The addition of Overwatch 2’s latest support hero—Lifeweaver—this week has resulted in massive amounts of feedback regarding the character’s high utility, but also his “clunky” gameplay.
Though his Life Grip and Petal Platform are potentially game-changing tools, the way that Lifeweaver’s healing must be charged and his weapon swap to go between damage and healing make for a less fluid experience.
Giving his initial reaction to the hero, former Overwatch League pro Seagull said his gameplay style is “awkward.” And with many others echoing that sentiment, the game’s director Aaron Keller said earlier this week that Blizzard is looking to make some changes to Lifeweaver.
A day later, Keller added that not only is Blizzard looking into changing the hero’s control scheme but the devs are “more than likely” going to buff the hero—and the balance update could come as soon as next week.
“The team will continue collecting Lifeweaver performance data over the weekend and should have details on balance changes (more than likely a buff) sometime next week,” Keller said. “Info on coming control scheme changes should come next week as well.”
Based on the post by Keller, the balance change is not necessarily tied to the control changes for Lifeweaver, but the two updates will likely be intertwined. If Blizzard was to change his weapon-swapping mechanics to something more seamless, Lifeweaver’s ability to quickly swap between DPS and healing would almost assuredly be viewed as a buff even if he didn’t have any value changes to his damage, healing, or cooldowns.
Related: Seagull shares Lifeweaver trick that will frustrate all of your Overwatch enemies
Lifeweaver is currently one of just a few heroes who have a weapon-swapping mechanic, like Mercy who can change between her healing staff and a pistol. Unlike Mercy, however, damage seems to be a more prominent part of Lifeweaver’s kit because he can’t empower allies like Mercy does with her staff.
If Blizzard was to change Lifeweaver’s weapon swap with something more in line with the controls that Moira has, it could make Lifeweaver feel significantly less complicated to play.
It’s unclear exactly what Blizzard might buff in Lifeweaver’s kit, but it won’t be his first. Prior to his release, Blizzard tweaked his healing output by changing the charge time of his Healing Blossom. But based on overwhelming feedback that his healing still doesn’t feel especially powerful, the devs might find a way to beef up his healing capacity.
