other hero that doesn't matter. Positioning is dynamic. The rule of thumb is: where can you maximize the damage you deal to the enemy, while minimizing the damage that the enemy can deal to you at the same time?
@@J.R.Swish1True, but showing some generally good positioning spots and explaining why they are good can go a long way in helping people understand positioning.
Awkward sees positioning as a relative thing. You walk forward when the enemy backs up and vice versa while using cover. Although there are strong sight lines and high grounds for zen on most maps, they aren’t good positions if you can’t do damage, they rotate you out of the fight while it’s happening, or you are too close to the enemy. It’s also going to change based on enemy comp. It’s dangerous to think about positioning as static.
Best positioning is learned by studying the maps and truly memorizing the details. Map mastery is almost as important as Hero mastery. Custom maps is a great way of exploring all of the details. I can be weak with a hero and still survive by knowing the map better than my opponent.
@@markbo3251it is way too dynamic to say though. Being safe and in position against a team with no vertical mobility is different than a team with it. Being in position is completely different against cree (deny movement abilities), mei (deny basic movement and los in a direction), bastion (shit ton of burst damage), genji (vertical mobility), and widow (high burst over a longe range). On just the same map with just the dps changing, the safe positions change significantly. When you factor in things like lucio speed or a full charge zarya, it keeps getting more difficult. The basic rule is, can the enemies team punish me based off their cooldowns and resources? Am in the optimal spot to take advantage of mine? (your weapon, abilities, healers, etc.) The reason why people always say the basic rule is if you can live a random high noon or dva bomb, is to get into the mentality of thinking of the enemies capabilities, rather than just the highest point, farthest point, or closest to obj
when i was climbing from diamond to masters, zen was my go-to. i always struggled with the last tip bc my teammates would always flame me for using it selfishly LOL
It's a weird one. Definitely less advisable in OW1 because the enemy team likely has one more aggressive ult and a single pick isn't a huge deal in exchange for popping transcendence to escape. But in OW2 this could win a team fight. Depends I guess if it guarantees a payload checkpoint or an objective capture.
It completely depends really. Zen ult can be used to counter AoE or damage over time abilities and ults best, and you’d get much more value out of it by denying any value out of something like Zarya grav then just using it on yourself. However if you notice you are a prime target or key member of your team making a big enough impact that you are being picked on specifically, its not a bad idea to pop it for self-preservation so you keep up the pressure on the enemy team and deny them of an elim that could possibly win them the next teamfight. I’m glad I already follow basically everything in this vid, however I do want to practice using my ult more proactively to save my team since I often do it a moment too late to really come in clutch.
Nah, by the time I get my Ult, I've already been flamed for a while for even picking Zen. So what's a little more flaming for using my ult selfishly? 😅
Another thing I want to say about number 4 is the left clicks make zen move his head hitbox very quickly. When he charges right click, he’s very very easy to hit headshots on.
I’m a masters 2 widow main and I struggle with hitting zen heads if he’s consistently putting pressure on me. A lot of people in this rank don’t play zen correctly, though.
I find the crazy loud charge sound on the right click to be one of the biggest disadvantages of that ability. Everyone always turns to look at you when they hear it charging up from across the map.
It's a good thing seeing this video pop up, I reached GM last week as a (mostly) Zen one trick, been playing him since Ow 1, got to nearly 250 hours on the hero and it's still by far my favorite hero in the entire game. Granted, I'm not top 500, but I do think I know my fair share about Zen at this point, I'm at least kinda glad I don't do anything you mentioned on the video, but some things are so true it hurts, some Zens here and there are afraid to go for kills, stay in the backline all the time, they are afraid to use transcendence without a hard commit of ults from the other side which oftens results in a team wipe, people don't value enough that it's better to just pop transcendence and live than die and lose the fight because it became 4v5, staying alive as much as possible is a top priority with Zen (or with any character tbh) as well. The nerf is annoying but honestly, I love the extra 25 hp they gave Zen, the best thing as Zen is how everyone thinks you're a free target and tries to dive you, many people don't realize how much damage Zen can throw at your face very fast, and to this day, so many people forget discord orb gives you a pseudo wall hack and don't play around it, which makes some 1v1s really easy. Also remember guys, if Zen wasn't made to flank, he would have footsteps lmao
I've been climbing a lot on Zen lately but the one thing I am struggling with is dealing with sombra especially when she starts spawn camping you. Its hard to play around cover 100% of the time when trying to walk back to your team from spawn and she waits until you just get out of cover range before nuking you. Even worst when the enemy team dives with 2 or 3 people at once and you get no peal. Still if they dont heavy focus you then Zen can bring insane amounts of value and really start carrying games with his damage.
