Depending on who you ask, Dragon Ball FighterZ is the best fighting game in the franchise or pretty close to it. The game has been a hit with both critics and fans of the franchise, and it’s arguably the best Dragon Ball game of the current video game generation.
The game is relatively easy to get into, but mastering it takes some work. It allows players to form teams and go on 3v3 matches, where fighters can assist each other. Every assist is helpful in some way—especially in the right hands—but some are simply stronger than others. Of course, this depends on the team’s composition.
To use assists, players just have to tap the button for swapping out their fighter. The fighter coming in will attack their opponent, and the player can also call in the third fighter using the left trigger. The assists vary in strength, so we’ve done the research to find out the best assists in the game.
15 Yamcha
In the anime, Yamcha wouldn’t dream of being able to go toe-to-toe with most of the other fighters. However, Dragon Ball FighterZ is balanced to such an extent that even Yamcha can hold his own against the likes of Majin Buu and Frieza. As it happens, Yamcha’s assist, Wolf Fang Dash, is also one of the strongest in the game.
Wolf Fang Dash is a close-range attack where Yamcha attacks the opponent. If the opponent blocks, they are forced to block it for longer than most other assists in the game. This gives you lots of time to follow it up with another attack.
14 Tien
The last update turned Tien into a much more formidable fighter, both as a point character and for assists. He was always known to be great for assists before, but the buff given to his C-assist has made it extremely powerful.
Tien’s C-assist starts up quickly, tracks to the opponent, has a high blockstun, and juggles the opponent toward you - making it useful for combos. His A-assist is a beam. Beam assists are nice, but Tien’s is even better than other beam assists. Tien’s beam assist knocks the opponent up rather than back. This helps tremendously with combos extensions. His B-assist is his Telekinesis Special Move. This is useful, but must be used more precisely than the other two.
13 Android 18
Most fighters in the game have offensive assists. So, it’s a tad surprising that the assist of a character as strong as Android 18 is defensive. It’s called Barrier, and as the name suggests, she forms a green shield that lets her block incoming attacks.
That’s not all, though. Barrier also lets Android 18 absorb the enemy’s attack. She can convert the attack into Ki and use that Ki to launch a counterattack. Barrier is a refreshing assist for Android 18 since most of her other moves involve Android 17’s help.
12 Nappa
Nappa is a Saiyan warrior and a former general of the Saiyan Army before its destruction. In FighterZ, he is one of the characters with the most useful assists. His assist, Blazing Storm, is an explosive attack where he stays back while blasting the opponent from a safe distance.
Blazing Storm isn’t just a decent assist that stops opponents in their tracks. It can also act as a diversion if the player goes for a mix-up at the moment the explosion hits. This will block most of the screen and the opponent will have a tough time dodging Nappa’s subsequent attack.
11 Android 21
Android 21 is a bit of a glass cannon. She has an amazing array of offensive capabilities, but her defense isn’t that strong. This weak defense isn’t so bad - she’s still a top-tier fighter. The last update buffed Android 21’s assists. Without these buffs, she probably wouldn’t have made this list.
Her best assist is her A-assist, Total Detonation Ball. This is a faster-than-normal projectile that’s great for zoning and combo extensions. The update increased the time of blockstun during the A-assist as well. Her B-assist and C-assist were made notably faster in the update, and her B-assist was also given a few frames of invincibility on startup.
10 Krillin
Krillin is the strongest human in the Dragon Ball universe. With the number of times he’s been killed, though, it just shows how overpowered many of the alien characters are. Thankfully, he’s just as strong as the aliens in FighterZ. In fact, when it comes to assists, he is one of the strongest in the game.
Krillin can use one of two assists: the Senzu Bean or the Rock Throw. With the former, he throws up to three senzu beans that allow him—or the opponent, if they are fast enough—to replenish his blue health. Once the beans run out, Krillin hurls rocks at the opponent.
9 Teen Gohan
In the Dragon Ball Z anime, Teen Gohan was strong enough to defeat Cell in Cell’s Perfect form. So, it’s no surprise that he has one of the best assists in the game. Teen Gohan’s assist is called Super Dragon Flight, which some gamers might alternatively know as Soaring Dragon Strike. This move is basically the uppercut we saw when Teen Gohan was in his Super Saiyan 2 form and he was fighting Cell.
Super Dragon Flight is an especially useful move for players who are stuck in a corner. It is a close-quarters attack that sets the player up for a heavy attack.
