Blizzard conducted the "Overwatch" Public Test Realm (PTR) to test the changes to the game before it goes live. The current PTR update has D.Va getting what players call a huge nerf in performance.
The reported changes in the "Overwatch" PTR that affect D.Va are as follows; her health is bumped up to 400 from 200, while her armor is lowered to 200 from 400, bullet damage from her guns has been reduced from three to two per shot, and the number of bullets per shot has been increased to 11 from eight.
Some players claim that these adjustments have made it more difficult for her to survive and argue that Blizzard has gone too far, Kotaku reported.
However, Blizzard has not shown any indication that it would pull back the changes. The company posted a developer update video to clarify its decision and to talk about the PTR in general.
Jeff Kaplan, the game's director, discussed some of the reason why game consoles do not have their own PTR. He explained that the PC version of the game works on the company's platform, while console versions are on Sony's or Microsoft's platform. Due to these limitations, Kaplan noted that a console-specific PTR is not feasible.
The game's development team reportedly also uses PC PTR to work on console updates. This process seemingly ensures that the patches come out for each platform as close as possible.
Game Rant noted that besides using the game's Public Test Realm to test new patches, users do not receive any incentive for participating. Kaplan admitted that incentives are being considered by his team, but he said their efforts are better spent developing and applying changes for everyone to experience.
D.Va is not the only character that is getting some adjustments in the upcoming patch. Sombra, Ana, and Roadhog are also in line for some balance tweaks.