I'm not coach or smth,but I would say, don't change hero when u get spawncamp or just getting F***,if u have problem,staying alive vs Sombra/Genji/Tracer...try to play ,,boring" game next to your support,so he can help u,and u can help him. It would also be good playing,or looking on some Sombra/Tracer/Genji guide. I would say playing them and understand how they need to be played to succeed is the best option,or u can go watch replay,and see where the Sombra was hiding,how she move around map...and with time u get third eye especially with zen, and u go,and say for yourself: ok if I was Sombra,where I wanna fight Zen? Where I be waiting to engage the ,,weakling ". And sometimes,I become paranoid and shoot every corner,or room where I expect Sombra to be. Also use audio that u hear. Is Sombra in middle of the fight,or she is getting to spawncamp me? If u can't hear any of those sign's ,just use VC and say ,,Hey,did u see the Sombra?" Or just say if one of your teammate is near u ,just say to him to wait for u,and go with him.
If enemy team is diving u with two or three people,u gonna have a hard time,no advice here,meaby just to stay alive as long as u can. Because those two or three people are not in ,,main" fight (idk how to call it),so your team is 4v2/3. And sometimes the games are just for trading backlines,and which backline survive longer ,rest of the team can come back and help them,or do kill trade...
Man you are the reason I enjoy this game. Before I was stuck in gold, not understanding any fundamentals of the game, then I found u and Im now in masters on Zen. Appriciate everything you do for us ❤❤
Awesome video !! The struggle of a main Zen player.. the dps that has less damage than you saying that you need to do more healing ! To stop doing dps and focus on healing lol !!! I pass from bronze to plat with zen over 2 seasons, learning from you and Paz, and still learning each day
I find myself using right clicks more against someone that I discorded but they took cover to lose the discord and are coming back. That 240 burst does A LOT more damage in a short period of time. Left clicks do more damage over a longer period of time. Right clicks are also amazing against snipers like widow, Hanzo, and Ashe because of their movement speed penalty, and you only have to peek for a split second. Trying to kill snipers with left clicks will get you killed most of the time.
Zenyatta is my absolute favorite support. Got to diamond with him before I stopped playing OW. The simplicity of his kit really forces you to focus on and appreciate the mechanics and game sense required to play properly
Since watching your videos a week ago, mainly unrated to GM on Ana and Bap, I went from plat to masters in about a week and a half. You helped me realize that healbotting is not the right way to win, and that I need to take the games into my own hands and contribute. Thank you for helping me realize that and have a better mindset
Thanks awkward for the Zenyatta content. Zenyatta is underrated. He can melt any 200HP character 1v1 but people don't like playing him because his kit is not fancy enough. Love this kind of content. Really liked the widowmaker counterplay video too. Hope to see more of this in the future!❤
I watched your first unranked to GM on Zen and it he quickly became myt first real main in overwatch2, I made it from bronze to diamond 5 in a couple weeks after watching your video and I hope to climb to top 500 someday. We gotta represent for Zen!
Thanks Awkward! From when I started watching your videos almost a year ago, I improved a lot. The knowledge that you transfered to me made me finally hit top200 with zen this season! I couldn't never say enough thank you!
I just started playing zen. I have about 8 hrs in and am initiate level. I decided to do placements for ranked using only zen as I've been having a lot of fun on him and I made gold 1. I've never played comp before and I'm super new to zen. I used to main tank and played mostly wrecking ball and roadhog. I've come to love playing zen and I am glad I found your vids
idk how but on my first time playing zenyatta i was almost exactly like the tips say i was aggressive but there are some stuff i would like to suggest swap around when ur healing it helps when u swap ur orb from person when u have down time such as a total enemy kill or a hike to the payload or mid fight even. use ur ult when ur team is killed and is just getting back to the payload or point and i mean around the courner or in any possible sightlines. when ur team is closing in when ur at the point and the enemy is there and ur ult isnt ready fall back and try long range shots i know i know seem to oppose the video BUT u r a support hero yes zen is a aggressive support but he does need to be smart if his team is about to get to the point and the enemys and u r there u r more likely to win by u guessed it! being a passive support i know its tempting to run in like a genji or something but u should pick ur dang battles zen is support and always will be but he is smart if he knew his team was around the corner he would fall back
I got top 500 on Zen as a Brig main thanks to your videos. Zen just keeps being the hero I stop playing thinking he isnt viable, drop rank, main him again and climb back up. Maining Zen and Brig together is really fun and dynamic and all the things you pointed out in the video are good habits to get and really are the difference I notice between when I'm Masters and when Im back in GM.
