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Sigma


Sigma

"There is no obligation for the universe to make sense to you."

Real Name
Siebren de Kuiper
Status
Active
Age
62
Nationality
Netherlands Dutch
Occupation
Astrophysicist
Base
The Hague, Netherlands (formerly)
Affiliation
Talon
Boris Hiestand (English)

Yann Guillemot (French)
Richard Gonlag (German)
Liu Yijia (Mandarin (China))
Takahiro Shimada (Japanese)
Luca Semeraro (italian)
Luis Ferando Ríos(European Spanish)

Cosmetics
Cosmetic page
Quotes
Quotation page
Role
Tank
Health
300 (Open queue)
450 (Role queue)
Shields
100

Sigma is a Tank hero in Overwatch.

Overview

Sigma is an eccentric astrophysicist and volatile tank who gained the power to control gravity in an orbital experiment gone wrong. Manipulated by Talon and deployed as a living weapon, Sigma’s presence on the battlefield cannot be ignored.

Abilities

Hyperspheres
Key mouse 1
Hero-ability-circle
Abilities-sigma1
Type
Weapon
Effect Type
Arcing projectile Arcing projectile
Blocked by barriers.
Ignores barriers.
Blocked by Defense Matrix/Kinetic Grasp.
Ignores Defense Matrix/Kinetic Grasp.
Blocked by Deflect/Javelin Spin.
Ignores Deflect/Javelin Spin.
Affected by damage boosts.
Ignores damage boosts.
Affected by Amplification Matrix.
Ignores Amplification Matrix.
Sigma launches two gravitic charges, which bounce off walls and implode after a short duration, damaging enemies within a sizable radius.
Damage:
2 charges per burst, each:
55 direct damage
9 - 30 splash damage
2.25 - 7.5 self damage
Headshot:
Rate of fire:
1 burst per 1.5 seconds
Ammo:
Max. range:
22 meters
Area of effect:
3 meter implosion radius
Projectile speed:
50 meters per second

Ability details:
  • Bounces off walls, floors, and ceilings.
  • Enemies hurt by the implosion will be slightly pulled towards the center.
  • The charges automatically implode after travelling 22 meters. However, the maximum reach of Hyperspheres is slightly less than 22 meters due to the fact that the charges also travel downwards.
  • Unlike other arcing projectiles like Junkrat’s grenade launcher and Torbjörn’s rivet gun, Sigma’s Hyperspheres’ downward movement is very minimal and aiming them does not require you to account for their downward movement unless enemies are near their maximum range.


Experimental Barrier
Key mouse 2
Hero-ability-circle
Abilities-sigma2
1 second when recalled
5 seconds if destroyed
Type
Ability
Sigma propels a floating barrier to a location of his choosing. He can retrieve the barrier at any time.
Healing:
Regenerates 80 barrier health per second, after being down for 2 seconds
Health:
700
Max. range:
Area of effect:
4.5 meter height; 5 meter width at the poles, curves to 7 meters in the middle
Projectile speed:
16.5 meters per second

Ability details:
  • Upon activation, the barrier moves forward by holding down the ability key and stops when released.
  • Walls will block the barrier's path if the center of the barrier is blocked. The barrier will coast along the ground if the angle down is 45° or lower.
  • The barrier can be removed by pressing the ability key again, keeping all its remaining health. This can be done at any time, including in the middle of other abilities such as Kinetic Grasp.
  • The barrier is destroyed if it goes out of bounds.
  • The barrier immediately returns to Sigma if he is eliminated or Ability Sombra Hack hacked.


Kinetic Grasp
LSHIFT
Hero-ability-circle
Abilities-sigma3
12 seconds
Type
Ability
Sigma freezes incoming projectiles in midair, converting them into shields.
Health:
60% of damage absorbed is converted to temporary shields (max. 400)
Duration:
2 seconds
Max. range:
3 meters

Ability details:
  • After 3 seconds, the shields start decaying at 7 shields per second.
  • Negates incoming projectiles from the front and sides, including ultimate abilities such as Ability-zarya4 Graviton Surge, Ability-mei4 Blizzard, Ability-hanzo4 Dragonstrike (the arrow), etc.
  • Some abilities are given assigned values due their unorthodox nature.[1] For example, the damage Ability Moira Biotic Orb Biotic Orb is credited as 100 damage.
  • Can be cancelled with Abilities-sigma4 Accretion. However, because the shields are gained at the very end, no shields will be gained if Kinetic Grasp is cancelled early.


Accretion
E
Hero-ability-circle
Abilities-sigma4
10 seconds
Type
Ability
Effect Type
Arcing projectile Arcing projectile
Blocked by barriers.
Ignores barriers.
Blocked by Defense Matrix/Kinetic Grasp.
Ignores Defense Matrix/Kinetic Grasp.
Blocked by Deflect/Javelin Spin.
Ignores Deflect/Javelin Spin.
Affected by damage boosts.
Ignores damage boosts.
Affected by Amplification Matrix.
Ignores Amplification Matrix.
Sigma gathers a mass of debris and flings it at an enemy to knock them down.
Damage:
70 direct damage
12 - 40 splash damage
6 - 20 self damage
Cast time:
0.65 seconds
Duration:
0.8 second knock down
Max. range:
4 meters knockback (direct)
1 - 2 meters knockback (splash)
2 meters knockback (self)
Area of effect:
2.5 meter explosion radius
Move. speed:
-75% penalty
Projectile speed:
37.5 meters per second

Ability details:


