Dragon Ball FighterZ just turned 5 years old, and it’s already recognized as one of the best Dragon Ball games ever. Moreover, it's one of the best fighting games released in recent memory, going toe to toe with the likes of Tekken 7 and Mortal Kombat 11.
Dragon Ball FighterZ is relatively well-balanced, and most characters in the roster can be used without any detriment in some way, shape, or form. Most characters have their own unique niches they thrive in as well. Most moves are well-balanced too and completely usable. Most moves, of course, come with their own caveats, and players must weigh up the risk vs. reward for using them. Unfortunately, there are some moves that can only be used in very specific scenarios, and usually, their negatives outweigh any potential positives.
7 Super Dash
This move is available to all characters by pressing the R2 or Right Bumper button. It acts as a quick gap closer, homing directly onto the opponent. Super Dash leads to a multitude of options for follow-ups and can be used to catch a zoning player off guard.
Super Dash, unfortunately, isn’t safe on block and can be punished. More importantly, using this move frequently, especially as a newer player, leads to bad habits. As its quite common in lower ranks to see both players spam multiple super dashes. The worst part is super dashes can be punished by ‘down heavy’ (down arrow + circle) anti-air punishes, leading to full combos if the opponent knows what they are doing. While a good move and useful tool, it shouldn’t be used as a crutch at all.
6 Android 17 – Wall Bounce
Android 17 is one of the more underrated characters in the game. He’s not top tier, nor is he that flashy, but the character is fast, has some decent simple-to-execute combos, and can fill up his super meter really quickly. One of his defining characteristics, however, is his ball bounce. Players were eager on launch to use this move to extend combos and display their mechanical skills.
The wall bounce doesn’t live up to the hype; while a strong move in a vacuum, the move is extremely unsafe, telegraphed, and can easily be spotted. Moreover, the wall bounce cancel options can be super dashed through as well. Plainly, the move isn’t worth it.
5 Zamasu – Ki Blast
Zamasu has had his spot in the meta on multiple occasions; he was one of the best characters in the game in earlier seasons, featuring on every high elo and pro player roster. Mainly because of his flight mechanic, his excellent zoning tools, and stage control.
He has recently slipped in relevance, and his earlier weaknesses now clearly stand out. Zamasu has the worst Ki Blast in the game; there’s only one projectile, it is slow, and the hitbox is awful; many smaller characters can simply ignore it. In a game where Ki Blasts are so important for neutral control and controlling the pace of the game, this move leaves a lot to be desired.
4 Blue Vegeta – Ki Blast
Blue Vegeta has the same Ki Blast problem that Zamasu suffers from. The only difference is while Blue Vegeta’s Ki Blast is slightly more clunky, it still hits more characters than Zamasu’s does. This isn’t a huge relief, as Blue Vegeta lacks the zoning and stage control tools that Zamasu has.
Thus, he always needs to be up in the opponent’s face making his play style easily telegraphed.
3 Krillin – Down Heavy
Krillin isn’t in a good spot in the meta at all. He’s not horrible, but he doesn’t do anything better than the rest of the roster. This is amplified by the fact that he has the worst Down Heavy (2H) in the game, hands down.
It completely whiffs on a multitude of occasions, and it’s honestly not even worth using. This is a big problem, considering how important the 2H is in the game. Players are better off avoiding this move, period.
2 Beerus
Beerus is not a bad character. He’s perfectly serviceable, but only in the right hands. He’s one of the few set-up characters in the game and relies completely on his orbs, so set-up his stage presence and use his strings well.
This entry is mainly for newer players and players not familiar with set-up style characters, as he has quite a steep learning curve, and players not familiar with him will get punished. Coupled with this, his moves are somewhat telegraphed and easily punishable.
1 Jiren – Projectile counter
Jiren has a really high skill ceiling, but he has a lot of drawbacks; some of his moves have fatal flaws, which make him very difficult to play. The worst move in his skillset, and arguably in the game, is Jiren’s Projectile Counter. First of all, it is really slow, the animation is quite off, and it's really telegraphed, making it very difficult to use in the first place.
Coupled with this, even if players manage to land a successful projectile counter, they can be punished for it. Yes, using this move correctly can get a player punished. If opponents are familiar with the move, they can even punish players with level 3 supers causing a loss of up to 30% of the health bar. Definitely avoid using this move as much as possible.
Dragon Ball FighterZ is available now on PC, PlayStation 4, Xbox One, and Nintendo Switch