Overwatch 2: D.Va Gameplay Guide for Beginners

Ever since the first Overwatch came out, the offensive Tank hero D.Va quickly became a fan-favorite. Her gameplay mechanics, robotic theme, and sassy looks made her one of the mascots of the franchise. And fortunately, this carries onto Overwatch 2 as she is one of the best characters in the game.

Whether you’re a new player or someone who only played the first game ages ago – it’s a good time to go over the basics of playing as D.Va in Overwatch 2. After all, she’s an easy character pick up but hard to master since her abilities need to be used strategically. Not all Tank heroes are easy button mashers.

So, without wasting any time, let’s take a look at our guide for D.Va in Overwatch 2, which includes abilities, tips, and a rundown of her strengths/weaknesses!

D.Va’s Overwatch 2 Abilities

Let’s start with one of the most important aspects of D.Va in Overwatch 2 – or any hero for that matter. The abilities of a hero in Overwatch 2 define whether they suit your gameplay preferences or not. And of course, they also contribute to how good or bad a character is since not everyone is balanced equally.

Keep in mind that she has the ability to leave her mech, so some of her attacks have variations between mech and pilot mode. The pilot mode simply refers to her being outside of the robot.

• Basic Attack in Mech – Fusion Cannons: D.Va fires multiple bullets with unlimited ammo, which deal high damage at close range
• Basic Attack as Pilot – Light Gun: Rapidly fires projectiles with high damage but only 20 ammo
• Passive Ability – Eject: Once D.Va’s mech takes a lot of damage, she can eject and enter her Pilot form. In this state, her Ultimate simply calls the Mech back since it’s required for her true Ultimate ability.
• Defense Matrix Ability: She can block and negate enemy projectiles in a cone. Using this depletes the gauge, which regenerates when not in use. And there is a cooldown timer of 6 seconds.
• Boosters Ability: Using the Mech’s boosters, D.Va can fly around, deal damage, and knock back enemies. The cooldown is 4 seconds and begin once the Boosters turn off. You can turn them back on right after. The overall damage dealt is 25 per hit.
• Micro Missiles Ability: D.Va fires multiple missiles at her target, which deals splash damage at the points where the missiles explode. There is a cooldown of 7 seconds for this ability.
• Ultimate Ability in Mech – Self Destruct: D.Va jumps out of her Mech which causes it to explode. This deals damage to every player nearby, with those who are closer suffering the most. You can call the Mech back and the damage that you can deal with this ranges from 100 to 1000.
• Ultimate Ability as Pilot – Call Mech: This is simply calling the mech back, but it deals damage in the area once the mech drops.

An interesting thing about D.Va’s Pilot mode in Overwatch 2 is that she retains her Passive ability outside of her mech. This helps her fly back farther than other characters when hit with Lucio’s Soundwave, for a quick example. Though a patch might change this later, it’s a great piece of knowledge to have.

How to play as D.Va in Overwatch 2: Our Top Tips

D.Va has a base health of 650 which is divided into 350 health and 300 armor while inside her Mech. When she is in her Pilot (eject) form, she has 150 health. Since she’s a Tank type hero, she has a passive role that reduces knockback against her.

Since she’s a Tank character, she only has one defensive ability which we’ve already talked about. But what it does teach the player is that they need to be careful and strategic. Making sure your mech remains alive unless you’re using an ability is an important thing to focus on.

But since D.Va in Overwatch 2 is so low on defensive options, this mainly boils down to putting pressure on your enemies. For example, you can activate Defense Matrix whenever you can to negate projectile damage. But as soon as that’s done, you have to make sure that you clear up any enemies in your way.

Being a Tank is not just about dealing a lot of damage to keep yourself alive. Overwatch 2 is a cooperative game, and you need to be a pillar of strength for your team. Thus, it’s important to keep an eye on your teammates too. You must always ensure that you’re helping your fellow teammates just as much as you’re looking after yourself.

Since this is not a support or healer character, it requires extra strategy to help your friends aside from just defeating enemies.

One of the best strategies that the community uses is utilizing D.Va’s Ultimate. Though the self-destruct explosion normally kills enemies, sometimes they see it coming and run away. However, since people do this in a moment of panic, they don’t pick the best hiding spots.

If you’re playing the game with voice chat, you can tell your team to take positions around the area where you will self-destruct. Once the explosion has taken place, your enemies will go to random spots. And your friends will be waiting for them, which will be an easy way to wipe out the entire enemy squad.

Another important thing to note is that you should always combine different abilities. This takes a bit of time to get used to, but it helps a lot in the long run. It puts a lot of pressure on the enemy team and helps you buy time for your Ultimate to charge up.

D.Va’s Weaknesses in Overwatch 2

Whether you’re playing as D.Va in Overwatch 2 or against her – it’s always a good idea to know what the weaknesses of this hero are. Because knowing strengths is just one part of the picture. You can’t fully learn the character unless you know how to protect yourself too.

Fortunately, D.Va’s weaknesses in Overwatch 2 are very straightforward. First of all, since she is a Tank hero, she does not have any ability to heal herself. So, you need to make sure that the healer of your team takes care of that.

Secondly, she is very vulnerable in her Pilot form. Thus, you should always try to make sure that you’re safe when not inside your mech. And lastly, you shouldn’t let your mech explode too often because it means you will constantly be vulnerable. Carefully plan your strategy out.

All of these things should be taken as passive, however. Overwatch 2 is a fun game and you’ll die just as often as you’ll kill enemies. So, don’t forget to have fun and don’t take these strategies too concretely. And as always, keep in mind that trying some of these strategies out in custom games is a great way to learn.

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