Overwatch 2 Lifeweaver guide: lore, abilities, and gameplay
In Overwatch 2, Lifeweaver is taking control with an iron grip
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The newest openly-pansexual hero inOverwatch 2,Lifeweaver, is breaking boundaries both within and outside the team matches.
Overwatch 2Season 4 will see plenty of new features appear in the FPS live service game, but the most notable of these is the welcome introduction of a new support hero, Lifeweaver. This new addition to theOverwatch 2roster marks a conscious change in what constitutes a support hero in their abilities and goals during a match.
We’ll hopefully see Lifeweaver shake up the strictOverwatch 2meta with his intricate strategizing and team coordination tools. Want to learn more about this latest hero and how to excel best with his abilities? Read our guide for more details.
Overwatch 2 Lifeweaver
Overwatch 2 Lifeweaver: story and background
InOverwatch 2, Lifeweaver’s story is one of restriction, family strife, and freedom. Belonging to an extremely wealthy Singaporean family, Lifeweaver was told from a young age that uniformity was the formula for success.
His family sent the young scientist to a prestigious school controlled by the Vishkar Corporation (the multinational conglomerate that attackedLucioand his hometown). Despite hoping this would make the rebellious youth settle down, it did quite the opposite.
This institution provided Lifeweaver with advanced technology and bright fellow students, inspiring him to push past his boundaries. The up-and-coming support hero even roomed with Symmetra during his short stay at the school. With all of these powerful features at Lifeweaver’s disposal, he harnessed a new kind of power drawn from planets, which had the potential to be disastrously powerful.
This new power caught the attention of the Vishkar Corporation, who sought to use it to aid their hostile takeover of small and unsuspecting communities. To escape the Vishkar Corporation’s evil machinations, Lifeweaver ran away, choosing to live among the plant life in deserted forests while improving his technology.
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Unable to return to his home or see his family again thanks to an arrest warrant issued by the Vishkar Corporation, Lifeweaver has dedicated his life to helping those in need and to celebrating human diversity.
Overwatch 2 Lifeweaver: abilities breakdown
Primary Weapon: Healing Blossom
Description:Charge and release a healing burst to a targeted ally.
Healing Blossom is similar toBaptiste’s Biotic Launcher in giving allies gradual and partial support. Unlike supports likeMercyor Moira, which can give their partners a somewhat constant supply of health, Lifeweaver has to charge up his Blossom first. This makes the hero harder to play, as the timing of healing and reloading is critical to a team’s success.
Some tips and tricks for this weapon:
Secondary Weapon: Thorn Volley
Description: Rapidly fire a spread of projectiles
InOverwatch 2, Lifeweaver joins the troop of heroes with different secondary weapons. Like Torbjorn and Mercy, Lifeweaver has a separate weapon for his defensive capabilities. This suits his character well as his exceptional mobility means that this support hero could likely find himself in some sticky situations behind enemy lines. Although you should never go looking for trouble as a support hero, we know that trouble may well find you, anyway.
Some tricks and tips for this weapon:
Ability: Petal Platform
Description:Throw a platform that springs upwards when stepped on by the first person.
This ability treds some new territory forOverwatch 2, as it can help allies and enemies. Regardless of steps on the platform, it will rise up, meaning that this ability can massively backfire if an ambitious enemyCassidywho is gearing up for an ultimate or an aggressiveSoldier 76decide they want to grab the high ground.
Some tips and tricks for this ability:
Ability: Rejuvenating Dash
Description:Dash towards your travelling location and lightly heal yourself.
Similar to Moira’s Fade ability, Rejuvenating Dash allows Lifeweaver to cover ground faster than the usual support hero. This is perfect for rushing unsuspecting enemy heroes or getting yourself out of some sticky situations.
Some tips and tricks for this ability:
Ability: Life Grip
Description:Pull an ally towards your location, protecting them as they travel.
This is a game changer forOverwatch 2. Life Grip gives Lifeweaver has an ability unlike anything we have ever seen. However, with great power comes great responsibility. This ability allows Lifeweaver to bring allies to his side as a defensive capability, almost like summoning a personal bodyguard.
However, you can effectively combine this power with allies to create an effective offensive weapon. Life Grip can drag an ulting Pharah that would have previously been stationary, effectively allowing her to chase retreating enemy heroes. This applies to many heroes with stationary or mobility-limiting ultimates like Cassidy’s High Noon or Reaper’s Death Blossom. Thanks to Life Grip, there will be fewer places to hide for the opposing team.
Some tips and tricks for this ability:
Passive Ability: Parting Gift
Description:On death, Lifeweaver drops a health package for enemies and allies.
This passive ability also benefits everyone on the battlefield, which is highly unusual. However, allies will receive more healing from this package than enemies do.
Some tips and tricks for this Passive Ability:
Ultimate: Tree of Life
Description:Place a tree that instantly heals allies upon sprouting and continues to do so periodically.
InOverwatch 2, Lifeweaver’s ultimate is primarily defensive, allowing you to heal large swathes of your team within a medium radius while using the tree as a de facto shield. Tree of Life can create a barrier between you and Zarya after she groups your team using Graviton Surge.
It’s worth noting thatBlizzardspent a lot of time coding the Tree of Life to take shape in different ways depending on the size of the room, so the smaller the space, the better the coverage.
Some tips and tricks for this ultimate:
Overwatch 2 Lifeweaver: gameplay breakdown
InOverwatch 2, Lifeweaver is a new species of support hero. Combining elements of familiar characters likeMoira’s mobility andKiriko’s attack, this latest character seeks to take old features and make a new picture.
His primary ability, Life Grip, is an astoundingly powerful and game-changing power that finally gives control back to support players. While support heroes would usually be at the behest of their tank and DPS heroes, relying on their good nature to protect and coordinate with them, Lifeweaver forces this protection with an iron grip. Now if an overly aggressiveGenjior Tracer decides to dive, you’ll have comfort in the knowledge that you can force your teammates to come back and protect you.
Life Grip is an excellent example of what Lifeweaver brings and how he changes theOverwatch 2landscape. You can also use this new ability defensively or offensively to move around teammates using their ultimate to get the best outcome possible, like a game of chess. This power, along with Petal Platform and Tree of Life, can change the landscape and, therefore, the outcome of a match, making Lifeweaver the first support hero with ultimate control of strategy and team coordination.
Elie is a Features Writer for TechRadar Gaming, here to write about anything new or slightly weird. Before writing for TRG, Elie studied for a Masters at Cardiff University JOMEC in International Journalism and Documentaries – spending their free time filming short docs or editing the gaming section for their student publications.
Elie’s first step into gaming was through Pokémon but they’ve taken the natural next step in the horror genre. Any and every game that would keep you up at night is on their list to play - despite the fact that one of Elie’s biggest fears is being chased.
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