From what i read in some discussions regarding the change pre-AE vs. AE in steam, I only read there that they either adjusted the OA values of critters, requiring higher DA for your safety net.
To add on top of that, they scaled down into diminishing returns how much "safety" you got from having a DA higher than the opponents OA. So in a sense, what you said about DA's mechanic not being as effective as it once was is correct, but I think this only pertains to people that wants to dodge everything by overstacking DA to absurd levels, except now it's hardcapped at 80%.