Dragon Ball Super has greatly increased the power-scaling of the series by introducing Beerus and Whis, who have both served as a window to the multiverse and subsequently, shown even greater levels of power for the heroes to reach. Now, Goku and Vegeta are stronger than ever because, not only do they possess the power of the Gods with their God Ki, they have access to the inherent techniques of the Angels and Destroyer Gods respectively.

With Goku unlocking the Angel's divine technique of Ultra Instinct and Vegeta doing the same with the Gods of Destruction's Ultra Ego, many fans of Dragon Ball have been wondering what the stronger of the two really is, owing to how well both of their ultimate forms performed against Granolah and Gas. So, let's break down what form is stronger; Ultra Instinct or Ultra Ego.

Related

Dragon Ball: Why the Dragon Balls Need To Leave

The iconic items that Dragon Ball is named after have been the series' focal point for a while, but it is time for them to go.

Ultra Instinct is a Technique of The Angels

The Dragon Ball Super anime continuously hinted at a greater transformation awaiting the heroes, which was eventually revealed to be Ultra Instinct. Though Goku struggled to achieve this transformation, his initial battle against Jiren in the Tournament of Power showed him attempting to take out the warrior with a massive Spirit Bomb, which Jiren was able to effortlessly push back onto the Saiyan.

However, instead of killing him, the Spirit Bomb pushed Goku to the edge and made him unlock Ultra Instinct Omen, an incomplete version of the divine technique that allowed Goku's body to instinctively avoid taking damage. This form was later perfected into Mastered Ultra Instinct, which Goku used to completely overpower and defeat Jiren. Since then, different versions have been used by Goku in his battles against Moro, Granolah, and Gas in the subsequent manga arcs.

Ultra Instinct's Strengths and Weaknesses

Ultra Instinct is called the pinnacle of Martial Arts in the Dragon Ball universe. Since the Angels are the most powerful beings of them all, after Grand Zeno himself, the power and utility of Ultra Instinct speaks for itself as it is the default state that the Angels exist in. This technique allows for the autonomous movement of the body so that it avoids any and all danger instinctively, allowing for the user to have their full focus on the battle without having to worry about defense.

This means that no time is wasted on the user thinking about how to defend themselves as the body already does it for them. On top of this, their overall strength and abilities are also increased as they can dish out much more damage as well. However, even if some attacks are able to sneak through and hit the user, Ultra Instinct also hardens their bodies to an unprecedented degree, making the user far more resilient.

However, Ultra Instinct is greatly taxing on the body and stamina. Even using it for a short while can have a massive hit on the user's endurance, leaving them very tired and susceptible to danger. Other than that, the mastered version of this form can only be used by discarding all emotion, which works against Goku's nature as a Saiyan, who requires emotion to get even stronger.

Related

Dragon Ball: All of Buu's Transformations, Explained

Each of Buu's transformations has its own strengths and weaknesses. So which of them stands as the strongest of the bunch?

Ultra Ego Is A Destroyer's Specialty

Vegeta's hunger to be on the same level as Goku was finally fulfilled in chapter 74 of the official Dragon Ball Super manga, where his fight with Granolah finally began. After luring the Cerealian away from Goku, Vegeta proceeded to fight him in a battle where he sustained great injuries and almost died. However, it is here that he transforms into his Ultra Ego form, using the divine technique of the Gods to finally reach Goku's level on his own terms.

Ultra Ego Vegeta initially overpowered Granolah and showed off his new strength by toying with an enemy that took out Ultra Instinct Goku. This showed Vegeta to be on a higher level than his rival by taking the energy and power of the Destroyer Gods and using it for himself. Serving as the exact opposite of the Angel's technique, Ultra Ego instead invites damage to make the user's upcoming attack even stronger by prioritizing offense.

Ultra Ego's Strengths and Weaknesses

Since the Destroyer Gods are entities whose entire nature is predicated on destruction, they are the exact opposites of their Angel attendants, in that they cannot keep an emotionless and tranquil mind to use their secret technique. Instead of instinctively dodging and avoiding damage like Ultra Instinct, Ultra Ego prioritizes taking damage as it absorbs this damage and uses it to make the user's next attack even more powerful.

Since Ultra Instinct effectively makes the user fight on autopilot, this technique instead completely immerses the user into the battle, making it perfect for a brawler like Vegeta. Where the Angel's technique is the perfect defense, Ultra Ego can be seen as the perfect offense.

However, not much has been seen of it, as Vegeta has only been seen to use Ultra Ego once. This shows that the power of Ultra Ego has not yet been fully realized by the Saiyan, as the form isn't even perfected yet and the damage that one takes still ends up being immense, so if too much is taken, the user will just end up being defeated and depowered after the fight, showing the need for further refinement.

Which Divine Technique Is Better?

Unfortunately, these techniques have mostly been seen in a very limited capacity due to Goku and Vegeta using them. If they were used by both Whis and Beerus in their perfected states, there would barely be any drawbacks to them and their strengths would shine far more. However, when comparing the technique's use by the Saiyans, Ultra Instinct seems to be the superior technique, though not by much.

The reason for this is quite simple; Goku has had far longer to train with and hone his technique than Vegeta, making it so his Ultra Instinct is far more refined. By using it in far more battle situations and against many different enemies, Goku shows that he has learned to best tweak this form for himself, whereas Vegeta's singular usage of Ultra Ego, while extremely formidable, requires far more training.

Related

Dragon Ball: How Strong is Beerus?

Beerus is the God of Destruction for Universe 7 and is often called a moving goalpost for Goku and Vegeta, so how strong is he?

Though Ultra Instinct is the better option as of now, Vegeta's training and refinement of Ultra Ego still have a long way to go, and the series seems to be doing a great job at showing how the two protagonists are more equal now than ever before!

Dragon Ball can be streamed on Crunchyroll and Funimation.

Related

Jujutsu Kaisen: Did Yuki Leave Too Soon?

Yuki Tsukumo might've been a side character but her departure from Jujutsu Kaisen struck some as having come a little too soon.

Dragon Ball Super

Action

Adventure

Dragon Ball Super follows Goku and friends after the events of the Buu Saga, before the End of Z. The series introduces many more characters and adventures for the Z-Fighters to go on, all while fighting against enemies stronger than any who have come before!

Release Date

July 5, 2015

Creator

Akira Toriyama

Number of Episodes

131