Fusion tanks Poko and Sado share their initial thoughts on Overwatch hero 31: Sigma

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On July 23, Overwatch’s newest tank hero was released on the PTR. As players scrambled to get their hands on the new character, many reported Sigma to be clunky and counterintuitive, many others loved the wonky playstyle and incredibly powerful ultimate.

For OWL fans, the big question of the day is whether Sigma will be included in the patch for playoffs or Grand Finals, and if so, how his presence will affect the meta. To give their initial impressions on Sigma’s kit and viability, I couldn’t think of anyone better to ask, than Fusion’s resident tank players Poko and Sado.

The following interview has been edited for length and clarity.

Adam: What are your initial thoughts on the new tank hero Sigma?

Poko: He's pretty interesting, but I don't know if he's going to be played a lot. The skill cap on the character is really high, but I don't even know if he's a main tank or an off-tank. I feel like he's lacking in a lot of the aspects that make good tanks.

Sado: I think that the character is very well designed, but when I played Sigma and used his abilities, it didn't feel very good to me. As far as his kit goes, I don't really think he's that great. I don't really see him fitting into the meta right now.

Adam: Let's dive into his kit a little, what do you think of his Kinetic Grasp and how does it stack up to similar abilities like D.Va's Defense Matrix?

Credit: Blizzard Entertainment

Poko: I mean it's like a 14-second cooldown, so it's a long one. Because of that, I don't really think it's that powerful, you'll just use it when you don't have the shield, I guess. I don't think it's nearly as powerful as D.Va with a Defense Matrix.

Sado: I think that Sigma's shield might be one of the best skills in the game, but they don't really have synergy with the rest of the kit. In that way, I think Defense Matrix is a much better skill, and D.Va is a better hero.

Adam: Sigma's shield has been an interesting topic online, with many saying it's clunky and hard to use. What's your take on this?

Credit: Blizzard Entertainment

Poko: I think it's going to be weird for teams to play around. When you are playing with a Sigma, there's no way to know where his shield is going to be. I think you can protect your snipers with shields, making them free to peek for enemy snipers, but shielding your whole team is going to be pretty tricky.

Sado: I think that his shield makes him a very situational pick. At this point, I think he is only going to be viable in something like a bunker composition as an alternate shield with Orisa. In any other comp, I think I would want to use heroes other than Sigma.

Adam: Sigma's Accretion ability, more commonly known as Boulder online, has a stronger crowd control effect the farther it travels but has a delayed casting time. With these restrictions in mind, how do you feel about it as a reliable CC tool?

Credit: Blizzard Entertainment

Poko: It's an interesting ability since it does more the farther it goes, you have to play around with it, but I'm not sure exactly how best to use it right now. It does a lot of damage with the auto-attack, but I'm not exactly sure how you use your abilities to play around it.

Sado: I think that the general balance of the ability is good. It will take a lot of practice to make it consistent, but if you are hitting your shots most of the time, it should be good.

Adam: What are your thoughts on Sigma's ult and its balance considering it has AOE CC and significant damage?

Credit: Blizzards Entertainment

Poko: Well it's going to be pretty tough to get ultimate with Sigma, but once you have it, it will definitely win you the fight. The area of effect is really big, and the amount of damage being 50 percent of HP is really powerful. I'm not sure how you can play against it, the only way is to play really split, so I don't really know what to do against it.

Sado: It's OP. (Laughs)

Adam: What other tank do you think Sigma will pair best with and why?

Poko: I think that the double shield with Orisa is going to be powerful, and it may be the only way to make Sigma viable. I don't know though. Sigma is going to end up being pretty interesting. I think he may end up replacing Roadhog in like a double sniper comp, but I’m not sure really. Outside of Orisa, I think he'll pair really badly.  

Sado: I think that Orisa is going to be the best counterpart to Sigma. Their shields will complement each other nicely, and the combo potential between them is pretty good.

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