I heard from the Chinese circle regarding Zenyata is that if you can't find picks as him, you should switch (similar for hanzo and widow). Idea is that zen has so much less utility compared to other supports, so if your damage output isn't making a difference (getting picks), you are putting your team on a disavantage by staying on zen. Not sure what you think about that. I think it makes a decent bit of sense but often I find myself being too aggresive looking for right click assassinations and missing out on left click damage.
thank for the vidéo dude , i'm a zen main and lately i been playing a lot of ana and since i watched your stream i can feel my gameplay improved , i do throw sometime but at least i don't blame my team cause i'm still learning how to get better and this zen tips will def help me even more . keep the good work !
Dude, I'm going to tell you, I don't play this game even 1 hour a day most of the time, but I'm just following your tips and your content. I just got Grandmaster 3 and I'm still learning, thanks from Brazil
Ugh. You are such an underrated teacher. I’ve had a lot of people try to convince me that you’re wrong, but it was thanks to you I almost made it to diamond as Moira… I deranked because I listened to everybody who probably doesn’t have the credentials to comment after several games of people complaining about my gameplay. I even went on winstreaks 😭 Confidence is really key for this game and you give it… just need to remember not to listen to anyone else unless it’s helpful.
Damn, the first advice hit me hard. I used to think my mechanics were so bad and that why I lost a lot, which made me afraid to play ranked, but now I think I'll probably go all into ranked.
a thing i picked up on which is useful for me personally is to make sure you use your melee because it can push enemies away from you which is good if you're fighting someone like reinhardt for example who relies mostly on close range attacks
TLDR: tranc into the backline to surprise the enemy if you dont need it to save your team and they are alone. one thing that you can do with zen also with tranc as someone who was gm last season playing mostly zen. If you tranc to save someone but there is no threat of danger sometimes if you see someone alone, you can just use the remaining transcendence to run into the backline and surprise them and get picks from there, this could get you some picks and positioning that forces the enemy to look at you in retreat or let you kill them from behind while your team is in the front. this is situational and have to read it right but when done right you can win games because of it. For example, im playing junkertown first point and its last fight I tranc to save my teamates from dying, and their widow is free in the backline and so when there was no treat to my team for dying i used the last seconds of tranc to go on to the widow and killed her and their ana later and we won the fight because of it.
When I play Zen, which is a lot since he's my Main, I will yell at myself so much to save transcendence for the enemy, ult! because it's capable of canceling so many ultimates
Thank you for stating cover and utilizing the discord/harmony orbs strategically. In higher ranks, I am finding people only damaging and not healing the DPS ever; or just standing in line of fire. Good tips
So I played at least 10 hours on almost every character when I started playing this game just to get an understanding of everyone , and these videos are cool to me. Cause once u start to play a character enough these thing you’d think would be second nature and kinda seem like common sense.
i watched the full U2GM video on zenyatta, then this one, and after listening to the discord nerf tips, i started winning games again, and i decided to try out ranked. 5-0. i had 7k - 10k healing on zen. i got POTG twice. and in the end, i just got the same rank. i was silver 5, i got 5-0, and got silver 5 again.
Just want to say once again that your advice applies to other hero shooters and I’ve gone from S in Splatoon to S+ thanks a lot for your devotion to making other people better instead of just keeping your secrets to yourself. It’s better to be a teacher than a master and I respect you a lot for it
I finished at about #10k when the season ended last week and I’m hoping to keep learning from you to get the top 3k badge this season and hopefully someday top 500 ❤🥹
So just a helpful tip based on number 4 - try imagine your full charge shot is similar to a hogs hook / Most hog players will prediction hook to see if they can literally grasp value out of fin air - * so using a zen charge shot like a sniper trying to get a 1 shot can flip games if u hit the shot / 1 last tip if u getting chance in let's say a hall way you can do a 180 charge 5 orbs at a door way if it hits cool u could kill or they back off but if it doesn't hit it buys you time as - not a lot of people are going to risk running face first into 5 orbs
Almost all players don't like zen healing. It's too slow. Every time I play zen my team say change it. And in the new season, kiriko and mercy even gotta better abilities. There is no reason to play zen anymore.😢
seeing this video made me realize i dont almost make mistakes as zen. saving the ult for shatters/freeze/blossom/blade is my prioroty as soon as i see it tho. also the melee does almost the same damage as a bodyshot, so sometimes spamming melees is the way to go upclose
Starting using zen a while back, now he’s one of my favorites and I win most the time when I use him. I learned how to use natural cover using him because I had too, and that helps out in the long run for other heroes too
Thank you Awkward. I main Zen and am hard stuck in masters currently. I’m glad to know I’m not the only one who finds this hero to be underrated. You will see me in top 500 one day with Zen
My favorite thing as Zen is to catch a team running to one side and just shotgun pump the orbs at them! Once got a team kill that way. They were so pissed! 😂
Of course the tips are great they always are, but I really like how you have been stepping up the content recently its so much more enjoyable to watch!
