Overwatch 2: A Guide to D.Va

D.Va is one of the Tank characters in Overwatch 2. She therefore is the frontline of your team, and rightly so. She can engage and peel excellently, absorb endless amounts of damage, and even carry out damage higher than DPS characters. She is a great character to pick up, and considered a top tank, as her kit is quite simple (despite the number of abilities she may have). However, her kit can becoming increasingly strong as you master her, so maining her will yield great results.

D.Va is a stylish woman, with over 20 skins in the game (outside of Overwatch League). If you want to main her, you're sure to want her best skins, so check out our D.Va skin review.

D.Va's Weapons and Abilities

Ability 1: Fusions Cannons (Primary Fire 1)

D.Va's mech is equipped with two large hitscan cannons. She never needs to reload these cannons, and they deal continuous and high damage. She is however slowed during the cannon firing, and she has a very short falloff range, as these cannons are considered mini shotguns.

Damage	Falloff Range	Pellets per Shot	Fire Rate	Move Speed
0.6 - 2 (depending on falloff)	10 - 20 m	11 pellets	6.667 shots / second	-40% penalty

These cannons are a monster up close, and can only pepper enemies at a distance.

Ability 2: Light Gun (Primary Fire 2)

Outside of her mech, D.Va is equipped with a trust pistol. This is a low damaging projectile weapon used to fend off foes, or finish them off, when her mech is destroyed. This is naturally also how she regains ultimate charge to recall her mech, so fire when you can.

Damage	Fire Rate	Ammo
14	7 rounds a second	20

Ability 3: Defense Matrix (Secondary Fire)

D.Va sends out a targeting array that will delete all incoming projectiles in an area in front of her. This is her only defensive ability, but has a very user-friendly cooldown and duration. This ability uses a gauge that replenishes over time when not used.

Range	Duration	Cooldown
10 meters	0.5 - 3 seconds	1 second, 6 seconds for full charge

As this ability is an array in front of D.Va, moving around will move the array with her, allowing a widespread area of damage mitigation.

Ability 4: Boosters

D.Va's mech surges upwards, but is able to move and change direction at will, dealing damage and knockback to all enemies hit. This is her mobility skill, and is used to reposition, engage, or peel for teammates.

Damage	Move Speed	Duration	Cooldown
15	12 m/s	0.4 - 2 seconds	4 seconds

These can and should be used alongside her Fusion Cannons, making D.Va a serious approaching threat.

Ability 5: Micro Missiles

D.Va launches a large volley of small rockets, dealing small damage singularly, but a whole bunch when together.

Damage	Fire Rate	Ammo	Cooldown
7 per direct hit per missile 1-4 splash damage per missile	11 missiles / second	18	7 seconds

For a total of 126 damage on direct hit, this paired with her Booster and Fusion Cannon damage packs a real punch.

Ability 6: Self Destruct (Ultimate 1)

One of the most iconic abilities in the game, and the cause of the majority of play of the games, is D.Va's self destruct. D.Va ejects from her mech and sends it forward, issuing a self destruct command that will definitely destroy anyone that isn't behind a shield. Upon detonation, this ability will also instantly refill her ultimate gauge for Call Mech, the next ability.

Damage	Area of Effect	Ultimate Cost
100 - 1000 (depending on distance)	20 meter radius	1540 points

Ability 7: Call Mech (Ultimate 2)

Whilst not really an ultimate, it is tied to her ultimate and her mech. D.Va simply recalls her mech from the sky, regaining a max health mech whilst dealing surprising damage to anyone caught under it.

Damage	Ultimate Cost
250	280 points

Passive Ability 1: Eject!

The passive that ties her and her mech together in game; when her mech is destroyed, through enemy damage or her ultimate, D.Va will eject and whip out her pistol. She has a health pool of 150 in this mode.

D.Va's Playstyle

• As a tank, you want to be in front of your team, soaking up damage and using your Defense Matrix to further absorb any incoming damage for you and your team.
• She is also a very good engage tank, meaning you should try and dive a badly positioned opponent using your weapons in tandem with each other.
• D.Va's high mobility means you should also peel for your backline. If you see a strong DPS on the flank, or your healers are calling for help, Boost over and Defense Matrix them to help them survive, then finish off the enemy.
• D.Va's cannons are hitscan, and her Boosters let her travel a long distance, use this to punish mobile characters and airborne ones such as Genji, Pharah, and Echo.
• Looking to counter D.Va? Our guide can help!

How do I unlock D.Va?

As always, new players will have to go through many matches and wins to unlock Overwatch 2's roster. The First Time User Experience however only requires completion of two matches to unlock D.Va. I believe this is because of popularity of the character, alongside Genji. These two matches can be completed in any non Custom gamemode.

D.Va's Tips and Tricks

Love D.Va? Here's some tips to help you perform well right from the start.

• Don't waste your Defense Matrix in one go. Using it in short bursts allows a longer uptime, and the enemies won't be constantly firing. If they do, your tankiness can solve that.
• Why tank when enemies are dead? Your Booster, Fusion Cannon, Micro Missiles combo can burst down anyone that isn't a tank.
  
• Practice Self Destruct in Custom Games. Her ultimate has so many different tricks of itself, so practicing can net you team kills every game.
  
• Moving on with Self Destruct, it doesn't have to kill enemies to be effective. Zoning a team off an objective can win games, too.
  
• Defense Matrix can eat some ultimates, that's all I have to say, it's broken.
  
• Self Destruct in danger. It resets your Call Mech cooldown, and zones enemies, so you can get back to flying in no time.
  

D.Va's Lore

Hana Song, the true name of D.Va, grew up playing games with her father, a former pro gamer. He introduced her to Starcraft, ironically another game developed by Blizzard. She would also become a pro gamer like her father, winning many titles and trophies.

In the meantime, Gwishin, a faction of Omnics from the East China Sea, would repeatedly attack MEKA. MEKA standing for Mobile Exo-Force of the Korean Army, is a unit of the Korean Army used to combat Omnic threats. MEKA grew weaker and weaker through constant damage from the Gwishin omnics, and were forced to recruit young stars to pilot their once AI controlled mechs. One of them was the brilliant Hana Song, a gamer with reflexes so insane that she would be able to operate the complex mechs at ease.

Song, like with everything in life, considered MEKA to be like a game to her, and used her competitiveness, and motivation to be the best, to help the world, instead of ranking up in a video game. D.Va now leads the charge with her allies in her MEKA unit and defends her home.

Following multiple crises, D.Va was recruited by Overwatch, and asked for MEKA's cooperation with the group. She was given the go-ahead, and is now working with Overwatch.