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Dragon Ball FighterZ

Dragon Ball FighterZ - Beginner's Guide

How to get all characters, unlock dramatic finishers, and basic gameplay tips.

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On January 26 Dragon Ball FighterZ launches on PC, PS4, and Xbox One as one of the best games ever in the saga, especially considering graphics and gameplay. Content-wise... not so much, but you can read all about that in our review. What you will find here is a little guide that we hope will help you raise your combat level to over 9,000. Discover the full cast of characters, how to unlock the extra fighters, and some gameplay tips and secrets below.

How to unlock the extra characters

- Goku Super Saiyan Blue: To unlock the Super Saiyan Blue version of Goku, you'll need to prove your skills. The character will be available after winning the Hyperbolic Time Chamber Course (seven matches) on Hard difficulty... and with an overall rating of A. In other words, it won't be easy. An alternative way of unlocking Goku Super Saiyan Blue is buying him with 500,000 Zenis (the game currency).

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- Vegeta Super Saiyan Blue: The method to unlock the Super Saiyan Blue version of Vegeta is similar to what you will need to unlock Goku, but along a different course. Basically, you'll need to beat the Extreme Gravity Spaceship Course (five fights) on Hard difficulty, with an overall rating of A. If you can't pull off this feat, you can buy the character with 300,000 Zenis.

- Android 21: To unlock Android 21 as a playable character, you will have to complete her story arc in story mode, which is to say that you will have to complete the full three arcs.

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Full character roster


  • Android 16

  • Android 18

  • Android 21

  • Beerus

  • Buu (Kid Buu)

  • Buu (Majin Buu)

  • Frieza

  • Ginyu

  • Gohan

  • Gohan (Buu Saga - Ultimate)

  • Goku

  • Goku (Super Saiyan Blue)

  • Goku Black

  • Gotenks

  • Hit

  • Krillin

  • Nappa

  • Perfect Cell

  • Piccolo

  • Tenshinhan

  • Trunks (Future)

  • Vegeta

  • Vegeta (Super Saiyan Blue)

  • Yamcha

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Gameplay tips:

Use the assists:

It's natural that while you're focused on your active character, you forget to use the other two fighters in your time. Avoid this, and try to remember to ask for their assistance with L1/LB and L2/LT. Timing is important, and may be useful to add damage to a combo, or to help you recover, but there's another factor to consider: when a character appears to assist you, they will be susceptible to damage, so make sure you don't summon a character while your opponent is preparing an Ultimate Move.

Recover your character's health:

When a character suffers damage, they can recover some of their lost health, represented as a blue bar. For the character to recover his health, they must be substituted out, which means that to maximise this element of the game, you should remove a character as soon as they suffer more than 25% damage. If you keep alternating your fighters, they'll live longer.

Learn when to change characters:

There are several ways to change fighters, and with practice you'll learn the best moments to do so. Some of the best moments to change a character is while you're attacking, in a middle of a combo for instance, as the second fighter will enter the fight quickly and carry on the combo. Another way to change characters is during special attacks - perform an attack and quickly press L1 / LB or L2 / LT. The second character will perform their own special attack and take the fight from there. You may even call the third fighter, as long as you have enough energy.

Don't overlook the Sparking Blast:

You may end up overlooking the Sparking Blast in your first fights, but that's something you should try to incorporate as soon as possible. The Sparking Blast is a special action, represented in the form of an icon with a lightning bolt near the health bar. Each team can activate the Sparking Blast once per battle, and it can be decisive move to secure a victory. Sparking Blast is activated when you press R1/RB + R2/RT, and lasts a few seconds (the duration increases if any of your team members are dead). While active, Sparking Blast regenerates the health of the player at a very high rate, increases the damage done, and allows you to gain Ki energy with greater speed. Use it wisely to take full advantage of its power, ideally with only one or two fighters remaining.

How to get the seven dragon balls:

In each battle, you have the chance to gather the seven Dragon Balls. To win a ball, you need to perform a large combo, and if you manage to get the seven, you can summon the dragon. He will grant you one of three wishes, including full health recovery, and the resurrection of a killed partner. However, getting enough combos to summon the dragon during a battle is extremely difficult, and if you do so, chances are you already dealt enough damage to be near a win. Still, it's fantastic when it happens.

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Dramatic intros and finishers

A delightful secret of Dragon Ball FighterZ are the dramatic introductions and endings, which happen at the beginning or end of a battle under special conditions. Basically, these are moments of the series recreated in the game, and that arise when the same conditions are repeated. Below you can see how you can activate dramatic moments, including examples.

Dramatic Intros:

This happens when two specific characters (team leaders), face off in a specific scenario. For example, if Krillin faces Nappa, both as team leaders, in the Wastelands scenario, Krillin will attack Nappa with a special attack, destroying his saibamen. Another example is if Teen Gohan faces Cell in the Cell Games Arena, Cell will crush the head of Android 16, prompting Teen Gohan to transform into Super Saiyan 2.

Dramatic Finishers:

To achieve a dramatic ending, the final stroke of a battle must be done by a specific character, against another specific fighter, in a specific arena. Additionally, the last attack has to be a regular Heavy Attack. If this happens, you will be presented with a dramatic ending. Example 1: If Goku defeats Buu in the Islands scenario, he will crush him with a Spirit Bomb. Example 2: If Beerus defeats Goku in the Space scenario, he will destroy the planet after a final reaction from Goku.

We hope these tips will help you enjoy a little more of Dragon Ball FighterZ, but there are more secrets and techniques to discover. Hone your skills in training mode, learn the specifics of each character, and use the Hard difficulty as a test of your abilities before venturing online. Best of luck!

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Dragon Ball FighterZScore

Dragon Ball FighterZ

REVIEW. Written by Ricardo C. Esteves

"If you're a Dragon Ball fan, it's an easy recommendation, as long as you don't mind swapping content for gameplay and graphics."



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