Blizzard Entertainment has announced the first-ever hero from Thailand, Lifeweaver. The character is voiced by Thai actor Phuwin Tangsakyuen (ภูวินทร์ ตั้งศักดิ์ยืน), and will represent Thailand to millions of players around the world.
Lifeweaver will join the support line-up as the 37th hero on the Overwatch 2 roster. Players in Thailand and around the world can look forward to experiencing his unique playstyle and abilities once Season 4 drops on 12 April, right in time for Songkran. They’ll have plenty to look forward to, with Lifeweaver being the first openly pansexual Overwatch hero and bringing one of the most complex playstyles to the game to date.
The launch of Thailand’s first hero in Overwatch 2 builds on Activision Blizzard’s commitment to deliver epic entertainment to Thai players and level up the esports ecosystem. Last year, Activision Blizzard joined hands with AIS, Thailand’s largest telecommunications group, to launch the AIS eSports OPEN: Overwatch 2, which saw 276 teams gather on the national stage to test their skills against their peers.
About Lifeweaver
Lifeweaver’s full name is Niran PruksaManee, nicknamed Bua (บัว), which refers to lotus flowers in Thai. He’s witty, kind, and always looking to lift those in need—sometimes literally.
Lifeweaver is characterised by his love and respect for nature as well as his advanced biolight technology. This groundbreaking technology is woven throughout his abilities, and it plays a pivotal role in the healing and utility aspects of his kit.
Lifeweaver has a unique playstyle that introduces a few new mechanics into the game, so let’s take a walk through his kit and how he was developed. His final look is the result of a culmination of many different teams, including various concept art, hero design, and narrative. One of these pieces features an older physician who drew healing energy into his hands and blasted it into his allies, a bit like Moira’s Coalescence.
They ideated further based on these concepts and landed on something that offers an all-new playstyle to the game while also expanding our support class.
Healing Blossom
Healing Blossom is Lifeweaver’s first primary fire (more on that in a bit). With this weapon, he charges a luminescent flower and sends it to his allies. The longer he charges the blossom, the more healing it provides.
Healing Blossom was the starting point for this kit, and from there, the team built out his other abilities. The goal with Lifeweaver was to create an accessible support hero who is viable in many different scenarios and skill levels. Healing Blossom is soft target-based, like Brigitte’s Armor Packs, and they felt this ability enables players across the board to find value in his kit and playstyle.
Thorn Volley
His alternate primary fire is called Thorn Volley. With this weapon, he fires biolight thorns at enemies in a scattered pattern. While mainly intended as a form of defence, Lifeweaver can deal a decent amount of damage with Thorn Volley as well.
You’ll get the most value out of Lifeweaver by healing your team, but his weapon has relatively high damage for a support hero. Keep in mind, you will be unable to heal your allies while using Thorn Volley, so be aware of your surroundings and manage these two primary fires wisely.
For those playing against Lifeweaver, don’t underestimate Thorn Volley when rushing him. As Lifeweaver says: “Thorns in the face are an inconvenience.” He isn’t wrong.
Petal Platform and Rejuvenating Dash
Petal Platform is Lifeweaver’s secondary-fire ability. He throws a pod that blooms into a flower-like platform upon landing. Whether ally or enemy, anyone stepping on the platform causes it to elevate, and it will remain airborne for a certain amount of time.
Anyone using the platform can launch themselves high into the air by timing a jump right as the platform reaches maximum height. It won’t quite be as tall as Baptiste’s Exo Boots, but enemies and allies alike can use the platform for a well-timed thrust into the air.
Petal Platform was the most challenging ability to lock down in development, and it was iterated many times. The team landed on the platform mechanic because it adds something to the support lineup that we’ve only ever seen with Mei’s Ice Wall, adding a new verticality consideration for players beyond map design or heroes that can launch themselves into the air.
Use Petal Platform to get away from enemies, or to enable your allies. If you have a Bastion who wants to post up somewhere, Petal Platform can get him there quickly. Or maybe you want to lift your ulting Cassidy with the hope of getting more Deadeye kills.
Lifeweaver is a team player who loves collaboration. There are so many ways to support and enable your team with this ability, and the team is excited to see how players use Petal Platform in creative ways.
Rejuvenating Dash lunges Lifeweaver in his travelling direction while lightly healing himself. This ability will look and feel like Hanzo’s dash, so we baked it into his kit to give him mobility and self-sustain.
A well-timed jump at the apex of his Petal Platform will launch you into the air. Pair this ability with Rejuvenating Dash to cover a fair amount of distance both horizontally and vertically.
Life Grip
Life Grip envelops an ally in protective biolight and pulls them to Lifeweaver’s position. While an ally is within Life Grip, they are invulnerable to all damage.
The inspiration for this mechanic came from many places, as we’re sure some of you have been on the unhappy end of an enemy Roadhog hook, but we wanted to ideate on a friendly pull between allies. Our challenge was to conceptualise what an ability like this would look like in Overwatch. It was tried out during internal playtests, and the team had a lot of fun with it.
Before you ask, here is something that has to be cleared up now: you can’t disrupt an utling ally with Life Grip.
This ability speaks to him as a protector and healer, but it also lends some insight into his personality and perspective. Lifeweaver is cool, confident, and he has the best intentions for anyone he encounters. Even though he’s doing the right thing in his mind, there can be consequences to pulling your teammate out of position. Use Life Grip (carefully!) to save teammates and enable them to stay in the fight.
Tree of Life
For his ultimate ability, Lifeweaver places a large biolight tree that pulses with healing energy. This tree provides cover for your team, meaning you can’t shoot, be shot, or pass through it. The developer responsible for the concept describes it as “Healing Bob meets Mei’s Ice Wall.”
How a hero is developed can vary—sometimes their look and feel inspire their abilities, and sometimes it’s the other way around. In Lifeweaver’s case, his ability kit was built out before his personality, lore, and aesthetic. Tree of Life is what shaped his character into the nature-loving supporting hero you will meet in-game.
Lifeweaver’s ultimate filtered through a few iterations, including a healing Earthshatter-like ability—which was super cool, but not super useful. They also tried a healing totem, but it wasn’t quite right for him.
It was around Arbor Day when his ultimate started to come together, so trees were already on the team’s mind. The original Tree of Life gave its life to allies, withering over time. It was incredibly poetic but not very intuitive or clear on the battlefield. This ability, however, morphed into the final Tree of Life that’s currently in-game.
“Look at us. We’re amazing.”
Whether you’re playing as, against, or with Lifeweaver, he brings something new and exciting to the game through his mechanics, playstyles, and perspectives. Whether he’s raising his teammates up with his Petal Platform, pulling them to safety with Life Grip, or sustaining their health with Healing Blossom—Lifeweaver is a well-rounded support who adds massive sustainability and utility to his team.
The Overwatch team look forward to seeing how you combine his abilities with those of other heroes, and the ways he will save teammates from the brink of death.
Lifeweaver saunters into the support lineup on 12 April at the beginning of Season 4. Grab your Premium Battle Pass to unlock him instantly or try him out in the training room, custom games, and the limited-time game mode, Bob and Weave.
