The upcoming Dragon Ball FighterZ patch needs to buff these characters

William Davis Published 06/07/2021

A balance patch set for August is great news for some of Dragon Ball FighterZ’s weaker combatants.

A surprise announcement from Dragon Ball FighterZ producer Tomoko Hiroki revealed an update for Dragon Ball FighterZ released in August this year. DBFZ has been largely overshadowed by the release of Guilty Gear Strive but this patch is a reason to hop back on the Dragon Ball tag fighter.

Heads up FighterZ – time to start training again! A new tournament & update are on the way for #DragonBallFighterZ.
Watch this message from Producer Tomoko Hiroki for all the details: pic.twitter.com/dOfNpXEpaG
— Bandai Namco Esports (@BNEesports) June 30, 2021

Tweaks to aerial guard cancels are the only changes revealed, but Hiroki also confirms that there will be a sweeping balance patch to the DBFZ roster. Strong characters like Broly, Gotenks, and Kid Buu might get some slight nerfs, and fans can look forward to weaker characters getting a few upgrades. These are the Dragon Ball FighterZ characters most likely to get buffed in the August 1.28 balance patch.

Goku Black

The evil pink-haired Goku dominated the game at launch but nerfs and meta development have put him on the bottom of most tier lists. It’s extremely difficult for Goku Black to mix up his opponents. His teleports are predictable and his command grab is agonizingly slow. Add in his mediocre ki blast and Goku Black definitely deserves some polish from Namco Bandai.

One interesting Goku Black buff could be the ability to cancel his teleports into other teleports, mixing up their opponents from new angles. Teleporting behind your opponent is a classic move in Dragon Ball. They could always just speed up his command grab or bring back Holy Light Grenade as his Ultimate Z Change.

Videl

In most situations, Videl is actually a solid point character. Her grounded combos are easy to extend with assists and her damage output has been greatly improved since release. Videl’s problem is her defense, or lack thereof. Videl’s unique dodge mechanic is nowhere near as useful as the normal reflect. Every Dragon Ball FighterZ character has a one-frame reflect to get out of tight spots except for Videl.

The easiest way to buff Videl would be to give dodge a cancel window after it successfully dodges an attack. Dodge into her invincible reversal would be a great panic option. Dodging slower moves could even lead to a combo starter for big damage.

Zamasu

Zamasu’s unique playstyle relies on flying around the screen and baiting his opponent into a mistake. Unfortunately, he’s in a game with super dash. Dragon Ball FighterZ’s super dash lets enemies close the gap almost instantly while invincible to weak projectiles. It’s very difficult for Zamasu to stop super dashes, rendering his most interesting ability nearly useless.

Zamasu’s damage is already insane, so any buff should make his neutral stronger without affecting his combos. Changing his aerial lasers into strong projectiles would work, but making another move air-invincible would be more interesting. Maybe his aerial down heavy could gain the grounded air-invincible property.

William Davis

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