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.

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 length, 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.

Story
"There is no obligation for 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.

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. He has high regard for the work of Mei-Ling Zhou, finding it "brilliant."

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

A brilliant astrophysicist 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. At some point he was present at the Horizon Lunar Colony.

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.

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.

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. He spent most of his time working off-site in a lab Talon granted to him.

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.
 * 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."
 * 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
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.

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.

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.