D.Va Abilities and Strategy (2024)

Table of Contents

• +Introduction
  • 1. Overview of D.Va
  • 2. D.Va's Strengths
  • 3. D.Va's Weaknesses
  • 4. D.Va Synergies
  • 5. D.Va Counters
  • 6. D.Va Is Strong Against
  • 7. D.Va TL;DR Tips
  • 8. Reading Further for D.Va
  • 9. Changelog
• ×Abilities and Strategy
  • 1. D.Va TL;DR Tips
  • 2. Abilities
    • 2.1. Eject and Call Mech
    • 2.2. Fusion Cannons
    • 2.3. Defense Matrix
    • 2.4. Boosters
    • 2.5. Micro Missiles
    • 2.6. Self-Destruct
• +Playstyle
  • 1. Introduction
  • 2. D.Va's Offensive Combos
  • 3. D.Va's Defensive Maneuvers
  • 4. Utilization of D.Va's Self-Destruct
  • 5. D.Va Tricks to Regain Mech
• +Synergies and Matchups
  • 1. D.Va's Synergies
  • 2. D.Va Counters
  • 3. D.Va Is Strong Against
• +Maps
  • 1. Best Maps for D.Va
  • 2. Worst Map for D.Va

On this page, you will find a detailed overview of the abilitiesthat D.Va has access to. We also explain how to bestuse these abilities.

The other pages of our D.Va guide can be accessedfrom the table of contents on the right.

• D.Va can be used offensively or defensively, but D.Va players must make protecting their teammates their top priority. D.Va shines when she coordinates with her allies, so leaving them behind is rarely a good idea.
• Defense Matrix should rarely be used preemptively unless D.Va is jumping a dangerous enemy.
• D.Va gets the most out of Defense Matrix when she uses it to save allies when enemies are clearly trying to finish the kill.
• Only use Boosters offensively to engage an enemy who is alone, or to jump in with teammates.
• Micro Missiles used with Defense Matrix can deal damage that the enemy cannot repay (depending on who the opponent is).
• D.Va should always use Self-Destruct with a particular goal in mind. Haphazardly throwing the bomb over a wall does not count as a goal.
• When out of mech, do not be afraid to kill yourself or switch off D.Va to gain a new mech before the next team fight occurs.

By default (when the game starts, when you respawn), D.Va is in control ofher 600-health mech. This provides D.Va with all the abilities mentioned inthe following sub-sections.

When D.Va's mech is destroyed, or when D.Va uses Self-Destruct, she is Ejected from the mech, and the player is given control of D.Va and hershallow 150-health pool. D.Va automatically leaps backwards from her mech whenshe Ejects, but you can change her exit strategy with your movement controls tomake her land in the direction you want to go, which can be beneficialdepending on your surroundings. Pilot D.Va has a slim character model (similarto Tracer) and moves quickly. She has no abilities except for apistol, Light Gun, and an ultimate, Call Mech. That said, enemieswho are prepared for D.Va to come out of her mech can kill her before she has achance to hit the ground.

While Light Gun is D.Va's only ability and attack while out of mech, it issurprisingly strong. It has no weapon spread, meaning it hasperfect accuracy; no damage drop-off, and will travel across a map until ithits a solid object. In human form, D.Va can dish out high amounts of damage ifthe player can aim her pistol well (10 headshots is 210 damage). However,hitting Light Gun shots is difficult since the bullets travel slowly at more-than-close range. Therefore, D.Va will have to lead opponents who are fartheraway and traveling sideways. It is not recommended that D.Va engages an enemywith anything less than 15 bullets in her clip, since it takes D.Va astaggering 1.5 seconds to reload her Light Gun. With 15 bullets, hitting afew headshots and landing the rest will result in the death of a 200 healthopponent. However, if D.Va is engaged upon with less bullets inher clip, her quick movement speed and slim figure can cause enemies to missshots and abilities with minimal effort.

Call Mech is an ultimate ability available to D.Va when she is out ofher mech. The ultimate charge builds 1% per 2.75 seconds, and anyadditional damage you deal with your pistol builds charge as well. In fact,D.Va only needs 300 ultimate points to fill her Call Mech meter. Therefore,D.Va can obtain another mech quickly since heroes gain an ultimate point perpoint of damage they deal. When you use Call Mech, a fresh mech is brought toD.Va at her current location. The summoning of the new mech takes two fullseconds, deals 50 damage to nearby enemies when called, and knocks enemiesaway. It should be noted that if D.Va dies, her Call Mech charge is not savedthrough her death, meaning D.Va will always start at 0% Call Mech chargeevery time her mech is killed. However, if D.Va uses Self-Destruct, shegains her Call Mech ultimate once her old mech explodes. If her mech goes outof the play area, she will not get a new mech once it explodes.

