Please help me dva mains

General Discussion
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I know I can’t name players but I need those two pink dorito “diff” players to give me advice on playing dva because I stupidly find this hero really fun but she makes me rage so hard

I struggle with getting really overstimulated by her decision making process compared to every other hero, like she’s so overwhelming, there’s a million and one things that she can do in any situation but actually should only do one of them, and I really find it hard to understand which play that is in all of the different situations as a dva otp. I have hundreds of hours on this hero in comp and peaked about 3k with her and am normally hard stuck mid plat.

Things that I desperately need advice on:

  • keeping clear mental and not getting overwhelmed especially when being flamed for being not good enough or not being in coms etc

  • keeping clear mental and not spiralling into self doubt and feeling awful guilty about letting team down when theres 401 things i needed to do for my team 2 minutes ago and I can['t decide which one I have to do

  • keeping clear mental and not getting overwhelmed when I believe that I’ve made the correct decision but it doesn’t work out and I end up punished/feeding/losing because of it so I doubt if the correct play is actually the correct play and can’t learn

I’m seriously struggling, I think its because I ran out of prescription so brain is just rot rn but I’m hardstuck for a reason, I just cannot for the life of me fathom this hero. I’ve watched yeatle’s unranked to gm on dva full through twice made notes and applied them. I watched a10’s unranked to gm and made notes and applied them. I’m not the best at applying it because I get overwhelmed by the decision making because there’s just so much potential and then when I get flamed I just feel like my back seizes up and I want to brain myself on the wall

One thing I’m seriously struggling with in particular is knowing my specific role, like if I have bap zen and i can go aggro and theres discord on a squishy I try to confirm that kill because I feel that is the correct play but I usually lose for it because they get peeling

So i track the enemy dps cooldowns and ultimates their posiotion and support position as well as attention/where theyre looking but still can’t confirm kills. Ig my micro use of cooldowns and hitbox manipulation during engagement/closing distance is just wrong??

Like can someone please explain to me how dva counters or even soft contests hanzo or mccree bbecause I’m really struggling to understand these matchups, as far as I can tell its my job to peel that and contest their position when theyre free shooting my team but I just can’t do it without feeding

Also how do you contest literally any dps as dva when the enemy team has mercy? And how do you go aggro on backline? Because mercy gets peel from dps and dps gets peel from mercy I can’t figure it out I just feed no matter how many cooldowns I see they’ve used etc

Is the correct way to play dva to just be ultra passive and only go for aggressive plays when they are literally spoonfed to you, you don’t need to use cooldowns to secure them and you are at 0 risk of losing mech?

Also when is it the correct time to lose mech and die?

But then again you’re not supposed to use matrix for spam either, and on this patch it feels like if you’re just eating cds like firestrike or halt or off angle spam on your backline and not going aggressive then you just lose because your spam is weaker over time?

How anyone enjoys this hero is beyond me because its like literally everyone is scrutinizing your every move and ready to punish you and when they do so its so much more of a detriment to your team than any other hero. Like its such a massive responsibility I don’t think I can handle it lol but playing dps the queues are just disgusting I can’t emotionally take the abuse of throwers and flamers and I don’t enjoy any supports enough to grind them.

In retrospect after typing this all out I think I’m just having Symptoms TM again and need to get my prescription refilled but still, any advice would be massively appreciated because I’m tired of feeling like the biggest loser and letting everyone down/getting flamed/yelled at/feeling myself improve and trying so hard to win only to keep losing sr

tl;dr need help from actually good dva specialists
For reference I’m hard stuck about 2750, have about 300 hours combined on dva since 2016, play on about 60 fps average and 60 hz monitor on mobile 4g internet and regularly have 3000 ms ping spikes/dcs that I can’t control maybe once every 5 games or so. My edpi is about 5000.

Any help would massively appreciated just breaking down the thought process and decision making and any advice for not despairing when you fail/get flamed and knowing how to actually do your job without dying would be amazing

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Everything about D.Va is using cool downs to get to your target, or to protect your target.

There is some situations were you get a 0 risk of (Zen by themselves… torb with no cool downs… McCree with no Roll or flashbang.).

But usually as D.Va, you want to wait and look for a window of time to dive. With D.Va you can’t go in guns blazing like wrecking ball.

D.Va is a opportunist.

I was literally bronze and gold back in 2016 - 2017.