I feel like there are a lot of decent supports in plat, Diamond and Masters, but they don’t take any risks to set their team up for success. Landing a 5 man anti from a flank or off angle, gets their rein to turn around and let’s your rein shatter. It may result in your death but a won teamfight.
Zen main from Day 1 of OW1 ❤️ love seeing him get the recognition he deserves. Side note, one of my biggest tips is to use your crouch while in mid range gunfight to stay slippery. No one expects it when he just floats a little bit lower while they are shooting for the head
Zen was the first hero I chose to prove to myself that I, a casual player, can climb to masters (in OW 1) if I learn consistently. I stopped playing him on Ow2 because I got a lot of hate playing him in ranked although I climbed to masters again and now I feel encouraged again to try to even go S high as GM 😊
When I see a Moira attacking me, I used to panic and try to run away but now I run right at them, discord them. Zen does damage quicker and can kill her before she can kill him.
It’s actually insane how many kills you can get while ado being a good support with zen he’s my main and I love everything about him he’s so kind and funny 😂
One thing about Zenyatta is every time you respawn as him, he gives advice/encouragement and I love that about him.
Something I find oddly theraputic during stressful matches is taking deep breaths in sync with Zen
So glad you said this. My favorite part about playing him
I love when he says "Overconfidence is a flimsy shield" or "A reminder that life is never easy". I've been learning him recently and it sure is a task when you have 4 people literally flaming you for choosing Zen.
literally my favorite part about playing him!!! lol it really does take 1000 times to understand
Zen is a litmus test for playing any other character in the game. The barebones kit forces you to work your mechanics, positioning, awareness, and ult tracking more diligently than any other hero. If you can climb on zen, you can apply everything you learned to other heroes.
Ehh I respectively disagree i’m a one trick zen player in GM and feel as though his playstyle is too unique to be able to transfer onto every other hero in the game. If this was true i feel like i wouldnt be stuck in diamond on dps and tank.
@os3688 at a fundamental level they are right..
Zenyattas doesn't really have any bad matchups, he's just as much a threat to squishys as they are to him.. (aruguably he's the bigger threat)..
It comes down to player skill..
@os3688 well that's just cause your probably just not good enough on those roles support is way different then tank and support notice how he said you can apply everything on zen everywhere else which is why you're stuck in those ranks the things he's talking about are basic stuff that you can do on every character those alone aren't gonna make uou rank up you have to get better with your character and understanding of the dps role or tank role
This video is an example of what you can get for ANY hero on Awkward’s Rank Up Academy. Like an Unranked to GM except condensed into
I feel this way about Ana, honestly
another thing that i've noticed allows Zen to be really sneaky is that he is the only hero who does not have footsteps, meaning it is impossible to hear him coming unless he is talking. very useful.
😂Sigma
Did you watch the video
No u can hear his charge up
@@dontrah1838 noted
sigma echo
Thanks awkward. I was actually hoping for a some more zenyatta educational content recently
I mean his unranked to GM video on zen is gold
@@eresoup7229is it still effective even after his nerfs?
@@kawxhn bruh the nerfs dont change the essential playstyle, supplement the unranked to gm with this video and youre good
@@kawxhnDefinitely. The nerfs mostly just weeded out the bad zen players that just spammed discord on a tank instantly. Now you just wait for the tank to move up a little and apply it. Not much different.
@@SethKolbePrefectIt didn't "weed out" anybody lmao, quit being so full of yourself
"the hard matchups is where most of the learning progress is" this is a very good lesson that applies to everything. Thanks for the help awkward.
got from diamond to gm2 in one season following your advice. Thanks isn’t enough - you are the Iris Zen is talking about
huh? This comment was made in the same hour the video was made and you got to gm from diamond that quickly?
@@CajunRevelerthat's not the first educational content awkward as made
@@jyhmz No need for the rude remark (that is now non-existent because they edited their comment,) I was just confused.
@@CajunReveler I mean your question was kinda dumb but ok my bad
@@CajunReveler not that video, the unranked to gm on Zen he has uploaded before. There he is applying the same 5 thinks there
Just recently picked up zen, been finding him extremely fun to play. And I love beating my dps and tank in kills at the end of the game. The tip on the ult usage is gonna help me a lot, but I would like to hopefully see a vid on the future displaying the best positioning spots for zen on each map, and where he should position himself within a team.
Think of positioning like a set of guidelines, theres not a best position on each map for any hero. Sure, there may be some sneaky widow spots on some maps, but on almost every other hero that doesn't matter. Positioning is dynamic. The rule of thumb is: where can you maximize the damage you deal to the enemy, while minimizing the damage that the enemy can deal to you at the same time?
@@J.R.Swish1True, but showing some generally good positioning spots and explaining why they are good can go a long way in helping people understand positioning.
