Everything you need to know about D.Va if you want to play as her in Overwatch 2.
If you’re looking to play Tank in Overwatch 2 and are confused about who to start, playing as D.Va is a great choice. Tanks are now more crucial in Overwatch 2 than in its predecessor. This is because, in the new 5-member team formation, only one tank can be chosen. D.Va is well-equipped to take on the role of the single tank and the team’s shield.
Hailing from South Korea, Hanna Song, aka D.Va, is a professional gamer and an elite Mech Pilot of Meka Squad. This squad is tasked with protecting their land from different enemies, as shown in the D.Va animated short.
Furthermore, she is an easy hero to start playing as if you’re a newcomer, so you won’t feel lost if you start playing as her. This Overwatch 2 guide will describe and walk you through everything you need to know about D.Va and her trusty Mech so you can step in on the battle prepared.
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Overwatch 2: D.Va Profile and Ability Overview
D.Va fights from a robot tank named MEKA, and all her abilities are based on this robot’s different utilities. Furthermore, she is a unique hero in Overwatch 2, as playing D.Va, you get two lives. One with her MEKA robot and one with her after her robot loses all health. But you can also recall the robot in the pilot/human mode after the ult bar is full.
Coming to her abilities, her main weapons are the fusion cannons that hit hard at close range but are virtually ineffective from long range. Micro missiles compensate for this. Moving on to other utilities, D.Va has boosters that allow her to move faster and even fly. Defense Matrix brings up a shield that absorbs all projectile attacks, even ultimate ones. But it is a timer and recharge, so you need to use it wisely. Like all other Tanks, D.Va also gained a bit of Health from Overwatch 1 since now you can only pick 1 Tank.
All in all, D.Va is a bit weaker when shielding for a long time, but her playstyle is focused on playing as a team and pushing together, picking off flankers, or flanking herself.
- Basic Attack: Fusion Cannon
- 2 Damage per bullet. Cannons fires multiple bullets in a short spread, dealing high damage at close range, but damage decreases with distance.
- Basic Attack in Pilot mode: Light Gun
- Fast fires a pistol that does 14 damage per bullet with 20 ammo per reload. No damage drop-off and hence can be used to hit pick-off far away targets.
- Ability 1: Defense Matrix
- Summons a holographic, cone-shaped shield in front that absorbs all projectiles.
- Last for 3 seconds. Regenerates over time when not in use.
- Can’t block melee and beam weapons.
- 6-second cooldown.
- Ability 2: Boosters
- Flies forward for 2 seconds and does 25 knockback damage.
- 4-second cooldown.
- Ability 3: Micro Missiles
- 7 splash damage per missile.
- 7-second cooldown.
- Ultimate Ability: Self-Destruct (Mech mode), Call Mech(Pilot mode)
- D.Va ejects from MEKA, which self-destructs in a wide radius. Can instakill.
- While in Pilot mode, D.Va calls her Mech and gets in it. Slight damage where the Mech drops.
- Passive: Eject!
- D.Va ejects from her robot after it loses all health. She then equips her Light Gun to attack and can acquire Ultimate Ability points for Call Mech Ultimate.
Fusion Cannons
D.Va’s Fusion Cannons are extremely powerful because of their high close-range damage and no reloading. With good sense and mobility, you can use this to quickly pick off most damage heroes, healers, flanks, and even tanks. Try to aim at the head for maximum results.
Read the situation and use the Fusion Cannon fire with boosters to get around the enemy flank and take them down. Furthermore, you can also use it simultaneously with the missiles.
The downsides are that you move slowly while you fire and cannot do much damage from long range as only a few bullets hit. So you should avoid going one-on-one with opponents such as Soldier 76, Ashe, Bastion, etc.
Light Gun
Light Gun is almost opposite to the Fusion Cannons and can only be used when D.Va is off her Mech. It’s a pistol that shoots plasma, so it has to be reloaded. It has no damage drop-off, but it can sometimes come in handy in shooting down enemies from afar because it has good damage and fire rate. Furthermore, every hit increases the meter for Call Mech.
Defense Matrix
Defense Matrix will be your best friend while playing D.Va. This holographic shield will save you and your team from the toughest spots. You can use this shield with boosters and micro missiles, giving a short window of invincibility. The exceptions are melee and attacks and beam weapons like Winston or Zaryra’s. They’re very strong against D.Va.
