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Blizzard plans big changes for Overwatch's D.Va

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Blizzard has outlined big changes coming to Overwatch's D.Va.

On a D.Va reworks thread on Battle.net, Overwatch's principal designer Geoff Goodman revealed the team has already made some "significant" changes to D.Va internally and have been testing them for a while now.

Screenshot from the D.Va Reworks Idea Thread.

One of the main changes is a nerf to D.Va's Defense Matrix. Defense Matrix's energy drain has been increased by twice the amount, which means her effective uptime has been reduced by 50 per cent. In other words, she can't use Defense Matrix as often.

However, this nerf makes room for some new abilities. D.Va will now be able to use her Fusion Cannons while flying as well as a new ability called Micro Missiles.

Micro Missiles allows D.Va to launch a flurry of small missiles which explode on impact, while dealing damage in a small radius around them. This new ability can be used while using her other abilities or firing Fusion Cannons.

The nerf of Defense Matrix is not necessarily a bad thing. These new abilities will increase D.Va's ability to play aggressively (annoyingly), getting up in enemies faces and bullying them as Winston does. In other words, D.Va should do what she is meant to do. The new Micro Missiles ability, which let D.Va shoot while airborne, also open up some interesting plays against enemies such as Pharah, who can be annoying to bring down.

"The combination of these changes allow her to play more aggressively and deal more damage, at the cost of being able to Defense Matrix as often as before," wrote Geoff Goodman. "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.

"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."

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There's no confirmed day for when these changes will be added to the game, but Goodman said to expect a new PTR soon.

During the Blizzard Gamescom preview video yesterday, the developer announced the new Junkertown map. The full Blizzard Gamescom conference is set for 5pm Wednesday.

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