You’ve been there. You’re playing ranked, your nerves are fried, and suddenly you’re stuck in a corner against Lab Coat 21. You can’t breathe. Every time you try to press a button, you get clipped by a frame trap that feels like it lasts an eternity. Honestly, Dragon Ball Fighterz characters aren't just a roster; they’re a collection of different philosophies on how to break a fighting game. Arc System Works didn't just give us a bunch of Saiyans with different hair colors. They gave us a chaotic, beautiful mess of high-speed mechanical depth that still keeps the community arguing years after the final DLC dropped.
Picking a team is a nightmare. It really is. Do you go for the lore-accurate powerhouses or the weird technical picks like Captain Ginyu? Most people just gravitate toward whoever has the easiest "mix," but that's where they get it wrong. Understanding the meta means understanding how the game’s engine—with its super dashes and vanish moves—interacts with specific hitboxes. It’s about more than just Tier Lists. It’s about how a character feels when the lag kicks in and you’re trying to land a re-jump combo.
The Absolute Menace of the Fusion Meta
Let’s talk about the elephants in the room. Vegito and Gogeta. For a long time, if you weren't running at least one Fusion, you were basically playing the game on hard mode. It wasn't just that they were strong; it was their "buttons."
Vegito’s 5L (Standing Light) is the stuff of nightmares. It’s a multi-hit leg kick that vacuums you in. You try to backdash? Nope. You try to jump? Caught. It covers so much vertical and horizontal space that it feels like a cheat code. When the game first launched, we didn't have this problem. The meta was dominated by Cell and Android 16. Remember the "Snapback Meta"? You’d lose one character and spend the rest of the match unable to even play because the opponent would just force your next character out into a frame-perfect blockstring.
Fusions changed that by making the neutral game—the part where no one is touching anyone—almost nonexistent. Gogeta SS4 has a literal "one-shot" mechanic if he levels up enough. In a serious competitive fighting game, having a character who can just decide the round is over because he taunted five times is bold. Some say it's bad design. Others, like pro player SonicFox, have shown that even the most "broken" characters have gaps if your defense is tight enough. But let’s be real: most of us aren't SonicFox. Most of us are just trying to survive the Gogeta Blue 2M that reaches halfway across the screen.
Why Technical Characters Like Master Roshi Failed (and Succeeded)
Master Roshi was the most requested character for years. When he finally arrived, he was... weird. He doesn't have a standard Super Dash. Think about that. In a game built entirely around the Super Dash mechanic, ArcSys gave us a guy who has to manually leap or use specific moves to get across the screen.
It was a brilliant bit of flavor. It also made him incredibly hard to play.
Characters in FighterZ usually fall into a few buckets:
- The Rushdown Kings: Bardock (the king of "square button" memes) and Yamcha.
- The Zone Controllers: Frieza and Broly (DBS), though Frieza has struggled to stay relevant because Super Dash ignores most of his projectiles.
- The Grapplers: Android 16 and Broly (Z). Broly (Z) is a monster. He has armor on almost everything. You hit him, he doesn't care. He just keeps moving.
Roshi didn't fit. He required a level of "lab time" that the average player wasn't willing to put in. But that’s the beauty of the Dragon Ball Fighterz characters roster. You have "pick up and play" guys like Goku (Super Saiyan) and then you have the scientists. If you play a Roshi or a Ginyu, you aren't just playing FighterZ. You’re playing a different game entirely. You’re managing Ginyu’s Force rotation or Roshi’s weird movement arcs. It’s frustrating to play against because no one knows the matchup. You win by confusing the hell out of your opponent.
The Lab Coat 21 Incident
We have to mention her. Android 21 (Lab Coat). When she released, she broke the game. Literally.
She had a grab that didn't just do damage—it permanently debuffed the opponent's damage output by 21% for the rest of the match. And she got a 21% buff. It was a 42% swing in power from one successful move. Competitive play became a mirror match of Lab Coat 21 vs. Lab Coat 21. It was the first time the community almost universally agreed to ban a character. Eventually, she was nerfed, but the scars remain. She represents the peak of "Power Creep" in the game’s lifecycle.
