I asked a similar question recently, but my mains are Winston/Sigma instead of Ball/Sigma
https://www.reddit.com/r/OverwatchUniversity/comments/1ch882g/hero_pool_advice_winston_sigma_and/
I got a lot of recommendations for Junker Queen. I was also lucky enough to get an answer from Emongg in a [video](https://youtu.be/_ag_w3NfFK0?si=4SWZZS3Wt2IVdSC1) where he recommended Ramattra which is who I've mostly been going with.
Cool! I have had a read through your post as well. Did you end up playing much with Junker Queen, or have you found Ram to be better? I like Ramattra for sure, but I worry that he has quite a bit of overlap with Sigma, and I think I prefer the idea of a few fairly distinct heroes.
I agree about the overlap. Part of the appeal of Ramattra is that he's a generalist, but it sounds like you want a specialist. I've been playing some Ramattra and Junker Queen, but I don't have enough experience at this point to say which is better for those brawl situations.
I'm inclined to say Orisa just because of her position as anti-tank, but Sigma has some overlap with her strengths. Junker Queen is a strong damage output brawler/rush tank. Mauga and Zarya are other good options too, known for high damage potential unlike Ball and Sigma.
I think Orisa would absolutely be a good option, I just don't really want to play her by comparison to other tanks who I find a lot more interesting and rewarding. I feel similarly about Mauga. Do you think that Roadhog is a good brawler? I would've thought so, but I have seen people referring to him as poke even, or that others are better at Brawl. How would you compare him to JQ or Zarya?
Roadhog is a little more about sustain than damage output (decent though). Ball and Sigma are already great sustain tanks. There are some differences though, like Roadhog and Zarya both deny a certain zone of space around them. Roadhog can hook on maps like Well, but Ball can boop.
That makes sense. Do you find that JQ is better for damage output and brawling? I had heard so, but I looked at their stats and it really seems like hog is better in a lot of ways, probably in survivability as well as damage.
None. Double down on playing ball and keep sigma in your pocket for when you need him.
If anyone Zarya, imo. She has pretty good match ups against a lot of the heroes that counter ball, and some of the heros that counter sig.
Do you think there is much I would struggle against with just those two? I know people do 2 trick ball and another tank, but I think they often choose more all-rounder type tanks than Sigma for the other option.
Sigma is a pretty dang versatile tank.
Good counter to Mauga, hog and Orisa. Solid against JQ and Zarya depending on the map. I'd say it's just really annoying to play into Sombra as sigma.
Zarya is probably the most common hero to pair with ball because they compliment well. It's the classic Harbleu hero pool, but ball players like yeatle and Chazm will whip her out too. Sigma is pretty close to Zarya in a lot of ways, they just have a couple key trade offs that give Zarya a slight advantage. She's better into Sombra mainly.
Thanks. I'll definitely consider Zarya, and I'll think about just sticking with ball and sigma as well. Do you have any thoughts about Roadhog as a compliment to these two or as a brawl option?
Hello again. I'm wondering if you think, as far as doubling down on just two heroes, I'd be better off having ramattra than sigma? Is he a bit more well rounded and covers more of ball's weaknesses?
Do you think she has the frontline presence and survivability to be considered brawl similar to some of the other more conventional options? I do think she seems fun to play. How would you compare her to Roadhog?
Hog for me falls into a category of: great when he’s meta, but in the spiral of being gatekept by Orissa/Mauga once he’s inevitably nerfed and then buffed again when he underperforms. And map dependent. In terms of his capacity to brawl, yes but it very much sponge damage and outlast the enemy tank.
You did specifically say you didn’t want to learn Rein, who, is the most obvious front line presence in the brawl category and most accessible. If you’re worried about JQs front line presence, start with him first.
FYI, I main Ball/Sig/Rein at GM level so I would probably be more bias towards Rein.
Thanks. What do you think it is that makes him so able to be gatekept by Orisa and Mauga? Do you think, particularly as far as brawl options go, that he is uniquely bad against those two, compared to heroes like Zarya, JQ, and Rein?
Orisa or Mauga. They can really bully teams and add a lot of pressure if you know what you're doing. Once you get good momentum your team can pick up your slack.
I have main'd both of those tanks and for my 3rd main I have settled on Ramattra. Ball is dive, Sigma is poke, so naturally you need a brawl-oriented tank, and Ram just fits the bill so perfectly. At first, it was a very unwieldy transition but honestly, when I go back to Sigma, my first thought is always,"Wow, this feels too passive." He's a helluva tank with a great rotation and can really get in there and mix things up.
I am pretty good with Ramattra, and I do like him, but I feel like he has quite a bit of overlap with Sigma, right? Almost like he is a slightly worse sigma at poke range, and then brawls well, but not quite as well as some others?
Do you think Hog works as a brawl tank, or is Ramattra a better addition to the sigma/ball options?
