Arguably the most influential fighting game to release in recent years, Dragon Ball FighterZ is one of the most popular fighting games available and boasts a massive online player base. FighterZ is a game that caters to hardened veterans of the fighting game genre while still maintaining a sense of accessibility for newcomers. FighterZ hosts a complex but never overwhelming game system, alongside stunning graphics to create one of the most appealing fighting games for fans of the anime and hardcore fighting game veterans alike.
Even with its positive aspects Dragon Ball FighterZ still has a barrier for new players to overcome. Given the high skill ceiling for newcomers of the game, FighterZ comes across as a complicated and chaotic mess. Although it is chaotic, with some assistance any player can pick up the game and excel with their favorite characters from the Dragonball series. This guide will provide a general outline in order to improve and master Drago Ball FighterZ.
Picking a Team in Dragon Ball FighterZ
The first step in developing as a player in FighterZ, starts at the character select screen. This is where players pick three characters in order to do battle with others online. Here a player would assign certain characters in a particular order: the first character is a player's point, the second is their mid and the final character is a player's anchor. Each of these roles is vital for success and with some explanation their significance will be explicit.
The point character is what some may say your "main" or best character. This is the character you want to keep alive during the course of a match. This character may be a mix-up heavy character or one that dishes big damage coinciding with the rest of your team or it could be a character made specifically for the rest of your team to shine as well. Regardless of why you picked your point character, he is there to lead the charge for your team, so mastering his combos and the general game plan is vital.
The mid character is the second of your three characters. This particular role is meant to fulfill two functions. The first being they should possess a powerful assist attack, the move performed when you press the button associated with their team position. And they should be able to fill the role of a point if your point character dies or needs to be tagged out. Characters who fill this role are similar to your point but with maybe a more powerful assist move.
The final character is the anchor. This character should be able to face a team by himself. He is effectively your last resort weapon to winning a match. Characters who exemplify this role are ones who possess both a powerful assist and great comeback potential. As their name implies, a team is only as good as the anchor that holds them down.
When deciding a team, there is an endless combination of characters. However, keep the general philosophy behind each archetype in mind when building a team. There are no right answers to building a player's team, but certain characters are built better for roles than others.
Mastering Assists in Dragon Ball FighterZ
To become a true master of Dragon Ball FighterZ one must learn how to utilize your teams' assists to their fullest. Trying to play FighterZ without using assists is the Dragon Ball equivalent to bringing a knife to a gunfight. These powerful moves can make a 30% combo into 50% or higher. They can save you from a dire situation or they can land the stray hit to win a match. We'll frame the assists into three categories: combo, pressure, and support.
Combo assists are used to extend your character's combos. These assists require a certain amount of technical skill to utilize them to their fullest. With some practice, utilizing these assists can halve the time of a match.
Pressure assists are encapsulated by characters such as Vegeta and Kid Buu. These are assists that keep your opponent locked down in pressure situations. They can be incorporated into moments when your enemy is blocking in order to limit their options. These assists can transform an average team into an extraordinary one.
The final assist is the support assist. These are typically fringe and selective assists with limited uses. The two examples of these in FighterZ are both Android 18 and 17's barrier abilities. Although powerful when mastered, they have less utility compared to the other categories mentioned. But, if mastered, it can be more than effective against overly aggressive characters.
Picking assists is crucial to success, but entirely subjective, use whichever characters you find to fit your play style. All of the categories mentioned have their uses but may not fit a particular player's style. Experimentation is always recommended. After picking your characters, learning, and practicing where those assists are most useful can make an average player overcome even the best competitors.
Making Smart Decisions in Dragon Ball FighterZ
Dragon Ball FighterZ provides its players with a variety of powerful tools, which can close the skill gap between players if used correctly. However, if used poorly, these abilities mean a crushing defeat. Limiting the belligerent use of moves such as Vanish or Super Dash can improve a player's game immeasurably.
The first move which should be used with caution is the Vanish attack. This allows a character to warp behind an enemy at the cost of one bar of super meter. Although powerful, the attack is not one that should be thrown out randomly or without consideration. The loss of a bar of super meter for a small chunk of damage is not an efficient use of the super meter. An enemy could easily counter-attack a bad Vanish making the move extremely risky. This move should be used selectively and if a good player catches wind of multiple uses of Vanish, they will certainly punish you for it which could lead to a brutal loss.
The second move which should be reexamined is the Super Dash. This is a powerful move that allows the character to fly towards your opponent. The tracking nature of this move makes it enticing for low-level players. Super Dash is a move that allows players to ignore neutral and close space rapidly. This may seem powerful at first, but with a well placed down heavy attack your enemy may take over half your life for it. This move when used correctly can place a player in a league of his own, but when used recklessly it will certainly stunt your progress.
Practicing in Dragon Ball FighterZ
All of the provided advice can improve one's abilities in FighterZ. But, without practice, there is no way for improvement. In order to utilize these tips, practice is required and recommended to achieve real mastery. With enough practice, any player can become a master in Dragon Ball FighterZ.
Dragon Ball FighterZ is available on PC, Playstation 4, Xbox One, and Nintendo Switch.