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Lifeweaver, Overwatch 2<\/em>\u2019s new support hero, has a pretty high skill ceiling. There\u2019s an argument to be made this is because he\u2019s not a great healer, and his support kit requires a pretty strong game sense to get the most out of. It\u2019s still unclear how Lifeweaver might play into the competitive meta, if at all, and for most of us, new Overwatch 2<\/em> heroes are just new ways to play alongside our friends and randos in quick play. But if you\u2019re playing Lifeweaver and want to get a little bit more out of his complex plant-based abilities, let\u2019s talk tips and tactics for getting the most out of Overwatch 2<\/em>\u2019s newest character.<\/p>\n\n
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<\/video><\/div>\n<\/div>\n<\/div>\n<\/div>\n<\/div>\n<\/div>\n<\/div>\nLifeweaver is not your main healer<\/h2>\n One of the most important things to know about Lifeweaver is that he is not here to be your team\u2019s primary healer. His healing output is one of the game\u2019s lowest, with his primary fire Healing Blossom being, at max, 65 points of healing per shot, and that\u2019s only if you charge it up to max power. Charging to that threshold takes a full second, and you must do so for each shot. Comparatively, characters like Baptiste, whose alt-fire heals at a much faster rate and can heal multiple teammates at once, are just better options for healing. If you were to try and make Lifeweaver your primary healer, it would be a full-time job, and even then he wouldn\u2019t be as efficient as other support characters.<\/p>\n
Because of this, it\u2019s important to pair him with the right support hero who can help balance the scales in terms of healing output. This means Lifeweaver pairs well with strong healers like Baptiste and Moira but is probably not the best character to use if the other support player is a low-healing character like Zenyatta or Lucio. Lifeweaver\u2019s kit has a lot of utility, but right now, he\u2019s just not built to pocket your tank.<\/p>\n\n<\/p>\n<\/span><\/p>\n
Image: Blizzard Entertainment<\/figcaption><\/p>\n<\/div>\n<\/figure>\nHow does Lifeweaver\u2019s Life Grip work?<\/h2>\n Putting his weak healing aside, Lifeweaver\u2019s abilities are all about positioning. He has Life Grip, which allows him to pull a teammate toward him while granting them invincibility. In theory you can use this to save a teammate from a precarious situation, but trolls have other ideas and have been using it to drag allies to their deaths<\/span>. But I\u2019ve had a fair bit of luck with it when playing alongside an overly eager Reinhardt who dashes far too deep into the enemy\u2019s backline. Just as he gets surrounded and nearly taken out, I\u2019m able to pull him back to safety where my support teammate and I can heal him before he inevitably does it again.<\/p>\nBecause Life Grip only targets one teammate, it can\u2019t quite be a well-timed team-saving ability like Baptiste\u2019s Immortality Field or Kiriko\u2019s Protection Suzu, both of which briefly grant multiple heroes immortality. But I\u2018ve still managed some heroic moments, such as pulling a teammate out of Mei\u2019s ultimate before they were frozen in place or dragging them out of range of Orisa\u2019s Tera Surge before she could bring down her javelin. I\u2019ve also had a lot of luck pulling teammates out of Sigma\u2019s Gravitic Flux ult, even when he\u2019s already lifted them off the ground. If you can use Life Grip before he slams your pals, the Lifeweaver grab is a great counter Aside from ultimates, sometimes you can save a teammate from something pretty mundane, like pulling them away from a Reinhardt Charge before they\u2019re pinned to a wall. Life Grip has a long, 20-second cooldown, so you shouldn\u2019t spam it without intent. But Life Grip can easily do more harm than good if you don\u2019t use it with care.<\/p>\n
Life Grip is one of the few Overwatch 2<\/em> abilities that lets a single player make an executive decision for their team, and you could very well make things worse by using it, even if only by accident. In one of my first Lifeweaver matches, I was looking at a team fight in which the payload obscured my view of a scrap my Reinhardt was in, but he was at low health so I wanted to get him out of there. He was using Charge on the opposing team\u2019s tank, and because of my viewing angle, I thought he had already successfully pinned the enemy. But it turned out he hadn\u2019t quite hit the wall yet, and by pulling him before the ability was complete, I interrupted his play. Game sense is at the core of using Life Grip, and even the most seasoned Overwatch <\/em>player is bound to mess it up every now and then. It\u2019s all about discerning when is best to use it, and who to use it on.<\/p>\nAnother tip for Life Grip is that much like waiting for Mercy outside spawn can let her fly to you and quickly close distance<\/span>, waiting within line of sight outside spawn can let you pull teammates to you to get back into the team fight more quickly. This will, of course, mean you\u2019ll be dealing with a cooldown as you head back into the thick of it, but it will help you bring some slower teammates with you rather than having them trickle in and feed your opponent\u2019s ultimate charge by giving them easy targets.<\/p>\n\n<\/p>\n<\/span><\/p>\n