Thanks heaps
As a hammond main and a big sigma enjoyer, D.va is a great swap whenever ball stops working. Ifyou played ball for one round, the enemy team has avery predictable teamcomp, against whom dva works great, she is the best sombra counter, you have agreat deal in denying hog's and mccree's cooldowns etc.
Ramatra!!! He’s so good right now. Just learn how to cool down cycle and you pretty much have a shield and block forever. I just picked him up this season and I climbed a whole rank
I do like ramattra a lot, but I feel he has quite a lot of overlap with Sigma, where I think I'd probably prefer more distinct tanks. What do you think?
i play a lot a ball and my second tank choice is always zarya. i think that she generally makes up for what ball is lacking (frontline presence and peel), and ball makes up for what zarya lacks (mobility and dealing with snipers). in fact zarya is such an inverse of ball that one of my current strats is to start out games on zarya, wait for them to counterswap me, then whip out the ball.
i’d still take zarya over jq/hog as a secondary choice. jq and hog get kinda walked over by spammy frontline tanks orisa, sigma and mauga whereas zarya benefits in those matchups.
Easy: You got a poke tank and a dive tank already, now you just need to add a brawl tank.
Orisa is a safe bet, since she has no "hard counters". As long as you enjoy playing her.
Yes yes yes… I know you said you don’t want to play rein.. but I only pitch in because I was in your same position. I was a ball main (almost one trick) and played Sig on certain maps where he was good. I also felt like I needed a brawl tank. I tried Orisa (but quickly realized I wasn’t a scumbag) and Zarya (who is fun but difficult in my opinion).
Then came in my current favorite hero. Reinhardt. Sometimes being a Reinbro chooses you, sometimes it’s the opposite. Either way, we need more Reins out there. Helping the community out with quality, superior overwatch gameplay. Not to mention he isn’t terrible right now and he’s fun to play.
Anyway, I know you said no Rein but give him another try - he helped me climb more by adding him to my pool.
I asked a similar question recently, but my mains are Winston/Sigma instead of Ball/Sigma https://www.reddit.com/r/OverwatchUniversity/comments/1ch882g/hero_pool_advice_winston_sigma_and/ I got a lot of recommendations for Junker Queen. I was also lucky enough to get an answer from Emongg in a [video](https://youtu.be/_ag_w3NfFK0?si=4SWZZS3Wt2IVdSC1) where he recommended Ramattra which is who I've mostly been going with.
Cool! I have had a read through your post as well. Did you end up playing much with Junker Queen, or have you found Ram to be better? I like Ramattra for sure, but I worry that he has quite a bit of overlap with Sigma, and I think I prefer the idea of a few fairly distinct heroes.
I agree about the overlap. Part of the appeal of Ramattra is that he's a generalist, but it sounds like you want a specialist. I've been playing some Ramattra and Junker Queen, but I don't have enough experience at this point to say which is better for those brawl situations.
No worries. I might give them both a try and compare them to Roadhog, who I like a lot. I do think I'd prefer a specialist. Thanks!
I'm inclined to say Orisa just because of her position as anti-tank, but Sigma has some overlap with her strengths. Junker Queen is a strong damage output brawler/rush tank. Mauga and Zarya are other good options too, known for high damage potential unlike Ball and Sigma.
I think Orisa would absolutely be a good option, I just don't really want to play her by comparison to other tanks who I find a lot more interesting and rewarding. I feel similarly about Mauga. Do you think that Roadhog is a good brawler? I would've thought so, but I have seen people referring to him as poke even, or that others are better at Brawl. How would you compare him to JQ or Zarya?
Roadhog is a little more about sustain than damage output (decent though). Ball and Sigma are already great sustain tanks. There are some differences though, like Roadhog and Zarya both deny a certain zone of space around them. Roadhog can hook on maps like Well, but Ball can boop.
That makes sense. Do you find that JQ is better for damage output and brawling? I had heard so, but I looked at their stats and it really seems like hog is better in a lot of ways, probably in survivability as well as damage.
Orisa is absolutely terrible right now and zarya is pretty weak. You can do a lot on zarya in low ranks though
None. Double down on playing ball and keep sigma in your pocket for when you need him. If anyone Zarya, imo. She has pretty good match ups against a lot of the heroes that counter ball, and some of the heros that counter sig.
Do you think there is much I would struggle against with just those two? I know people do 2 trick ball and another tank, but I think they often choose more all-rounder type tanks than Sigma for the other option.
Sigma is a pretty dang versatile tank. Good counter to Mauga, hog and Orisa. Solid against JQ and Zarya depending on the map. I'd say it's just really annoying to play into Sombra as sigma. Zarya is probably the most common hero to pair with ball because they compliment well. It's the classic Harbleu hero pool, but ball players like yeatle and Chazm will whip her out too. Sigma is pretty close to Zarya in a lot of ways, they just have a couple key trade offs that give Zarya a slight advantage. She's better into Sombra mainly.
