Dragon Ball FighterZ Tier List

Dragon Ball FighterZ is finally here, and people are starting to theory craft and decide which characters they want to put on their team. In the midst of all this, people have been asking if there’s a Dragon Ball FighterZ tier list yet. The simple answer is that anyone can make a tier list, but it’s constantly changing as the game is played at higher levels. However, since so many people are curious about how the characters rank against each other, we’ll offer a quick overview that you can consider as a preliminary, certain to change, definitely not final, Dragon Ball FighterZ tier list.

It’s extremely important to note that this should absolutely not be taken as unchanging fact. As people are playing this game in more and more tournaments, and the level of play is increasing, this tier list is starting to change. In addition, it takes time to formulate a proper Dragon Ball FighterZ tier list. This time next year you may still see the tier list being adjusted as new information and strategies are discovered for the various characters. However, we’ll do our best to keep this tier list continually updated as new things are discovered, DLC characters arrive, and characters shift around.

Dragon Ball FighterZ Tier List

• Last Updated: Base Vegeta and Base Goku DLC Release Week

For the time being, the following tier list is based almost entirely on the basic abilities of each character, along with some tournament results and new findings for certain characters. If anything, this is just to see how things actually fall once the game has been out for a little while and we can really hit the lab with the entire roster. For now this is more for fun than anything else, but we will be updating the tier list as the competitive community plays the game more and characters start falling into a more set position.

Note: Each section of the tier list is in alphabetical order, not character strength order. Consider all characters on the same tier to be roughly equal.

S-Tier

• Bardock
• Base Vegeta
• Cell
• Gotenks
• Kid Buu

A-Tier

• Goku Black
• Tien
• Vegeta
• Yamcha
• Zamasu

B-Tier

• Adult Gohan
• Android 16
• Android 18
• Android 21
• Base Goku
• Broly
• Frieza
• Ginyu
• Goku
• Hit
• Nappa
• Piccolo
• SSB Goku
• Trunks
• Vegito

C-Tier

• Beerus
• Krillin
• Majin Buu
• SSB Vegeta
• Teen Gohan

Tier List Explanations (April Update)

Before we get into the explanations for the character tier placements, it should be noted that tier lists change as new strategies are found, and generally only apply at the highest level of play. If two casual or even above average players are battling it out, player skill is going to have a significant impact on who wins. How good a character is can be a factor, but it’s not the only thing that determines who wins in a fight. There also isn’t a large gap between the best character in the game and the worst character in the game. We’ll be updating this section as new strategies are discovered and the tier list changes.

S-Tier

Adult Gohan – When Gohan uses Release Power he gains new attacks, as well as increased power and speed. When you reach level seven of Release Power, he essentially becomes the best character in the game with the ability to reverse the normal combo flow, going from Heavy to Medium to Light. This gives him insane pressure strings that can be very difficult to defend against. Even without level seven Release Power, he has a fast fall for overhead/low mix-ups, his standing Light attack is a low, and his crouching Medium has deceptive range. In many minds, Adult Gohan is the best character in the game. For us, he’s at least top tier.

Android 16 – While Android 16 may be a little slow, he has armor, unblockable command grabs, and an unblockable throw built into his Light auto-combo. He’s also a great combo finisher, able to grab an opponent from almost anywhere on screen and slam them to the ground for easy follow-up damage. He has stronger combo ability than Nappa (the other character with armor), but doesn’t have the Saibamen to back him up. Android 16 makes up for a lack of Saibamen by having some of the longest range normal attacks in the game, giving him authority over a large portion of the screen. Couple this with his armor on 5H and it makes approaching Android 16 very difficult. Give him a couple of decent assists and he’s nearly unstoppable.

Cell – Perfect Cell was arguably perfect in every way, and that holds true in Dragon Ball FighterZ. He has everything you could want in a character. His normals are some of the best in the game, and can even be linked instead of chained in some cases. He has a full screen command grab that can start a combo if you have meter or the proper assist. He even has a teleport attack just in case you needed a cross-up or the ability to get out of the corner quickly. The only place Cell is slightly lacking is in super move versatility, but that’s not enough of an issue to drop him down from S-tier.

Goku Black – Goku Black has almost everything you would want from a character in Dragon Ball FighterZ. His Instant Transmission gives him a cross-up for mix-ups and offensive pressure, he has a variety of super moves and can put out a ton of damage all by himself, a full screen command grab that leads into a projectile (Binding Black Kamehameha) and can start a combo with proper Vanish and assist usage, and his Fierce God Kick is a dive kick that wall bounces. This character certainly isn’t missing much, if anything.