Gravitic Flux
Q
Hero-ability-circle
Abilities-sigma5
1960 points
Type
Ultimate Ability
Effect Type
Area of effect Area of effect
Blocked by barriers.
Ignores barriers.
Blocked by Defense Matrix/Kinetic Grasp.
Ignores Defense Matrix/Kinetic Grasp.
Blocked by Deflect/Javelin Spin.
Ignores Deflect/Javelin Spin.
Affected by damage boosts.
Ignores damage boosts.
Affected by Amplification Matrix.
Ignores Amplification Matrix.
Unleashing his full powers, Sigma takes flight, lifts enemies in a targeted area, and launches them into the sky before slamming them back down.
Damage:
50 damage (lift)
50% max HP (slam)
Cast time:
0.6 seconds (intro)
1 second (lift)
Duration:
Up to 5 seconds to select the area
2 seconds (lift)
0.6 seconds (high gravity)
Max. range:
35 meters
Area of effect:
7 meter radius
Move. speed:
7.15 meters per second

Ability details:
  • Sigma passively generates 1% Ult Charge every 3.92 seconds.
  • Allows Sigma to fly from the intro to the slam. Holding the Jump key causes Sigma to rise, while holding Crouch makes him descend.
  • Like Ability Doomfist Meteor Strike Meteor Strike, the area selected is visible to the enemy team. Enemies entering target range after the lifting will not be affected.
  • If no area is selected or if there is no enemies inside, the ultimate ends immediately.
  • Does not affect deployed objects such as turrets (but it does move Bastion in Ability-bastion2 Sentry mode).
  • Disables all movement abilities of enemies suspended in the air, except Moira's Ability Moira Fade Fade and Reaper's Ability-reaper2 Wraith Form. Enemies are suspended ~10 meters.
  • The ultimate can be interrupted up until the slam. No fall damage would be inflicted to lifted targets.
  • If enemies escape the suspension, such as with Ability Orisa Fortify Fortify or Ability-mei2 Cryo-Freeze, they fall down and no damage is inflicted.
  • The slam deals 50% of the maximum HP, which is increased by temporary HP gained from abilities such as Rally.
  • Those affected by the slam experience high gravity and are massively slowed for 0.6 seconds.
  • The lift can be damage boosted but not the slam.
  • Sigma can fire his Abilities-sigma1 Hyperspheres during the lifting period.
  • Gravitic Flux’s Area of Effect is slightly larger than the marker indicates, so enemies within 0.5-1 meter of the edge of the indicator will also get lifted and receive all damage.


Strategy

Sigma is a Tank Hero boasting both consistent offensive and defensive abilities. However, his lengthy cooldowns requires one to think ahead rather than freely using his abilities. While he is capable of high damage output, he is most useful when fighting at a distance with Accretion and Hyperspheres while making openings and defending his team with his versatile Experimental Barrier. Quick thinking and superb situational awareness is needed when using Kinetic Grasp to protect himself and his team.

Sigma's abilities can give off the perception that he is stronger than he is, which can make it tempting for players to play overly aggressive with him. While Sigma has the capability to deal a lot of damage, his lack of mobility will make any situation where you're stranded alone and surrounded by enemies a disaster. Overextending with Sigma will in most cases result in dying a swift death; likewise, if you believe your teammates are nearby but they've already fled from a fight, you're just as likely to be eliminated. With that being said, Accretion and his Hyperspheres can quickly take out a singular escaping enemy, such as Lúcio or Tracer; in these cases, finishing them off before they can flee is the correct play. Being able to distinguish when it's a good time to push forward and when it's better to stay behind your team will be instrumental to the survival of both yourself and your team.

Weapons & Abilities

  • Hyperspheres: Sigma's primary fire. Utilizes a two-round burst projectile fire which detonate shortly after firing, capable of damaging multiple enemies at one time and bouncing around corners to deal with heroes out of your direct view. Their detonations have a minor gravity effect similar to Orisa's Halt!, though much weaker.
    • The projectiles' damage is moderate and consistent, though incapable of headshots. These are best utilized in close spaces, where the Hyperspheres can bounce around obstacles and deal damage to multiple enemy players or players hiding behind corners.
    • The short range of the projectiles limits their ability to fight in open areas; try to stay within an area that enemies congregate in, such as near enemy cover or in small quarters.
    • The minor gravitational effect can be utilized to slow down quick heroes such as Lucio, Soldier: 76, and Genji.
    • Though their range is limited, their moderate damage can be used to whittle away at enemy barriers without exposing yourself.
  • Experimental Barrier: A sizable barrier which can be deployed and retracted at will, and can be deployed at any area within Sigma's line of sight.
    • Experimental Barrier is able to be used in a multitude of situations to save yourself and your team, and will rely heavily on your ability to respond quickly to the situation at hand.
    • Using the speed of the barrier, you can block the usage of Ultimates from Soldier 76, Pharah, Reaper, Reinhardt, McCree, Ashe (B.O.B.), Bastion, Roadhog, and sometimes D.Va (although she might destroy the barrier). This can potentially deny a game-changing enemy play, and it can help contest the objective by delaying/neutralizing an enemy's ability to use their Ultimate.
    • Using your barrier, you can advance through choke-points quickly and relocate your barrier after passing through it.
    • Working with a friendly Reinhardt or Orisa can assist in absorbing a large amount of damage with your multiple barriers.
    • Experimental Barrier will best be used with another barrier Tank like Reinhardt or Orisa because it is powerful and moves quickly. You want another barrier that can cover your team's flank as you advance with Experimental Barrier.
    • A charging Reinhardt has the same speed as Experimental Barrier, so Sigma's barrier can be used to protect the Reinhardt from an otherwise deadly move.
  • Kinetic Grasp: Kinetic Grasp is similar to D.Va's Defense Matrix, though its range is shorter. Where it lacks in range, it makes up in width. It can protect not only Sigma himself, but the heroes directly besides and behind him.
    • You want to use this ability to save your teammates more than yourself, or in the event of a large amount of projectile damage coming towards the team.
    • A keen sense of situational awareness is needed for this ability, to be able to remove projectile Ultimates going on in a fight that could potentially result in game-changing plays.
    • Using this ability during Barrage can buy your team valuable time, as well as make Sigma into a physical shield to absorb the Ultimate. Combining Kinetic Grasp and Experimental Barrier can stop Barrage's damage output altogether while giving Sigma a full shield charge.
  • Accretion: Sigma's Accretion ability grants him a unique stun ability in Overwatch, given it cannot be stopped by anything other than a physical barrier. It has the ability to stun heroes for an extended period of time, while also dealing moderate damage.
    • Use this ability sparingly, as the large cooldown will leave you without the ability later in the fight when a quick pick can be achieved using it.
    • Accretion can be used to save supports being punished by either flanking Damage heroes or bruiser type tanks like D.Va by stopping them from escaping or pursuing their target.
    • Best used when a enemy hero is caught in the open by themselves, or are generally low enough to be picked off by Accretion or by some follow-up damage.
    • Tossing this ability into a hero using a channelled Ultimate ability will stop that ultimate. These include Reaper, Pharah, Roadhog, and Sigma, among others.
    • Though a high skill-gap comes with using Accretion, the ability to land long-range tosses will set your team up for an easy pick or simply disable one enemy player for 0.8 seconds for longer tosses.
  • Gravitic Flux: A powerful ability that can be used to disrupt an enemy team that is hunkering down in one location, or to end a team's contesting of the point in critical points. As powerful as the ability is it can be easy to want to use it on a few heroes at a time, try to limit its use to when the enemy is congregated together or multiple heroes are low.
    • Because of the similarities to Meteor Strike, you will want the enemy team distracted while you are using this, as they will disperse to avoid being caught in your Ultimate. Try combining your Ultimate with Earthshatter and Graviton Surge to ensure you have heroes in your Ultimate when cast.
    • Communicate with your "DPS" heroes when you are casting Gravitic Flux, as they will be able to capitalize on it with either damage output or usage of an ultimate while they are suspended in the air.
    • While this Ultimate is amazing in open areas and on objectives, don't neglect the lethality of it in enclosed spaces. Casting this Ultimate in an enclosed space can open up opportunities that aren't viable out in the open, such as RIP-Tire and Death Blossom.
    • With some practice, this ability can be used with Minefield and Self-Destruct. Timing and communication will be key, as all three Ultimates have a warm-up before they are able to deal damage.
    • Using this ability over the objective can cause Overtime to end during the suspension phase, so it is highly recommended to use this to your advantage if there is only a few heroes on point contesting to force them off or force them into the air.