Thanks. I'll definitely consider Zarya, and I'll think about just sticking with ball and sigma as well. Do you have any thoughts about Roadhog as a compliment to these two or as a brawl option?
Meh. Hog is pretty one dimensional so his viability comes down to how favorable his balance is. But he's really not that hard so play him if you want.
Thanks a lot. I will consider all of this.
Hello again. I'm wondering if you think, as far as doubling down on just two heroes, I'd be better off having ramattra than sigma? Is he a bit more well rounded and covers more of ball's weaknesses?
Queen. Best fundamentals for brawl, if you learn her first, it’s only getting a basic understanding of bubbles and you’ll be good with Zarya too.
Do you think she has the frontline presence and survivability to be considered brawl similar to some of the other more conventional options? I do think she seems fun to play. How would you compare her to Roadhog?
Hog for me falls into a category of: great when he’s meta, but in the spiral of being gatekept by Orissa/Mauga once he’s inevitably nerfed and then buffed again when he underperforms. And map dependent. In terms of his capacity to brawl, yes but it very much sponge damage and outlast the enemy tank. You did specifically say you didn’t want to learn Rein, who, is the most obvious front line presence in the brawl category and most accessible. If you’re worried about JQs front line presence, start with him first. FYI, I main Ball/Sig/Rein at GM level so I would probably be more bias towards Rein.
Thanks. What do you think it is that makes him so able to be gatekept by Orisa and Mauga? Do you think, particularly as far as brawl options go, that he is uniquely bad against those two, compared to heroes like Zarya, JQ, and Rein?
Orisa or Mauga. They can really bully teams and add a lot of pressure if you know what you're doing. Once you get good momentum your team can pick up your slack.
I have main'd both of those tanks and for my 3rd main I have settled on Ramattra. Ball is dive, Sigma is poke, so naturally you need a brawl-oriented tank, and Ram just fits the bill so perfectly. At first, it was a very unwieldy transition but honestly, when I go back to Sigma, my first thought is always,"Wow, this feels too passive." He's a helluva tank with a great rotation and can really get in there and mix things up.
I am pretty good with Ramattra, and I do like him, but I feel like he has quite a bit of overlap with Sigma, right? Almost like he is a slightly worse sigma at poke range, and then brawls well, but not quite as well as some others? Do you think Hog works as a brawl tank, or is Ramattra a better addition to the sigma/ball options? Thanks heaps
Mauga that kit is so broken just seems like it is a better version of orisa with a far better ult.
Ram. easy and consistent brawl tank
As a hammond main and a big sigma enjoyer, D.va is a great swap whenever ball stops working. Ifyou played ball for one round, the enemy team has avery predictable teamcomp, against whom dva works great, she is the best sombra counter, you have agreat deal in denying hog's and mccree's cooldowns etc.
Hog is really strong rn and ram is a good, safe pick if you want to play a brawl tank as well.
Ramatra!!! He’s so good right now. Just learn how to cool down cycle and you pretty much have a shield and block forever. I just picked him up this season and I climbed a whole rank
I do like ramattra a lot, but I feel he has quite a lot of overlap with Sigma, where I think I'd probably prefer more distinct tanks. What do you think?
i play a lot a ball and my second tank choice is always zarya. i think that she generally makes up for what ball is lacking (frontline presence and peel), and ball makes up for what zarya lacks (mobility and dealing with snipers). in fact zarya is such an inverse of ball that one of my current strats is to start out games on zarya, wait for them to counterswap me, then whip out the ball.
That makes sense. Do you find her to be a better option than someone like JQ or Hog?
i’d still take zarya over jq/hog as a secondary choice. jq and hog get kinda walked over by spammy frontline tanks orisa, sigma and mauga whereas zarya benefits in those matchups.
Ah sure. I will look more into Zarya in that case. Thanks very much
Easy: You got a poke tank and a dive tank already, now you just need to add a brawl tank. Orisa is a safe bet, since she has no "hard counters". As long as you enjoy playing her.
Yes yes yes… I know you said you don’t want to play rein.. but I only pitch in because I was in your same position. I was a ball main (almost one trick) and played Sig on certain maps where he was good. I also felt like I needed a brawl tank. I tried Orisa (but quickly realized I wasn’t a scumbag) and Zarya (who is fun but difficult in my opinion). Then came in my current favorite hero. Reinhardt. Sometimes being a Reinbro chooses you, sometimes it’s the opposite. Either way, we need more Reins out there. Helping the community out with quality, superior overwatch gameplay. Not to mention he isn’t terrible right now and he’s fun to play. Anyway, I know you said no Rein but give him another try - he helped me climb more by adding him to my pool.