Even though D.Va's Light Pistol deals more damage than D.Va's mech from longrange, we advise you to call a new mech as soon as it is ready, even if you are awayfrom the fight and in a position to deal damage from long range. While you candeal a healthy amount of damage from afar, dealing damage from a distanceis not your primary role. With your mech, you will be more useful to your team,fulfilling the off-tank role you are meant to play. Obviously, ifyou can secure a kill just before utilizing Call Mech, you shoulddo so, but as a rule of thumb, get in your mech and tank for your team.

D.Va's Fusion Cannons have straightforward mechanics.The Fusion Cannons are automatic shotguns that have unlimited ammo, and thusnever need to be reloaded or charged, meaning D.Va can shoot her cannonscontinuously. However, the Fusion Cannons have significant damage drop-off atrange, and their spray pattern is huge from more than 10m away. This rendersthe cannons highly effective at close range, mildly effective at medium range,and practically useless at long ranges.

While firing her Fusion Cannons, D.Va's movement speed is reducedconsiderably (she is barely able to move at all), but the cannons can be usedwhile D.Va is using her Boosters. However, Fusion Cannons cannot beused with Defense Matrix, as D.Va's shield will override her ability toshoot her guns.

Utilization of D.Va's Fusion Cannons is simple. Move into close range ofyour enemies (either using your Boosters, or by running there) and then holddown primary fire. Given your large health and the high damage of the cannonsclose range, most enemies will not be able to keep up with your damage 1 on 1.If they stick around to fight, you should be able to kill them, and if theyattempt to escape, you can chase them with your Boosters. Likewise, if you feellike you are going to lose the fight (there are too many enemies, for example),you can use your Boosters to escape.

Defense Matrix (classified in-game as D.Va's alternate fire, althoughit does not actually shoot any projectiles) creates a shield in front of D.Vacapable of blocking almost all incoming projectiles and shots 15m out fromD.Va's position; the shield has no damage limit. While the Defense Matrixis up, D.Va can change its orientation by moving and turning around, allowingher to adapt to the situation at hand.

Defense Matrix is based on a resource meter (visible on the user interfacewhenever not at maximum charge). If fully charged, Defense Matrix shields fora full 2 seconds. While Defense Matrix is not in use, the resource meter willcharge up, taking 8 seconds achieve maximum charge if totally depleted. Theability will remain active for as long as you hold down the keybind (providedyou have enough charge to hold it). Defense Matrix has a 1-second cooldownonce D.Va stops using the shield.

Defense Matrix does not block noteworthy attacks such as melee strikes (includingDoomfist's Rocket Punch and Genji's Dragonblade) and beam weapons (like the primary fires ofMei, Winston, Symmetra, and Zarya).

There are two main uses for Defense Matrix.

First, you should use it to protect yourself and (especially) your teammatesfrom dangerous enemy abilities. While Defense Matrix can protect against shotsfrom most heroes' weapons, blocking this damage is generally a low priority(unless blocking close-range shotgun damage from Roadhog orReaper). Instead, you should save it for high damage abilities andultimates like Pharah's Barrage, McCree's Deadeye, and Reaper's Death Blossom.

Second, you should use Defense Matrix to protect yourself while in a duel.Defense Matrix can be used with Boosters to jump targetswho are alone, and can be used throughout a duel to safeguard against powerfulabilities like McCree's Flashbang or Soldier: 76 Helix Rockets. Additionally, D.Va can use her Micro Missileswhile engaging Defense Matrix to deal damage to an opponent while protectingherself. For example, you can use your Defense Matrix whileutilizing Boosters to get up close to a Torbjörn turret or to aBastion in Configuration: Sentry in order to damage and distractthem with your Fusion Cannons and Micro Missiles.

Boosters is D.Va's movement ability, and is extremelyversatile due to its low cooldown and long duration. When D.Va activatesBoosters, her mech flies forward in the direction she is facing (includingvertically) for up to 2 seconds. (The effect can be canceledprematurely by using the ability once more.)

While flying forward, D.Va can use all of her abilities (but theirrestrictions still apply, which means Fusion Cannons and Defense Matrix cannot be used together), including Self-Destruct (more on that in the next section). In fact, D.Va cansimultaneously use Defense Matrix, Micro Missiles, and Boosters for maximumprotection, damage, and mobility. Moreover, any enemiesD.Va strikes when using Boosters will receive 25 damage and are knocked back.It is interesting to note D.Va can use her melee attack while flying, butit will automatically end her Booster ability.