General Strategies

  • Sigma floats like Zenyatta, meaning he makes no audible footsteps. This can be quite useful if attempting to flank, hide from enemies, or capture the objective while the enemy team is distracted.
  • Keeping distance from enemy heroes is key to playing Sigma, as Hyperspheres and Accretion both cause damage to Sigma. Being able to keep your distance and utilizing walls to bounce your Hyperspheres will prove more useful than a front-on fight.

Advanced Strategies

  • Sigma is best used with another tank, that comes with a defensive shield formation called the "The Roman Tortoise." This requires the main tank (Reinhardt or Orisa) to have their barrier up, usually in a choke, and Sigma has his barrier placed directly above at a roughly 45 degree angle to cover his team from explosives. This formation works best on defense, and with much practice can be used offensively with Reinhardt.
  • The Experimental Barrier can be used to mass clear mines from Wrecking Ball's ultimate ability.
  • By placing your Experimental Barrier in front of an enemy Pharah using her ultimate, it is quite likely she will eliminate herself with the splash damage. This has to be done very precisely as your shield will get melted before you know it, and the time frame is very small.
  • Barrier management is the core of Sigma’s kit. It’s recommended to play around his cool downs, using Experimental Barrier to protect your team until Kinetic grasp is ready. Then, you drop your barrier and absorb all incoming damage, which will allow you to be much more aggressive.