2018 I hit plat for the first time, then took like a year break.

Trust me, you get better when you calm down, take deep breaths and overall realize that it’s just a game.

I’d say, burst down the mercy first and then you have a better chance of surviving.

D.Va is good at being a counter for Mccree and Hanzo because she baits out all of their cool downs and then bursts them down.

With Mccree she can eat Fan the Hammer, and Flashbang. After he uses that, then he’s a free kill.

When Hanzo uses storm arrows, he’s a free kill. Lunge doesn’t go far enough to affect D.Va’s killing.

Usually, you only want to be super aggro when your tank partner is with you. But if it’s just you’d diving then your not going to get a lot of value out of the dive.

Like I said before, D.Va is a opportunist who needs back-up and needs peel from her other tank and supports. She’s pretty squishy if you play her wrong.

I can give you some replay codes from my games. If you wanna watch…

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Yep d.va is all about game sense to get the most out of her. Waiting for mcree to flash also isnt super important as you can bait it by pressuring him pretty easily

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Exactly. Opportunist.

Wait for a target to be alone, pounce, then retreat.

She’s literally a shark.

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I do not want to be rude, but perhaps she just is not for you. It happens to me in a lot of games. There is someone I love, and maybe some aspect of them that I feel is fun and fits my playstyle, but I often find certain roadblocks that prevent me from going even further beyond with them. The opposite is also true, sometimes there are characters that I am meh about but just feel so natural.

It sounds like you already put the work in. The Yeatle unranked to GM helped me so much and I never even finished it. It is probably just not the right fit. And that is fine.

Look at my profile. I have deranked to nearly silver playing Genji. I love him, he doesn’t fit me at all. And my dps rank is so low because I didn’t let it stop me. If you are fine staying where you are with Dva, just have fun with it.

If your goal is to climb, I highly recommend you find which hero fits you as you might he shocked at how good you are if you are applying all of those high level principles to another hero.

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This is the only Unranked to GM that I ever got anything out of. Most of those series usually come down to: ‘be a T500 player lol’. That one actually had points even I could replicate. And that’s saying something.

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I suggest. If you want to master any hero hero…
Play them alot in quickplay. Even in situations they wouldn’t work. This helps you with making tough decisions and figuring out what your counterplay is for different heroes. And playing other heroes you will see how people use D.Va to counter them. Yes you can learn how to play by watching others, your own team mates.

Make a list of all the utility you can bring to a fight. D.Va has so much utility she can bring in a fight.

Duel people in death match/team death match to get practice for in combat decisions.

I tend to avoid competitive since it has other rulesets. But it is more punishing to play and you will have to adjust to how you play competitively to quickplay. Quickplay is nice to get practice, but you will have to adjust playstyles when playing Competitive since it punishes you.

D.Va’s burst combo is something you have to practice around with good players. She gets better the better you are at constantly getting headshots so it’s always good practice that in aim trainers.

If competitive is too much stress for you I suggest playing completely in Quickplay. It’s not worth all that mental anguish for a game mode that doesn’t give you much anyway besides golden guns…

Also focus on improving. Learn from your mistakes. Think if there was a better way you could have done a pull. We always make mistakes. Learning from them makes you better. Try not to shift blame onto others, it will blind you to your own mistakes and you will not learn from them!

Remember take each match and just focus on improving. Don’t take wins/losses too seriously and you should focus on improving.

I hear competitive gets toxic. Losing rank causes people to stress and lash out to peers, it’s why I tend to avoid such modes and enjoy the casual pvp which can be just as satisfying.

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No one said it yet, but you can also play Hitscan dps, and shoot at Dvas. You can learn the basic of what you should and shouldnt do and where you should and shouldnt stand as Dva that way as well.

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First thing is never fight roadhog alone. :smiley: He will always destroy you.

If the team dives then dive with them (people often pick Winston if you pick DVA).

Use your mobility because its what it is all about, keep highground to redirect some of enemy teams damage onto you, use EMP to protect others (not just to protect you), if you see Pharah go after her when she is closer because hitscans often cant really kill her. In the chaos of the fight you need to watch for wounded players and finish them or go after healers to disrupt their heals.
DVA is mmostly about annoying your enemies than anything else.

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Roadhog is actually not that bad to go in as a solo D.Va. Just make sure you have full HP.