8 Gotenks
As the fusion between Kid Trunks and Goten, Gotenks is quite childish when it comes to his dialogue and the names he gives his fighting moves. However, his power is anything but childish.
Gotenks is one of the strongest characters in Dragon Ball, and fighters like Piccolo can’t even hold a candle to him. Likewise, his assist in Dragon Ball FighterZ is insanely powerful. Called Galactic Donuts, the move places a ring around one’s opponent and traps them. The ability does not deal that much damage, but it’s useful for setting up combos since it traps the opposing fighter and gives Gotenks time to combo them.
7 Piccolo
Yes, Gotenks is a higher-tier character - in terms of general play. For assists, Piccolo is the superior character; not by much, but his A-assist is one of the best in the game. Piccolo is known for being a great attack character. His regular attacks are difficult to punish when blocked, and his Super Attacks are incredibly damaging.
Piccolo’s A-assist is his Homing Energy Blast. This fires two projectiles. The first travels a bit faster than the second, and both track the opponent across the screen. It is a good strategy to follow closely behind the second projectile and try to use it to start a combo. His other two assists are okay; with the C-assist being a little more useful.
6 Frieza
One of the main antagonists of the franchise, Frieza is powerful in this game, especially with his energy attacks. His assist is called Death Slash. It causes a massive explosion to burst out from the ground. Frieza can use three versions of this attack when fighting, with the major difference between them being the distance of the attack.
The attack is almost instant, it’s hard to dodge, and it sends opponents flying. When they are in midair, Frieza can follow it up with an airborne combo that, if done right, can lead to a Super attack.
5 Cell
Cell is popular among Dragon Ball FighterZ players. The reason for this is simple - he is a top-tier combatant that’s relatively easy to learn for newbies. Cell’s combos are easy to learn, and he recovers fast enough to escape opponents’ combos.
By far the best assist for Cell is his A-assist, called Kamehameha. This is a beam assist, meaning Cell jumps in and fires a beam across the screen. Beam assists are generally considered the most useful; they have a long reach and can be used to start (or extend) a combo or set up a Super Attack. Cell’s B-assist, Perfect Attack, is not top tier, but still useful at times.
4 Vegeta
Vegeta is a fan-favorite character because of his aggression and his relentless attempts to become stronger than Goku. So, he’s clearly one of the most-picked fighters in Dragon Ball FighterZ. Thankfully for his fans, Vegeta’s assist is sufficiently powerful. Called Consecutive Energy Blast, it allows him to leap high up the air and fire a ton of Ki blasts. These blasts are enough to knock the opponents off-balance or force them to guard.
The assist works best in Vegeta’s Super Saiyan form. His Super Saiyan Blue assist is slower, though he’s generally more powerful in that form. Vegeta’s fans are certainly justified in picking him for most of their fights.
3 Master Roshi
Master Roshi is about mid-tier. His assists, however, are top tier. He is mid-tier mainly due to his unconventional move-sets; which give him more flexibility in a fight, but are counter-intuitive if you’re used to playing pretty much any other character.
Roshi’s best assist is his A-assist, the Kamehameha beam assist. His Kamehameha assist is slightly quicker than other characters, like Cell. This assist is great for zoning, starting and extending combos, and setting up a Super Attack. Roshi’s B-assist, Martial Spirit, was his best assist until it was nerfed. The B-assist is still good, but its defensive capabilities aren’t what they were before it was nerfed.
2 Kid Buu
Kid Buu’s assist is one of the most annoying in the game. He tears out a piece of his body and hurls it at an opponent. Rightfully called Arm Ball, the move frustrates opponents since hits them multiple times while moving all around them. Opponents cannot attack the ball, so they are typically forced to guard against it.
This assist lets players power up their Ki bar to launch an energy attack or launch an attack on the opponent. When combined with Kid Buu’s other attacks, Arm Ball makes him one of the most formidable opponents, especially online.
1 Goku
Goku is one of the most recognizable anime characters of all time. He is super-powerful, has a strong desire to protect others, and is always training to become stronger. It’s a good thing, then, that even though the characters in FighterZ are fairly balanced, Goku still feels stronger than most. That is probably because his abilities have a decent range and great all-around utility.
The same goes for his assist, where he launches a beam attack. It lasts a while, so having Goku and another character with a beam assist—like Tien—can let players lock their opponents down for some time.
NEXT: Dragon Ball: All Main Characters, From Weakest To Strongest, Officially Ranked
