New Overwatch Hero Lifeweaver Kinda Sucks, and That’s Ok

It has been just over a week since Lifeweaver was added to Overwatch 2, and he has managed to accomplish something that very few freshly revealed heroes in Overwatch’s history have been able to achieve. He’s really bad upon his release.

It’s no secret that most Overwatch heroes enter the game completely overtuned. From Rammattra and his never ending ultimate, to the meta-defining, and arguably game-killing shenanigans of Brigitte from the Overwatch days of yore, new heroes are normally overpowered and then subsequently nerfed. The conventional thinking is that you want as many people as possible to play new heroes, so that they can catch up to heroes that have have already been established in the game. Arguably the best way to do so is to go the Rammattra or Brigitte route and make them a must pick. With Lifeweaver, we finally get to see the Overwatch team work their balancing in the other direction. This is especially exciting because, even though Lifeweaver is “omegalul trash” right now, his kit is perhaps the most interesting one in the game. 

Starting with his main healing, Lifeweaver has a burst charge called Healing Volley that locks onto one teammate at a time and heals up to 65 health. It works well long range, which makes it great for topping up heroes like Pharah and Echo, and it’s quite satisfying to use. Unfortunately, it just doesn’t heal enough. On the damage side, he has Thorn Volley, which similarly feels good to use, thanks to its lack of damage fall-off, but doesn’t have enough ammo to be viable in-game. The other issue with healing and damage is that you have to toggle to switch between them, which makes them feel clunkier to use. He does have a Rejuvenating Dash, which allows him to dash up to six meters and self heal a tiny 25 HP, but like to the damage and health moves, it feels undertuned.

Lifeweaver’s Tree of Life ultimate takes a long time to charge, but is easily one of the coolest support ones in Overwatch 2. The massive space that it takes up on the map provides cover for low health teammates and heals 150 health instantly to allies, with each pulse of the tree healing an additional 50. It’s a bit goofy, which is par for the course for a character that can put his teammates into a hamster ball and yoink them to safety or into a hole, depending on how much they’re currently feeling. Lastly, his Petal Platform provides great utility for long range heroes like Widowmaker and overall team positioning. Being able to sneak a non-flying tank like Reinhardt or Ramattra onto high ground is super useful and adds some more chaos to Overwatch 2.

The fact that each part of his kit is fun to use should go a long way in making Lifeweaver an Overwatch 2 fan favorite in the long run. Thankfully, the dev team has already announced some tweaks that should make him more viable. 

Upcoming Lifeweaver Balance and Control Changes in #Overwatch2 🪷

Alec Dawson confirmed that these changes aim to increase his healing potential and smooth out a few key weaknesses.

Do you think these changes are fitting? 🗳 pic.twitter.com/n5Qg3BZeAN

— Overwatch Cavalry (@OWCavalry) April 20, 2023

In the meantime, Lifeweaver’s only available to players who have purchased the most recent battle pass, so if you’re bummed about him being overpowered you can just wait until he’s free next season. My guess is by then he’ll not only still have a great kit but also be incredibly overtuned. Such is the beauty of Overwatch.

Overwatch 2 is available on the Nintendo Switch, PS4, PS5, Xbox One, Xbox Series X, and Windows PC