Blizzard introduced Overwatch 2’s latest support hero—Lifeweaver—today, and the Thai hero has quickly turned heads as one of the most conventionally attractive additions to the lineup in recent memory.
Along with physically appearing as a slightly more slender, Southeast Asian Fabio Lanzoni, Lifeweaver, whose birth name is Niran PruksaManee, is a highly intelligent and privileged 29-year-old scientist.
Growing up wealthy, Lifeweaver always had an affinity for botany and would help his family gardeners until he eventually was shipped off to Vishkar Academy, which is run by the highly influential Vishkar Corporation.
Lifeweaver’s largest tie to Overwatch 2 lore is that he is friends, and was roommates, with Symmetra at Vishkar, but there is much more depth to Lifeweaver than just being a wealthy Thai friend of Symmetra. Though the game’s 37th hero has looks, smarts, and money that would make anyone envious, he also has an infectiously positive attitude and is striving to make the world a better place.
Lifeweaver’s story
Using his wealth to travel the world, Lifeweaver has spent a vast amount of time visiting various places of nature to see the beauty of wildlife. But in his travels, he also realized that much of the world’s most beautiful areas have been taken advantage of by human interference and industrialization.
While at Vishkar, Lifeweaver made a groundbreaking invention using “biolight” that has the ability to heal people. This science fuels his primary ability Healing Blossom in-game, but in the world of Overwatch, it has resulted in trouble for Lifeweaver himself.
Related: All Lifeweaver abilities in Overwatch 2: How to play the game’s newest support
Because he discovered this powerful healing technology using Vishkar’s resources, the large, powerful corporation attempted to claim legal ownership of it. Their intention would be to use the technology to profit, as many corporations regularly do.
Having more altruistic principles, Lifeweaver wanted to use his tech to heal people without cost and help promote life and health across the world. Knowing that Vishkar was looking to profit, Lifeweaver made the risky decision to take the biolight technology and run away from Vishkar and their lawyers.
“He made brave and dangerous choices,” Blizzard lead narrative designer Gavin Jurgens-Fyhrie said. “He is sort of an infamous character in the lore now too. Who takes on Vishkar? … The person who makes Vishkar mad and is now on the run, that’s going to be on the news. People are going to hear about that.”
Now, Lifeweaver is on the run from Vishkar and its lawyers as well as anyone else who might want to take his technology and sell it for profit.
Lifeweaver will join the Overwatch 2 roster next Tuesday, April 11, with the start of season four. He will be obtainable through the game’s battle pass. Premium battle pass holders will get him at level one, but those playing on the game’s free battle pass will get him at level 45.
