Heroes of the Storm D.Va

[Damien 1,514]

This thread is for comments about our D.Va build guide.

[Erathis 53]

From what D.Va I've played so far I've found Rush Down to be absolutely huge.  The lack of movement speed on D.Va on most maps is just killer.  Maybe on a really small map like Tomb I could see going without it (maybe) but on the vast majority of maps (never mind giant maps like Warhead Junction or Cursed Hallow) it has been a life saver for me.

[LordDerpy 0]

I am extremely surprised the level 4 talent Fusion Generator is X'ed out. I have found it to be a must pick for every Talent build I have tried with D.VA. It might not look great on paper but it brings the Defense Matrix into a real strong source of energy for the Self Destruct ability. Greatly more so than Bring It On. 

I also find the level 13 talent Emergency Shielding to be incredibly good for two reasons. 1: It provides a great 'last second' opportunity for D.VA for activate her self destruct (assuming she has it at the time.) Thereby making the most of her health bar on the first MECA, and then dropping a brand spanking new one down for her. 2: And in the event that D.VA isn't using Self Destruct it gives her an opportunity to relocate or re position herself so that she isn't in immediate unwanted danger upon entering pilot mode. 

[Valhalen 1,484]

I really like this guide. As usual the Icy Veins team makes a remarkable job.

I think the Pilot Mode build is my personal favorite. I haven't been able to test the other two yet, but this is one is the most appealing to me, since the bulk of the D.Va gameplay is to build enough energy to Self-Destruct at the right opportunities. This, packed with Big Shot, can speed up this process, so you can blow up your Mecha over and over.

Also, shouldn't the fact she has two healthbars be noted in the Strengths?

[Guest astropicio15]

nerf this champ roght now, imposible to play against it, 2 health bar , abilities that can wipe a full strength zerg rush at braxis alone...( yes just sae it right now this is why im commenting this) in pilot mode she does more burst damage than, everybody? and the thruster.. 300 dmg and more that killed me several times and dont talk about the bunny hop. if blizzard dont nerf dva i dont think i would play more, or i will go afk in every game someone takes it. oh and also when destroying the mech she gets it againat no cd , so hey no way to kill her unles 5vs1 but this would never happend and everybody know it

[BrightwingMain 26]

Nice guide, but some things I would argue aren't exactly given the glory they deserve. Ablative armor on 13 is absolutely huge, it makes a lot of heroes in the game, for example most tanks and everything with fast attack speed or just in general below avegrade damage output literally just do 50% less damage versus D.Va. Arthas for example, does 50% less damage to ablative with autos and with tempest and only can bypass the minimum damage threshold with crits with his trait and with death coil, all other damage just does straight up get dampened by 50% unconditionally. Its by far the strongest talent on the tier when it comes to buffing survivability in a normal Hero League game, as well as provides insane synergy with bring it on, as those two talents combined and having someone to consistently heal you up you can get whole charge of self destruct from depletion of a single mech healthbar. Also the pilot form isn't that vulnerable honestly, if you stay inside your explosion radius you can force opponets to tank explosion if they want to kill you resulting in your team almost guaranteed getting a counter kill if you go down.

[Guest D.va]

You noted D.va as having a high learning curve but to be honest she's one of the easiest bruisers to play, between the double health bars and infinite stream of mechs you can call she is definitely more forgiving than some of the others. D.va brings a lot to the table without demanding much from the player.

[positiv2 953]

15 minutes ago, Guest D.va said:

You noted D.va as having a high learning curve but to be honest she's one of the easiest bruisers to play, between the double health bars and infinite stream of mechs you can call she is definitely more forgiving than some of the others. D.va brings a lot to the table without demanding much from the player.

Even though she is quite forgiving, in order to take full advantage of her power, a skilled player is required. I feel like she has low skill floor, but fairly high skill ceiling, and since some of the skills and talents make parts of her playstyle obvious and easy while they are not, a player that is not able to recognize it (a newbie, usually) will not be able to take advantage of more in-depth strategies, therefore making her a "hard learning curve"-hero.

[Guest D.va]

15 hours ago, positiv2 said:

Even though she is quite forgiving, in order to take full advantage of her power, a skilled player is required. I feel like she has low skill floor, but fairly high skill ceiling, and since some of the skills and talents make parts of her playstyle obvious and easy while they are not, a player that is not able to recognize it (a newbie, usually) will not be able to take advantage of more in-depth strategies, therefore making her a "hard learning curve"-hero.