The Secret Value of "Low Tiers"
Everyone focuses on the Top 5. But if you look at the mid-to-low tiers, there’s some fascinating stuff happening. Take Beerus. Early on, he was considered a joke. His "spheres of destruction" disappeared if he got tapped by a stray ki blast. But after several patches, he became a set-play god.
If you get knocked down by Beerus, you're in trouble. He places the orbs. You wake up. Do you block? He teleports. Do you reflect? He waits and punishes.
Then there’s Krillin. Poor Krillin. People laugh because he’s short and has stubby limbs. But his "Afterimage" technique and the ability to heal with Senzu beans make him a scrappy, annoying fly that’s impossible to swat. The "A-Tier" characters are often more dangerous than the "S-Tier" ones because they rely on tricks you haven't seen in a hundred matches. You've seen every Vegito combo a thousand times. You know the timing. But a high-level Majin Buu player? They will reset you into a standing overhead so fast your head will spin.
What Actually Matters: Team Synergy and Assists
You can't just pick three random high tiers and win. Well, you can, but you won't be good. The game lives and dies by "Assists."
When the game updated to allow players to choose between three different assists (A, B, or C), it changed everything. Suddenly, characters with bad neutral game became viable because they could take a "C-Assist" (the ones that track the opponent and auto-combo) to bail them out.
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- A-Assists: Usually the classic beam or ki blast. Reliable.
- B-Assists: Often physical moves or unique properties (like Yamcha's Wolf Fang Fist).
- C-Assists: High cooldown, but they do the work for you. Great for beginners, often looked down upon by pros.
The best teams are built around a "Point," a "Mid," and an "Anchor." Your Anchor is the character who functions best alone, usually someone with a great assist and a "Level 3" super that can turn the tide. Tien is a classic Anchor. His Neo Tri-Beam does disgusting damage, especially if he's the last man standing and has Sparking juice.
The Visual Language of Fighting
One thing people overlook when discussing Dragon Ball Fighterz characters is how they look. Arc System Works used a custom 3D engine to mimic 2D hand-drawn animation. This isn't just for show. The "squash and stretch" of the models tells you exactly where a hitbox is.
When UI Goku (Ultra Instinct) flips through the air, his silhouette is distinct. You know exactly when he’s vulnerable and when he’s "countering." UI Goku was hated for a long time because he had too many defensive options. He could get up from a knockdown with a unique attack, he had a counter-super, and his 5L had a massive hitbox. He was the "king of scrub-killers." If you didn't know the frame data, he felt invincible. But visually, he's a masterpiece. The way he dodges ki blasts just by walking forward? Pure fan service.
Actionable Steps for Improving Your Roster
Stop swapping characters every time you lose. That's the first mistake. You need muscle memory. If you’re looking to actually climb the ranks or just stop getting embarrassed at locals, here is how you should actually approach the roster:
- Pick one "Comfort" Character: This is your anchor. Usually someone like Goku (SSJ) or Tien. Someone with simple, reliable tools.
- Identify Your Weakness: If you struggle to open people up, add a character with a "Command Grab" (like Broly or Base Goku). If you struggle with defense, look at characters with "DPs" (Invincible reversals like Gohan’s Masenko or UI Goku’s flip).
- Learn the "Universal" Bread and Butter (BNB): Most characters share a similar combo structure (2M > 5M > j.c > j.LL > j.2H > SD). Master this first.
- Study Frame Data: Use resources like Dustloop. You don't need to memorize every number, but you should know which of your moves are "safe" on block. If a move is -5 or better, your opponent can't punish you instantly. If it's -15, you're getting hit.
- Focus on the Assist, Not the Move: Sometimes you pick a character just for their assist to help your main. If you love playing Trunks, you might need a high-hitstun assist like Kid Buu’s Arm Ball to make his "flip" mixups work.
The meta will always shift, but the fundamentals of the Dragon Ball Fighterz characters remain the same. It's a game of pressure, resources, and knowing when it's "your turn." Don't get discouraged by the Fusions. Every character in this game has a way to win; you just have to find the rhythm of their specific dance. Practice your re-jumps, fix your blockstrings, and stop raw Super Dashing from full screen. You’ll get there.