Tank

Hero Match-Up Team Synergy
Icon-dva
D.Va
While D.Va can block your Hyperspheres with her Defense Matrix, she won't be able to block Accretion; if D.Va is trying to shield her team from oncoming damage, feel free to hit her with a big rock. If she attempts to rush you, you can use Kinetic Grasp to block her Micro Missiles. Your Experimental Barrier can shield your team from Self-Destruct, but because it's a smaller barrier than that of most other Tanks, it may be tricky to successfully save your team in the heat of the moment. With a friendly D.Va on your team, you'll have an incredibly easy time negating incoming projectiles and covering each other's bases. That being said, you'll have a much greater difficulty against beam weapons such as the likes of Zarya and Symmetra. Play a more defensive role, as your D.Va will most likely be playing more offensively.
Icon-orisa
Orisa
Orisa's rapid fire can be easily absorbed by Kinetic Grasp; when she is opening fire on you and your team, it's best to retract your Experimental Barrier to give it some downtime, absorb her fire with Kinectic Grasp, them redeploy your recovered barrier while having gained yourself some health in the process. Due to her Protective Barrier, it can be hard to land a majority of your attacks on Orisa unless either you maneuver around it or your team manages to break it. Most of the time when fighting Orisa you'll be forced to continuously lob Hyperspheres at her barrier in an attempt to crack it, but if your team is pushing onto Orisa's position, you can move past her barrier to get in her face where she's not as comfortable. Fortify will still make killing her difficult, though, as she'll be immune to the pull from your Hyperspheres as well as the stun effect from Accretion, not to mention rendering her immune to Gravitic Flux. While it's advised to save most of your abilities until Fortify is on cooldown, this is especially true for Gravitic Flux. Be careful of her Halt!, as your low mobility means you can easily be snagged by it and dropped down a pit. Working together with a friendly Orisa generally means you'll both be able to quickly put out barriers without having to dedicate yourself to staying behind them. However, while you can both move your barriers around at will, Orisa's is on the weaker side, meaning a concentrated push from the enemy could break through your barriers at once. You also need to be careful for a Sombra EMP, which can immediately demolish both of your barriers.
Icon-reinhardt
Reinhardt
While you have the advantage at medium-range, at close range Reinhardt has the upper hand with his unblockable primary weapon and higher health pool. In addition, your Hyperspheres and Accretion deal self-damage at close range, making directly engaging a Reinhardt at close range very risky. However, you are still capable of nullifying some of the threat he poses. Kinetic Grasp is an excellent tool to deny Reinhardt long-range ultimate charge from his Fire Strike, giving you a small chunk of extra shield health in the process. You can fire Hyperspheres at an angle above his shield, or attempt to ricochet them around to deal damage to both him and any of his teammates close by. If he attempts to charge into your team, you can cancel it with Accretion, potentially saving any pinned teammates, and leaving Reinhardt vulnerable. Experimental Barrier and Accretion can also completely deny Earthshatter if timed properly. Having a friendly Reinhardt means running a barrier-heavy team composition. Because Reinhardt will be more planted in place, this give you a little more freedom to be aggressive, but you still shouldn't stray too far from Reinhardt so that neither of you get ambushed. If Reinhardt hits a large number of opponents with Earthshatter, you can follow up with Gravitic Flux to easy kill all of the stunned opponents. Experimental Barrier travels at the same speed as a charging Reinhardt, so consider coordinating with your allied Reinhardt to protect him during a risky charge.
Icon-roadhog
Roadhog
You and Roadhog are both primarily effective at mid to close range. However, if he grabs you with his Chain Hook, he will easily gain the upper hand. It's important to keep your Experimental Barrier between yourself and Roadhog to keep him from Hooking you. Him being so large and slow makes him an easy target for your Hyperspheres as well as Accretion and Gravitic Flux. It's best to use Accretion on him when he's using Take a Breather, which will disrupt his healing and damage-reduction to render him easier to finish off. If he unleashes Whole Hog on you and your team, try to quickly cancel it out with either Kinetic Grasp or Accretion; Experimental Barrier won't do much, as his high damage with low spread will shred your barrier apart in an instant. A Roadhog being your team's second tank will force you to play a defensive, team-supporting role. Your slow mobility will also make it difficult for the two of you to flank enemies. However, so long as you keep track of each other's position, you can work well together. An enemy snagged by Roadhog's Chain Hook makes for an easy target for your Hyperspheres or Accretion if you want to stun them even longer. If Roadhog stays by your side, he can also help pull flankers off of you with his Chain Hook.
Icon-sigma
Sigma
You should focus on putting pressure on an enemy Sigma's Experimental Barrier, forcing him to recall it to recharge. Your Hyperspheres can be absorbed by Kinetic Grasp, but Accretion cannot, so focus on attempting to stun Sigma out of Kinetic Grasp where possible, to deny him extra shields. You should also try to block his Accretion with your Experimental Barrier. If you know an enemy Sigma has Gravitic Flux, save your Accretion to attempt to stun him and cancel the ultimate. With Sigma's abilities such as a retractable barrier, a damaging and stunning rock, projectile absorption, and a slam. One Sigma can protect the team from behind while another from the front. Another thing you can do is one Sigma uses an ability and the other one can use that same ability while the others is on cooldown.
link=http://overwatch.gamepedia
Wrecking Ball
Wrecking Ball's high mobility and knockback-based attacks can make him difficult to deal with on your own. Kinetic Grasp can block his Quad Cannons, but its damage output does not give a lot of bonus shields. Focus on attempting to hit Wrecking Ball with Accretion to stop him from plowing through your team, especially if he uses Piledriver in the middle of your group. Accretion is also a valuable tool to halt Wrecking Balls attempting to stall the point by spinning. You can use Experimental Barrier to block the damage from Piledriver to anyone behind it, as well as being able to clear a path through his Minefield, although this will probably destroy your shield. Sigma's almost non-existent mobility can make synergising with a friendly Wrecking Ball difficult. The best thing you can do to help him is to provide your Experimental Barrier to protect him, however this will leave your team short of a shield. You can also stun enemies knocked up with Piledriver with Accretion, which should be easy to hit as enemies hit by Piledriver have a locked trajectory. In addition, Gravitic Flux can be used in combination with Minefield to quickly eliminate a group of enemies.
Icon-winston
Winston
Winston's Tesla Cannon damage cannot be blocked by either Experimental Barrier or Kinetic Grasp, so save both for more important sources of damage. You have a longer effective range than Winston does, and his large hitbox makes your Hyperspheres easy to hit, but his Barrier Projector can make doing damage to him difficult if he engages with it. If Winston attempts to dive directly into your team, his predictable path can make hitting him with Accretion easy, however Winston can counter it with his Barrier Projector. Instead, focus on attempting to stun Winston as he moves to disengage with Jump Pack. If you can hit him, his momentum will be cancelled, and he will be left vulnerable. Your low mobility and large hitbox makes you easy to juggle around for a Winston in Primal Rage, and his high health and lowered Jump Pack cooldown will make stunning him with Accretion largely ineffective unless your entire team is focusing him at the moment you stun, so focus on drawing an ulting Winston's attention away from your squishier teammates by shooting at him. Sigma has no notable team synergy with Winston.
Icon-zarya
Zarya
At high energy, Zarya is capable of shredding your Experimental Barrier in seconds, and its beam cannot be blocked by Kinetic Grasp, however you can absorb her secondary fire projectiles. Avoid shooting into her bubbles to reduce her damage output, and wait for her to use her bubbles before casting Gravitic Flux, as they are capable of nullifying the slam damage for both her and any of her teammates that she protects, in addition to giving her a massive amount of energy. Kinetic Grasp is capable of absorbing Graviton Surge, however its short range and fairly long cooldown can make this tricky. Zarya can work with Sigma in a similar way to Reinhardt, however your smaller and weaker barrier in addition to your lower health pool makes it a less optimal duo.