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Must be a drunk Roadhog then. :smiley: He can 2 tap your huge headshot hitbox in the middle of your mech. :smiley:

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The biggest mistake I see DVA mains make on ladder is not diving with their Winston.

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I will probably update this post with additional bits of information at some point, but this pretty much sums up what I can tell you about playing D.Va.

https://us.forums.blizzard.com/en/overwatch/t/i-reached-gm-with-only-dva-heres-what-ive-learned/635755

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*cracks knuckles.
Ok time to write a comical amount since I’ve been asked indirectly lol
(I use lol too much I know. Forgive me but that’s what happens when you play only Dva since launch lol)

Bruh I want a shark skin for her so badly it’s insane. Would be the best summer skin ever.

Alright here we go.
(Keep in mind I consider myself to be a complete Dva specialist despite what my profile says otherwise. ((I literally only ever play her it’s true. My sister played mercy on my account back in the day along with other characters so that’s where the time comes from)) I very much would have near no time on any other characters if that weren’t the case). Anywho, I got to masters in season 9, decided not to take comp seriously at all and only did placements for comp points until like season 25 and then when 30 came around and I saw the top 500 Dva icon I was like, “yep gotta have that” so I of course got to GM in season 30 literally just for it (finished with a 64% win rate too. No voice comms ever btw). Thx incentives. Very cool.

Petty Dva lore out of the way, the first thing I always say about Dva is, you’re the best 1v1 character in the game but you need to find opportunities for that to occur. It’s for this reason that I play a stupid amount of deathmatch. Before I even mention a single thing more of Dva, PLAY A TON OF DEATHMATCH WITH HER. It is by far the best thing you can do to learn how she works. The most value you can bring is by getting kills. DM is great and all, but her power lies in her killing potential. Sounds crazy I know, but it’s also why I’m not a big fan of the unranked to GM videos of theirs. They play so safe it’s boring to me. The majority of the games they play has them sticking with their team and doing nothing else. That’s perfectly fine when your team is being pressured. It’s not how you get optimal value out of her though, I’m serious.

A lot of what I say is the complete opposite of what you’ll hear from other people with what they think Dva’s strong suits are and how you should play her.
Let’s mention the elephant in the room.
DEFENSE MATRIX IS FOR YOU, NOT YOUR TEAM.

I know, wild right? Well what good are you if you don’t have a mech? Pretty much useless until you get it back. If you’re going around using DM for everyone but yourself, you will loose your mech when the enemy team notices you can be taken advantage of since you’re always low on DM for yourself. DM is where her power lies beyond let killing capabilities. The difference between what I say and what the mainstream thinking with Dva is, while DM is strong, it should be used opportunistically for your teammates WHILE you are looking for a kill yourself.

Let me explain. Let’s say a roadhog goes for a hook and gets your Ana who happens to be in front of you. He’s dumb and does so well within DM range. You 100% should use DM to save her. There’s no reason not to right?
Now let’s say he’s out of range but he’s isolated and you won’t likely get in trouble if you were to expend boosters + DM for her. Again, it’s worth using your abilities in that case.
Now, let’s say he’s at his peak range of 20 meters and you’d have to use all of boosters just to close the distance AND his team is around the corner near him. Sorry Ana, you’re dead. Not because I couldn’t potentially save you, but because doing so would almost certainly mean feeding his team your entire mech since you’re out of place PLUS Ana very likely getting killed too despite your efforts.
I cannot tell you how often I see this. It’s like, “my job is to protect my team so I will now go and save my healer” only to end up with both of you dead.

Prioritize your own life first. Selfish, I know, but if you attempt futile saves like that, it doesn’t do anyone good. “We’ll I tried” yeah you also just fed lol.

All of that is to say, use DM opportunistically just like you would go for an opportunistic kill as Dva. She isn’t a strong defense tank on her own nor is she particularly good at getting kills outright (like roadhog is). She can however, be a game changer for blocking high instances of damage or getting kills back to back when the opportunity arises. It’s determining when those situations come about that makes the difference between good and bad Dva players. That simply comes with play time but most importantly, knowing if you can get away with your efforts or not. Is Mccree there? Delete flashbang or go in after he’s already used it. Is roadhog going to hook and stun you? Maybe don’t initiate until you see he’s used hook. It’s that kind of thing that you must look for before even considering what you can possibly do.
Dva takes risks. You have to weigh your risk potential with her. If you miscalculate, you’ll feed 600 + 150 hp worth of ult charge. That’s never a good trade for a single kill. If it means winning the fight though, that’s the time to die as your death meant taking enough space that your team can finish everything out.

