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Overwatch 2Season 4 has begun, bringing yet another new Hero to Blizzard’s popular FPS. The latest addition isLifeweaver, the game’s ninth Support Hero and first Thai character. Moving away from the traditional idea of the Support Hero being healing-focused inOverwatch 2, Lifeweaver’s most impactful Abilities are based on mobility, both for himself and for his team.
As a son of a wealthy Thai family, the brilliant, confident, and charming Niran Pruksamanee was sent to study at the prestigious Vishkar Academy, where he was the roommate offellow Hero Symmetra. During breaks in his studies, he traveled the world and developed a deep connection to the strength and beauty of nature, and was dismayed by the effects of corporate consumerism on nature’s wonders.
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After graduating from Vishkar Academy, he went on to work for the Vishkar Corporation asa hardlight architect, where he used his connection with nature to develop a more organic form of hardlight that he named biolight. Niran wanted biolight to be made freely available, but Vishkar claimed ownership of the invention. Fearing the purposes the corporation would find for it, Niran took his research and went on the run. With an arrest warrant in many countries, he now lives as the eco-activist Lifeweaver, finding ways to use his biolight to benefit all humankind.
Lifeweaver’s Playstyle in Overwatch 2
Lifeweaver has one of the mostunusual playstyles inOverwatch 2, with a kit capable of helping and hindering his team. This gives him a particularly steep learning curve, perhaps steeper than any other Support Hero.
Lifeweaver’sHealing Blossomis his only healing Ability, and although it’s easy to aim, it restores a relatively low amount of HP per second compared to most other Supports. Similarly, his only offensive weaponThorn Volleydeals moderate damage but is less effective at longer ranges due to its scatter and projectile speed.
While Lifeweaver’s two primary Abilities put him below the healing and damage curve of most otherSupport Heroes inOverwatch 2, he more than makes up for it with his range of secondary Abilities.Petal Platformallows Lifeweaver to reposition himself, allies, and even enemies, boosting onto the high ground, providing protection from dives, and allowing him to remain highly mobile.
This mobility is supported by hisRejuvenating Dash, which Lifeweaver can use to dodge attacks, leap from one high ground to the next, and provide himself with some minor healing. Once Lifeweaver has maneuvered into a safe or advantageous position, he can useLife Gripto pull allies to his side,protecting aggressive Tanksand vulnerable Supports equally well. Finally, his Ultimate AbilityTree of Lifeprovides both cover and a large amount of healing to all nearby allies, allowing Lifeweaver to strengthen an assault or provide a strong defensive choke point.
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Lifeweaver’s Abilities in Overwatch 2
Healing Blossom
Lifeweaver’s first primary Ability is Healing Blossom, which he can use to heal a single teammate by throwing them a biolight flower. Healing Blossom can be tapped to heal 10 HP or held to heal up to 65 HP at a time and has 12 shots before it needs to be reloaded.
Despite its range of 30 meters, Healing Blossom is an easy Ability to aim and will lock onto targets near the crosshair just like Brigitte’s Repair Packs. Healing Blossom has a relatively low healing-per-second potential compared toOverwatch 2Heroes like Anaand is much more viable for topping-up wounded DPS Heroes than for pocketing a Tank.
Thorn Volley
Lifeweaver’s second primary is his only offensive weapon, Thorn Volley. Thorn Volley fires a spray of biolight thorns that deal decent damage fora Support Hero weaponand have a capacity of 60 rounds before needing to reload. Although Thorn Volley has no damage fall-off, its spread makes it most effective at close range.
Thorn Volley and Healing Blossom have an interesting interaction where if players keep one equipped for the duration of the reload time of the other (around 1.5 seconds), whichever primary is not being used will automatically be reloaded. This encourages Lifeweaver to swap freely between Healing Blossom and Thorn Volley, establishing a rhythm of damage and healing.
Petal Platform
Lifeweaver’s first mobility-based Ability is the versatile Petal Platform. Activating Petal Platform will cause Lifeweaver to throw a biolight flower that blooms into a large platform when it hits the ground. The Platform has 400 HP and will remain on the ground until destroyed or until Lifeweaver casts Petal Platform again.