Damage

Hero Match-Up Team Synergy
Icon-ashe
Ashe
You can use your Experimental Barrier to block Ashe's line of sight, but this will only momentarily faze her while she repositions. Instead, focus on using Experimental Barrier to block Dynamite, as the burn damage is a major part of Ashe's ultimate charge gain. Do not bother using Kinetic Grasp against B.O.B, as you will not gain a lot of shields, so use Experimental Barrier to block off B.O.B from doing damage. If you and a friendly Ashe time the activation of B.O.B. and Gravitic Flux just right, you can have B.O.B. crash into a team to stun them long enough to be stuck in place and grabbed by Gravitic Flux, at which point B.O.B. will have free range to gun them all down in the air.
Icon-bastion
Bastion
Bastion's Sentry mode fire will demolish your Experimental Barrier extremely quickly. Only use it momentarily to block bursts of damage while your team attempts to cross an area covered by Bastion. Using Kinetic Grasp to close the gap between you and Bastion is the best move, as you will gain a massive amount of shields from Bastion's high damage output. If the Bastion has no barrier protecting him, you can use Accretion to stun him and force him out of Sentry form. Bastions in Tank mode will often play very aggressively out of cover, so you can block his rockets with Experimental Barrier and/or Kinetic Grasp, and stun him with Accretion to slow him down. If you're helping protect a friendly Bastion, you can use Kinetic Grasp to absorb a burst of attacks from the likes of Soldier: 76 or Pharah, and at all other times you can keep it safe with your Experimental Barrier.
Icon-doomfist
Doomfist
(To be added) Sigma has no notable team synergy with Doomfist.
Icon-genji
Genji
With some practice, Gravitic Flux can be used effectively to counter Dragonblade (and preferrably one assisted with nano boost). First, you have to wait for the genji to pull out his blade, after which he will dash to his first target. As soon as he dashes to, for example a friendly ana, use your Gravitic flux on him while he is relatively still. The time frame here is quite small, but more than long enough to get him in the flux and finish him off. This play is always worth it, as trading 2 ults for 1 and saving many friendly's is worth it. Once you grab a large number of opponents and crash them down with Gravitic Flux, any survivors will be greatly weakened, serving as easy targets for a friendly Genji to run through with Swift Strike or Dragonblade.
Icon-hanzo
Hanzo
(To be added) Sigma has no notable team synergy with Hanzo.
Icon-junkrat
Junkrat
Junkrat's heavy spam damage will quickly destroy your Experimental Barrier. Close the gap with Kinetic Grasp, as the high damage output of Junkrat's explosives will give you plenty of extra shield health to work with. You can also destroy RIP-Tire with a single burst of your Hyperspheres. An enemy team lifted into the air with Gravitic Flux serves as an easy target for a friendly Junkrat to blow apart with RIP-Tire.
File:Icon-mccree.png
McCree
(To be added) Experimental Barrier's mobility can provide good cover for a friendly McCree to get up close and damage enemies while giving him ample protection. If you lift the enemy team into the air with Gravitic Flux, McCree can easily gun them down with Deadeye. Just be careful about a lifted Reinhardt, as he'll still be able to deploy his barrier to protect any teammates floating behind him.
Icon-mei
Mei
(To be added) Blizzard combos excellently with Gravitic Flux; enemies slowed to a crawl will be unable to escape Gravitic Flux's reach, and once they come crashing down, they will be quickly finished off by either your teammates or the gradual damage from Blizzard's freezing. Outside of your Ultimates, enemies frozen by Mei serve as easy targets for Hyperspheres or Accretion, while Mei can also use her Endothermic Blaster to freeze quick enemies trying to heckle you up close.
Icon-pharah
Pharah
Due to her ability to constantly be hovering in the air, it will usually be easy for Pharah to hover out of your Experimental Barrier's area of protection, making it difficult to block her shots. However, a quick deployment in response to her Rocket Barrage can both save your team and cause Pharah to die from the recoil. Barring this, you can use Kinetic Grasp to absorb both her standard rocket fire as well as her Rocket Barrage. Unless Pharah is hovering extremely close to the ground, don't expect to land much damage on Pharah, if at all; focus on keeping your teammates safe so they can gun her down. Sigma has no notable team synergy with Pharah.
Icon-reaper
Reaper
Out of all the shield tanks, Sigma arguably has the best match up against reaper. A good combo to remember against reaper is as follows: Hit him with hyperspheres until he uses wraith form, then use accretion and finish him off with some more hyperspheres. Do all of this after using Kinetic grasp for shield gain and while shield dancing with your Experimental Barrier to minimize the amount of damage received. Hitting your accretion and all hyperspheres is crucial, however this is very easy since reaper's combat style forces him to be up close. Sigma has no notable team synergy with Reaper.
Icon-Soldier 76
Soldier: 76
(To be added) Soldier 76's ultimate ability, tactical visor works very well with sigma's ultimate in open areas. By elevating everyone caught in your ultimate above any possible cover (besides barriers), you are essentially giving your friendly soldier 76 a free firing range. Use this combination of Gravitic flux + Tactical visor to pick off valuable targets in the backline, or a few isolated targets such as healers to turn the fight in your favour.
Icon-sombra
Sombra
Hack will force your Experimental Barrier back to you, so make any effort you can to avoid being hacked. With quick reaction times, you can place a shield between you and Sombra to block line of sight for her Hack, and it can also block her bullets to deny her ultimate charge. You can also attempt to stun her with Accretion if your team is focusing her, to prevent her from trying to teleport away. Hack will completly cancel your Gravitic Flux, so wait for her to use it before casting your ultimate. EMP is a massive threat to you, as your Experimental Barrier will be completely destroyed by it, in addition to your shield health, and any additional shields you have gained from Kinetic Grasp. If you suspect that a Sombra has EMP, try and keep your barrier retracted to avoid it being completely obliterated. Should a friendly Sombra use EMP to neutralize an enemy team, this can render them easier targets to grab with Gravitic Flux and kill in one go.
Icon-symmetra
Symmetra
Symmetra's Photon Projector beam will charge up and gain ammo from your Experimental Barrier, and can shred it in seconds if you do not manage it carefully. The beam cannot be blocked by Kinetic Grasp, which can kill you quickly at high charge, and her small frame can make her difficult to hit with your Hyperspheres, so avoid directly confronting a Symmetra if possible. You do have a slight range advantage however, so try to engage her beyond the range of her beam if possible. Kinetic Grasp can absorb her secondary fire orbs, however their low fire rate will make absorbing more than one unlikely, so only try to absorb them if they are part of additional spam. You can use Experimental Barrier to block the damage of her Sentry Turrets while you or your team destroy them, and you can ricochet Hyperspheres off surfaces to destroy hidden ones. Symmetra's teleporter can help improve your low mobility, getting you to high ground or other locations that would normally be difficult for you to reach. When she activates Photon Barrier, you'll typically want to retract your Experimental Barrier so that you can save its energy while the massive health of her barrier absorbs the brunt of enemy attacks.
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Torbjörn
(To be added) In a pinch, you can use your Experimental Barrier to keep Torbjörn's turret safe.
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Tracer
Tracer's erratic movement and small hitbox will make it difficult for you to hit her. You can try and stun her with Accretion, but its relatively slow cast speed will make it easy for Tracer to reactively dodge it. However, hitting one or two Hyperspheres on her will usually force a Recall out of her. You also can use Kinetic Grasp to absorb Pulse Bomb. Sigma has no notable team synergy with Tracer.
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Widowmaker
If you spot an enemy Widowmaker trying to snipe your team, you can deploy your Experimental Barrier to block off her shots by covering her sniping location, which can prove to be very annoying. Just be aware that this is a temporary solution, as the Widowmaker can eventually relocate and this act is depriving your team of a shield. Only use this tactic until a friendly flanker can approach Widowmaker and take her out, or at least disrupt her long enough that you can focus on your team again. Kinetic Grasp can absorb her shots, but she's unlikely to fire more than once, instead waiting until your ability has worn off, so be sure to be behind cover as soon as you're on cooldown. Sigma’s ultimate can allow a friendly Widowmaker to get a few headshots while enemies are in the air.