I'd say she has a moderate learning curve and a moderately high skill ceiling with a very low skill floor. Shes an incredibly easy hero to pick up and play off the bat. Taking advantage of more in-depth strategies is a part of every single hero, generally speaking you can tell the difference of an newer player vs an experienced player who is dedicated to a specific character. That doesn't mean that every class a very good player plays has a hard learning curve even though they would generally be better at it than a newer player.

Regardless, its not my build so whatever. It just feels like the popular/new characters people like to play are always labeled hard learning curve when most of the characters in question are moderate at best.

[Trensicourt 5]

I've been playing against lots of "normal" compositions in QM where Diva is the enemy tank. I don't see her as a solo tank per say, but she is incredibly strong as a initiator and can easily replace health faster than other tanks. For example, any slight crowd control and her self-destruct gains value. Even without damaging, her self-destruct zones enemies better than Guldan's horrify. It's incredible how her ability to tank can burst very high at key moments in team fights. Your ally is caught out; boost in and knock enemies out. Team fight is about to happen; initiate, soak damage, and then self-destruct, causing mass zoning and splitting. Mech is destroyed; back off, poke, gain new mech, escort retreat or counter attack. A duel happens; you accept duel and win with ease. Enemies are retreating; boost to lock down one target and to force enemies to assist victim, causing a more potentials kills for team. Again, enemies are retreating; boost and self-destruct in front of enemy to cut off escape path. Or perhaps, allies are retreating; self-destruct in front of enemy to zone them out. These examples show the burst peeling, tanking, and zoning of Diva, which I find to be the highest of all tanks. She may not sustain as a well as a solo tank, but she can do much better than a solo tank at many of those key instances. Thus, this is why E.T.C. was so successful. His potential to deny the enemy options can make plays. Therefore, it is inappropriate for Diva to be classified as a frontline bruiser. If anything, she should be classified as a "Burst Tank".

[Guest Mookuh]

Correction on the Talent discussion of the Tier 1 "Pro Moves" Talent:

" Although the 2% movement speed bonus of Pro Moves does stack up to a total of 30%, each application of additional damage D.Va takes does NOT refresh the movement speed effect. Therefore, each 2% stack should be seen as an independent buff that will fall off exactly 1.25 seconds after taking the damage that applied it. "

This is requires a bit of clarification. It's true that taking additional damage will not refresh the duration on existing stacks, however, the stacks decay 1-by-1 and not simultaneously. What this means is that if D.Va takes damage, to get to 1 stack, then takes damage exactly 1 second later she'll be at 2 stacks for 0.25 seconds, then drop down to one stack, on which she'll remain for 1.25 more seconds, or 1.5 seconds after the damage that applied it. It's fairly easy to check in Try mode if you take damage from the creep wave until you're at 12-15 stacks, then run somewhere quiet - the stacks will take quite a while to drop off.

[Micekrispies 4]

On 6/5/2017 at 0:23 AM, Guest Mookuh said:

Correction on the Talent discussion of the Tier 1 "Pro Moves" Talent:

" Although the 2% movement speed bonus of Pro Moves does stack up to a total of 30%, each application of additional damage D.Va takes does NOT refresh the movement speed effect. Therefore, each 2% stack should be seen as an independent buff that will fall off exactly 1.25 seconds after taking the damage that applied it. "

This is requires a bit of clarification. It's true that taking additional damage will not refresh the duration on existing stacks, however, the stacks decay 1-by-1 and not simultaneously. What this means is that if D.Va takes damage, to get to 1 stack, then takes damage exactly 1 second later she'll be at 2 stacks for 0.25 seconds, then drop down to one stack, on which she'll remain for 1.25 more seconds, or 1.5 seconds after the damage that applied it. It's fairly easy to check in Try mode if you take damage from the creep wave until you're at 12-15 stacks, then run somewhere quiet - the stacks will take quite a while to drop off.

Hey Mookuh!

Thanks for the feedback, just went back and re-tested this as you suggested and you are correct about the way the stacks fall off of D.Va. Not sure where I had gotten the impression that they were all falling off at the same time when I had originally tested it, but thanks for looking out! I'm going to go ahead and make a change to the Talent description now.

-MK

[EDL666 18]

Bunny Hop's cooldown is wrong, it's 100 seconds not 1. This is true in tooltips and on the Talents page

[positiv2 953]

1 hour ago, EDL666 said:

Bunny Hop's cooldown is wrong, it's 100 seconds not 1. This is true in tooltips and on the Talents page

Hey, thanks for pointing this out! It should be fixed today.