Awkward sees positioning as a relative thing. You walk forward when the enemy backs up and vice versa while using cover. Although there are strong sight lines and high grounds for zen on most maps, they aren’t good positions if you can’t do damage, they rotate you out of the fight while it’s happening, or you are too close to the enemy. It’s also going to change based on enemy comp. It’s dangerous to think about positioning as static.
Best positioning is learned by studying the maps and truly memorizing the details. Map mastery is almost as important as Hero mastery. Custom maps is a great way of exploring all of the details. I can be weak with a hero and still survive by knowing the map better than my opponent.
@@markbo3251it is way too dynamic to say though. Being safe and in position against a team with no vertical mobility is different than a team with it. Being in position is completely different against cree (deny movement abilities), mei (deny basic movement and los in a direction), bastion (shit ton of burst damage), genji (vertical mobility), and widow (high burst over a longe range). On just the same map with just the dps changing, the safe positions change significantly. When you factor in things like lucio speed or a full charge zarya, it keeps getting more difficult.
The basic rule is, can the enemies team punish me based off their cooldowns and resources? Am in the optimal spot to take advantage of mine? (your weapon, abilities, healers, etc.)
The reason why people always say the basic rule is if you can live a random high noon or dva bomb, is to get into the mentality of thinking of the enemies capabilities, rather than just the highest point, farthest point, or closest to obj
when i was climbing from diamond to masters, zen was my go-to. i always struggled with the last tip bc my teammates would always flame me for using it selfishly LOL
It's a weird one. Definitely less advisable in OW1 because the enemy team likely has one more aggressive ult and a single pick isn't a huge deal in exchange for popping transcendence to escape. But in OW2 this could win a team fight. Depends I guess if it guarantees a payload checkpoint or an objective capture.
It completely depends really. Zen ult can be used to counter AoE or damage over time abilities and ults best, and you’d get much more value out of it by denying any value out of something like Zarya grav then just using it on yourself. However if you notice you are a prime target or key member of your team making a big enough impact that you are being picked on specifically, its not a bad idea to pop it for self-preservation so you keep up the pressure on the enemy team and deny them of an elim that could possibly win them the next teamfight.
I’m glad I already follow basically everything in this vid, however I do want to practice using my ult more proactively to save my team since I often do it a moment too late to really come in clutch.
I simply do not listen to my team when they try to tell me how to play MY character
Nah, by the time I get my Ult, I've already been flamed for a while for even picking Zen. So what's a little more flaming for using my ult selfishly? 😅
ask yourself what's worse - being down an ult, or being down a support?
Another thing I want to say about number 4 is the left clicks make zen move his head hitbox very quickly. When he charges right click, he’s very very easy to hit headshots on.
I’m a masters 2 widow main and I struggle with hitting zen heads if he’s consistently putting pressure on me. A lot of people in this rank don’t play zen correctly, though.
Hmmm good to know
I find the crazy loud charge sound on the right click to be one of the biggest disadvantages of that ability. Everyone always turns to look at you when they hear it charging up from across the map.
“Your healing is high and you lose games. My healing is low and I win all the games”
- a Rank 1 legend
It's a good thing seeing this video pop up, I reached GM last week as a (mostly) Zen one trick, been playing him since Ow 1, got to nearly 250 hours on the hero and it's still by far my favorite hero in the entire game. Granted, I'm not top 500, but I do think I know my fair share about Zen at this point, I'm at least kinda glad I don't do anything you mentioned on the video, but some things are so true it hurts, some Zens here and there are afraid to go for kills, stay in the backline all the time, they are afraid to use transcendence without a hard commit of ults from the other side which oftens results in a team wipe, people don't value enough that it's better to just pop transcendence and live than die and lose the fight because it became 4v5, staying alive as much as possible is a top priority with Zen (or with any character tbh) as well.
The nerf is annoying but honestly, I love the extra 25 hp they gave Zen, the best thing as Zen is how everyone thinks you're a free target and tries to dive you, many people don't realize how much damage Zen can throw at your face very fast, and to this day, so many people forget discord orb gives you a pseudo wall hack and don't play around it, which makes some 1v1s really easy.
Also remember guys, if Zen wasn't made to flank, he would have footsteps lmao
I've been climbing a lot on Zen lately but the one thing I am struggling with is dealing with sombra especially when she starts spawn camping you. Its hard to play around cover 100% of the time when trying to walk back to your team from spawn and she waits until you just get out of cover range before nuking you. Even worst when the enemy team dives with 2 or 3 people at once and you get no peal. Still if they dont heavy focus you then Zen can bring insane amounts of value and really start carrying games with his damage.