Support

Hero Match-Up Team Synergy

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Ana
You can place your Experimental Barrier between Ana and her team to stop her from being able to heal them. One of the most important things you should be doing is using Experimental Barrier to block her Biotic Grenade and Sleep Dart. You're modestly powerful when Nano-Boosted by Ana; your high-powered Hyperpheres can plow through enemies, but their low range and your low mobility means that you should only be asking for Ana to hit you with her Nano-Boost in a dire situation where you need to defend an objective. Try to stick with Ana at most times; you both have low mobility, and you can protect each other from flankers.
Icon-baptiste
Baptiste
While you are planning on using your ultimate ability, be very wary of Baptiste's signature ability, immortality field, as it is a very hard counter to your ultimate. Baptiste's Amplification Matrix will amplify the damage ouput of any projectiles that pass through, so absorbing the damage with Kinetic Grasp is a good idea, as you will be able to gain a massive amount of bonus shields. Sigma has no notable team synergy with Baptiste.
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Brigitte
Your Hyperspheres can quickly break Brigitte's weak barrier, and your Accretion can knock down any over-zealous Brigittes. Your Experimental Barrier and Kinetic Grasp will do nothing against her melee primary, but Experimental Barrier will block Whip Shot, so try and block as many Whip Shots as possible to deny her Inspire healing. You and Brigitte lack mobility and range; if you stick together, though, you can keep each other and your team alive and allow your teammates to wreak havoc.
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Lúcio
While Lúcio's speed and small size can make him obnoxious to hit, your Hyperspheres have a mild gravity effect, meaning they can slow him down just enough for you to land more shots or for your team to gun him down. An accurate Accretion hit can also grind him to a halt, letting you or your team easily finish him off. Be careful about using Gravitic Flux around Lúcio; his Sound Barrier will easily block off the damage from your Ultimate, rendering it moot. Instead, wait until he's dead, too far away to save his team, just after he uses up his Ultimate, or if you have a friendly Sombra ready with EMP to cancel his Sound Barrier. Lúcio's speed boost can help you keep up with your team. His area-of-effect healing generally means he'll want a large number of teammates to rally around, so try to focus on keeping him and your team safe so he can keep them healed.
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Mercy
Mercy's high mobility and self-healing can make her difficult to shoot down. One of the most important things you can do against a Mercy is cancelling her Resurrection with your Accretion. If you know a Mercy has Resurrection available, save Accretion to stun her out of it, which should be easy to hit considering Resurrection has a slow cast time and Mercy is almost completely still while using it. Mercy can boost all of your damage making you a powerful tank due to your increased damage.
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Moira
A common strategy Moira's do on defence is throwing a biotic orb at the enemy spawn. It is always your job as Sigma to destroy this orb with your Kinetic grasp in order to deny the enemy moira any free ult charge. Sigma has no notable team synergy with Moira.
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Zenyatta
You and Zenyatta heavily lack in mobility, but a fight between you will come down to your proximity. At a distance, Zenyatta easily has the upper hand; if Zenyatta spots you from far away, put up your Experimental Barrier or block his shots with Kinetic Grasp, otherwise he can easily pick you off. He can't deploy his Orb of Discord through your barrier, so try to keep it up at all times when he's in the vicinity to deny him his Orb. Should you catch Zenyatta up-close, the fight is yours; his low mobility means it will be nearly impossible for him to avoid Accretion, and it only takes a few Hyperspheres to kill him. While it's good to dance around your Experimental Barrier to block his shots, he might take this opportunity to back off and create distance between the two of you, so be wary and don't let him back away. Sigma has no notable team synergy with Zenyatta.

