Overwatch 2’s Lifeweaver “should be good,” but he isn’t

pcgamesn.com:

Overwatch 2’s Lifeweaver “should be good,” Blizzard says, pointing to the stats underpinning the newest Overwatch 2 character. But the simple truth is that he isn’t; his win rate is struggling and many support players just aren’t picking him. Overwatch 2 game director Aaron Keller thinks he’s found the answer, and it’s that there’s just not an appealing reason to pick up Lifeweaver in the multiplayer game.

Despite a recent overhaul to Lifeweaver abilities that reworked his controls and buffed his overall potency, he’s still having a tough time out there. Lifeweaver’s win rate has gone up, Keller says, but only to “around 45%” at low skill tiers and quickly dropping off at higher skill ratings. Despite that, he claims that the new-look Lifeweaver provides “a great base to build off of.”

Healing-wise, Lifeweaver’s output is “one of the highest in the game,” which Keller says “aligns with our vision with the hero, and we’re happy with.” Alongside this, he adds, “Lifeweaver has one of the lowest, if not the lowest, death rates for support heroes” despite his rather chunky hitbox meaning “he is still taking a consistent amount of damage – in the middle to upper range of other supports.”

“That should be good, right?” It’s not. While it’s easy to point at high healing output and feel like a successful support, the fact of the matter is that Lifeweaver’s healing is high because he really doesn’t have a lot else to do. In order to keep his team alive, he needs to be constantly pumping out healing, and unlike heroes such as Baptiste and Ana he can’t easily deal damage to enemies at the same time.

This often means he’s found hanging at the very back of the battlefield, tossing out heals and keeping an eye out for teammates he needs