Be the Best Lucio That You Can Be!
If you are an experienced player, jump down to the Tips and Tricks section at the bottom for some cool Lucio moves. If you are a new player let us be the first to welcome you to this incredible community. We suggest that you start right here!
Lucio is the most played support in Overwatch. His mobility, team mobility boost, passive healing, ability to wall-run combined with incredible overheal from his Ultimate see him almost always picked. Not only is his kit strong, but the fact he allows his team to run quicker grants his team a huge advantange when getting back to the frontline, during fights or to points off the start.
This level of mobility is key to his playstyle and with enough practice he can utilise a vast amount of the map terrain to not only reach difficult locations, but to escape if needed. Although Lucio isn't amazing at killing enemy players (he's much more of a facilitator) it's still more than possible, especially if you utilise his speed, healing and shielding.
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Pros |
Cons |
|---|---|
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Unrivalled mobility for his team |
His primary fire requires practice as it's slow to fire and land |
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Invaluable overheal and passive healing |
Below average single target heal. He's all AoE. |
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His wall running grants provides mobility and map accessibility |
Has to be in the thick of things to heal. |
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His Ultimate negates many offensive Ultimates. |
Can be focused incredibly easily and dies quickly as a result |
Story
Lúcio Correia dos Santos grew up in Rio de Janeiro, in a poor and crowded favela that was hit hard by the financial upheaval following the Omnic Crisis. As Brazil began the long process of recovery, he wanted to find a way to lift the spirits of those around him. He found his answer in music and its power to bring people together and even help them forget their troubles, if only for a short time. He performed on street corners, in block parties, and as he got older, at a string of legendary underground shows.
But Lúcio's close-knit community was thrown into chaos when the multinational Vishkar Corporation secured a contract to redevelop large tracts of the city. Lúcio and his neighbors had been told that the development would improve their lives. However, that promise never became a reality. Vishkar imposed controls on the residents in the name of building a more orderly society: enforcing curfews, cracking down on what the company perceived as lawless behavior, and exploiting the populace as a cheap labor force.
Lúcio wouldn't stand for it. He stole Vishkar sonic technology that had been used to suppress the people, and he converted it into a tool to rally them to action. In a popular uprising, they drove Vishkar out of their neighborhoods. Lúcio's leadership made him a star overnight and a symbol for positive social change. His music skyrocketed in popularity. Whereas he had once performed locally, he was now filling arenas across the world. He built up a career doing live shows, and became something of a national icon in Brazil.
With his newfound fame, Lúcio realized that he had an opportunity to make a difference and change the world for the better.
Abilities
Sonic Amplifier - Firing a wave of sonic energy, Lucio's primary means of attack can take some getting used to. Releasing four soundwaves, the pulse is staggered and somewhat sluggish in comparison to a bullet. Bearing that in mind, to land all four soundwaves onto a moving target can be particularly difficult. Unsurprisingly this makes his Sonic Amplifier a medium to close range weapon and it's best used alongside a melee punch for maximum impact.
Where his alternative fire is concerned, it causes a soundwave to emit from his weapon that knocks targets back. Not only does it create space between you and Lucio but can be used to fire opposing players into your team or off the edges of buildings and platforms. His alternative fire can be particularly useful against melee Heroes or characters such as Roadhog who will pull you towards them. I've also found it works great at generally disrupting an individual while they attempt to escape.
Tip - Your alternative fire can work amazingly well at knocking players off ledges on maps such as Ilios or Nepal. Make use of it.
Crossfade - Allowing Lucio to switch between song type (passive healing/speed), Crossfade is key to his gameplay. When utilising his heal he provides 12.5 hp/s to nearby allies while his speed boost is 30%. Although the healing amount doesn't sound a lot, it's enough to mitigate incoming damage as long as you aren't being focused or purposefully soaking incoming fire. If you use cover and back out of fights to replenish, the healing can be fantastic. Where his movement song is concerned, 30% is an absolutely enormous amount and the fastest speed boost in the game.
Tip - Speed can often mitigate lots of incoming damage due to making you and your team harder to hit. Using Crossfade: Healing in a fight isn't always necessary.
Considering it affects all Heroes around Lucio, it's also a powerful means of mitigation and engaging. It makes you and your team much harder to hit and for Heroes that already move quickly (Genji or Tracer) it allows them to be even more threatening. Crossfade: Speed is also partly the reason why Lucio is so formidable 1 on 1 as he can zip around the enemy, firing off his Sonic Amplifier and if needed, can quickly switch to Crossfade: Heal to top himself up. Just be sure to have Crossfade: Speed ready every time you leave the spawn point so that you can get quickly back to the fight.
