Pumping up his team with the thrill of his music's beat, Lúcio returns in Overwatch 2 with reworked tricks that make the Support character more stylish than ever in Blizzard Entertainment's sequel to its famous Hero First-Person Shooter. Unlike other Support heroes like Ana in Overwatch 2, Lúcio relies on swiftly darting around his team, being an annoyance to enemies, while his passive songs grant bonuses to health and speed for his team. However, extra mobility combined with decent projectiles means Lúcio players are no slouches to scoring eliminations, creating a well-rounded character in this new iteration of Overwatch's formula.

Support heroes as a whole were reworked during the transition to Overwatch 2 from its predecessor. After reducing the number of Tanks on a team from 2 to 1, Overwatch 2 demands slightly less from its healers, who in the past were heavily relied upon by the admittedly oversaturated Damage role. Even though there are still plenty of problems involving Overwatch 2's Damage class, there are now more concise goals for Supports to accomplish during a match. Through the rework, all Support heroes will passively gain 15 HP per second should they avoid being damaged for 1.5 seconds, an advantageous trait that incentivizes taking fewer risks.

Related: Overwatch 2 Reveals First Skins (& Fans Are Already Divided)

Another significant change to note comes from Lúcio's ultimate ability, Sound Barrier. Ordinarily, the temporary extra health provided through this move was represented as armor or shield health, similar to Zenyatta's passive blue shield health. Now, Sound Barrier provides what is called Overhealth, indicated to players through a green health bar placed in addition to their normal amount. Other abilities that create extra health also fall into this category, such as fellow Overwatch 2 Support hero Brigitte and her Inspire ability.

Strategies for Playing as Lúcio

A couple of tricks players should immediately grasp when playing Lúcio in Overwatch 2 is using his Wall Ride ability. Seeming simple in execution, as the active skill requires players holding the jump input to make Lúcio ride alongside surfaces, the depth of practicality that opens up when mastering this technique defines Lúcio's insane levels of mobility in Overwatch 2. When used in conjunction with abilities like Speed Boost and Amp it Up, Lúcio darts back and forth along walls, setting up iconic "boop" eliminations using his Soundwave alternate fire. In the same vein as the Damage character Doomfist in Overwatch 2, Lúcio's use of the environment are what highlights additional functions to his already strong abilities.

Switch Between Tunes with Crossfade

Crossfade represents a passive ability of Lúcio's ongoing musical track that plays, granting a specific boost to his team while in its area of effect. Lúcio can actively switch between two available songs at will, one providing his team slow healing while the other bolsters the speed of every ally nearby. Additionally, players can quickly change from Speed Boost or Healing Boost, encouraging active attention to circumstances unfolding during team fights.

Score Quick Eliminations with Sonic Amplifier and Soundwave

Just because Lúcio is listed as a Support hero does not mean he cannot get some sneaky eliminations. For example, his Sonic Amplifier fires projectiles in small bursts, wider than the small weapons thrown by Damage heroes like Genji in Overwatch 2 but smaller than the shotgun bursts of characters like Reaper. As a result, headshots do a surprising amount of damage compared to other Supports, sometimes even rivaling characters like Zenyatta, who specialize in projectile combat.

Soundwave, tied to the alternate fire input of Lúcio, creates a small burst that knocks back opponents far away before they can wreak havoc on team formations. However, the hidden application of Soundwave comes into play near ledges, where Lúcio may be able to push enemies off the map, falling to their doom for an elimination. The space control Soundwave offers already gives players great opportunities to prevent teams from gaining ground on objectives, but the hilarity of "booping" other players off the map provides a unique advantage to picking Lúcio on certain stages.

Support With Sound Barrier and Amp It Up

Through the new changes and reworks to characters in Overwatch 2, Lúcio gains his ultimate ability Sound Barrier, much faster, with 12% less cost to charge. In addition, Overhealth now applies to all friendly characters, including Lúcio himself, for a temporary amount of time. Sound Barrier works wonderfully to incentivize Lúcio's team to launch a coordinated attack or as a desperate countermeasure against damaging ultimates like Reaper's Death Blossom.

Players that utilize Lúcio's Support mechanics are also given access to Amp It Up, an ability that boosts the effects of whichever song the player has selected. Additionally, a buff to either healing or speed helps to give other heroes more tools to attack or defend, keeping them alive during particularly challenging encounters with enemies. Regardless of how Lúcio compares to newer Support heroes like Kiriko in Overwatch 2, the musical artist has always held a reliable spot on a team, a welcome addition to use high mobility strategies and passive effects to boost spirits in the battle for victory.

Next: How to Heal in Overwatch 2

Editor’s Note: A lawsuit has been filed against Activision Blizzard by the California Department of Fair Employment and Housing, which alleges the company has engaged in abuse, discrimination, and retaliation against its female employees. Activision Blizzard has denied the allegations. The full details of the Activision Blizzard lawsuit (content warning: rape, suicide, abuse, harassment) are being updated as new information becomes available.

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  Overwatch 2

  Developer:

  Blizzard Entertainment

  Franchise:

  Overwatch

  Genre:

  First-Person Shooter

  Platform:

  Nintendo Switch, PlayStation 4, PC, Xbox One, PlayStation 5, Xbox Series X/S

  Publisher:

  Blizzard Entertainment

  ESRB:

  T

  Released:

  2022-10-04

  Multiplayer:

  Online Multiplayer, Online Co-Op

  Summary:

  Overwatch 2 is the sequel to the Blizzard team-based PVP shooter released in 2016. Overwatch 2 will completely supplant the original entry, shuttering the prior title in favor of 2. This sequel reduces team sizes to five instead of six. Players will choose from one of thirty playable heroes and pick from one of three classes: damage, support, and tanks. PVP remains the core focus; however, Overwatch 2 now has a stronger emphasis on cooperative play with the addition of PvE modes - four-player cooperative excursions where players will take on different tasks against AI opponents. Overwatch 2 is a free-to-play game and will offer a battle pass option like others of its genre instead of its prior loot box system, allowing players to earn cosmetics and more each season.

  How Long To Beat:

  80-100 hours

  Prequel:

  Overwatch