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D.Va is a Tank Hero in Overwatch 2. With her high damage and projectile-blocking abilities, D.Va protects her team on the frontline by soaking up as much damage as she deals. D.Va is a great Tank for players weary of the role, but to master her you'll need to get used to her offensive-focused kit.

Related: Overwatch 2: Zarya Hero Guide

With only one defensive ability, D.Va's role as a Tank may not be as obvious as others. However, she is a very strong and rewarding character to play. Let's take a look at each of D.Va's abilities, her strengths and weaknesses, and some tips for doing well with her.

Updated November 24, 2022: We've added a video to this guide that breaks down how to play as D.Va. in Overwatch 2.

D.Va Ability Overview

d.va on hero select menu

Ability

Description

Basic Attack (Mech) - Fusion Cannons

  • Damage: 2 per bullet, falls off at longer range

  • Fires a short spread of bullets, dealing higher damage at close range. Has unlimited ammo.

Basic Attack (Pilot) - Light Gun

  • Damage: 14
  • Ammo: 20

  • Rapidly fires fast-moving projectiles.

First Ability - Defense Matrix

  • Duration: 3 seconds
  • Cooldown: 6 seconds

  • Block and negate all incoming projectiles in a cone to D.Va's front. Using Defense Matrix depletes the gauge, which regenerates over time when not in use.

Second Ability - Boosters

  • Damage: 25
  • Duration: 2 seconds
  • Cooldown: 4 seconds

  • Activate the Mech's boosters, flying forward, dealing damage and knocking back enemies that are hit. The cooldown of this ability starts when the Boosters turn off, and they can be manually turned off at any time after activation.

Third Ability - Micro Missiles

  • Damage: 7
  • Cooldown: 7 seconds

  • Fires a barrage of missiles at the target, dealing splash damage where the missile explodes.

Ultimate (Mech) - Self-Destruct

  • Damage: 100 - 1000
  • Duration: 3 seconds until explosion

  • Eject from the Mech, causing it to self-destruct in a massive explosion that deals more damage the closer you are to it. After using Self-Destruct, Call Mech is immediately readied.

Ultimate (Pilot) - Call Mech

  • Damage: 250

  • When in Pilot form, summon the Mech, dealing damage in the area it is summoned.

Passive - Eject!

  • After taking lethal damage in her Mech, D.Va will instead eject, entering Pilot form. While in Pilot form, her basic attack will become Light Gun, and her Ultimate will become Call Mech, allowing her to re-summon her mech after her Ultimate is charged.

D.Va has 650 base health, divided into 350 health and 300 armor, and has 150 health while in Pilot form. As a Tank Hero, D.Va also gains access to the Tank role passive, reducing the effectiveness of knockbacks on her, and reducing the amount of Ultimate charge gained when damaging or healing her.

Tips And Tricks For Playing D.Va

d.va launching into air and aiming her pistol in highlight intro

Despite her role as a Tank Hero, D.Va only has one defensive ability — Defense Matrix. Because of this, you'll need to play her a bit differently than other Tanks in the Overwatch 2 roster. Here are a few tips for learning to do so.

Activating Defense Matrix

Defense Matrix is D.Va's main ability, and how she will keep her team alive. For the best results, activate Defense Matrix in quick one-second bursts. In this way, you will eat up a few projectiles, then take hits to your armor first, which has inate damage reduction. Let your support allies restore your health, then activate Defense Matrix again to mitigate more of the enemy's projectiles.

Because of D.Va's large health pool, almost half of which is armor, a lot of your mitigation comes from just being attacked normally. This will put a bit more of a strain on your healers, so you'll need to use the offensive side of your kit to help them out by applying pressure to attackers and displacing enemies with Boosters.

d.va piloting her mech in highlight intro

Offense Is The Best Defense

Utilizing D.Va's high basic attack damage and Micro Missiles, you can protect your team by attacking the enemy. Applying enough pressure to attackers will cause them to back off to get healed, which in turn means they will stop attacking for a few moments. If the enemy isn't attacking, your team is safe.

Additionally, D.Va can use Micro Missiles and Boosters during Defense Matrix, and she can use her basic attack and Micro Missiles while using Boosters. Use these abilities together to blanket damage across the enemy team.

Self-Destructing

D.Va's Ultimate, Self-Destruct, has the potential to wipe out the entire enemy team, but more likely may not eliminate a single target. Her bomb can be difficult to use, and is all about using it at the right time to score an elimination.

If you use Self-Destruct while Boosters is active, the exploding mech will maintain its momentum, allowing you to launch it into the battle from far away. Using this trick, you can surprise enemies with a bomb where they aren't expecting it, or in a place where they don't have time to run for cover.

The angle, speed, and position of the Mech are all factored into where it will land when launching with Boosters and Self-Destruct. Keep these factors in mind when using your Ultimate.

However, Self-Destruct has a secondary use, which is as a zoning ability. If you Self-Destruct in a crowded area, the enemies will run for the nearest wall or barrier to avoid the explosion. You can use this to your advantage, to force enemies into inopportune positions for your teammates to attack more easily.

For example, dropping a Self-Destruct on the center of a control point will cause all enemies to run to the nearest wall. This then gives an ally Junkrat to use Riptire on that location, where the enemy is already focusing on avoiding Self-Destruct.

Next: Overwatch 2: Reinhardt Hero Guide