Amp It Up - Providing a huge boost to the effects of Crossfade: Heal and Speed, Amp It Up makes both Songs incredible. Boosting your heal to 40 hp/s for 3 seconds and your speed boost to 110% for 3 seconds, this skill alone is why Lucio is so sought after. Crossfade: Heal and Speed are still useful without Amp It Up, but with it they're ridiculously strong. 110% movement speed allows you to get back into a fight in seconds while 40 hp/s can heal most of your team quite a bit. Amp It Up should be used regularly: just be sure you use it at opportune moments and that you're using the right song when you trigger the skill.
Tip - If Lucio is killed before the cast time of Sound Barrier is finished, then Sound Barrier will not be activated. Be sure to use it in plenty of time.
Sound Barrier - Providing Lucio and his nearby team with an overheal (or shielding) amounting to +500, it effectively boosts your entire team to eye watering levels of survivability. To put Sound Barrier into some perspective, Lucio has 200 health by default but with Sound Barrier caps out at 700 - more than Roadhog. Roadhog in turn leaps to 1100. This skill alone is the reason why Lucio is so popular because its strength is enough to provide unrivaled team-wide health benefits. If used at the same time as Amp It Up, there are few teams that can stand up against Lucio.
Strategy
Lucio is first and foremost a Support Hero. It's your primary responsibility to keep players healed and moving quickly. Whether you're playing an Escort map or Capture Point, you should always be switching your Crossfade. If leaving the spawn point or travelling with your team, have Crossfade: Speed active. If fighting the enemy team over an objective, bring out Crossfade: Heal. Mixing both continually, rather than just using one song, is incredibly important. Judging when to switch is largely a result of practice and observing your enemy team and their health. If your team is full health (or has suffered very little damage) you can comfortably remain in Crossfade: Speed and allow them to maximise the use of movement speed. If they're under fire - or about to be - quickly switch over.
Where Amp It Up and Sound Barrier are concerned, they're both - in some respects - "Oh shit!" buttons. If you're defending and the entire enemy team has descended on you, using Crossfade: Heal followed by Amp It Up is wise - it'll give a huge burst of healing to mitigate incoming damage. If the fight is still continuing, using Sound Barrier immediately afterwards can often buy your team enough time to clean up or for those who died to respawn and travel back. On Escort maps, using Crossfade: Heal and Amp It Up as you make a final push with your Payload can often see you over the line.
Examples of the wall running potential of Lucio
As for general play, I'd recommend you always try to remain close to your team and primarily your main Tank. Not only does your Sonic Amplifier deal reasonable damage but the knock-back on its alternative fire can be a real nuisance for the enemy team who're trying to take your allies down. Continually firing with your primary weapon is worthwhile if for nothing more than to pressure the enemy team and prevent them remaining in one place. As a word of warning, Lucio doesn't have a huge amount of health and outside of Amp It Up, simply can't sustain himself and his team from heavy fire - wasting this or your Ultimate ability will see you all quickly cut down.
Finally, wall running is undoubtedly useful for Lucio as it allows him to bypass certain routes or to reach his team mates without using conventional pathing. However, it's not fundamental to his play and you can quite comfortably win and play well without ever having to use it once. The one downside to wall running, certainly when escorting a Payload, is that no one else can follow you and if you aren't with your team, they aren't being healed. If nothing else, it can prove incredibly useful for escaping players trying to chase you.
Matchups
Heroes listed here are particularly challenging for Lucio. While those listed can still be killed, they pose a particularly difficult challenge for her so be sure to take extra care.
