D.v.a is not overpowered

[RDK-11145]

@Alyenor-21688

Because there are no actual things that need adressing.

i highly disagree.

@RDK-11145

here’s my issue with d.va since all zero people asked.

it’s not that she is the only off tank that contest high ground, and it’s not that she is the most effective off tank at actually spot tanking. it’s that she’s both of these at the same time while having burst damage to rival roadhog. she’s not overbearing by herself but ridiculously universally applicable, and the only realistic choice if the map has any semblance of high ground.

a large critbox is not a sufficient trade off for this, especially since this a characteristic of the tank class and not a specific slight on her. there are tanks with both larger critboxes and worse positioned ones. being unable to be crit when DMing or when she’s not facing you does a lot for her survivability.

on “why d.va?”

@RDK-11145

What exactly does a dva nerf accomplish?

it reduces the synergy between winston and d.va and in doing so reduces dive’s stifling prominence in the meta.

there are maps that will clearly always be dive territory because there’s so much high ground and the high ground is so important positionally that having heroes that can’t contest it on your team will just be a liability. maps such as gibraltar 1st and 2nd phase and numbani 1st are good examples. however, not every map is like this and dive is also dominant on maps that aren’t high ground dependent. that’s an issue.

of the three heroes i stated in the core of dive we see three things:

winston is a dive specialist and suffers heavily when played with any off tank that isn’t d.va or is lineups that aren’t dive.
zen’s purpose in a dive is largely sacrificial. your team makes the most use possible out of discord orb before you die a horrible death because of your unforgiving hitbox and complete lack of mobility. he can get picks with right click but really, only the best of the best zens can do that at a frequency worth noting.
d.va is a ridiculous enabler of winston due to her unique role as a mobile off tank with burst. she’s also respectable in deathball due to her having the best mobility (good for pouncing on out of position enemies if solo diving, which she has the burst and natural bulk to survive, unlike winston) and she still has the best mitigation ability of all the off tanks. of the three i think she’s the most likely to eat a nerf because of how she functions on a wide range of maps and in a wide range of compositions.
as an aside, we have also seen almost exclusively counters to dive heroes or alternatives to dive heroes be released or buffed in the past few months, and it has done almost nothing to reduce how good dive is in the game. the issue with high ground being important isn’t going to be solved by buffing heroes that can’t access or take advantage of it, so i think we should look at the issue at the source.

i’d personally accomplish this by doing two things: d.va can’t missile and DM at the same time, and hitting someone with your boosters no longer does that extra 25 damage - it’s only a knockback.

on “blizzard’s introducing/buffing dive counters and why it hasn’t really worked”:

@RDK-11145

the thing about d.va is the devs are introducing things that are good against her, yes, but are better against other tanks, thus making sure d.va is still an optimal pick.

sombra hack is good against d.va. but you know who it’s really good against? winston and reinhardt. they die faster and literally cannot cancel the hack if sombra is out of melee range. d.va can 360 primary fire and save herself at any range.

brigitte’s knockbacks are good against d.va. you know who they’re better against? winston. speaking specifically about the whip shot. d.va’s boosters are continuous momentum, while winston’s leap is a singular burst. this means that if you whip shot a d.va as she engages, it does nothing except the 40 damage, while it completely denies winston’s opportunity to engage. d.va is also less affected by the other forms of knockback she offers, since she is heavily grounded when shooting. none of the other tanks, except for orisa, have this. d.va also has some ranged poke (it’s not much but it’s something). a winston out of melee range and no shield to dance around is literally just feeding until he gets his leap back.