However, if a friendly or enemy Hero steps onto the platform, it will immediately ascend into the air and remain there for 10 seconds. The Petal Platform can be used supportively to allow Lifeweaver and his team to reach inaccessible high ground, or defensively toprotect vulnerable Heroes like Anafrom dives or lift them out of range of damaging Abilities.
Life Grip
Lifeweaver’s second mobility-based power, and possibly one of the most controversial Abilities ever added toOverwatch, is Life Grip. Activating Life Grip with immediately pull a target-friendly Hero within 30m to Lifeweaver’s position, as well as make them immune to damage and CC while they travel.
Life Grip is not only a great life-savingtool inOverwatch 2,allowing Lifeweaver to pull allies to safety when they get overwhelmed, but it can also be combined with normally-immobile Ultimate Abilities like Cassidy’s High Noon to increase their potential.
Blizzard has worked hard to make it difficult for Lifeweaver to pull his teammates off ledges. However, many players are still worried about the trolling potential of Life Grip, as it can be used to seriously inhibit another player’s movements. Only time will tell whether Life Grip becomes thebane of theOverwatchcommunityor a new and effective tool in the most popular comps.
Rejuvenating Dash
Increasing Lifeweaver’s personal mobility, Rejuvenating Dash is a short dash Ability on a quick 5-second cooldown, which he can use to dodge or add extra horizontal distance to a jump. Rejuvenating Dash also heals Lifeweaver for 25 HP, allowing him to stay healthy while positioning himself to use Petal Platform and Life Grip.
Lifeweaver’s focus on high ground play means he’ll most often use Rejuvenating Dash to hop from one ledge to another, allowing him to reposition without returning to the ground.
Parting Gift
Lifeweaver’s unique passive Ability is Parting Gift, thefirst on-death trigger inOverwatch 2. When Lifeweaver dies, Parting Gift will drop a glowing flower on his body. The first wounded friendly or enemy Hero to approach the flower will pick it up and gain some healing, 250 HP for allies and 75 HP for enemies. Although Parting Gift’s major heal for allies could be enough to save a losing battle, Lifeweaver players should also be aware that its smaller heal for enemies still makes them a prime dive target.
Tree of Life
Lifeweaver’sUltimate Ability inOverwatch 2is Tree of Life, providing healing and cover to his allies. Activating Tree of Life allows Lifeweaver to grow a huge biolight tree anywhere within 30 meters, providing an instant burst of 150 HP to all allies within 12 meters.
The tree will then continue to pulse every ~2 seconds for the next 15, healing all allies within the same radius for 50 HP each time. As well as this healing, the Tree of Life also blocks line-of-sight and enemy fire, though it only has 1000 HP and can be quickly destroyed by concentrated firepower.
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Tips and Tricks for Lifeweaver in Overwatch 2
Mastering Lifeweaver is all about making full use of both his mobility and his powerful support Abilities. Life Grip, with its unique ability to move an allied Hero, can range from game-winning when used effectively to disastrous when used poorly. Learning when and where to use Life Grip is essential to becoming a good Lifeweaver, and it can be much harder when playing with a team that isn’t using voice chat.
When playing with random teammates, Lifeweaver players need to be hyper-aware of the potential opportunities available to their DPS and Tank allies and how not to interrupt them. While it’s easy to panic and use Life Grip when asquishy Hero like Tracerdrops to critical health, a Lifeweaver who hasn’t read the situation correctly could ruin that Tracer’s chance to get a kill and save herself with Recall.
While Petal Platform doesn’t have as much misplay potential as Life Grip, it can also be tricky to get full value from it. A lot of the time Lifeweaver should use the Platform selfishly, moving himself to high ground so that he can heal from safety and Life Grip an ally into an advantageous position if possible.
Otherwise, Lifeweaver players should look to present opportunities to their teammates. Because the Petal Platform will last on the ground indefinitely, players can preemptively throw one into a good position for allies to reach high ground, trusting that a friendly Hero will see the opportunity and take it. Finally, Petal Platform can be used offensively in some situations. Throwing a Petal Platform under the feet of an Orisa charging her Terra Surge, or aReaper about to Death Blossom, can completely negate these powerful Ultimates.
