Overwatch 2’s newest support hero Lifeweaver may have just received a massive rework that included numerous buffs to some of his key abilities, but fans of the Overwatch League shouldn’t hold their breath while waiting to see him in professional play.
During a segment of the OWL broadcast yesterday, former pro player Jake noted that the changes to his controls and the buffs Blizzard gave him were a step in the “right direction,” but his rework is “not even close to enough” to make the Lifeweaver viable in Overwatch League play.
“I don’t think this hero will be used at all,” Jake said. “It’s very vulnerable to being picked off and killed, very low survivability, and it doesn’t provide enough offensive utility to justify that. You compare it, in my mind, to a hero like Zenyatta who, yes, can die easily but also can put down absolutely huge damage in a match, and can have a massive impact.”
He went on to explain that Lifeweaver’s kit is so defensive and passive that it makes it difficult to see where he could be used considering how much more powerful other support heroes that fall on the more defensive side can be.
Since Lifeweaver’s release, players have taken issue with how problematically large his hitbox is compared to other support heroes like Mercy, Ana, and Moira. Meanwhile, his utility is often so niche that, while it leads to creativity, it doesn’t always lead to practicality.
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Meanwhile, Lifeweaver’s healing output hasn’t necessarily been able to stack up with some of the stronger main healers either, and his damage doesn’t make up for that lack of healing.
“I just don’t see it getting played without some really significant buffs,” Jake said.
Though Lifeweaver’s massive hitbox might be one of the first things that fans might think Blizzard could change about the hero to make him at least a little bit more viable, OW2 lead hero designer Alec Dawson recently noted in an interview that a change to his model could take a while because of the technical challenges such a change would entail.