Story

Icon-sigma
"There is no obligation from the universe to make sense to you."

Fantastic astrophysicist Dr. Siebren de Kuiper's life changed forever when an experiment gone wrong gave him the ability to control gravity; now, Talon manipulates him to their own ends.[2]

De Kuiper is mentally damaged. He thinks about the universe, gravity, and physics all through the same 'prism', seeing them as being akin to music.[3] He has high regard for the work of Mei-Ling Zhou, finding it "brilliant."[4]

Background

Gravity... Gravity is a harness. My entire career has been devoted to this idea... to this moment. Decades! If the unifying theories are correct, we will soon be able to harness the power of a black hole! Nothing will ever be the same.
~ Dr. De Kuiper
Sigma-theory

De Kuiper works on his theories

A brilliant astrophysicist[5] Dr. Siebren de Kuiper was considered a pioneer in his field. His life's work involved devising a way to harness the power of gravity. Equally known for his groundbreaking research and eccentric personality, he conducted most of his studies from his lab in The Hague.[2] At some point he was present at the Horizon Lunar Colony.[4]

Sigma-black hole

The experiment goes awry

Decades of study and research led De Kuiper to the belief that "gravity is a harness;" if the unifying theories were correct, through his work mankind would soon even be able to command nature's most potent expression of gravity, a black hole, and it would change everything forever. Believing that he was close to achieving his goal, he performed his most important experiment on the International Space Station. However, something went terribly wrong. The field containing the experiment began to fail; as De Kuiper desperately tried to figure out why it was happening and how to stop it, the brief formation of a black hole was triggered. Screaming, De Kuiper was only exposed to its power for a moment, but he suffered serious psychological damage. The area around him began to experience strange fluctuations in gravity, peaking and dropping in time with his reactions. He had to be evacuated immediately.

Sigma-asylum

De Kuiper, now designated "Subject Sigma"

Upon returning to Earth, De Kuiper was quarantined in a secret government facility. Between his ravings about the patterns of the universe, the psychic damage he sustained, the gravitic anomalies happening around him, and concerns for his mental wellbeing, he was deemed a danger to himself and others and detained for years under the name "Subject Sigma," with himself and his inexplicable abilities being researched. Isolated and unable to control his powers, De Kuiper retreated into his own mind. He thought he would never see the outside world again.

SigmaMoiraSombraWidowmakerReaper

Sigma, now in the service of Talon

When Talon discovered De Kuiper's existence, they infiltrated the facility and broke him out, planning to use his brilliance and research to further their plans. In their custody, De Kuiper slowly gained control of his powers. Now, gravity moved according to his will, and he was closer than ever to achieving his life's goal. But the same experiment that had opened his mind had also fractured it, and he struggled to keep the pieces together. De Kuiper continued to develop his powers in hopes of unlocking the secrets of the universe, unaware that Talon was using both him and his research.[2] He spent most of his time working off-site in a lab Talon granted to him.[3]

Achievements

Name Icon Description Reward
Conservation of Energy
Abilities-sigma3 Gain 350 shields with a single use of Sigma's Kinetic Grasp in Quick or Competitive play. Spray Sigma Pixel
Pixel
Event Horizon
Abilities-sigma5 Get 3 killing blows during a single use of Sigma's Gravitic Flux in Quick or Competitive play. Spray Sigma Cute
Cute

Trivia

  • Sigma is Hero 31 and the tenth new hero added to the game.
  • Sigma (Σ) is the 18th letter of the Greek alphabet, and has various uses as a symbol in science and mathematics. It is displayed on his inmate suit as "Subject Σ."
  • Sigma is currently the oldest character in the hero line-up.
  • At the beginning of Sigma's Origin Story video, there are yellow letters that appear on the screen which spell out "EM DJIRVEB." When reversed, it spells "Bevrijd me," which is Dutch for "Release me."
  • Sigma's Experimental Barrier is very similar to Symmetra's old Photon Barrier that existed prior to patch 1.25, though Sigma's is bigger, travels three times faster, can be placed anywhere, and can be recalled at any time.
  • The number 31 is the Dutch International Calling Code.
  • Although some heroes have sound effects that play in their hero selection and heroic highlight animations, Sigma is one of the few that plays music, specifically. The piano music that plays is presumably the "melody" he hears and ponders. His actions during the highlight imply he has memorized, or at least is well familiar with this precise melody.
  • Along with this, and if you listen carefully, similar piano music also plays while he unleashes his ultimate. Unlike with his highlight, the music follows no melody and becomes chaotic and sharp. With even closer attention, you can hear his echoed, crazed laughter as well.
  • Sigma's hostile ultimate voice line, "Het universum zingt voor mij!" (English: "The universe sings for me!"), was contributed by Chris Metzen, who acted as a creative consultant for the Origin Story video.[6]
  • Sigma's hero select voice line, "There is no obligation for the universe to make sense to you," is a quote from famous astrophysicist Neil deGrasse Tyson.
  • He is possibly inspired in part by the Dutch scientist Gerard Kuiper.
  • Sigma's Asylum skin is heavily influenced by Hannibal Lecter as portrayed by Anthony Hopkins in The Silence of the Lambs (white suit with number during the cage scenes and the face restrainer).
  • Sigma generated some controversy with his reveal, with some claiming he was based on mental illness stereotypes. This was seen with his "asylum" look (plus, his asylum skin), including the lack of shoes. The barefoot look was chosen to "sell the ‘asylum’ look a bit more" (many psychiatric patients are not allowed to wear shoes as they might cause harm with the laces). In response to the controversy, Michael Chu stated "with the idea of the character, we never intended him to be an example of someone who’s going through mental health issues. He’s really supposed to be more focused on this very specific thing that happened to him, which is that his body and his mind were literally ripped apart by the momentary exposure to a black hole."[7]
  • In an interview at Comic-Con when Overwatch developers were talking about the development of Hammond, Hammond's original ultimate idea originally consisted of pile driving players players into the air to then have them back down to the ground to damage the players sent into the air. The developers instead changed to have a minefield as Hammond's ultimate but the idea wasn't scrapped. Later, the ultimate seems to have been transferred to Sigma.


