Lifeweaver offers Overwatch 2 a brand new take on support | Hands-on preview

Lifeweaver, the newest addition to the Overwatch 2 hero roster has finally been revealed. We have had the chance to play the new support character and his kit is very, very interesting. From a first glance it looks like nothing we’ve seen before, with abilities like “life grip” and “petal platform”. His other ability, “rejuvenating dash” is reminiscent of other heroes like Mercy and Moira though. His healing is unique, being a cross between Brigitte’s armour pack and Baptiste’s healing grenades.

Starting with his primary kit, his healing blossom, charges up to a 65HP burst, which has a light lock onto your teammates, not as much as Kiriko’s talismans, but enough to ensure that you hit your healing. A 65HP burst is less than Ana’s 75HP, but does not feel too weak. Initial impressions are that it needs a change so that it charges quicker, though, as Ana even shoots quicker. However, this is not the point of Lifeweaver’s kit. Lifeweaver’s abilities all are centred around movement. His “petal platform” is a throwable like Kiriko’s Suzu except it opens out into a flower platform that ascends when stepped on. This allows for high ground to exist literally anywhere, or to easily have teammates who shouldn’t be able to be on a certain high ground, be there.

Overwatch 2 Lifeweaver: damage and healing

His Rejuvenating dash is similar to Brigitte’s shield bash in terms of movement and distance, but rather than dealing damage to others, rejuvenating dash heals Lifeweaver lightly during the dash. This is where most of his survivability comes from and while it may not be an incredible amount of healing it allows for duels to be won against flankers if you are positioned well enough or dash in the right direction. He also has a very high damage which is not dissimilar to Baptiste’s DPS output. It is a projectile with a very high rate of fire which could be terrifying in the right hands.

Life Grip is the next ability of note, which introduces something never seen in Overwatch 2 before. Life Grip pulls an ally directly toward you and protects them with an almost Zarya-like bubble protecting them. This has obvious great sides to it such as being able to protect and remove teammates from danger, and situations they may be certain to die in. However, this relies on the player successfully identifying the danger which could be very troublesome if you are playing with a player who wants to mess with you. In a way it’s very trusting of the playerbase to play the hero correctly and not, for example, pull the tank into your backline leaving the rest of the team open to all damage. When used correctly I believe it’s his best ability in terms of utility and how it interacts with the other nine players in the lobby.

Passive gifts

Lifeweaver has also been given a passive ability which is interesting. When he dies, he drops a gift that can be picked up by anyone: teammates or enemies. It heals you when picked up. So if you are killed playing as Lifeweaver by a Tracer, they are able to heal without going back to get healing from a support or a health pack. On the other hand though, It can allow for your other support to sustain themself in situations where Mercy resurrects you as the gift drops on the same space as the Mercy resurrect soul will.

In terms of his ultimate ability, it is called the “Tree of Life.” In Lifeweaver’s ultimate, you place a tree that instantly heals allies upon sprouting and continues healing periodically as it lives in massive bursts. Comparatively it is like a destroyable Zenyatta transcendence, which deals healing in large bursts or pulses healing, rather than consistent healing like transcendence.

After spending time playing as Lifeweaver, this is a hero that’s a really interesting concept, but may need adjustments to his healing rate. However, he will be a good character with aspects of all the best parts of already existing supports. Lifeweaver is very similar to Mercy in terms of his damage and healing are separate “weapons” like Mercy’s caduceus staff and pistol.

Lifeweaver is part of Overwatch 2 Season 4, which is free-to-play and available now for PS4, PS5, PC, Xbox One, Xbox Series S|X, and Nintendo Switch.