Overwatch 2 might have nerfed Lucio’s capacity to heal himself, but the support hero remains one of the best healers in Blizzard’s FPS game. Lucio has the unique ability to provide constant healing to any ally within range and increase the team’s speed, and while his kit mainly centers on support options, Lucio isn’t without means to defend himself.
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Lucio overview
Lucio is a top-tier healer who provides continuous support without needing to work around a cooldown timer. Crossfade, his primary ability, lets Lucio switch between a healing song and a speed buff song at will, though the impressive skill does come with a couple of caveats. The song benefits only linger for one second after allies leave the area of effect, and they only affect teammates within Lucio’s line of sight. That means Lucio needs to stay close to your team’s tank or DPS, subsequently putting himself in danger.
On the bright side, Lucio is equipped to keep most threats at bay and to soften foes for your team’s damage dealers to finish off. His Sonic Amplifier weapon deals a decent amount of damage and has practically no reload time, while the Soundwave ability knocks foes back. Soundwave also has a broad area of effect and comes in handy during escort and matches and situations where you need to occupy the objective zone and push enemies back.
Lucio abilities
- Sonic Amplifier: Fires four bursts of sound energy
- Soundwave: Emits a wave that knocks enemies back
- Crossfade: Switches Lucio’s active song to healing or speed buff
- Amp It Up: Increases the potency of Lucio’s active song (52 healing per second, +60 speed buff)
- Sound Barrier: Grants a flood of overhealth that pushes nearby ally HP past the usual limits, but fades quickly
- Wall Ride (passive): Lucio runs along a wall at 30 percent faster speeds than his normal run speed
Better together
When you’re playing Lucio, the goal is finding at least one ally and sticking with them as much as possible. Ideally, this ally will be your team’s tank or primary DPS hero, and not just for healing purposes. Movement buffs are vital for helping you both escape or relocate to a more advantageous position, while Lucio’s Soundwave can help even the field and keep foes at bay while your ally targets someone else.
Lucio struggles to keep up with fast heroes such as Genji, so instead of trying to tail them and other naturally speedy heroes up walls and all over the map, just keep an eye out for opportunities to provide support as needed.
Tune in
When Lucio isn’t healing and running, he should be targeting large enemies–tanks, in other words. His Sonic Amplifier primary weapon deals comparatively low amounts of damage, but it fires large blasts that don’t require precision like other weapons. Most tanks are giant hitboxes, making them easy to target without even trying. Sonic Amplifier’s short reload times mean Lucio can wear foes and even Reinhardt’s shield quickly, even while he’s still healing allies.
The other benefit of using Sonic Amplifier against easy targets is it lets Lucio charge his ultimate much faster than other heroes who take a bit more effort to hit their quarry. Seeing as Lucio’s ultimate pushes HP far over the top, this is a very good situation to be in.
And poof, he’s gone
Lucio has one of the best escape packages in the game, with a set of skills that makes it possible to escape one-on-one fights or back out if your ally dies and you need to find a safe place to recoup. Use Soundwave to chuck enemies back a bit, then switch to Lucio’s speed buff and take off.
If you still need an extra movement boost, that’s where Lucio’s wall run ability comes in. Not only does it help him move even faster, but it’s a solid way to make your enemy lose track of Lucio for a few seconds while they adjust aim and try to lock on again.
- Amp It Up is a potent healing tool capable of turning the tide and saving your entire party in a dire situation, but with a 12-second-long cooldown period, you need to time its use carefully
- If nearby allies have full HP, use Crossfade to play the movement buff song to help make them harder to hit
- If you can, pair Lucio with another healer who can provide targeted healing in large quantities, such as Kirko or Moira
- Speed is key in Overwatch 2, whether your team is trying to reach the objective fast when a mast first starts or you and an ally need to rejoin the fray after respawning. Don’t neglect Lucio’s speed buff, especially when you have multiple allies nearby
If you’re keen on experimenting with other Overwatch 2 roles, check out our tank hero tier and support hero tier to see how they all match up.
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