Image: Blizzard Entertainment<\/figcaption><\/p>\n<\/div>\n<\/figure>\nDon\u2019t sleep on his alternate fire<\/h2>\n Like the rest of the support heroes, Lifeweaver has ways of dealing damage alongside healing and utility. Similarly to Mercy, he has an alternate weapon that you have to shift to and from. That rapid-fire alt, Thorn Volley, is kind of like the Needler from Halo<\/em> in that it fires purple, needle-like projectiles at enemies, but without the homing or the explosion at the end. It\u2019s not a hitscan weapon, so it won\u2019t be super effective against quick-moving or flying heroes, but its damage output is pretty respectable and can make for some good suppressing fire.<\/p>\nAs a support character, Lifeweaver is most effective when he\u2019s using his utility to bolster damage heroes and tanks. Still, he\u2019s not entirely helpless offensively, and switching over to Thorn Volley when the time calls for it can help your team in its own way. But unlike Moira or Baptiste, he has two modes that require you to make a decision between doing damage or healing, so knowing when to switch between the two is key to making the most of every moment. In general, Lifeweaver shouldn\u2019t be the one prioritizing damage, but if the opportunity presents itself, switch over to Thorn Volley. Well-aimed shots can still give your opponent a run for their money.<\/p>\n
Keep your distance<\/h2>\n While Lifeweaver can shoot thorns to deal damage, it\u2019s best to stay in the backline whenever possible. Staying farther away from the action will of course keep you safe while you\u2019re healing, but it will also help you get the most value out of Life Grip, because when you use it you\u2019ll be pulling your teammates out of the scrap, rather than just slightly off to the side. Lifeweaver also has a passive ability called Parting Gift, which drops a healing flower where he dies if an opponent manages to get the better of you. The tricky part is, the flower can be picked up by either a teammate or an enemy. While enemies won\u2019t get as much healing from the item, any advantage you can deny your adversaries is a boon for you. Staying farther away from your enemies will give them fewer opportunities to pick up the Parting Gift, and make it easier for your team to grab it instead. All in all, Lifeweaver just works best when he\u2019s at a distance, so don\u2019t get too greedy pushing into the enemy\u2019s defenses. You\u2019re there to help get others to safety when they push too far.<\/p>\n
Luckily, Lifeweaver also has an ability that allows you to create distance frequently. Rejuvenating Dash is a mobility skill that lets Lifeweaver dash a short distance and self heal. It doesn\u2019t cover as much space as Tracer\u2019s Blink or Moira\u2019s Fade, but it works well enough to both create space between you and your enemies, and to quickly move to where your teammates will be in your line of sight to heal.<\/p>\n\n<\/p>\n<\/span><\/p>\n
Image: Blizzard Entertainment<\/figcaption><\/p>\n<\/div>\n<\/figure>\nWhen should I use Petal Platform<\/h2>\n The Petal Platform is another Lifeweaver ability that focuses on positioning, but this one also helps with traversal. Lifeweaver sets down an elevating platform shaped like a flower, and if a player steps on it, the platform rises up for 10 seconds or until it\u2019s destroyed. Personally, I\u2019ve gotten the most use of it as a means of getting to places more quickly, such as using it to reach high ground on King\u2019s Row so I can take shortcuts to the objective. However, it does have some tactical utility, as well. High ground is sometimes hard to come by for characters who can use it pretty effectively, like Cassidy or Soldier: 76. A lot of Overwatch 2 <\/em>maps are built with high ground, but also plenty of places to take cover should a hitscan hero make their way to the top of a building or balcony. Petal Platform lets players make their own high ground, and if paired with the right hero, it can turn the tables of a fight.<\/p>\nFor example, I was playing a match with a Cassidy on King\u2019s Row\u2019s first point. We were holding the enemy team back pretty well, but Cass had his ultimate and lacked a good line of sight to use it. As Lifeweaver, I put my Petal Platform down in front of the first wall, which took the cowboy up above the obstacle. He was then clearly able to see several members of the enemy team and use Deadeye, taking out a couple foes with a single shot. By creating an easy way for Cassidy to reach high ground, we were able to overcome the map\u2019s barriers and execute a game-changing play.<\/p>\n
While high ground is one perk of Petal Platform, it can also be used in less methodical ways. The platform can be disruptive to several enemy ultimate attacks, both as a way to get your team out of a bind and also by using it on your opponents. Some require precise timing, such as getting out of a Sigma ult before you\u2019re caught in his telekinetic grip. Still, Petal Platform is a pretty reliable counter for ults like Zarya\u2019s Graviton Surge or D.Va\u2019s Self-Destruct if you can place it right under yourself as the enemy casts their ability.<\/p>\n
Using it on opponents is also a good way to circumvent some high-impact ultimates. The Petal Platform activates whenever anyone, friend or foe, steps on it. So throwing it under a Reaper as he activates Death Blossom, for example, will raise him up in the air and move him out of range of players on the ground. The same is true for Orisa\u2019s Tera Surge, which would usually make her immovable, but Petal Platform still works even when she\u2019s fortified by her ultimate. These plays can be challenging to pull off, but it proves Petal Platform is not just for reaching the high ground. TikTok user aspen.ow has done some testing on which ultimates Lifeweaver can circumvent with the platform, so you can see a few use cases for it here<\/span>:<\/p>\n