[xevex 41]

I dont see how "Bring it on" is a recommended talent when "Fusion Generator" gives you the same value just by casting defense matrix once or twice.

I also feel Rush-Down should be recommended instead of situational because of the buff it got. D.Va can rotate faster then any other hero in game with this talent, similar to Malthael/Junkrat. While its must-pick talent on big maps it gives a lot of value even on small maps.

 

Edited November 30, 2017 by xevex

[Guest vee3man]

Here's two thing I disagree with fiercely on with the D.Va guide. 

One, she has a solid waveclear presence. She has one of, if not, the fastest attack speed in game, and her basic attack is an AoE. If you position her well and take 3-4 creeps in her attacks, she will mow them down fast. She can also clear the tower and gates if up against a weak laner, even as early as level 1. That's cause she can hit a tower and gate at the same time by positioning slight to the side. Wall as well, if you go in close. I've never finished a game as D.Va where I did not get either first of second on siege damage, even up against contenders like Nazeebo.

Her self-destruct is easy to escape, so use it to clear an area, like when rushing a tower, taking a objective, a team fight area block/escape, or being zerged. It buys valuable time. Nuclear Option if you're focusing on siege and buying time, and Aggression Matrix if you're helping out in team fights.

Also a little disappointed that Rush-Down isn't given the love it deserves. Rush-Down when used to travel makes D.Va one of the fastest hero in the game. She's faster than mounts. In battle, if you cancel early on chase downs, you can have a D.Va boosting every 2 seconds. And since she can basic attack on move, it's a fierce combination. 

Some people in the comments debated on the pros and cons of Fusion Generator vs Bring it On. Experienced players will actively avoid attacking in Defence Matrix zones. You pick Bring it On if you're fighting heroes that have uncancellable or fast attacks like Valla, Sonya, and Raynor, or poison hitters like Nazeebo and Lunara. This helps with burst charging. If you're up against one-shots like Nova and Valeera, use Fusion Generator for consistency.

[SirGeilington 1]

Hi there,

i´ve played over 1000 games with D.Va and after that long of a time i think i figured out how to play her quite well. I wondered if you plan to update this guide since she got an basic attack buff recently and maybe news to her place in the meta. My winrate is 59% at that time, so i think thats quite well at Diamond-Level :).

I personally play her as an peeler for my backline. Always in combination with a maintank. I personally think her waveclear is great and even pushing the towers and gates is quite effective when positioned right as mentioned above by another user. I wanted to show you guys how i play her as an Mech-Oriented Disruptor thats super adaptable to every situation. Maybe you find one or two new things to try for yourself ?

Builds at the end of the comment.

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(Level 1):

"Hit the nitrous" is my go-to talent on lv 1 because it feels fast, impactful and gives you a nice damage-poke potential in lane and to finish of escapees. When you have played with this talent a lot, "Rush Down" or anything else on lv 1 feels slow and weak. You can easily make up rush down by keeping objective timers in mind and is easily countered by a fierce archer minion hitting you in mid when travelling from bot to top. 
 

(Level 4 & 7): There are three buildpaths that i recommend since i think they need to be picked together for maximum output:

1. Peeling: Pick "Diverting Power" and "Dazer Zone" for a big shield with added slow, perfect for catching that Genji or Tracer that are moving in you backline and mitigating their damage or burst potential. I pick those together because i think the slow on the shield makes it perfect to pick with "Diverting Power". This works also perfect if the enemies have 2 burst-assassins but low CC to cancel your shield. This path is not recommended when there are tons of Silences or Stuns in the game.

2. Zoning: If you picked D.Va and your enemies have lots of hard CC and tons of escape like jumps and dashes but there is an map with a single objective like "Volskaya" or "Cursed Hollow". You pick "Bring it On" and "Nuclear Option" to have a 8 second Zoning timer that lets you gather tributes or hard-clear the objective area even against the tankiest tanks. When your enemies misplay this or try to interrupt your team they could get punished hard. You could also pick "Fusion Generator" if the enemy team lacks hard CC. This can also be used in a nice coordinated team to push your way forward in lane together with a punisher or similar. "Self Destruct" kills also all camps when positioned right. (Knights-Camp need to loose their Mage first)

3. Allrounder: This is what i pick when i have a nice engage comp and don't feel like i have to peel 24/7. You pick "Bring it On" and then "Dazer Zone" if you want a nice slow for letting your team follow up on your foe, or if you need harder Knockbacks take "Coming through". Even when the enemies have a nice amount of CC you still generate nice amount of charges and have a slow without investing too much in your shield when the danger is high that it gets broken early. 