I'm not coach or smth,but I would say, don't change hero when u get spawncamp or just getting F***,if u have problem,staying alive vs Sombra/Genji/Tracer...try to play ,,boring" game next to your support,so he can help u,and u can help him. It would also be good playing,or looking on some Sombra/Tracer/Genji guide. I would say playing them and understand how they need to be played to succeed is the best option,or u can go watch replay,and see where the Sombra was hiding,how she move around map...and with time u get third eye especially with zen, and u go,and say for yourself:
ok if I was Sombra,where I wanna fight Zen?
Where I be waiting to engage the ,,weakling ".
And sometimes,I become paranoid and shoot every corner,or room where I expect Sombra to be. Also use audio that u hear. Is Sombra in middle of the fight,or she is getting to spawncamp me? If u can't hear any of those sign's ,just use VC and say ,,Hey,did u see the Sombra?" Or just say if one of your teammate is near u ,just say to him to wait for u,and go with him.
If enemy team is diving u with two or three people,u gonna have a hard time,no advice here,meaby just to stay alive as long as u can. Because those two or three people are not in ,,main" fight (idk how to call it),so your team is 4v2/3. And sometimes the games are just for trading backlines,and which backline survive longer ,rest of the team can come back and help them,or do kill trade...
Man you are the reason I enjoy this game. Before I was stuck in gold, not understanding any fundamentals of the game, then I found u and Im now in masters on Zen. Appriciate everything you do for us ❤❤
Awesome video !! The struggle of a main Zen player.. the dps that has less damage than you saying that you need to do more healing ! To stop doing dps and focus on healing lol !!! I pass from bronze to plat with zen over 2 seasons, learning from you and Paz, and still learning each day
I find myself using right clicks more against someone that I discorded but they took cover to lose the discord and are coming back. That 240 burst does A LOT more damage in a short period of time. Left clicks do more damage over a longer period of time. Right clicks are also amazing against snipers like widow, Hanzo, and Ashe because of their movement speed penalty, and you only have to peek for a split second. Trying to kill snipers with left clicks will get you killed most of the time.
Zenyatta is my absolute favorite support. Got to diamond with him before I stopped playing OW. The simplicity of his kit really forces you to focus on and appreciate the mechanics and game sense required to play properly
Since watching your videos a week ago, mainly unrated to GM on Ana and Bap, I went from plat to masters in about a week and a half. You helped me realize that healbotting is not the right way to win, and that I need to take the games into my own hands and contribute. Thank you for helping me realize that and have a better mindset
bro is running that donut media music
Thanks awkward for the Zenyatta content. Zenyatta is underrated. He can melt any 200HP character 1v1 but people don't like playing him because his kit is not fancy enough.
Love this kind of content. Really liked the widowmaker counterplay video too. Hope to see more of this in the future!❤
I watched your first unranked to GM on Zen and it he quickly became myt first real main in overwatch2, I made it from bronze to diamond 5 in a couple weeks after watching your video and I hope to climb to top 500 someday. We gotta represent for Zen!
Pausing at the 1 min mark, GREAT production value and storytelling. Excited to learn. Cheers.
Thx, man ! Pretty insightful as always! Hope you keep em coming
0:35 I get that you like the hero, but then why wasn't he played in OWL? Last time he was a must pick was in the OW2 Beta
best zen educational vid I've ever seen, agree with everything said
Thanks Awkward! From when I started watching your videos almost a year ago, I improved a lot. The knowledge that you transfered to me made me finally hit top200 with zen this season! I couldn't never say enough thank you!
I just started playing zen.
I have about 8 hrs in and am initiate level.
I decided to do placements for ranked using only zen as I've been having a lot of fun on him and I made gold 1. I've never played comp before and I'm super new to zen.
I used to main tank and played mostly wrecking ball and roadhog.
I've come to love playing zen and I am glad I found your vids
PC?
I will help you climb, if you're interested.
"His simplicity is his strength" sounds like something Zenyatta would say.
As a Zen/Moira co main I feel attacked right now 7:13
idk how but on my first time playing zenyatta i was almost exactly like the tips say i was aggressive but there are some stuff i would like to suggest swap around when ur healing it helps when u swap ur orb from person when u have down time such as a total enemy kill or a hike to the payload or mid fight even. use ur ult when ur team is killed and is just getting back to the payload or point and i mean around the courner or in any possible sightlines. when ur team is closing in when ur at the point and the enemy is there and ur ult isnt ready fall back and try long range shots i know i know seem to oppose the video BUT u r a support hero yes zen is a aggressive support but he does need to be smart if his team is about to get to the point and the enemys and u r there u r more likely to win by u guessed it! being a passive support i know its tempting to run in like a genji or something but u should pick ur dang battles zen is support and always will be but he is smart if he knew his team was around the corner he would fall back
Thank you sir.