But remember that the Defense Matrix only stays for a short time and needs to regenerate. You need to manage it well, or you’ll find yourself unable to shield your team or push to attack in important moments.
The Defense Matrix can also eat up game-changing ultimates such as Reaper, Pharah, Zarya, and anyone that uses guns and projectiles.
Boosters
Use Boosters to move forward, and any direction D.Va faces. You can use guns, missiles, and shields while using boosters. Use the boosters and other weapons to flank healers and fliers and break enemy defenses. If you have good healers, you can use boosters, missiles, and shields to jump into enemy positions, do some damage and again return to safety easily. You can also knock back enemies, causing them to fall off ledges and cliffs.
Boosters are of utmost importance to D.Va’s playstyle as a tank, and it allows you to be offensive and mobile.
Micro Missiles
Micro Missiles assaults enemies with a barrage of missile strikes that do splash damage. It can be combined with boosters, shields, and Fusion Cannons. Hence it is very versatile to use. Micro Missiles can take down enemy shields, break enemy formations, and take out enemies trying to run away.
Self Destruct and Call Mech
Self Destruct causes Mech to self-destruct while D.Va jumps out of it. This is one of the strongest Ultimates in Overwatch 2. It has the potential to take out the whole enemy team in one go, but you have properly placed the Mech before activating self-destruct. The Ultimate also recharges rapidly if you can get in continuous hits.
The best way is to launch the mecha into unsuspecting enemies with the boosters and press the ultimate button as it boosts. The Mech thrusts forward the ultimate while you eject and stay behind. A bit of height and a 45ish degree angle ensure the explosion covers the maximum area.
But shields and Roadhog’s heal can protect from getting hit by it. So be sure to take them out before using them.
Self Destruct is also a great tool to zone out opponents from their positions. Even if none of them gets hit, they’ll still be forced to move away from the objective if positioned there. Hence, letting your team quickly secure objectives. Moreover, it can also buy you time as you self-destruct and recall another mecha with full health.
Useful Tricks, Strategies, and Combos for D.Va in Overwatch 2
Mastering the use of the Defense Matrix
Since D.Va is not a defensive tank, you might want to use the Defense Matrix sparingly. Juggle between using the shield and taking damage yourself. Your armor will take the first couple of damage and has damage reduction, and your large health size can take hits until the shield charges. Make sure you have healers healing you to keep you standing longer.
Put Pressure on the Enemy Front
As D.Va, you have enough firepower to push back the enemy team and charge into them. Use your booster, missiles, and primary guns to concentrate fire on the enemy positions. You can also boost into enemy territory for a hit-and-run to scatter them while your team pushes from the other side. But beware of Winston, Zarya, or Reinhardt. They can defeat you quickly.
D.Va can use this tactic exceptionally well since she has a shield that can be combined with her Fusion Cannons and Micro Missiles. If the enemy healers make things hard, you can apply the same tactics to flank attack healers. D.Va can easily take down any healers in the game except Brigitte.
Team Up with a Pocket Healer
If possible, keep a healer with you whenever possible; some preferred ones are Mercy, Brigitte, or Ana. Keeping Mercy as a pocket healer can help you in the above-mentioned hit-and-run tactics, switching between health boost and attack boost.
You can push with Brigitte forward, as both of you have some shields and can attack well, and Brigitte will also heal you.
Ana as support is an ideal choice as she’s the only long-range healer, and she can heal and support you from afar as you boost into enemy spots with your boosters or try to scatter or pick off enemies from the sides.
Aim for Long Distance Headshots with the Light Gun
D.Va, in her Pilot form, is very weak. Not so fast, very little health, and hence can be defeated easily. Hence, the Light Gun is meant to give you the last stand and can get the job done often.
Moreover, you practice your aim; you can stay in the Pilot Form for a while to attack the enemy with your Light Gun from a distance as a sharpshooter. With the damage it does, especially on headshots, it can have quite an impact. But don’t do this if you’re not on an open queue, where there’s no limit on how many tanks a team can have. It’s not worth it if you’re the sole tank in the game.
Take out Shields before using Self Destruct
Self Destruct can be blocked with shields and absorbed by Roadhog’s healing and Zarya’s Bubble. Although shields will instantly break when hit, Zarya will get an insane charge on her bubbles, enough to put your team on the run. So make sure you or your team takes them out first or makes them use their absorbing abilities before ulting.
