Overwatch 2 devs reveal how Lifeweaver could get buffed with new Season 5 ability

The Overwatch 2 devs have revealed they’re currently happy with how Lifeweaver is performing, but hinted at possible buffs coming his way in Season 5.

Lifeweaver’s debut in Overwatch 2 was a rocky one, with the hero receiving a major control rework just one week after his launch along with some buffs.

That hasn’t stopped criticism from the hero from mounting, however. Notably, Twitch streamer Dafran rage-quit his games with the support and promised only to play him again when Lifeweaver gets changes.

In a recent developer blog post, Game Director Aaron Keller revealed possible plans for the hero to make him more viable and worth swapping to as a support.

Overwatch 2 devs tease new Lifeweaver ability and buffs in Season 5 patch

According to Keller, the team is pretty happy with Lifeweaver’s stats having a low death rate and high healing rate despite community reaction about the hero’s performance.

Keller noted that players weren’t always getting the most out of the hero’s kit with Petal Platform and Life Grip “just not being used well, either by Lifeweaver or his team.”

As such, the team has some plans in place to adjust the hero and that includes potentially giving him a new passive ability after his prior one, Parting Gift, was scrapped for helping enemies who eliminated him by giving them a heal.

Lifeweaver is set to receive a pseudo-rework in #Overwatch2 🪷

He may receive a new passive or added benefits to his utility-focused abilities. The team is considering other changes, such as buffing Thorn Volley and reducing his hitbox.

The team are targeting Season 5 🧰🗓 pic.twitter.com/Awdc4WH7hC

— Overwatch Cavalry (@OWCavalry) May 5, 2023

The Game Director added that the team wants players to feel incentivized to swap to Lifeweaver if their current hero pick isn’t working, and made it clearer why he may be a good choice to counter the opposing team.

“We may make other changes along the way, such as lightly buffing his Thorn Volley and reducing hit volumes, but ultimately, we’ll have changes targeted at further pronouncing Lifeweaver’s strengths and clearly defining his role on your team,” he explained. “This could be leaning harder into his healing effectiveness through a new passive or bringing additional benefits to some of his utility-focused abilities.”

The next batch of changes will only be coming in Season 5, so we’ll have a bit to wait until they go live, but hopefully the new hero will become a bit more viable at that point.