Also hope your family is safe during all this chaos 🤙🏽
I got top 500 on Zen as a Brig main thanks to your videos. Zen just keeps being the hero I stop playing thinking he isnt viable, drop rank, main him again and climb back up. Maining Zen and Brig together is really fun and dynamic and all the things you pointed out in the video are good habits to get and really are the difference I notice between when I'm Masters and when Im back in GM.
I would love to know tips on brig from a Zen main
I heard from the Chinese circle regarding Zenyata is that if you can't find picks as him, you should switch (similar for hanzo and widow). Idea is that zen has so much less utility compared to other supports, so if your damage output isn't making a difference (getting picks), you are putting your team on a disavantage by staying on zen. Not sure what you think about that. I think it makes a decent bit of sense but often I find myself being too aggresive looking for right click assassinations and missing out on left click damage.
thank for the vidéo dude , i'm a zen main and lately i been playing a lot of ana and since i watched your stream i can feel my gameplay improved , i do throw sometime but at least i don't blame my team cause i'm still learning how to get better and this zen tips will def help me even more . keep the good work !
hi awkward, appreciate the great tips. bit of audio feedback though, your mic could use an EQ to filter out the low frequencies
Dude, I'm going to tell you, I don't play this game even 1 hour a day most of the time, but I'm just following your tips and your content. I just got Grandmaster 3 and I'm still learning, thanks from Brazil
Damage, damage, damage!
Ugh. You are such an underrated teacher. I’ve had a lot of people try to convince me that you’re wrong, but it was thanks to you I almost made it to diamond as Moira… I deranked because I listened to everybody who probably doesn’t have the credentials to comment after several games of people complaining about my gameplay. I even went on winstreaks 😭 Confidence is really key for this game and you give it… just need to remember not to listen to anyone else unless it’s helpful.
Damn, the first advice hit me hard. I used to think my mechanics were so bad and that why I lost a lot, which made me afraid to play ranked, but now I think I'll probably go all into ranked.
I literally JUST picked up Zen and now Awkward is making a guide?
Now THIS is a great day 😎😎
a thing i picked up on which is useful for me personally is to make sure you use your melee because it can push enemies away from you which is good if you're fighting someone like reinhardt for example who relies mostly on close range attacks
Completley unmatched in the OW education community. Thank you for all your hard work!
I'm top 500 on console and I only play Zen after watching some of your original Zen vids. He's so fun
Awesome to see zen content, it's heartwarming to see you encourage players to get good with zen
The quality of the editing on this video was excellent. Thank you!
They tell me to swap because I can't hit a fuckin thing lmao
I love this kind of format. Keep it up man!
TLDR: tranc into the backline to surprise the enemy if you dont need it to save your team and they are alone.
one thing that you can do with zen also with tranc as someone who was gm last season playing mostly zen. If you tranc to save someone but there is no threat of danger sometimes if you see someone alone, you can just use the remaining transcendence to run into the backline and surprise them and get picks from there, this could get you some picks and positioning that forces the enemy to look at you in retreat or let you kill them from behind while your team is in the front. this is situational and have to read it right but when done right you can win games because of it. For example, im playing junkertown first point and its last fight I tranc to save my teamates from dying, and their widow is free in the backline and so when there was no treat to my team for dying i used the last seconds of tranc to go on to the widow and killed her and their ana later and we won the fight because of it.
I love using transcendence when Genji ults and watching him flail around like a magikarp using splash 😂
How did you know I was hoping you’d put more zen content out. Literally the only support I like
Everytime I feel discouraged to play Overwatch I just watch a video from Awkward and my motivation goes up faster than a launching rocket
"But awkward isn't that putting me in danger if I get too close" ...No, you're putting the enemy in danger.
dude seriously i love your stuff.....zen is my top 3 for sure.
When I play Zen, which is a lot since he's my Main, I will yell at myself so much to save transcendence for the enemy, ult! because it's capable of canceling so many ultimates
@projectzeeno did a great job editing this one. Great tips
Appreciate it 🔥
i started playing ow2 a month ago, and i just learn a lot from ur videos, love u so much from argentina💘
I like how you mentioned people will blame their mechanics when they’re just too far away. Very positive instead of just saying “bad aim lol”.
Thank you for stating cover and utilizing the discord/harmony orbs strategically. In higher ranks, I am finding people only damaging and not healing the DPS ever; or just standing in line of fire. Good tips
this newer production quality is so underrated this guy giving pro tips with pro videos what a god
I gotta say, the quality of the latest videos are great!
Love this format and editing! Also some super helpful tips I’ve never thought about actually 😅 👍
Thx for the tip on being patient with discord. I started using this and instantly went 5-0 with a ton of damage and quite some heals
zen personality is like his gameplay
aggresive yet calm
Thank you making awesome content! I would love to see even more videos on each champ just like this.