Since Boosters have such a low cooldown (5 seconds), you should be using itfrequently. Use it to get close enough to enemies to deal effective FusionCannons damage mixed with Micro Missiles, or use it to chase enemies who arerunning away from you because they are low, or simply use it toretreat from a fight or run away from enemy abilities.

You should not neglect the knock back power of Boosters, as D.Va can use theability to push enemies off of maps like Illios: Well, Lijiang Tower: NightMarket, and Garden.

Micro Missiles is D.Va's other primary attack aside from Fusion Cannons. When used, D.Va fires 18 missiles over 1.5 seconds,nine missiles from her left side and nine missiles from her right side. Ifeach missile connects with its target, the ability deals 162 damage. However,if D.Va misses her target, she can still score splash damagethat deals between 2 and 6 damage per missile depending on how close theyexplode to their target.

The missiles travel a straight path from D.Va's mech to where she iscurrently facing when the missile is fired. Similar to Defense Matrix,if D.Va changes direction while the ability is in use, the ability will "move"with D.Va, allowing her to shoot every missile in a different direction if D.Vamoves quickly. This allows D.Va to track enemy movements and to fire hermissiles where they currently stand. The missiles cover ground quickly, butD.Va might have to lead targets to score direct hits depending on her distancefrom the target and the target's speed.

The cooldown for Micro Missiles is eight seconds long, which means themissiles should be used in smart situations. It is rarely advantageous to useMicro Missiles to attack enemy shields since D.Va should be using her Boostersto travel past shields when attacking. Therefore, Micro Missiles should beutilized when engaging an enemy in a duel, or to secure a kill on an enemy whois fleeing. Additionally, Micro Missiles can be used in conjunction withDefense Matrix to protect an ally while simultaneously attacking theiraggressor.

D.Va's ultimate (when in mech form) is named Self-Destruct. Whenused, Self-Destruct ejects D.Va from her mech, and after three seconds, hermech explodes, dealing massive area of effect damage to allenemies caught in its explosion radius. It is critical to note enemiesmust be in line of sight of the mech when it explodes in order toreceive damage. Therefore, enemies who are behind an obstacle (like a payload)will not die if the mech cannot "see" the enemy when it explodes. While enemiesmust run from the explosion, D.Va and her allies take no damage fromSelf-Destruct. If D.Va uses Self-Destruct, her Call Mech meter will befilled once her Self-Destruct mech explodes. This allows D.Va to jump intoanother mech right after old one explodes. However, if her mech travels offthe map, it will not explode, which does not grant her Call Mech charge.

The maximum damage Self-Destruct can inflict is 1000, but thisdecreases the farther enemies are from the mech when it explodes. The range isfar-reaching, so outrunning its blast is much harder than finding an object tohide behind.

In addition to the slow 3-second bomb timer and the fact players cansimply retreat from its line of sight, Self-Destruct's use is announcedto the enemy team; and the warning sounds persist throughout the3-second delay before the mech explodes. In addition to these warnings, similarto Tracer's Pulse Bomb, a warning symbol is shown on an enemy'sscreen if he is near the mech's impending explosion. All of these warningsgive the enemy team plenty of opportunities to avoid the ultimate.

It is worth pointing out that if your Self-Destruct is available andyour mech is destroyed, there is a minuscule window during which you canactivate Self-Destruct before you are Ejected from the mech. Waitingtill the last second to activate Self-Destruct can trick the enemy intothinking you do not have the ultimate when you actually do. Therefore, waitingto enable Self-Destruct can result in devastating consequences for the enemyteam.

Finally, the critical aspect of Self-Destruct is that D.Va can use itwhile her Boosters are active, resulting in D.Va sending her bombthrough the air. The Boosters effect will continue throughout the 3-seconddelay of Self-Destruct, meaning that you can launch the mech in any directionyou desire and the mech will explode 3 seconds later. The mech will travel asfar as the Boosters take it, which means D.Va can use her ultimate at thebeginning of the Boosters to send it really far away, or she can use herultimate at the end of her boosters to drop it on unsuspecting enemies below.As the variables and launches are seemingly infinite, D.Va's Boosters andSelf-Destruct combo has unlimited applications.

About our Author

Mournflakes is a flex Grandmaster Overwatch player who boasts a career high SRrating of 4433. His favorite heroes are Roadhog, Soldier: 76, and Ana. He hasplayed Overwatch since its initial release, and has put over 700 hours intocompetitive play. When not writing guides, you can catch Mournflakes streamingon his Twitch channel.