Overwatch 2 devs reveal Lifeweaver “safeguards” to prevent griefing and trolling
Blizzard EntertainmentThe newest Overwatch 2 hero, Lifeweaver has some abilities that some players might be worried about griefing and trolling, but the devs have plans to prevent any unwanted shenanigans.
Lifeweaver’s Petal Platform and Life Grip abilities could potentially be used nefariously to disadvantage your own team, however, safeguards have been implemented to keep those possibilities to a minimum.
As we documented in our Lifeweaver overview, the hero has some powerful tools to support teammates by creating a platform for allies to gain the high ground and a way to bring teammates who have ventured too far back to the group.
One may think that this is a prime opportunity for mischievous players to try to send an ally off a cliff, but luckily this won’t be the case.
Overwatch 2 devs protect against Lifeweaver trolling
During an interview with Dexerto, the devs explained that although there was some apprehensiveness about implementing an ability like Life Grip, the team saw some very heroic moments in their playtests.
“The feedback that I always gave when I was playing tank and I would get Life Gripped back was, on the way back, I could always tell why I was getting pulled back when I noticed where the rest of my team was,” OW dev Kenny Hudson explained.
As for the possibility for a teammate to Life Grip an ally off the map, Hudson revealed that there are controls in place to prevent this.
“In terms of trolling, we have some controls over where Life Grip can be cast from and it’s doing some detection to make sure you’re not doing something really bad like dragging someone to their death or something like that,” he added.
Plus, players who don’t want to be Life Gripped back can use a movement ability, like a Tracer Blink or Moira Fade to get back into the fray if they feel like they’re being pulled back too soon.
BlizzardAnother part of Life Weaver’s kit that’s interesting is his passive, which spawns a gift that will heal allies or enemies depending on who picks it up. As it turns out, this is a much bigger advantage for teammates as it’ll heal a Large Health pack’s worth, while for foes it’ll be the equivalent of a mini.
Lead Narrative Designer Gavin Jurgens-Fyhrie also pointed out how there is a bit of a game-within-the-game with enemies and teammates potentially fighting for control of the gift or the Petal Platform.
It’s going to be fun to see what players and pros can do with the new hero once Lifeweaver goes live with Season 4 this April.