How to Play D.Va: Combos and Counters of D.Va in Overwatch 2
D.Va’s tank role and her utilities combine well with many heroes. Together you can easily defeat the whole enemy team or take out their tanks and supports, obstruct their advance, etc. Likewise, a few heroes counter D.Va and can outplay her in almost all situations.
Whenever playing as D.Va, you must be mindful of these combo heroes and counters before heading straight into a 1v1 clash.
Hero Combos for D.Va in Overwatch 2
- Mei: Mei’s freezing ensures you can win fights against anyone, even D.Va’s counters. Additionally, combining your Self Destruct with Mei’s ultimate can change a losing round to a winning one on a whim. Either the opponent team is eliminated in one go, or they’re forced to retreat.
- Tracer: D.Va and Tracer can work together to eliminate enemies. Tracer’s mobility ensures she can attack from any position or quickly cover ground, while D.Va provide the defense Tracer needs.
- Sombra: Sombra’s Hack from or her EMP Ultimate ensures enemy shields and abilities to escape is down. Hence you can rush in with your team or, better yet, use your ultimate for a perfect multi-kill.
- Ana: Ana will support from the back while D.Va dives towards the enemy, make some dent in their defense, and rushes back. A good Ana with good aim and a Nano Boost can turn D.Va into a monster tank.
- Lucio: Like Ana, Lucio can aid D.Va in her diving and rushing strategy with his speed and health boost. Furthermore, with Lucio, he can also attack while healing or speed boosting, providing extra support.
- Winston: In open queues, there’s no team formation restriction, and you can have multiple tanks. In this case, Winston and D.Va is a classic and tough-to-beat diving duo. Both can lunge forward from the skies and have shields to protect one another.
- Reinhardt and Zarya: Reinhardt can be the defending tank, while D.Va focuses on attacking. This duo makes it easy for your team to push forward with high defense and attack. Likewise, Zarya can use her bubble shield to protect D.Va while she soaks in damage from Zarya’s charge.
Counters for D.Va in Overwatch 2
- Mei: Mei can freeze you from a distance while you try to attack her and make you a sitting duck. Furthermore, she can easily freeze herself to heal. Her attack cannot be blocked with a defense matrix.
- Sombra: Sombra’s hack makes you useless and vulnerable, as your playstyle heavily depends on your abilities. Other players can pick you off.
- Junkrat: Junkrat’s explosives and traps can easily take most tanks, including you. Stopping you from shielding your team.
- Reaper: Reaper, known as the Tank Buster, is the strongest damage hero against all Tanks. His high-damage guns and healing with every hit make you useless no matter how long you keep shooting at him. Wise to boost away.
- Zarya: Zarya’s gun cannot be blocked by the defense matric. Furthermore, she can use her bubble shields to gain energy from D.Va. The best way is to wait for her bubble shield to be used before attacking her.
- Reinhardt: Reinhardt’s melee attack cannot be blocked, so in close range, you have no chance against him unless someone supports you.
D.Va’s Strengths in Overwatch 2
Apart from the many counters for D.Va, there are also a few Heroes that D.Va can easily counter or defeat in a 1v1 situation.
- Echo and Pharah: Fly towards her with shield up and missiles firing. They’ll be down in no time. You can also absorb the whole of Pharah’s Rocket Barrage with your Defense Matrix.
- Widowmaker: Widowmaker is weak in close-range fights; you need to shoot her with anything.
- Ashe: D.Va can absorb her Dynamite and push towards her with shields and missiles. Since she has no good retreating abilities, she is an easy elimination.
- Mercy: Use boosters to move around the map to target her. Get close to her and use your Plasma Cannons and Micrmissiles before she can fly off to safety.
- Zenyatta: Zenyatta is slow and will tend to fight from the back lines. As D.Va, you should target Zenyatta to reduce the opponent team’s healing. With your high firepower, he cannot do much except land a few shots.
- Cole Cassidy: If you manage to get close to him, you can defeat Cole Cassidy with a good combination of shield and Plasma/Missile Fire. Defense Matrix can absorb his throwable.
That’s all there is to know about D.Va, her strengths, weaknesses, and skillset from this Overwatch 2 guide. Now that you know all about her, test your D.Va Mech skills in a real fight.
Looking to play as some other Tank other than D.Va in Overwatch 2? Check out our Orisa Guide. Otherwise, if you’re looking for technical answers: How to Fix the Bronze V Competitive Rank Bug, How to Fix the Error Code BC-101.