Sigma was a late entry in the series but he was a strong one. The concept of tanking from a distance is an understandably tough one to flesh out; if he's not on the front, is he truly a tank? Why would enemies focus on him over his squishy teammates? Overwatch 2 experts can answer that question.
Sigma is incredibly disruptive in Overwatch 2. His shield protects allies that have a shorter range than he does and his attacks are similar in damage to what Junkrat dishes out. When played correctly, enemies will have to deal with Sigma at the start of a fight.
Playstyle
Nobody loves a corridor or a hallway quite as much as Sigma. He can bounce his attacks off of walls and around bends to hit units that aren't even visible yet. His range is forced into a medium length as his primary fire automatically explodes at a specific distance.
His shield recharges quickly and can be replaced as the battles shift locations. When opponents realize he'll keep shielding to protect his allies, they turn to focus on him. He can turn defense into health, even allowing his health to go above the maximum amount. In this way, he's not just one of the best tank heroes, he counters elite tanks as well.
Abilities
Hyperspeheres
- Launch two charges which implode after a short duration, dealing damage in an area.
New players to the franchise will enjoy this primary attack. The damage is significant, more than capable of being tops on the team when focused on large groups. The automatic explosions also enable Sigma to hit aerial targets much easier. These orbs will explode after hitting an enemy, but not when hitting a wall, so use the bounce to Sigma's advantage.
Experimental Barrier
- Hold to propel a floating barrier; release to stop. Press again to recall the barrier.
Sigma casts shields at a distance of his choosing away from him. This enables him to protect frontline DPS units from behind them. With shifting battlefields, Sigma can quickly recall this shield and place it again after a few seconds.
Kinetic Grasp
- Absorb projectiles and convert them into shields.
When gaining the focus of fire, Sigma takes a couple of seconds and absorbs all damage directed at him. This damage becomes a shield after the effect ends. The move can be interrupted and physical effects such as Roadhog's hook or Genji's sword will go through it, but it can absorb most everything else, even Pharah's ultimate or Moira's orbs.
Accretion
- Gather a mass of debris and throw it at an enemy to knock them down.
Sigma has an arcing stun that takes a second to charge up, but it will interrupt heroes in the middle of any channeled moves or ultimates. When targeted at a mass of unshielded bodies, it's sure to hit somebody. and allow the DPS to pick off the incapacitated individual.
Gravitic Flux
- Manipulate gravity to lift enemies into the air and slam them back down.
Sigma himself flies into the air when using this ability. He's able to choose the casting location of a wide circle. Everything inside will be suspended in the air and then slammed back to the ground. During this time, Sigma can still use his right hand to attack. The slam damage is significant enough to kill DPS and support units that take light damage while suspended in midair.
Tips & Tricks
Seek out bottleneck locations and make a stand there. There are many spots on escort missions where these corridors pop up. Use walls to bounce attacks off of to strike from safety. Even if these orbs aren't lethal, they act to charge up Sigma's ultimate quickly.
Communicate with the team about when to use the ultimate. Due to the changes since the first game, there is an abundance of heroes that can capitalize on enemy units dangling uselessly in the air, even if it is for just a few seconds.
Combos
- Mei
As a DPS who can help out establishing a strong frontline, Sigma can protect Mei with a shield when she needs to freeze. Their ultimates both have similar areas of effect, Mei will slow opponents down and create easy targets for Sigma's tougher-to-land ultimate.
- Brigitte
It's already infuriating to try and kill Brigitte. If Sigma is protecting her with yet another shield, she becomes a full-on tank in addition to her support capabilities. Brigitte is also excellent at keeping enemies at just the perfect range for Sigma's primary attack to land.
- Soldier: 76
As one of the best DPS units in the game, Solider: 76 can handle units from a longer distance than Sigma can hit. Sigma's ultimate helps Soldier: 76's ultimate in an overpowered fashion, giving him free attacks that can't miss against enemies who have no cover.
- Mercy
Because Sigma can deal damage to enemies around corners and before the fight begins, Mercy will get a great opportunity to amplify Sigma's damage. Suddenly, his orbs go from a decent area strike to one that can kill enemies after just a few waves.
- Bastion
With a shield saving him from potential headshots, Bastion can get more established closer to the action. Sigma's ultimate is usually good for a couple of free kills for Bastion as he focuses on dangling opponents. Also, Bastion can help protect Sigma from most of his counters.
Advantages & Counters
Coincidentally, Sigma is great against most players that would act as his counters. Because he creates barriers, he excels against enemies that are disrupted by barriers. Roadhog might look forward to Sigma's Kinetic Grasp, but Sigma has the upper hand in counters with Accretion ruining his ultimate and the shield blocking hooks before they can land.
Although Sigma can ruin Wrecking Ball's ultimate with his shield, Wrecking Ball can generally run past Sigma and there isn't anything he can do to stop that from happening short of a lucky Accretion. Mei, Moira, and Genji have attacks that aren't phased at all by Kinetic Grasp. Junkrat can also lob so many grenades that Sigma will have a tough time keeping a shield up.
Overwatch 2 is available now on PC, Xbox One, Xbox Series X/S, PlayStation 4, PlayStation 5, and Nintendo Switch.