Overwatch’s new hero Sigma is a massive gamechanger

Overwatch’s 31st hero, Sigma, was introduced earlier this week. The arena shooter’s latest hero had been teased by Blizzard for a while, but everybody assumed it would be a tank named Mauga – first glimpsed in hero Baptiste’s story – that got released. As Game Director Jeff Kaplan revealed on a Twitch stream from pro player Brandon “Seagull” Larned earlier this week though, Mauga’s design and brute force personality just didn’t suit the hero’s “intelligent” kit, so Kaplan and co pulled a last-minute switcheroo and we got the gravity-manipulating mad scientist Sigma instead.

Jeff revealed that Mauga WAS in development, however the playstyle of what-became Sigma was too "intelligent" for Mauga's aggro personality.

"Big plans" for Mauga, basically confirms he'll be a hero one day. pic.twitter.com/1i4U6qzn7C

— Your Overwatch (@YourOverwatchYT) July 23, 2019

As PC players testing out Sigma on the Public Test Realm servers are finding out though, that’s not the most surprising thing about the new hero. It would appear that Sigma (in his current state) may arguably be the most impactive of all the heroes added to the game post-release. As Kotaku explains, it’s all due to Sigma’s ultimate ability, Gravitic Flux. When triggered, Sigma is launched into the air as a timer counts down and a big circular area marker appears where he’s aiming. At any point during the countdown, Sigma can trigger the first stage of his ult where any enemy caught within that area is lifted into the air to hang helplessly for a time before Sigma slams then back down to deal damage equivalent to 50% of their max health.

That on its own is a pretty effective ult, but players are now discovering uses that completely upend established Overwatch tactics that have been around since the game launched. For example, got an enemy team hunkered down on a control point, making contact just enough to stall out overtime? No problem, just lift them into the air and keep them there as the timer counts down.

Huge SIGMA9 on Horizon from Overwatch

Or maybe you’ve run up against the classic “death ball” team comp, as the whole enemy team sits comfy behind a Reinhardt or Orisa shield? Simple. Just launch them into the air and have your McCree High Noon them in the face.

Sigma + McCree = MaCree – I love this guy already from Overwatch

But it’s not just about throwing things in the air. When Sigma was first introduced, Kaplan compared his ultimate to that of Doomfist’s as both see the heroes go airborne, aiming an area-of-effect attack at the ground. However, there’s a stark difference though: Doomfist’s ult just launches him off-screen, Sigma’s ult lets him actually fly!

Yes, when Gravitic Flux is triggered, as long as the timer for the ult counts down, you have full mobility to fly any-damn-where you please. You may immediately think of flying up to high perches, but how about flying down and then up?

Sigma Ult To Flank From Under The Map from Overwatch

That is simply amazing, and these are only the potentially gamechanging plays that have been discovered within the first two days of play. There’s still a whole lot more to uncover, and with the rest of his kit reportedly being tonnes of fun to use, it looks like Blizzard has a serious winner on their hands here.

Oh, and in case you’re wondering, Kaplan has confirmed that Mauga is still on the way. He has said that they’re also far along in development on a new damage hero and a new healer, and it’s possible Mauga may be shifted to take up one of these roles now that his tank abilities have gone to Sigma.

Last Updated: July 25, 2019