The popular first person shooter Overwatch received a new addition to its diverse roster of playable characters on August 14th: Sigma, an eccentric astrophysicist who is sure to twist up the metagame. I went and asked the Overwatch players at Lambert about their opinions on the character.

To begin with, Blizzard (the company that made Overwatch) only releases about 2-3 new characters a year, so whenever one is released, the player base gets extremely excited. Overwatch itself has an incredibly diverse roster of fictional characters that hail from all around the planet, each with their own personal backstories. Sigma’s backstory is a key factor in his explosion of his popularity. His origin story teaser alone has garnered over 6.5 million views. 

In his in-game backstory, Siebren de Kuiper (Sigma) was a Dutch astrophysicist who attempted to harness the power of a black hole. After accidentally exposing himself to the field, he had sustained mental damage and gained gravitational control. Doing so attracted government attention and he was subsequently locked up in a secret facility under the name of “Subject Sigma”. Talon, a terrorist organization in the Overwatch universe, learned of his existence and released him from the asylum in a raid. Now, they utilize both his research and his body as a living weapon using music to subdue him. Sigma continues to fight with Talon, unaware of this exploitation, but as long as he’s able to conduct his research, he doesn’t care.

Sigma is the third barrier tank (character that provides a durable shield for their team) to join Overwatch, and a highly anticipated Talon character. Previously, players could only choose between Orisa or Reinhardt if they wanted to play a barrier tank. Sigma’s Experimental Barrier allows for dynamic ways to block damage at vertical angles and other mid-air positions. In addition to this shield, Sigma wields bouncing “hyperspheres”, an ability to hurl an accretion of rock at opponents, a damage absorption black hole, and a fatal, gravity-altering slam. For more on Sigma’s abilities, click here.

 Lets see how Lambert Overwatch players like Sigma:

Are any of his abilities overpowered or underpowered?

“I don’t like being on the receiving end of his ultimate [Gravitic Flux]. No me gusta. The range is a bit too small in my opinion.” -Maxx Serrano 

“I think Sigma is balanced” – Charles Gong 

“I like his abilities and shield, but I hate his basic attack, it’s too hard to hit” – Aaron Hsu

“Nothing is overpowered or underpowered, it’s just really annoying to deal with. His ultimate is game changing if you use it with your team, but without help, it’s pretty useless.” – Allen Phlong LHS Esports, CSGO

How do players like the visual design of Sigma overall?

“I don’t like how he has no shoes, he’s not Winston who gets a feet pass” -Allen Phlong

“Ew feet” – Maxx Serrano LHS Esports, League of Legends (formerly)

“I think his face is stupid looking, so I enjoy the Talon skin because it covers it up.” – Aaron Hsu

How do players like Sigma’s backstory?

“It was pretty epic, he seems a little insane in the membrane” – Aaron Hsu

“I don’t really care for character’s lore” – Maxx Serrano

“Both his visual design and backstory are decent” -Charles Gong

How do tank players like the character?

“I prefer Winston, I don’t really play main tanks, they’re kinda boring” – Aaron Hsu

“I’m a ball boy (Wrecking Ball main) and sometimes play Dva, but he [Sigma] thicc [most likely referring to Sigma being the largest character in game]” -Maxx Serrano

How do DPS and Support players like the character?

“I’m a diamond support. I like him [on my team], but not playing against him” – Vincent Kosasih LHS Esports, FGC, Fortnite

“He’s pretty good for a tank, Shield characters are good and bad for McCree because I can use High Noon safer but I can’t kill enemies behind a shield” – Patrick Soo,  LHS Esports, CSGO 

“I main Ana and McCree so I haven’t honestly played too much with him” – Charles Gong

Sigma has been in live Ranked/Competitive servers for a few weeks now, but it may be a little too early to make any conclusions from just a standard player base. The Lambert Esports Club also hosts an official Overwatch team, and Sigma is available to play in all tournaments. He currently isn’t as prominent in the Overwatch League due to the immensely powerful GOATS composition. But with the upcoming Role Queue feature, the GOATS composition will be eradicated and Sigma could make a lasting impact in Overwatch’s meta.

For more on Sigma, check out these videos from the official Overwatch Youtube channel:

Jeff Kaplan’s (Overwatch lead designer) Breakdown of Sigma

Sigma’s Official Gameplay Release Trailer

Sigma’s Origin Story