Lúcio changes hit Overwatch’s public test region last week—but Blizzard’s got even more tweaks to the healer available on the PTR now.
A boost to Lúcio’s Sonic Amplifier will increase damage by 25 percent. Paired with the projectile speed increase from last week, Lúcio’s shots will be more effective and precise. But to balance his newfound damage output, Blizzard made a direct nerf to Lúcio’s survivability: Self healing from Heal Song has been reduced by 35 percent. This doesn’t, however, affect healing done to other players.
Likewise, the bonus speed from Lúcio’s Wall Ride has been decreased from 30 percent to 20 percent.
These adjustments are an effort to make Lúcio less of a must-pick, but still keeping him strong in certain situations. “The end result is that he should feel stronger with teams that he can stay close to but not as strong when on teams with heroes that are often spread out (such as Pharah, Widow, Genji, etc),” said Blizzard in last week’s PTR notes.
But will it work that way?
It’s hard to imagine a world in which Lúcio is picked less than he is now. His kit—speed, healing, and damage—make him a good option in both casual and competitive play. Should these changes make it to live Overwatch, however, Lúcio players will need to adjust their play style. This is for the better, however, since a major complaint about Lúcio being a must-pick is simply that he’s not always very interesting to play.
Lúcio is likely not going to be less of a must-pick, but if one thing is for certain, he will be much more fun and engaging to play. Players will have to pay explicit attention to their teammates’ positioning to keep them within his 10 meter area-of-affect radius, when previously Lúcio players could just kind of assume their teammates where close enough.
Teams that work together in creating deathball compositions—strong heroes that can roll in together—will see great benefit from Lúcio’s adjustments. Lúcio will no longer be ideal paired with heroes that like to spread out, like Pharah, Widowmaker, or Genji.
Playing Lúcio as a support assassin is one of the most exciting prospects of these adjustments. With his speed boost, Lúcio can get in and out quickly—and increased damage means he can hold his own in battle.
Blizzard hasn’t announced when these Lúcio changes will hit the live Overwatch server, but we’ll let you know when they do.
