Overwatch's Sigma Now Live On PTR, Abilities Detailed

Yesterday, Blizzard revealed Sigma, the next hero on the way to Overwatch. With that reveal, we only got a trailer showing Sigma's origin story, and it was quite a disturbing look at a man who has had his mind shattered by his scientific pursuits. We figured we wouldn't have to wait long to learn more about Sigma, and we were right, as Blizzard today revealed just what he'll be capable of on the battlefield.

For starters, Sigma is a tank who is capable of using barriers to protect his team, like Reinhardt and Orisa. The way he uses barriers is quite a bit different, as he has the ability to propel his shields through the air. That's done by way of his Experimental Barrier ability, with Blizzard noting that the barriers he produces will travel to a point of his choosing and can be dismissed at any time.

Sigma will deal damage through his Hyperspheres ability, which launches two "gravitic charges" that can bounce off walls and implode shortly after they're fired, damaging enemies near the implosion. Kinetic Grasp, on the other hand, is another defensive ability, as it allows Sigma to stop incoming projectiles and turn them into shields to protect his team.

His final two abilities sound like they'll be able to deal a significant amount of damage when used correctly. Accretion allows Sigma to hurl a mass of debris at enemies, while his ultimate ability Gravitic Flux sends him to the skies to target an area on the ground; all enemies who are caught in that area are lifted into the sky and dropped back down, taking heavy damage in the process.

In the developer update you see embedded above, Overwatch director Jeff Kaplan explains that Gravitic Flux will deal about half of a character's max health as damage when they're caught in it, but since the attack is telegraphed, fast-acting players will have an opportunity to avoid it. Sigma is live on the Overwatch PTR today, with Kaplan saying that he'll head to the live game "very soon."