So I played at least 10 hours on almost every character when I started playing this game just to get an understanding of everyone , and these videos are cool to me. Cause once u start to play a character enough these thing you’d think would be second nature and kinda seem like common sense.
i watched the full U2GM video on zenyatta, then this one, and after listening to the discord nerf tips, i started winning games again, and i decided to try out ranked.
5-0. i had 7k - 10k healing on zen. i got POTG twice.
and in the end, i just got the same rank. i was silver 5, i got 5-0, and got silver 5 again.
Just want to say once again that your advice applies to other hero shooters and I’ve gone from S in Splatoon to S+ thanks a lot for your devotion to making other people better instead of just keeping your secrets to yourself. It’s better to be a teacher than a master and I respect you a lot for it
I finished at about #10k when the season ended last week and I’m hoping to keep learning from you to get the top 3k badge this season and hopefully someday top 500 ❤🥹
So just a helpful tip based on number 4 - try imagine your full charge shot is similar to a hogs hook / Most hog players will prediction hook to see if they can literally grasp value out of fin air - * so using a zen charge shot like a sniper trying to get a 1 shot can flip games if u hit the shot / 1 last tip if u getting chance in let's say a hall way you can do a 180 charge 5 orbs at a door way if it hits cool u could kill or they back off but if it doesn't hit it buys you time as - not a lot of people are going to risk running face first into 5 orbs
Almost all players don't like zen healing. It's too slow. Every time I play zen my team say change it. And in the new season, kiriko and mercy even gotta better abilities. There is no reason to play zen anymore.😢
seeing this video made me realize i dont almost make mistakes as zen. saving the ult for shatters/freeze/blossom/blade is my prioroty as soon as i see it tho. also the melee does almost the same damage as a bodyshot, so sometimes spamming melees is the way to go upclose
Starting using zen a while back, now he’s one of my favorites and I win most the time when I use him. I learned how to use natural cover using him because I had too, and that helps out in the long run for other heroes too
learning zen helped me learn all the fundamentals of overwatch and carry that knowledge to other characters.
How much you simplify characters is awesome. Simple but not easy.
I am glad to say that I already knew some of those things (from you of course!) but it's good to have a summary in one place. Great video, as usual!
Good shit bro, definitely my favorite content creator
Thank you Awkward. I main Zen and am hard stuck in masters currently. I’m glad to know I’m not the only one who finds this hero to be underrated. You will see me in top 500 one day with Zen
excellent editing. useful tips as well, thanks 👍
My favorite thing as Zen is to catch a team running to one side and just shotgun pump the orbs at them! Once got a team kill that way. They were so pissed! 😂
Of course the tips are great they always are, but I really like how you have been stepping up the content recently its so much more enjoyable to watch!
I feel like there are a lot of decent supports in plat, Diamond and Masters, but they don’t take any risks to set their team up for success. Landing a 5 man anti from a flank or off angle, gets their rein to turn around and let’s your rein shatter. It may result in your death but a won teamfight.
I actually love and care for this guy, thanks for all your videos bro.
Zen main from Day 1 of OW1 ❤️ love seeing him get the recognition he deserves. Side note, one of my biggest tips is to use your crouch while in mid range gunfight to stay slippery. No one expects it when he just floats a little bit lower while they are shooting for the head
Zen was the first hero I chose to prove to myself that I, a casual player, can climb to masters (in OW 1) if I learn consistently. I stopped playing him on Ow2 because I got a lot of hate playing him in ranked although I climbed to masters again and now I feel encouraged again to try to even go S high as GM 😊
Super high quality vid with invaluable info. Big fan 👊
Awkward really makes the best videos
I think people forget that supports don't only sustain your team but should do damage where they can.
I only swap off zen if both damge and tank have a higher kill count than me
Awkward videos are always so well done dude I swear
Just started my zen journey I appreciate this awkward 😫
When I see a Moira attacking me, I used to panic and try to run away but now I run right at them, discord them. Zen does damage quicker and can kill her before she can kill him.
love this format for you
nice work
Playing zen was how I got into the good habit of using melee, which is hard to learn on console
This video was unexpected but made my day, I love playing Zen and I love how u teach to play him
Every zen player , riseeeeee
been my fav support ever since i started, smth about throwing balls at people just feels right
Thanks awkward! I really want to see you unranked to gm on Ashe, that’s the character I play and I want to see where I can improve
It’s actually insane how many kills you can get while ado being a good support with zen he’s my main and I love everything about him he’s so kind and funny 😂
Ever since your unranked to GM on Zen I have been an avid Zenyatta enjoyer. I've gotten from hardstuck plat to low masters with your advice :)
4:59 it also makes it more surprising
Great Video! This is exactly the video I needed to take my zen to the next level!