Overwatch 2 season 4 will see the launch of a new support hero, Lifeweaver, and a few Blizzard devs recently discussed who they think best pairs well for him. Hero 37's real name is Niran PruksaManee who is an openly pansexual Thai man. Lifeweaver's design reflects his Thai origins, while his dialogue reflects the "openness" of his sexuality too. As an Overwatch 2 support hero, Lifeweaver is able to heal allies with a couple of abilities, grab players and create platforms that allow for better rotation and placements, and more.
Game Rant recently participated in an Overwatch 2 roundtable interview regarding Lifeweaver, where everything from his sexuality and story to his development and gameplay was explored by the following devs: lead narrative designer Gavin Jurgens-Fyhrie, senior tech artist Chonlawat Thammawan, and hero design producer Kenny Hudson. One thing we asked about was if they had any insights into the best Overwatch 2 team compositions involving Lifeweaver.
Of course, despite the devs being involved in intense playtesting, some of the best team comps might not emerge until Lifeweaver is available to everyone in Overwatch 2. It's something that tends to happen in development with any multiplayer game, as having a select few play versus the entire world changes insight into any character, ability, or weapon quite a bit.
That said, according to Fyhrie, one important aspect of "Lifeweaver's Petal Platform ability is it opens up the map to other heroes to where it hasn't before." This is one way that Thammawan enjoys using Lifeweaver in Overwatch 2, as he enjoys pairing him with...
"...support heroes that lack in mobility like Ana because Lifeweaver can totally just lift her up on platforms and give her safe high ground."
This "high ground" element is also why Thammawan enjoys pairing Lifeweaver with Soldier:76 or Cassidy as it is "free high ground for their ultimates." Meanwhile, Hudson enjoys pairing Kirikio with Lifeweaver on the support end and Reaper for DPS "for the pull combo."
Of course, it won't be long before Overwatch 2's meta settles in, and it'll be interesting to see how Lifeweaver compares to other heroes. Lifeweaver seems rather balanced on paper, given he has quite a few counterplays, but it does seem he can make or break a game in his own right too.
Overwatch 2 is available now on PC, PS4, PS5, Xbox One, and Xbox Series X/S.