[ALL STAR] Melee Tank Zen for when you can't stop dying (UPDATED FOR S17 MIDSEASON)
Strong Against
Weak Against
Strong Against
Weak Against
UPDATED POST MIDSEASON:
In the midseason patch, Blizzard shadow nerfed Zen by removing the interaction between Inner Peace and Enlightenment. You now no longer receive the 35% of damage as healing for your own harmony orb. Whether this is an intentional fix to an unintended interaction, or if THIS change was a glitch, I don’t know. But after this change, and the Soul Control buff, running Enlightenment is no longer worth it. I have updated the powers to reflect this.
🥋 Golden Monk Zenyatta Build
“When the only way out… is through.”
This build was born out of necessity. It won’t work into every comp — and it shouldn't be your default build. But when the stars align (or chaos reigns), this might be your only lifeline to creating value and scraping out a win.
What’s beautiful about this build is that it starts out like any other build. You begin by scaling toward a standard Weapon Power (WP) and Attack Speed (AS) setup — but when the pressure's too much and you realize you can’t stay alive, you can take a hard left turn into this tanky brawler build without sacrificing either path. It’s the perfect backup plan for games gone sideways.
🔑 Core Concept
Use Golden Monk (melee damage heals you) with stacked armor to transform Zenyatta into a 600 HP frontline threat, with 400 armor, massive sustain, and 150-damage kicks.
This isn’t a “hang back and heal” Zen. This is a brawler monk, up in your face, kicking heads and soaking damage. If you’re not within melee range? You’re doing it wrong.
âś… When to Use It
Against dive or brawl comps where normal Zen gets collapsed on
When your team is falling apart and you need to create your own value
In messy, chaotic fights where sustain and self-reliance matter more than poke
❌ When Not to Use It
Do NOT pick this into Orisa — she just has too many ways to knock you back out of melee range
Weak into poke comps like Soldier, Ashe, or Cass — they can often poke you out before the fight. (this isn't a hard counter though, it can be work into these heroes)
Not worth running if you’re playing like standard Zen — this build sacrifices weapon output
đź’ˇ Key Tips
Be aggressive — you live longer the more pressure you apply
Stay in the fight — let Golden Monk and armor regen do their job
Kick often, kick hard — maximize value with your melee
Transition smoothly — start with WP/AS and pivot to brawler when needed
UPDATED FOR MIDSEASON PATCH AS OF 7/24/25.
Our strategy hasn’t changed, our abilities haven’t changed. Dva got buffed so you’ll probably see more of her, but she’s a good matchup for us and we got a huge healing buff. Rejoice Zen Mafia!
Rounds
Player Loadout
Powers
Items
Stats Impact
Core
Stats
Weapon Power
Attack SpeedRound Notes
Round Notes
For this first round, we start out just like most other Zenyatta builds do:
Inner Peace gives you tons of sustain (and farms Stadium Cash fast)
Weapon Power and Attack Speed amplify your baseline output — Zen doing Zen things
A little bonus armor for early survivability
The goal of Round 1 is simple: farm cash.
But don’t zone out — this is also your scouting phase. Ask yourself:
Are you constantly getting cornered?
Is the enemy pushing into you with no space to kite?
Are you getting pressured hard and dying early?
If the answer is yes, you may need to pivot. Be ready — because you might need to take a hard turn into Brawl Zen later in the match.