Overwatch 2 devs leave players conflicted by buffing Lifeweaver yet again

Michael Gwilliam
Lifeweaver In Game Model

Overwatch 2 players are not too pleased with the latest patch further buffing heroes that are already considered strong.

The January 9 OW2 patch finally resulted in some much-needed Mauga nerfs, but the devs also decided to buff two unlikely heroes in the form of Orisa and Lifeweaver.

Orisa has already been a fairly strong tank, even during the Mauga meta and Lifeweaver has been taking over games thanks to his strong utility and a series of prior buffs.

While Orisa’s buffs sparked concerns, Lifeweaver’s new Petal Platform update has left the community divided, many are also wondering why the Thai healer needed even more improvements.

Lifeweaver Overwatch 2
Lifeweaver’s abilities have given support players new tools make clutch plays

Lifeweaver’s new upgrade stuns Overwatch 2 community

In the patch notes, it was revealed that Lifeweaver’s Thorn Volley projectile speed had been increased and his Petal Platform as no longer able to be pierced by certain projectiles.

Users on Reddit pointed out how this change affects other heroes, notably both friendly and enemy Reinhardts who are not unable to Fire Strike through the platform.

What makes this even weirder, however, is that even with the platform on the ground, it can still block the tank’s attack, meaning that it’s going to be even more difficult to confirm frags onto Lifeweaver.

Some players compared the Petal change to Mei’s Ice Wall and praised the devs for creating consistency with other deployables, others weren’t big fans.

“Nah honestly I don’t like this. I’m fine with the Fire Strike not going through it, but when it’s flat on the ground why would it block stuff going above it?” one pondered. “With Mei wall it makes sense because it’s a literal wall in front of you. This just a platform.”

“Apparently Blizzard thought LW wasn’t unkillable enough for Rein,” another chimed in.

“I think it’s just kinda dumb. Just petaling yourself up and sitting there already has pretty much no counterplay for any hero without consistent vertical mobility,” someone else argued. “Consistency aside it’s just a bad change.”

We’ll have to wait and see if the devs walk back some of these balance changes before the start of Season 9, especially with a huge ranked rework and even more big updates coming in the weeks ahead.

About The Author

Michael Gwilliam is a senior writer at Dexerto based in Ontario, Canada. He specializes in Overwatch, Smash, influencers, and Twitch culture. Gwilliam has written for sites across Canada including the Toronto Sun. You can contact him at michael.gwilliam@dexerto.com or on Twitter @TheGwilliam