'Thai elements hidden everywhere': How Overwatch 2's latest support hero Lifeweaver is their first truly Southeast Asian character

Overwatch 2's hero 37 has been revealed, and he might just weave life back into the game's Southeast Asian scene.

In a recent interview with the media, Blizzard's Overwatch 2 developers shared their thoughts on the new support hero, Lifeweaver, and some intricacies in his design that make him truly Southeast Asian.

Responding to queries from AsiaOne, Overwatch 2's senior character technical artist Chonlawat Thammawan said that the concept artists and localisation team tried their best to "jam" many references into his design.

Chonlawat, also known as Takki, shared: "The pants he's wearing might be a little unusual for people who don't know traditional Thai garments, but it's actually called a chong kraben and has these interesting silhouettes.

"We also have Thai elements hidden everywhere, even down to the type of flower he uses — the lotus flower is very big in day-to-day life in Southeast Asia."

The chong kraben is a traditional garment worn in Cambodia, Laos and Thailand, while lotus flowers are considered symbolic in both Hinduism and Buddhism.

Lifeweaver's Petal Platform ability and the bio-light projection on his back both share similar lotus flower designs.

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Prior to Lifeweaver, the only hero with Southeast Asian ties was Echo, a sentient robot created by a Singaporean scientist in Overwatch 2's lore.

Echo has voice lines in Singlish and even has a skin named after the iconic Southeast Asian fruit, the durian.

However, when Echo speaks in English, her voice has a distinctly British accent. On the other hand, Lifeweaver is voiced by Thai actor Phuwin Tangsakyuen and has an authentic Thai accent.

Takki said: "We also have his nickname — if you have any Thai friends, you'll know that they have nicknames… for Lifeweaver, his nickname is bua, which also means 'water lily' in Thai."

He added: "What I really like about Overwatch 2 is that we have a space for characters to speak in their native languages — we rarely have characters from Thailand in a video game… I'm really excited for our Thai players to hear their own language in Overwatch 2."

Lifeweaver's abilities

Lifeweaver, whose name is Niran Pruksa Manee, hails from Chiang Mai, Thailand, and uses bio-light to power his abilities — a concept similar to Symmetra's hard-light.

His primary heal ability, Healing Blossom, fires a homing shot that allows him to heal up to 65 health, depending on how much the player charges the shot.

His alternate weapon, Thorn Volley, rapidly fires a spread of projectiles of two per shot.

Petal Platform sees Lifeweaver toss out a projectile that expands to form a destructible, lotus-shaped platform which rises into the air when players step on it. Lifeweaver can destroy it before it expires by pressing the interact keybind.

He also has a dash ability that provides Lifeweaver with a brief burst of healing to himself, as well as Life Grip, which pulls an ally to Lifeweaver's location while placing them in a protective bubble as they travel.

Lifeweaver also has a passive ability that triggers upon his death, known as Parting Gift, where he drops a heal for the first player to pick up.

His ultimate ability, Tree of Life, summons a destructible tree that provides a large burst of healing for allies upon sprouting, and continues providing small bursts of healing at intervals.

[embed]https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=ivDAI-FXMH4[/embed]

Considering his ability to displace not just enemies but also allies, the concern that Lifeweaver's skills can be used to grief allies on the same team is valid.

Addressing this issue in a response to a question by Australian news platform WellPlayed, the multiplayer game's lead hero designer Alec Dawson said: "If players do find these very specific ways to grief their allies, that's something we are going to take action on if we see that happen repeatedly. 

"If we see that it's intentional, there'll be something we'll consider for penalties as well."

[embed]https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=00czpIw32uE[/embed]

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khooyihang@asiaone.com

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