Overwatch 2 may not be getting a new hero in season five, but popular OW streamer Emongg today argued that the game may effectively have a new hero without Blizzard making any changes to the roster itself.
After reading a comment from a viewer on his stream that seemed to express disappointment in the lack of a new hero, Emongg attempted to cheer up fans by noting that a plethora of buffs that just went through for Lifeweaver might finally make the hero playable.
“I can show you a new character because this hero might be actually playable now,” he said. “Last season was like the beta test of Lifeweaver because Lifeweaver was not good.”
Lifeweaver received changes to nearly every aspect of his kit when the season five patch went live on Tuesday, and nearly every change was a notable buff.
- The hitbox of the petal ornaments on his back was reduced by 10 percent.
- Healing Blossom maximum healing was increased to 75, up from 65.
- Thorn Volley damage was increased to 6, up from 5; projectile radius was increased to 0.125, up from 0.1; and ammo was increased to 70, up from 60.
- Petal Platform walkable area was increased by 15 percent and the area to trigger its lift has been decreased to 0.75 meters, down from two, after its initial placement.
- Life Grip’s cooldown was reduced to 16 seconds, down from 20, and it now heals target allies for 50 health.
- Tree of Life’s ultimate cost was increased by 8 percent.
Related: Here are the Overwatch 2 season 5 patch notes
The only aspect of his changes that isn’t a buff is the increase to his Ultimate cost, but as Emong noted on stream, the increase to his Ultimate cost is largely intended to account for how much faster he’ll be able to build charge with his Healing Blossom and Thorn Volley changes.
“If they increase the healing to 75, and it was already easy to get Lifeweaver’s Tree and you also have healing now on your [Life Grip] pull, That means you’re going to get your Ult quick now anyway,” he said. “So they’re just compensating for that buff. You’re still going to get your Ult pretty quickly.”
In season four, stats from Overbuff showed Lifeweaver as having by far the worst win rate and lowest pick rate on the competitive ladder. With a win rate below 40 percent in Master and Grandmaster, it was clear that the handsome Thai man needed a lot of changes to his kit. Even with all of these buffs, it’s still unclear if Lifeweaver will be a mainstay in the meta, but for the sake of support mains everyone, everyone has been rooting that he’ll at least be playable.
