While the addition of Lifeweaver brings with him a fresh twist to the support role in Overwatch 2, a Roadhog player learns how the new hero can go toe-to-toe with the tank hero's notorious hook-chain ability. Roadhog's hook-chain has been the cause of many player deaths since the original Overwatch, whether it be pulling an opponent in for close-range shot to the face or pulling them in only to drop them off the edge of the map. The addition of Lifeweaver, though, means players don't have to try and time their own ability use in the hope they survive the hook since Lifeweaver can pull them right back.
Lifeweaver is the newest hero to join Overwatch 2 and is a support character who became available as part of the season 4 battle pass, and players could pay to unlock him outright or grind until unlocking him. Narratively, Lifeweaver is a brilliant scientist who created a new form of life using hard light capable of healing wounds and curing various illnesses. The creation of this life, though, has put him in the crosshairs of the Vishkar Corporation, as it looks to claim the work Lifeweaver did under the company's umbrella despite him fleeing to see his new "biolight" life made available to everyone.
In-game, Lifeweaver's work has translated to various hard light abilities resembling plant-life, from his primary, thorn-style projectile weapon to the Petal Platform he uses to reach higher ground. It was his Life Grip ability, though, which proved to be the bane of a Roadhog player Reddit user Yowily9 shared a clip of on the Overwatch subreddit. The clip shows the Roadhog player repeatedly attempting to pull in an opposing player with his hook-chain only for the enemy Lifeweaver to pull off a timely Life Grip to save their teammates several times.
The Roadhog player's frustration from the Lifeweaver's repeated Life Grip saves is very visibile on his face, hinting he may not be used to being on the proverbial short-end of the stick. Roadhog's hook-chain has been a consistent bane for players since 2016, with Junker Queen being the only other character to have a similar ability with her Jagged Knife, though it can only pull opposing players half the distance of the hook-chain. Life Grip, by comparison, can go one-for-one with the hook-chain, effectively negating its threat.
The clutch saves using Life Grip also precede a notable Lifeweaver buff set to go out within days of this writing. While Life Grip looks to be untouched, most of his other abilities will be re-mapped to streamline their use in an effort to speed up his overall play. It includes changing his Thorn Volley to be the alt-fire rather than switching back-and-forth with his healing ability, moving Dash to double-jump and allowing players to cancel the Petal Platform with the same button used to summon it.
Overwatch 2 is currently available for Nintendo Switch, PC, PlayStation 4, PlayStation 5, Xbox One, and Xbox Series X/S.
