Today via a Developer Update, Jeff Kaplan revealed details about the previously teased Talon tank hero named Sigma. Sigma was already confirmed to be the next addition to the roster, and Overwatch fans everywhere are delighted to finally have another tank join the meta. Kaplan revealed details about Sigma’s backstory, walked us through some of his abilities, and gave insight as to how he is expected to perform in a team fight.
Starting with backstory, Sigma, also known by his full name Siebren de Kuiper, originally hails from the Netherlands. Sigma is a scientist interested in studying the effects of gravity, particularly the effects of gravity and black holes. To further his research, the scientist travels to the International Space Station to perform an experiment, which is described as going horribly wrong.
The new character then finds himself awakening in a government facility, where he is given the name Subject Sigma and is contained and experimented upon. The accident aboard the space station has left him with both unusual powers, and deep psychological trauma. The evil organization Talon uses this to their advantage, busting Sigma out of his confines and manipulating him into helping them with their own goals.
Now for gameplay abilities, Sigma has been revealed to be yet another barrier tank, widening the pool of possible main tank choices from three to four. His Experimental Barrier has 1500 health and can be projected in front of you, not unlike Symmetra’s barrier. It is much larger, however, and players can stop its propulsion at any time and recall it back to them.
His primary fire is a two-round projectile burst called Hyperspheres. These orbs don’t do a lot of damage individually but have some interesting functionality. The orbs do a small amount of area of effect damage. Additionally, they can be bounced off of surfaces, allowing for increased functionality and trick shots around corners.
Another unique ability is called Kinetic Grasp. This functions similarly to Genji’s deflect or D.Va’s Defense Matrix. Rather than reflecting or absorbing incoming damage, however, Sigma instead coverts the damage to temporary shields for himself. These shields can stack up to 400 points, although Kaplan does note that this number is subject to change.
Accretion is the last of his normal abilities. This allows Sigma to shoot out a mass of debris, which deals damage and knockbacks nearby enemies. It also can stun enemy players for a short amount of time, similar to Reinheart’s ultimate, but not quite as dramatic.
Finally, the new hero features an ultimate called Gravitic Flux, which levitates enemies in the air for a brief amount of time before slamming them back to earth, dealing damage. The damage is always equal to half of the character’s maximum HP, regardless of how damaged they are to begin with. It also locks enemies in place for a much shorter duration than comparable ultimates like Zarya’s, helping distinguish Sigma from the currently existing roster.