 

(Level 10):

I personally prefer "Bunny Hop" overall because it gets you a nice amount of slow and damage after a nice engage with your Q. You can use it to chase down enemies, peel or use it as damage-tool when you go all in 1v1. What also is key to this amazing ability is, that you are unstoppable. This is awesome because it is key with D.Va to use "Self Destruct" or "Call Mech" in the last possible moment to increase your staying time and making the most out of your 2 health pools. When you get locked down by 50% health and cant cast your Self Destruct you are pretty much dead in a devastating teamfight. With this ultimate however, being unstoppable adds more control and lets you cast your "E" freely. This ultimate truly shines when you are with your team but is not the big of a deal 1v1 though.

You get more poke and sustained presence when you pick "Big Shot" then. The only scenario where i would pick it is when you are playing "Dragon Shire" or "Braxis" and you are the only Sololaner and need to play 1v1 a lot. This is nothing where D.Va really shines. Holding a lane is easy but winning is not really an option. Furthermore the fact of picking an ultimate that rewards me when i played bad, like loosing my mech for no reason, and recovering fast from it, is not too appealing to me.

 

(Level 13):

This one depends also on your enemy team: Pick "Ablative Armor" if your enemies have Tracer, Genji, Nazeebo or Guldan or even Tychus' Laser Drill. Everything that deals periodic damage by small bits like poison etc.

Pick "Expansive Plating" when you have a healer that heals % like Alexstrasza or Lucio could. This yould save your mech when there is hard burst incoming. This boosts your Health by avg. ~20%. This adds also a backdraw to your "Call Mech" Timer which is a bit unpleasing.

Pick "Emergency Shield" when your opponents have more DPS than burst since it gives you an shield that is close to 10% of your health bar every 15 seconds you go very low. 

 

(Level 16): 

"GG, WP" is the real deal, you have 50% more damage in Pilot-Form this adds up nicely for finishing low tanks or similar whilst in Teamfights or winning a duel. When you loose your Mech you get an instant reset for it when you get a kill or an assist, this would negate the Lv13 backdraw of "Expansive Plating". This increases you staying power by so much when used right. This is your powerspike talent. 

 

(Level 20):

This is the final talent that makes our build complete, mixes perfect with "GG, WP". You can teleport a short distance and deal damage when calling the mech, it works as an instant. Lets you jump over walls and reposition you in Teamfights. Since the time you need for calling your mech is quite high compared to the Dmg or CC that other heroes bring to the table that could kill or interrupt you. Also perfect for flashy plays. 

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Tips and Tricks:

Use your both health pools to maximize staying power, but go into Mech faster when there is silence or hard cc on board.

Use you big Mech to body block escaping enemies whilst moving and attacking them, this is super potent against "Unstoppable" enemies.

You can attack a mercenary Camp from a bush whilst in pilot mode to reduce call mech time. This is awesome when on Braxis and you lost your mech but need more pressure on the point. Works everywhere where a bush is nearby a merc camp, they attack you one time then they get "leashed" and back up, then you can attack them freely.

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TL;DR

Allrounder-Build: https://www.icy-veins.com/heroes/talent-calculator/dva#42.0!2421224

Full-Peel against backline divers: https://www.icy-veins.com/heroes/talent-calculator/dva#42.0!2121224

High-Zoning against high CC and mobility: https://www.icy-veins.com/heroes/talent-calculator/dva#42.0!2441224

 

[Valhalen 1,484]

On 2/4/2019 at 12:00 PM, SirGeilington said:

You can attack a mercenary Camp from a bush whilst in pilot mode to reduce call mech time. This is awesome when on Braxis and you lost your mech but need more pressure on the point. Works everywhere where a bush is nearby a merc camp, they attack you one time then they get "leashed" and back up, then you can attack them freely.

Holy molly, that is brilliant. I never thought that way.

Edited February 5, 2019 by Valhalen

[SirGeilington 1]

On 2/5/2019 at 5:13 PM, Valhalen said:

Holy molly, that is brilliant. I never thought that way.

Happy i could help ?

[Samaugsch 0]

Whoever edited this said nuclear option keeps dva in pilot mode longer even though the talent description itself says otherwise.

Edited December 26, 2019 by Samaugsch