Development

Qiu-fang-sigma-movement-studies

Movement studies by Qiu Fang.

Blizzard began development of Hero 31 with the intent to further flesh out the Talon organization as well as to provide another barrier tank option in addition to Reinhardt and Orisa, both heavily requested by players. The creative team initially planned for Mauga to fulfill this purpose, and initially prototyped the hero dual-wielding rocket launchers, but found it difficult to convey how he would deploy his barriers with both hands occupied, and began to iterate on other concepts for his kit. In the process of developing Mauga's character for Alyssa Wong's short story, What You Left Behind, they decided that the kit being developed by Geoff Goodman and Joshua Noh no longer meshed with Mauga's violent, aggressive personality.

Qiu-fang-sigma-final-concept

Concept art by Qiu Fang.

Rather than scrap the kit, which they found to be exceptionally fun, they pivoted and began developing a new Hero, who would become Sigma, to better reflect the more defensive and cerebral nature of the Hero's abilities. To that end, they brainstormed a physicist who would manipulate gravity, who could act as a tragic villain being manipulated by Talon without even realizing it, due to his psychological trauma, and began prototyping the character with concept artist Qiu Fang, initially using existing art. As a result of this pivoting, he was created on a tighter schedule than usual and was slightly delayed compared to previous heroes. The team consulted physics programmer Erin Catto, who holds a PhD in physics and wrote the physics engines for all of Blizzard's games, to make Sigma's physics references more scientifically accurate.

Blizzard has a campus in The Hague and as such has several Dutch employees both in Europe and North America, so they were able to consult with their employees on names and quotes, and incorporated a lot of Dutch influences into the character.[6]

Sigma was leaked four days before his official reveal on July 18th, 2019 by the Mexican blog post detailing the new role queue feature. That image was then tweeted by Team Mexico of the Overwatch World Cup.

Videos

Official

Balance Change Logs

Patch
Description
Abilities-sigma2 Experimental Barrier
  • Health reduced from 900 to 700
  • Barrier health regeneration rate reduced from 120 to 80 health per second

Abilities-sigma3 Kinetic Grasp

  • Cooldown increased from 10 to 12 seconds
Abilities-sigma4 Accretion
  • Knockdown duration is now a fixed 0.8 second instead of scaling with distance
  • Cast time reduced from 0.75 to 0.65 seconds
Abilities-sigma5 Gravitic Flux
  • Ultimate cost reduced 10%
  • Flight speed increased 30%
Abilities-sigma5 Gravitic Flux
  • Can now be interrupted before targets begin falling
  • Impact slow duration reduced from 0.9 to 0.6 seconds
Abilities-sigma2 Experimental Barrier
  • Health reduced from 1500 to 900
  • Barrier health regeneration rate reduced from 150 to 120 health per second

Abilities-sigma3 Kinetic Grasp

  • Cooldown reduced from 13 seconds to 10 seconds
  • Damage-to-shield gain ratio increased from 40% to 60%
Abilities-sigma3 Kinetic Grasp
  • No longer blocks Chain Hook and Whip Shot

Abilities-sigma5 Gravitic Flux

  • High gravity effect duration reduced from 1.2 to 0.9 seconds

Abilities-sigma2 Experimental Barrier

  • Regeneration rate reduced from 175 to 150 per second
  • Now has a 1 second cooldown after recalling the barrier
  • Initial 0.2 second cast time removed

Developer Comment: Sigma can often feel difficult to counter since he can so quickly reposition his shield and use Kinetic Grasp to block from other directions. We’re opening up some weaknesses in these abilities to allow for more counter play from his enemies.

Abilities-sigma1 Hyperspheres
  • Explosion damaged reduced from 35 to 30

Abilities-sigma2 Experimental Barrier

  • Added a toggle option for deploying Sigma’s Experimental Barrier
  • Being hacked by Sombra will now recall his barrier if it is deployed. (EMP will still destroy the barrier first if both are in range)

Abilities-sigma4 Accretion

  • Explosion damage increased from 50 to 60

Abilities-sigma5 Gravitic Flux

  • Intro cast time increased from 0.4 seconds to 0.6
New Hero: Sigma (Tank)

References

  1. Joshua Noh clarifies on Sigma's abilities. Twitch, accessed on 2019-7-24
  2. 2.0 2.1 2.2 Sigma, PlayOverwatch. Accessed on 2019-09-20
  3. 3.0 3.1 2019-07-31, Blizzard explains new Overwatch hero’s design, mental health, and baby-soft feet. Polygon, accessed on 2019-08-20
  4. 4.0 4.1 Overwatch, Sigma Quotations
  5. 2019-07-24, Developer Update | Introducing Sigma | Overwatch. YouTune, accessed on 2019-08-20
  6. 6.0 6.1 Sigma Gameplay Reveal with Seagull and Jeff Kaplan. Twitch, accessed on 2019-7-23
  7. 2019-08-04, Sigma's New 'Asylum' Skin Raises Concerns About Overwatch's Handling Of Mental-Illness Tropes. Kotaku, accessed on 2019-08-20

External Links

Heroes in Overwatch 2
 
Icon-sigma
Sigma
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