DBFZ/FAQ

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I Haven't Even Bought The Game

What is the Power Level like? Why would I pick Nappa over Ultra Instinct Goku?

Every character in DBFZ is roughly of the same strength (this is explained in the Story Mode!). DBFZ prides itself on allowing the players to have fun using any characters of their liking. Instead of big numbers = good, the characters are vessels for different playstyles and movesets. You can pick Nappa for his good looks, affable manner, or for his creative playstyle. Likewise, you can pick Ultra Instinct Goku because his numbers are big in the show.

There are Tier Lists comparing the characters' strength in competitive play, but understand that any character can still beat any other character. What matters is the strength of the player.

Is this game Pay to Win?

It'd be disingenuous to say "No". You will be seeing a lot of DLC characters as they're often fan favorites from the series, but DLC characters also tend to have more refined tools compared to the base roster. If you wanna compete in high level play, you will want to get the DLC, if not for putting them on your team, then you can at least practice fighting against them.

However it can't be overstated that any character can win. A team of Earthlings can absolutely beat the DLC Saiyan Fusions, as it is still the player who has to outplay their opponent.

I heard that autocombo and Super Dash ruin this game. Is that true?

No.

A matter of fact is that DBFZ is designed around autocombo and Super Dash. If you cannot stomach these mechanics, then the game likely isn't for you. Autocombo and Super Dash do have quirks that make them goldmines for funny clips, but just keep in mind that the game won't magically become better without these mechanics.

I heard that this game is a blockstring simulator, and lacks defensive options. How true is that?

This might've had some truth to it early on in the game's lifespan. But has since been wholly untrue.

The game offers a multitude of options to aid the defender in escaping pressures, blockstrings and okizeme, maybe even too many. These options might not seem powerful at first glance, but are obnoxiously effective once you start to grasp a better understanding of the game.

Is this a party game?

No.

...but actually...

DBFZ is very accessible and is unashamed of giving players complete freedom in doing whatever they feel like, whenever they feel like doing it. This can make it very chaotic at times, and can seem to reward players for simply pushing buttons rather than being precise.

This doesn't mean that it's not competitive or takes no skill to win. As with the nature of all fighting games, a player of higher skill level will consistently win against a lower skilled player. If you lost against a "masher", try to review the matches and figure out what went wrong. Maybe they weren't making random decisions as you had assumed, and if they were, maybe your skill level wasn't much higher than theirs.

Will this game teach me "bad fundamentals"? Can my DBFZ knowledge be transferred to other fighting games?

No. Yes.

The game at its core shares many similarities to other fighting games. You will have no issues applying concepts and strategies you've learnt from DBFZ to other fighting games (and vice versa). As evidenced by many strong DBFZ players, whose first fighting games were DBFZ, have had great tournament results in other games. Ex: Jonathan Tene, Nitro

Terminologies

What is a lariat?

Lariats are fast, forward-advancing special moves that cover a lengthy distance. The nickname started with players comparing these moves' functionalities to  Bardock's Rebellion SpearDBFZ Bardock RebellionSpear.pngGuardAllStartup7Recovery20Advantage-4, one of the first moves in DBFZ to have these attributes. The animation of Rebellion Spear is similar to a professional wrestling strike named "Lariat", which an attacking wrestler runs towards their opponent and wraps an arm around the opponent's upper chest or neck, forcing them to the ground.

What is a ToD?

ToD stands for Touch of Death. A ToD is a combo that does 10,000 damage or more, K.O'ing the opponent from full health.

What is a Medium starter?

Medium starters, or M starters, unscaled starters, ToD starters are attacks with proration value of 100%+1 (or higher). If an attacker lands a hit with one of these moves, their following combo will do very high damage and can potentially be a ToD, aka they are high damaging combo starters. The term comes from that fact that most Medium/M normals have this proration value.

What is an illegal/forbidden ___?

A forbidden starter is often referred to the second hit of L autocombo (5LL), which is a Medium starter. It's "forbidden" because it's an uncommon combo starter that can potentially K.O. the opponent, so they were unlucky or unfortunate to get hit by it.

A forbidden oki is an okizeme that's strong, but utilizes weird applications of attacks and thus uncommonly seen.

What is a raw tag?

Raw tag is a Z Change (tag) done outside of combos (raw).

What is a DHC?

DHC is an Ultimate Z Change, where the Point Character leaves the screen and have an Assist Character jump into the screen and perform a Super or Meteor Attack. The term comes from a similar mechanic called Delayed Hyper Combo found in the Marvel vs. Capcom series.

Infil Glossary Entry: https://glossary.infil.net/?t=Delayed%20Hyper%20Combo

What is Double Super?

It's when an attacker uses a Super Move, recovers, then uses one or more Super/Meteor Moves in the same combo. This is distinct from using Supers/Meteors with built-in follow-ups, or simple DHC.

This technique used to be a very effective meter dump at the end of combos. As of Ver.1.14, doing this heavily reduces the damage of the rest of the combo, and so Double Super's presence is much less prominent.

What is Snapback?

Another borrowed term from the Marvel vs. Capcom series. After successfully landing a Dragon Rush, inputting A1 or A2 will force the opponent's current Point Character out of the arena, and forces in one of their teammate of your choice. This is "snap" or "snapback".

Infil Glossary Entry: https://glossary.infil.net/?t=Snapback

What is a fuzzy?

See here.

What is a Happy Birthday?

A Happy Birthday refers to hitting two characters at the same time. This usually happens because someone tried to call their Z Assist but got hit immediately, and the assist gets caught up in the mayhem and has to go along for the ride too.

Hitting all three characters at the same time is also often referred to as a Merry Christmas.

Infil Glossary Entry: https://glossary.infil.net/?t=Happy%20Birthday

A move that "can't Happy Birthday" will drop any assists out of the combo to prevent potential team-wipe combos.

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