Kid Buu – The superior Buu has longer reach than almost any other character, big damage, great combo extensions and is arguably the most annoying character to fight against. He has so much offensive pressure and easy to confirm normals that he can rush down most opponents without the need of assists. When you give him good assists, he becomes extremely difficult to fight unless you have well-timed deflects and the ability to block everything.

Tien – The Volleyball Fist mix-ups can be difficult to deal with, especially when you consider the armor on the Medium version. He also has a very good overhead/low mix-up game, and he can punish from nearly full screen thanks to Telekinesis. Tien is also very fast and can beat out opponents in scramble situations thanks to the speed (and maybe even priority) of his Light attack. In order to get big damage he has to sacrifice his own health, but having Tien as an anchor can help your team to finish off characters by tagging into his level 3 super.

A-Tier

Android 18 – While 18 was nerfed a bit from the closed beta build, she is still a very good character. Her Barrier alone can shut down an opponent’s offense in no time and build considerable meter, either as an assist or standalone ability. Calling Android 17 to help her can also lead to lengthy block strings that allow you to apply serious pressure to an opponent, and she can combo into a Dragon Rush without using meter. Her closed beta form was easily top tier, but the nerf to her command grab and a few other things was enough to drop her to A-tier.

Android 21 – When Android 21 has absorbed the right attacks in the right order, she is arguably the best character in the game. The problem is that you may be fighting a team that doesn’t have any of the characters you need to get the command grab or her other extremely powerful stolen abilities. Even if you are fighting the correct team, you still need to land 2-4 command grabs to get Android 21 to full power. That means you need to open up the opponent multiple times, and land the command grab, which is not always as easy as it sounds, especially since you can’t combo into the ground QCF+S grab without an assist helping you. Still, 21’s reach and other abilities place her squarely in A-tier.

Frieza – The original big bad guy of Dragon Ball Z, Frieza is a force in FighterZ. He has some of the best projectile attacks in the game, a short range teleport, a decent assist, and Golden Frieza, one of the few install supers in the game. He also has great normals (albeit a little slow) and becomes nearly unstoppable when you combine Golden Frieza and Sparking Blast. The added abilities of Golden Frieza, plus the boost you get from Sparking Blast just make Frieza extremely good, but he doesn’t quite have the unstoppable nature of the top tier characters.

Ginyu – On paper Ginyu is a one-man army. In practice, he needs good assists to really maintain his pressure game, but once he gets going it is very difficult to stop him. Unfortunately, he’s a lot of work for a payoff that’s equal to most other characters at best, and subpar at worst. If you can keep track of the Ginyu Force and push an opponent to the corner, you can really give them a very bad day with constant pressure. Where Ginyu lacks is in his versatility and overall damage. He needs assists to properly setup the Ginyu Force, but even with good assists he only has one super move that’s useable in any given situation and it inflicts less damage than most other level one super moves (unless he charges it for more damage and more meter). His level three Body Swap can come in handy if you’re down, but it’s very situational, essentially limiting Ginyu to a single super move most of the match and a hail mary comeback mechanic that can be difficult to setup in competitive play. He is arguably the best corner pressure character in the game, but you have to get the opponent there first.

Goku – As the main protagonist in all of Dragon Ball, Goku is a very solid A-tier in FighterZ. His Dragon Flash Fist is a safe overhead that can lead to a guaranteed super if it hits. This gives him very good pressure at close range, and the EX version is deceptive thanks to the teleport right before it. Couple this with very good damage and a wide variety of super moves and Goku is a solid A-tier character.

Gotenks – The fusion between Goten and Trunks is on the cusp of being an S-tier. He’s one of the more execution-heavy characters in the game, but with his ability to cancel the Vengeful Shout, plus the amazing Galactic Donut assist, Gotenks can be a pain for any opponent. Add in his unique ability to cancel his special moves into one another and there’s very little that holds Gotenks back aside from his short arms. He can apply significant amounts of offensive pressure in the right hands.

Hit – The resident assassin is a difficult character to deal with. He relies almost entirely on cross-ups and converting off of stray hits, but he can punish from nearly full screen and has a counter that can lead to a full combo with an assist or a Vanish. He’s a little slower than some characters, especially when pressured at close range, and if you miss a counter you could be eating a big punishment. On paper, Hit is top tier, but in practice, he feels right at home as an A-tier character.

Majin Buu – Majin Buu has some interesting tools at his disposal, but when compared to Kid Buu he is severely lacking. He excels at set play, placing opponents in a vortex that resets with his Potbelly Attack and can cause an opponent to guess until their death. If you have meter, two reps of his vortex is enough to finish off a character. His one other advantage is that he can attack from a distance fairly well. He’s not quite what you would consider a zoning character, but he takes full control of the mid-range and doesn’t have to put himself in as much direct danger as Kid Buu. He also has a standing overhead, which can be used to open up opponents.

