When developer Blizzard transitioned Overwatch to Overwatch 2 and began releasing content on a new nine-week seasonal schedule, it committed to adding at least one new hero every other season. Since the tank hero Ramattra arrived in Season 2, Season 3 didn’t bring a new character to the roster. However, Season 4 is almost here, and Blizzard has officially revealed its new hero: Lifeweaver, a “sci-fi druid” support from Thailand that blends the healing powers of nature with the advanced capabilities of technology.
For a variety of reasons, Lifeweaver is a very exciting addition to the Overwatch cast — and thanks to new official details from Blizzard, we’ve been able to compile a list of everything you need to know about the character. This includes Lifeweaver’s release date, gameplay abilities, how to unlock him, how he fits into Overwatch’s lore and story, and more.
Overwatch 2 Lifeweaver: Release date
Like previous new Overwatch 2 heroes, Lifeweaver will become available at the same time the season he’s releasing in launches. That means that Lifeweaver’s release date is April 11, 2023 — the same day that Overwatch 2 Season 4 is scheduled to go live. While we don’t have an official time-of-day for the start of Season 4 and Lifeweaver’s arrival yet, 11:00 a.m. PT / 2:00 p.m. ET is a good guess based on the release time of previous updates.
Note that when Lifeweaver is released, he’ll only be playable in Quick Play and Arcade Mode games for two weeks or so. The reason why you won’t be able to immediately play him in ranked Competitive Play is because the developers want to give free-to-play players some time to unlock him by progressing through the Season 4 Battle Pass. Also, this delay gives Blizzard some time to develop rapid balance patches if Lifeweaver launches in an overly strong or weak state.
Overwatch 2 Lifeweaver: Gameplay abilities and kit
Ahead of Lifeweaver’s release, his fully ability kit has been revealed in various marketing materials. He’s very similar to Ana in that he’s capable of both enhancing allies and disrupting enemies, although the ways in which he can do this with his “flower powers” are quite unique. Below, you’ll find a complete breakdown of each of Lifeweaver’s gameplay abilities.
- Healing Blossom (Primary Fire): Hold to charge a healing burst. Release to heal a targeted ally.
- Thorn Volley (Alternate Primary Fire): Rapidly fire volleys of torn projectiles.
- Petal Platform (Secondary Fire): Throw down a platform that springs upwards when stepped on. Jumping as the platform stops rising will boost your jump height. Can be manually destroyed.
- Rejuvenating Dash (Primary Ability): Perform a dash in the direction you’re moving in, lightly healing yourself as you do. Can be used while charging Healing Blossom.
- Life Grip (Secondary Ability): Pull an ally to your location, protecting them with a shield as they travel. Allies can cancel the effects of Life Grip by using a movement ability.
- Tree of Life (Ultimate): Create a large tree that heals allies as it sprouts and continues periodically healing them over time. Can be destroyed, and is capable of blocking both abilities and players.
- Parting Gift (Passive): On death, drop a pickup that heals the first player — ally or enemy — to touch it.
Like many other supports, Lifeweaver has 200 health, and none of his HP is damage-reducing Armor. Therefore, he definitely falls into the “squishy” category, though both his Rejuvenating Dash and the support role auto-healing passive help him recover lost health as he fights.
Overwatch 2 Lifeweaver: Counters
While we won’t know for sure what the best characters to play against Lifeweaver are until he’s actually in the game, Blizzard developers did share their thoughts on the matter in a recent press interview. One character that’s expected to match up against Lifeweaver favorably is Sombra, as she’s able to hack his Petal Platform to instantly destroy it and can also use her EMP Ultimate to shut down his Tree of Life.
Heroes with lots of vertical movement capabilities, such as Doomfist, Winston, Pharah, Echo, and Genji, will also likely be effective picks against Lifeweaver. This is because their vertical mobility will allow them to keep up with Lifeweaver and his allies when they use his Petal Platform, reducing the value of the ability.
Overwatch 2 Lifeweaver: How to unlock
Players will be able to unlock Lifeweaver in two ways once Season 4 launches. The first method is to simply purchase Season 4’s Premium Battle Pass (1,000 Overwatch Coins, or $10 worth), as doing so will instantly give you access to Lifeweaver. While this route will require you to spend some money if you don’t already have enough Overwatch Coins, it’s the fastest way to get your hands on Lifeweaver as soon as possible.
Alternatively, you could opt for the free route, which allows you to unlock Lifeweaver by reaching Tier 45 on the free track of the Season 4 Battle Pass. Battle Pass tiers can be progressed through by finishing matches and completing daily and weekly gameplay challenges to earn XP. Individual tiers can be purchased with Overwatch Coins, too, although this is quite expensive and you’d be better off simply buying the Premium Battle Pass instead.
Overwatch 2 Lifeweaver: Lore and origin story
Lifeweaver’s origin story has also been released ahead of Season 4’s launch. You can watch it in the video embed below.
Lifeweaver, whose real name is Niran Pruksamanee, was born in Chiang Mai, Thailand and was sent to work and study with the Vishkar Corporation by his family. While there, he became close friends with his roommate, Satya Vaswani (Symmetra), but eventually grew disillusioned with Vishkar due to the company’s obsession with trying to build a “perfect world” with its hard-light technology.
For a time, Pruksamanee stepped away from Vishkar and explored the world, marveling at its natural beauty. After seeing firsthand how conflicts like the Omnic Crisis devastated the environment, though, he chose to return to Vishkar to invent a new material called bio-light. This material fused nature and technology together, and could be used to mend damage caused by destructive conflicts.
When the Vishkar Corporation saw what Pruksamanee created, they demanded control of it since it was developed using their resources. Ultimately, Pruksamanee refused and is now on the run from the company. He has vowed to wield bio-light for good and has become Lifeweaver, the hero that players can control in-game.
Overwatch 2 Lifeweaver: Trailer
Blizzard has released a gameplay trailer for Lifeweaver that shows off all of his abilities in action. We’ve embedded the video below, so you can watch it that way.
Blizzard has also released a Developer Update video centered around Lifeweaver that focuses on his abilities, lore, and design. You can watch it below.
Take a deep dive on how our newest Support Hero came to life 🌸The team behind Lifeweaver explores his beautiful design, his botanical background in Thailand, his time at the Vishkar Architech Academy where he met Symmetra, and how he came to develop biolight! pic.twitter.com/W9fpVgFI1HApril 4, 2023
Overwatch 2 Lifeweaver: Voice actor
Lifeweaver’s voice actor is Phuwin Tangsakyuen, a Thai actor that first appeared in the television drama Sunshine My Friend (2014). Recently, he starred in ‘Cause You’re My Boy (2019), The Gifted: Graduation (2020), and Fish upon the Sky (2021). Over the years, he has performed in a variety of other shows, music records, live events, and more.
Overwatch 2 is available now on Xbox Series X|S, Xbox One, Windows PC, PS5, and PS4. Season 4 is scheduled to go live on April 11, 2023, at which point both Lifeweaver and the new season’s Battle Pass will become available. If you’re a new player and want a head start on progression, consider getting the Ultimate Battle Pass Bundle once Season 4 comes out. It includes Premium Battle Pass access, 20 instant Battle Pass levels, 2,000 Overwatch coins, and a Beekeeper Sigma skin.
