It’s been almost two weeks since the newest Overwatch hero, Sigma, dropped on the live server. He’s a Tank whose low mobility is compensated by his high damage output. Sigma has a high-skill ceiling which can be intimidating for new players, but our TGS Overwatch advisers are here with 10 tips that will drastically improve your Sigma gameplay.

1. Get familiar with your Hypersphere damage

Sigma’s auto attack is a splash projectile that fires twice and does 60 damage per sphere on direct hit, totaling 120 damage. The splash on the projectile ranges from 10.5 to 35 damage. The 10.5 splash damage occurs only when a hero is hit directly with the Hypersphere, while the 35 damage occurs when the spheres detonate within 3 meters of a hero.

2. Weave in auto-attacks/melee with abilities.

The rate of fire is 2 spheres (1 auto-attack) every 1.5 seconds. The rate of fire allows for Sigma to weave in a melee after every auto-attack with no delay.

As for abilities, Sigma is able to use his auto-attack once while casting his ultimate ability, Gravitic Flux. Because his ultimate ability’s damage is 50% of the max HP of a hero, aiming your auto-attack towards any heroes with just over half-health can guarantee a kill!

3. Use the map’s geometry to your advantage.

Sigma is best used in maps with lots of choke points and tight corridors. Use those tight angles to your advantage as you bounce your hypersphere above enemy defenses. Be careful with this, though, as it will be harder to get direct hits this way. That being said, a little damage is better than none!

4. Get a grasp on Kinetic Grasp

Sigma’s left shift, Kinetic Grasp, absorbs 40% of the incoming damage taken for 2 seconds, with a maximum absorption of 400. Sigma then uses this as a decaying shield. This ability can absorb most incoming auto attacks and abilities (with beam attacks being the sole total exception.) Some melee attacks such as Doomfist’s abilities cannot be absorbed, while others like Roadhog’s hooks can.

5. Try not to let your shield “die” completely

Learning how to manage your shield is key! Sigma’s shield regenerates at a rate of 175 health per second after being down for 2 seconds. This means that letting your shield get burned down completely leaves you vulnerable for at least 10 seconds – so it’s best to avoid that situation as much as possible. 

6. Know how to push with your shield.

Sigma’s ability to deploy and recall his shield at any time is very valuable for protecting your team while moving around the map. For example, you can use your shield to cover your team as you move across the enemy team’s line of sight. You can also periodically deploy and recall your shield as your walk forward to cover your team’s push into the enemy team! 

7. Understand your Accretion ability.

Accretion is a very useful ability that knocks down enemies. It’s important to know when to use it to get the most value out of it. For example, Accretion can knock Bastion out of sentry mode or Hammond out of his ball form so it can be great for stopping a Hammond harassing you from behind. It can also be used to stop a charging Reinhardt in his tracks – potentially saving your teammate from getting pinned. Accretion also works agains D.Va’s Defense Matrix, Genji’s Deflect, and Sigma’s Kinetic Grasp so stun your enemies when they use those abilities! 

8. Know your combo!

Sigma’s most effective combo is E (Accretion), auto-attack (Hypersphere), and melee. Accretion alone deals 80 damage, with a splash damage of 15 when directly hit. Hitting a close-range Accretion will stun a hero for a minimum of 0.5 seconds, which gives you enough time to hit your auto attack for 120 damage (+10 splash) and your melee for 30. This combo can put out 230-255 damage (range includes splash damage), which can easily execute most of the heroes in the game.

9. Use your ultimate to synergize with other heroes!

Sigma’s ultimate works well with many different heroes and their ultimate abilities! For example, if you use your ultimate after Zarya’s Graviton Surge, you deal the full damage of your ultimate, but WITHOUT lifting enemies. This makes it easier for your teammates to deal damage as well and confirm kills! In general, Sigma’s Gravitic Flux works well with any ultimate that takes some time to work like McCree’s Deadeye, Doomfist’s Meteor Strike, and D.Va’s Bomb. 

10. Know who counters you/who you counter!

Sigma is great against tanky, CC-heavy heroes such as Roadhog and Reinhardt. He is also very effective against heroes that tend to take the higher ground. A good Sigma can make the enemy Widowmaker useless by putting a shield in front of her, or make a Pharah kill herself by blocking her Rocket Barrage with your shield.

Sigma’s Kinetic Grasp does not work against beams (Symmetra and Zarya) and melee abilities (Doomfist). Due to his lack of mobility, Sigma will struggle against Symmetra turrets when they’re scattered at key choke point around the map. Additionally, Sombra can cause some major panic when she takes away Sigma’s ability to cast his shield.