Lifeweaver Combos in Overwatch 2
Lifeweaver + Reinhardt
Reinhardt is the strongest Tank inOverwatch 2in close-quarters combat, but his lack of mobility and need to get into melee range can often put him in a bad position. Lifeweaver can easily mitigate these weaknesses with his Petal Platform and Life Grip.
Petal Platform can be used to lift Reinhardt straight onto inaccessible high ground, allowing him to force off enemy DPS and Supports and claim the space. As a more defensive Ability, Life Grip can be used to save a Reinhardt that has over-extended or charged straight into the enemy back-line to get a pin.
Lifeweaver + Ana
Like Reinhardt, Ana is another Hero that suffers from a lack of mobility, though her positioning is more defensive than offensive. Ana benefits from safety and sight-lines, and Lifeweaver’s Petal Platform can provide both, quickly lifting her onto the high ground or out of reach of a diving DPS Hero.
While Life Grip is best forsaving Ana from a situation she can’t escape, it can also be used to pull her into a good position, though players should be aware of its long cooldown while doing so. On the other side of this combo, Ana’s impressive healing output and debuffing Abilities more than makeup for Lifeweaver’s deficiencies in those areas.
Lifeweaver + Cassidy
DPS Hero Cassidy is losing 25 HP inOverwatch 2Season 4’s balance changes, but his combo with Lifeweaver is less about being saved with Life Grip, and more about High Noon. High Noon is Cassidy’s Ultimate Ability, which allows him to fire insta-kill shots at enemy Heroes that linger too long in his line of sight.
The biggest weakness of High Noon is that players can easily avoid it by breaking the line of sight once they’ve identified where Cassidy is standing. However, Lifeweaver’s Petal Platform and Life Grip can be used on a friendly Cassidy during High Noon, boosting him to an elevated or superior position just as his Ultimate reaches its full killing potential.
Lifeweaver + Soldier: 76
Similar to Cassidy,Soldier: 76 is another hitscan DPS Herowho lacks vertical mobility and can benefit hugely from Lifeweaver’s assistance. Rather than sprinting toward the nearest staircase, a Soldier: 76 player with a Lifeweaver ally can quickly take a high-ground position, allowing him to pick off valuable targets with his accurate rifle and aimbot Ultimate Ability. At the same time, Soldier: 76’s Biotic Field can help to compensate for Lifeweaver’s lower healing output, keeping them both topped up on a Petal Platform or after a clutch Life Grip.
Lifeweaver’s Advantages and Counters in Overwatch 2
Opponents To Watch Out For
Lifeweaver’s mobility may make him a hard Hero to pin down, but he’s still a 200HP Support and can easily be taken out by the right opponent. While Petal Platform may protect Lifeweaver from close-range engagements,sniper Heroes like Widowmakerand Ashe will find him an easy and obvious target as he rises above the battlefield, and the small surface area of the Petal makes dodging shots a difficult task.
Similarly, airborne Heroes like Pharah will find Lifeweaver’s platform with no hindrance at all unless he stays below it to provide an overhead shield. Finally, Lifeweaver can be vulnerable to dive Heroes that match or counter his mobility. Genji’s wall-climbing and Swift Strike will allow him to pursue Lifeweaver almost anywhere he goes, and Sombra’s hacking can unexpectedly drop and destroy the Petal Platform, leaving Lifeweaver vulnerable.
Enemies Lifeweaver Can Beat
Lifeweaver’s vertical mobility and Life Grip make him the bane of diving DPS Heroes that don’t have any way to gain height. Heroes like Tracer and Reaper have few ways to pursue a Lifeweaver once he’s taken to the sky on his Petal Platform and may find easier Support targets like Ana or Zenyatta pulled into safety by Life Grip.
Similarly, Tank Heroes like Reinhardt or Roadhog will find it hard to pursue Lifeweaver and his allies onto high ground and may often have a doomed enemy saved from their Charge or Hook with Life Grip. On the Support side,Brigitte’s lack of mobilityand range means she’ll have a hard time if the opposing Lifeweaver can keep his team out of her reach.
Overwatch 2is available for PC, PS4, PS5, Switch, Xbox One, and Xbox Series X.
