Overwatch 2 - D.Va Hero Guide (2024)

By James Carr on October 19, 2022 at 9:34AM PDT

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Overwatch 2 is now available as a free-to-play game, letting anyone jump into the hero shooter. While the game has had some server issues and bugs, the launch has transitioned the original Overwatch into Overwatch 2. This brings a ton of new content, like the brand-new Push game mode, but it also brings back all of the heroes from the original Overwatch. Included in that roster is D.Va, a tank hero that operates a large mech. Here's how to best play D.Va in Overwatch 2.

You can see how all heroes, including this one, stack up in our Overwatch 2 tank tier list, DPS tier list, and support tier list. Where did your favorite land?

D.Va overview

D.Va is a pilot inside a mech costume, which means whenever you run out of health, the pilot is ejected from the mech. This gives you the opportunity to deal damage and earn back the mech, which can be faster than respawning in some circ*mstances. D.Va is armed with two machine guns that have unlimited ammo, along with rockets, and a defense matrix that absorbs projectiles. The mech also has the ability to fly for a short period of time. D.Va has a high damage output for a tank, but doesn't have as much sustainability as other tanks.

D.Va abilities

Fusion Cannons (mech): Automatic short-range spread weapons.

Light Gun (pilot): Automatic pistol.

Boosters (mech): Fly in the direction you are facing.

Defense Matrix (mech): Block projectiles in the area in front of you.

Micro Missiles (mech): Launch a volley of explosive rockets.

Self-Destruct ultimate (mech): Eject and overload your mech, causing it to explode.

Call Mech (pilot): Call in a new mech.

Up close and personal

D.Va succeeds with aggressive gameplay, as long as you pay attention to your health and support heroes. D.Va's main guns are best at short range and the Defense Matrix doesn't have a super wide range, so getting in the enemies face to block damage is the most effective method. The downside to D.Va being more effective at short range is that she doesn't have as much sustainability as some of the other tanks. While her Defense Matrix does mitigate projectiles for a few seconds, unlike many of the other tanks she doesn't have any abilities that give her overhealth or heal her, so you have to rely entirely on your support to keep you in the mech.

Pick your moment to drop the bomb

D.Va has an incredibly powerful ultimate ability, the Self-Destruct. D.Va exits her mech, which can be done while stationary or mid-flight, and it explodes after a few seconds. With a few exceptions, the bomb will kill anyone within range of the blast. The difficulty of using it comes from picking your moment and knowing what to look at for. The blast can be blocked by a shield from Reinhardt and Sigma. It can also be blocked by most parts of the environment, whether it be cars, walls, or any other parts of the map, including the payload or Push robot. There are a couple ways to maximize the use of the bomb. If you don't care about getting kills but want to clear the point, you can just chuck it and watch the other team scatter. The other opportunities are if you see a shield break or if the enemy team is distracted by something, like another ultimate ability.

Great for diving on snipers and long-range heroes

D.Va excels in close range, and with the long-range of her flight ability, she can get up in the face of some heroes that prefer to stay at range. If the enemy team has a Widowmaker, Hanzo, or Ashe causing some problems for your squishier teammates, diving on them as D.Va should help the issue. If you do it enough times they might even switch to a different hero. D.Va loses her advantage against heroes that can deal a high amount of damage quickly, like Reaper or Junkrat, since her Defense Matrix is limited.

More D.Va tips

• The Defense Matrix does not operate on a normal cooldown and is instead a meter that refills overtime, so you can use it before it completely refills, but it won't last as long.
• D.Va's ultimate ability recharges much faster when you are in pilot mode, but you will still need to land some pistol shots if you want your mech back quickly.
• After using self-destruct you automatically get full charge to call in a new mech, so if you feel like a new mech was beneficial you can burn the self-destruct for it.
• The Defense Matrix does not work on beam weapons, like Moira, Zarya, or Mei, so if the enemy team is stacked with those heroes, you might need to rethink your tank pick.
• The Defense Matrix can consume ultimate abilities that are considered projectiles, like Hanzo or Zarya ultimate ability.

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