|
Hero |
Threat |
|---|---|
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Bastion: Although your speed can pose some challenge for Bastion, he can quickly rip through not only your Ultimate ability but any healing you provide. His damage once Fortified is just too high for you to cope with and no amount of Amp It Up can heal through it. |
8/10 |
|
Genji: Purely because of his mobility he's always going to cause you problems. With reasonable ranged poke and high melee damage, he's annoying to fight against. Fortunately you do have your alternative fire to knock him back him he gets too close, it can just be challenging to land your primary fire on him while he's running. |
6/10 |
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Reaper: Your speed can cause problems for Reaper and if you have Amp It Up available, you'll survive for a pretty lengthy period against him (especially if using Crossfade: Speed). However, a few well timed shots at your body and you'll die. Considering the generous spread from his shotguns, it's not particularly difficult to hit you with them. |
8/10 |
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Soldier 76: His Ultimate ability - also known as Aim Bot - can cut you down instantly. Soldier 76 is a brilliant counter to Lucio simply because his rate of fire and the accuracy of rifle is pretty generous, even against fast moving targets. The damage from his attacks (especially if he uses his alternative fire) also forces Lucio to use Amp It Up early. |
9/10
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McCree: Simply put, if he manages to stun you, you're dead. You can't survive his stun, alternative fire and a melee punch to the face. Thankfully you have speed on your side and if you keep your distance (while continually using your primary fire) you can at least keep him back. |
7/10 |
| Pharah: Her ranged poke combined with powerful attacks will always result in Pharah being annoying, however your speed allows you to easily avoid her rockets and her slow rate of fire allows you to heal up between the breaks. You'll rarely be able to hit her due to the slow speed of your projectiles, but you shouldn't have too many problems against her until she uses her Ultimate ability. | 6/10 |
| Tracer: You're fast but she is faster. She'll continually harass you and you'll rarely be able to hit her with your primary weapon. The best you can hope for is for her to get a little too close, at which point you can knock her back with your alternative fire. In the meantime, use Amp It Up during Crossfade: Heal to keep your health topped up. | 8/10 |
Tips
This list of tips and tricks are just a handful of things we think will help your Lucio play. We'll continue to add to the list as required and if you have any tips you'd like to share, let us know in the comments below and we'll place them here.
Did you know that you can wall run out of the well on Illios?
This video by Daft Kid shows you how to keep your movement speed aura up while also running your healing aura. It's called the Bunny Hop technique.
This video by Warm Shower - focus on wall running and offensive play.
The Basics by KaiaVex
Advanced tactics on Hanamur by Professor Ganymede
Advanced tactics on Watchpoint: Gibraltar by Professor Ganymede
Lucio Advanced Tactics on King's Row by Professor Ganymede
Advanced Tactics Guide for Nepal by Professor Ganymede
Advanced Tactics for Hollywood
Lucio Buffs from the Ana patch
Lucio often needs to melee. Learn how to do it right.
Must know spot on Nepal "Shrine" map.
Competitive Gameplay Commentary
Play by Play Breakdown of a Temple of Anubis Defense
Lucio's Ultimate Explained in Under a Minute
Must Watch - Advanced Wallriding / Advanced Play on Illios
Lucio - Speed Guide
Advanced Lucio - Ramp Sliding
Lucio Corner Climbing
Useful Wallrides on King's Row
1. Balancing your Crossfade: Heal and Speed is key to Lucio's play. You should regularly be switching between both, at all times. Travelling with a Payload? Use Speed. Under fire? Use Heal. Just respawned? Use Speed.
2. Amp It Up allows you to significantly increase the power of your Crossfade songs for 3 seconds. It effectively grants you a super speed and a super heal on a 12 second cooldown. Use the speed when getting back into a fight after respawning or the super heal when under heavy fire.
3. Your Ultimate ability grants huge shielding to your team. Used alongside Amp It Up (during Crossfade: Heal) your team will be near unstoppable.
4. Don't feel pressured to perfect wall running. It is unquestionably useful but Lucio's playstyle isn't determined by it - he's just as useful skating alongside his team.
5. It's well worth going into the Practice Arena to perfect your use of Lucio's primary attack. It's projectiles are staggered and don't fire particularly fast - landing multiple of them can be tricky at first.
6. Slow moving, squishy targets such as Symmetra or Zenyatta are easy pickings for Lucio especially if using Crossfade: Speed.
7. Don't be afraid to use Amp It Up + Crossfade: Heal to save yourself - you're worth more to your team alive than dead.
8. Outside of Symmetra's Teleporter, Lucio is the only Hero that can grant his entire team a short travel time back to the frontline. This makes you highly sought after.
9. For any Heroes that get a little too close, have your knockback on your alternative fire ready. It's also possible to use your melee punch first, followed by the knockback for maximum effect.
10. When one of your team mates is Nano-Boosted (Ana's Ultimate) it is usually a good time to use speed boost.
11. Amp speed when engaging or disengaging from a team fight.
12. Passive speed is better than passive heal unless you are topping up your team.
13. Only healing boosts ultimate, so there are times when deciding to heal is a good thing. The more you play, the more you will get a feel for when to heal and when to speed. In general speed wins fights, heal tops off after.
14. Looking up while jumping off of a wallride will cause you to jump higher than looking straight forward.
15. Double tapping jump when you touch a wall will allow you to jump right back off. This is valuable when you want to climb up between two walls or a corner.
16. You can't knockback (boop) a Bastion who is in Sentry Mode.
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