Overwatch: Blizzard Is Testing Major D.Va Changes

Geoff Goodman, principal designer on Overwatch, has revealed in a post on the official Overwatch forums that Blizzard is considering some major changes to D.Va, including some major buffs and nerfs to essential parts of her kit.

Goodman posted in a thread titled “D.Va Rework ideas thread,” where community members talked about how they’d make changes to D.Va that would make her more aggressive, offensive and exciting to play.

“We've made some significant changes to D.Va internally and have been testing them for a while now,” Goodman announced.

Here are the internal changes, which are not yet available to play on PTR as they are still being tested:

• Defense Matrix: Energy drain increased by 2x. This means her effective uptime for this ability has been reduced by 50%.

• Boosters: D.Va can now use her Fusion Cannons while flying.

• New ability - Micro Missiles: D.Va launches a long salvo of small missiles that explode on impact, dealing damage in a small radius around them. This ability can be used while using her other abilities or firing her Fusion Cannons.

The proposed changes are meant to reduce the power of D.Va’s Defense Matrix, which is so powerful that it makes D.Va a must-have in almost any team comp.

“Defense Matrix still remains an extremely powerful tool when timed correctly, but the reduced uptime means D.Va won't be able to use it nearly as often overall,” said Goodman.

Goodman pointed out that these changes will allow D.Va to be more aggressive and deal more damage, especially since the Micro Missiles ability synergizes with her new ability to fire while flying. It also means D.Va should be a viable option against heroes like Pharah, who Goodman specifically pointed out as someone D.Va will be newly effective against.

“Overall the goal here is to reduce her reliance on Defense Matrix and make her more fun to play. As far as balancing goes, we want to nerf Defense Matrix as an ability, not D.Va as a hero,” said Goodman. He added that her changes are “a ton of fun” and “hopefully we’ll have a new PTR up soon,” indicating that players will get a chance to get their paws on D.Va’s new playstyle at some point.

There’s no ETA yet on when a new PTR with the D.Va changes will go up, but the mood in the thread was one of piqued interest, especially as a counter to Pharah or the still-popular Pharmercy combo.

“Clap and a half for testing something that would be more beneficial to D.Va and her current playstyle,” wrote forum user Roks immediately after Goodman’s post.

Other users were uncertain about the changes, especially the nerf to D.Va’s Defense Matrix. “It's one of her only tank-y qualities, it really sounds like she’s moving too much away from the tank class and towards the offense class,” wrote forum user MadamMeyhem.

What do you think about the proposed changes to D.Va? Do you think they will make D.Va more exciting to play, or are there other aspects of D.Va’s kit you’d rather see addressed? Feel free to let us know in the comments section below.