Vegeta – While Vegeta is a solid character, he doesn’t have nearly as many tools as a vast majority of the cast. You can pull off some cross-up shenanigans with his Super Dash Kick and an assist call, but this isn’t as good as the SSB Blue Vegeta version of the attack. His crowning achievement is having what many consider to be the best assist in the game, but compared to characters such as Kid Buu, who have a very strong assist and far more tools at their disposal, Vegeta doesn’t have a lot going for him. What brings him up to A-tier is a combination of his great assist, Super Dash Kick pressure and punishment versatility (the EX version is insanely fast and leads into a combo), and the fact that he’s one of the few characters in the game with an invincible reversal DP (Crusher Knee Kick) to help escape pressure and lead into a combo if you have meter for a Vanish.

Yamcha – The Wolf Fang Fist alone is enough to put Yamcha in A-tier. Almost every option is safe, it can launch if he has meter, easy to hit confirm and decent damage. Unfortunately, that’s really all Yamcha has going for him. His dive kick can be used to apply pressure, but it can only be canceled into special moves or super moves, slightly limiting its pressure. Overall Yamcha is very solid, but not quite the best in the game.

B-Tier

Beerus – The God of Destruction can be extremely tricky, especially in the corner. He has high damage output and can use his Multi-Cataclysmic Orbs special move after a hard knockdown in the corner for some fiercesome setups. While his crouching medium has extremely good range, many of his other normals do not, and without a hard knockdown or assist, it can be difficult to get his orbs out safely. Once his orbs are out, if he so much as blocks an attack, they disappear, not to mention an opponent can also Super Dash through them. He’s very good in the right hands, but definitely has some limitations holding him back from being top tier.

Krillin – Senzu beans and cross-up shenanigans with his After Image aren’t enough to put Krillin above some of the monster abilities of the higher tier characters. It also doesn’t help that Krillin’s short limbs can make it more difficult to play footsies and control the neutral game. With an assist or two you can apply heavy corner pressure, but it’s not enough to place Krillin above B-tier. He’s had some standout moments in tournaments, but there are just too many other characters with a better toolkit.

Nappa – The biggest thing Nappa has going for him is his armor attacks. With proper timing you can shut down someone’s offense with Nappa. You can also get extended combos with the Saibamen in the corner. Unfortunately, the Saibamen aren’t as effective as some of the other tools that higher tier characters have available to them. At this point Nappa feels a bit like a poor man’s Ginyu with armor, but less tools to work with overall.

Piccolo – Piccolo is all about cross-up mix-ups, but skilled players can block these on reaction. He does have command grab options which help to balance him out into a pretty solid character. Unfortunately, he is very meter hungry. To get good damage you’ll usually need to spend at least two bars, if not more (unless you’re in the corner). If you pair Piccolo with a good battery he can be decent, but meter management holds him back a bit.

SSB Goku – While SSB Goku loses the Dragon Flash Fist overhead that SSJ Goku has, he almost makes up for it with his new abilities. First off, his Light auto combo has a built in overhead/low mix-up. While it’s just an auto combo, and skilled players can still block the moderately slow overhead on reaction, you can stop it after the low attack (second hit) and just go for a crouching Medium mix-up instead. He also has Instant Transmission to teleport in front of or behind an opponent for a cross-up, and the EX version of the Divine Void Strike can get him out of the corner. Add in a command grab SSB Goku is a solid character, but falls off a bit at higher levels of play.

Trunks – The son of Vegeta has near full screen overhead attacks that can be difficult to react to when mixed with his other aerial techniques. He can also put up great damage numbers, has a solid assist and good pressure in the corner and mid-screen. His aerial combo ability is a little limited and he has difficulty opening up good defensive players, which is why he’s sitting squarely in the B-tier.

C-Tier

SSB Vegeta – The SSB version of Vegeta is a decent character, but doesn’t have many tools to abuse, just like SSJ Vegeta. The SSB version seems to have even fewer useful tools compared to his blonde-haired counterpart. He can cross-up easier with the Super Dash Kick, but his command grab can be ducked and is generally restricted to combo use, plus he doesn’t have an aerial level one super move, and his assist isn’t as useful compared to SSJ Vegeta. The extra damage he can get off of Final Flash and with some of his meter-hungry combo extensions isn’t enough to make up for his other shortcomings. Some may argue SSB Vegeta should be higher on the tier list, but remove his Super Dash Kick and he’s left with very little to actually work with. The Super Dash Kick alone is not enough to place him higher on the tier list.

Teen Gohan – One of Teen Gohan’s main attributes is the fact that he can output a good amount of damage. However, beyond that fact, he doesn’t have much else going for him. There aren’t any “bad” characters in the game, but Teen Gohan simply doesn’t have as many tools as most of the other characters.

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