Last thing with DM, never prioritize eating ults. Again I know, crazy sounding. If you can safely eat them, sure go right ahead. It’s the right thing to do. But let’s again think of an example.
Let’s say CaSsIdY is using high noon. Know where your team is in relation to him. Dva requires very fast reaction time and decision making. You need to come to the conclusion as to wether or not it is worth taking the risk of going for the DM block on is ult or not. If your team is already close enough to cover, there is almost no reason at all to risk your mech for the block. He still has charge time. That’s enough for them to get to safety. What bad Dva’s will do is, they’ll instinctively fly into Mccree trying to eat his ult. He of course knows that and will hold it until DM is used up. If he had no chance of killing them anyway, why are you there in front of his face? Boom say goodbye to your mech you just got blown up. If he was potentially going to get a bunch of kills, this is the right play and going for the block is the correct choice, even if your mech does get destroyed.
It’s situations like this that determine how a fight will go. Will you make a bad decision and go back to spawn pointlessly, or will you actually save the day.

Micro missiles. Oooooh how they suck. Suck though they may, it’s extra damage no matter how you look at them. For an ability that does a mere 126 dmg max over nearly two seconds, you better take advantage of them. That 8 second cooldown is a lot. They’re so inconsistent at range with their lack of tracking that you almost always want to use them at point blank range. The self damage is counter intuitive to this but it’s worth it if it means you’re landing the hits. DONT WASTE THEM. make sure they land somehow. I should mention, her fusion cannons are preferably used at point blank range always. That means, whenever you want to go for a kill, get as close as you possibly can or don’t bother using micro missiles. It’s not worth getting an enemy down to 20 health by using MM at a distance in the hopes of securing that kill only to not do so and have their healers get them right back up to full.

Know every tech possible. The two main ones are the melee booster tech and the booster jump momentum tech. Everyone knows the melee one. Use melee very soon after booster activation to keep boosters going but have the melee activate. Great for finishing low health targets that are being healed. Booster jump tech just adds a little extra distance after boosters go down. Hold jump with your forwards or backwards momentum to get a little hop right after to maintain the momentum for a bit more distance. It’s the same tech to a lesser degree that you see Hammond players use.
Eject tech is a good one to know too since you can potentially reach high ground with it depending on where your mech ejects. Hold space as you eject to get more height. Be careful with that one though as it makes you and easy target for dps to track.

Long story short, Dva is a hard character to master no doubt. She has a high skill ceiling due to how heavy decision making plays in with her kit. There no just holding up a shield for your team with her. You have to be rather creative at times to get her to work for you.

Hopefully some of this helped. There’s other things you can do too like ceiling riding to drop down and try to get a kill then boost back up to safety. It’s mainly just finding opportunities to get a kill with her and spacing yourself where you can save your team if need be.

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There is no dva mains on this forum, there are only FeeDvA mains. Want the advise - watch some POKO.

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Can someone write a summary of this pls? I want to read it cos it seems like the poster put alot of effort into it but the letters keep jumbling and I cant get through it

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Pretty much,

  • use Dva opportunistically. That means identifying situations where you’re best used to either get kills or defend your team. This comes with play time.
  • DM isn’t something you should use solely for your team. I’d argue to use it mainly for yourself.
  • micromissiles should be used point blank the same as her primary fire. Don’t waste them.
  • try not to risk feeding. Especially in situations that wouldn’t benefit you anyway.
  • Ult deleting isn’t completely necessary despite what people say. Often times it’s better to avoid them as Dva than to run straight towards them. Delete them if you can depending on the situation. No reason to die in vain here.
  • learn a ton of 1v1 situations with Dva. Best thing you can do I know what you can and cannot actually kill.
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His rate of fire is rather slow, so you can easily negate a lot of his damage by simply using DM or covering your critbox at the right time.

I’d say it is more of a 50:50 skill matchup with emphasis on CD/ability timing.

For anyone who has trouble fighting Hog as D.Va I’d recommend to play her in FFA Deathmatch for a while :wink:

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Youre just better than me then… :smiley: Good for you. :slight_smile:

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I mean you’re not wrong. The 1v1 very much can favor roadhog depending. It favors Him slightly for sure.