Dragon Ball FighterZ Patch Notes – January 2019

Dragon Ball FighterZ is one of the most successful fighting games in a long while, but it had a rough start in terms of online matchmaking. Thankfully, the first major season 2 Dragon Ball FighterZ patch update is coming on January 30 to make some balance changes and the first season 2 characters, Jiren and Videl. This is the first Dragon Ball FighterZ patch for season 2, and it offers some big system changes in addition to a few other updates that have been implemented. You can find the full list of Dragon Ball FighterZ patch notes for the update below, as well as the previous patch notes from the May, February and March updates.

January Patch Notes (Season 2)

Health Recovery Upon Taking Damage

• Reduce the amount of recoverable health when damaged (excluding invincible moves).

KI Gauge

• Decrease the amount of Ki Gauge gained when receiving damage from Super Attacks and Meteor Attacks, and increase the amount of Ki Gauge gained when receiving damage from other attacks.
• For a short period of time after using the Ki Gauge, the overall amount of Ki Gauge gained is now reduced.

Mid-Air Smash Attack

• When the condition for a camera change is met, the camera effect will occur regardless of the height of the character’s position now.

Invincible Special Moves

• Z Assist and Ultimate Z Change will now be unusable during Invincible Special Moves aside from when it hits.

Powered-Up Special Moves

• Reduce the amount of Recoverable Health when receiving damage from Power-up Special Moves. (Excluding invincible moves)

Super Attack

• Reduce the amount of damage dealt when a move other than Ultimate Z Change connects after a Super Attack hits.
• It is now easier to successfully connect Ultimate Z Change after Super Attacks.

Meteor Attacks (Level 3 Supers)

• Increased the minimum damage of all Meteor Attacks.

Sparking Blast

• Sparking! can now be used while blocking. (Includes blocking in mid-air)
• While Sparking! is active, reduce the amount of recoverable health of the opponent when damage is dealt to them. (Excluding invincible moves)
• Increased the start up frames of Sparking! aside from when cancelled from an attack.

Vanish Move

• Camera change is easier to occur when cancelled from an attack.

Z-Reflect

• You will be invincible to the opponent’s Sparking! activation after a successful Z-Reflect against an opponent’s attack.

All Throws and Dragon Rush Techniques

• Specific throw moves and Dragon Rush cannot connect more than once within a combo.

Dragon Rush

• Decreased the amount of Ki gauge gained and damage dealt.
• After a Dragon Rush during mid-combo, camera change will not occur for subsequent hits.

Mid-Air Dragon Rush

• The opponent will ground slide after a mid-air Dragon Rush during a combo.

Guard Cancel

• Invincible state will now last until coming into contact or in close vicinity with the opponent.
• Increased the recovery frames and landing recovery frames when blocked.

Backstep

• Increase the distance travelled.

Shenron – Revive Allies

• Increased the health of the revived ally.

Shenron – Make Me Immortal

• Increased the health recovery rate.

Ground Recovery

• Reduced the collision from mid-air opponent.

Delayed Ground Recovery

• Until completely down, you will now be able to perform the different ground recovery options.

Dramatic Finish

• Vanish Move will also trigger Dramatic Finish now.

May Patch Notes

• Releases on May 9

Two new features, FighterZ Cup and Party Battle, will be added together with many gameplay improvements. Read the full list of changes below:

New Features

More information will be revealed soon for the events linked to these new features

• FIGHTERZ CUP: a monthly competition where players can fight and collect points for their respective Z-Union
• PARTY BATTLE: Co-op fights where 3 players can join forces to defeat fearsome bosses

Modes

• REPLAY CHANNEL: To enable implementation of the below gameplay adjustments (see “GAMEPLAY” section), recorded data from Replay Channel will be erased
• COMBO CHALLENGE: Fixed an issue where there was a gap between when the timer starts counting and the game starts allowing some inputs when performing position reset in a combo challenge

Training Mode

• Fixed an issue where the training dummy doesn’t guard/unguard properly with Enemy Settings set to Guard First Only
• Fixed an issue where the training dummy doesn’t properly playback movements that are recorded in advance when using Ginyu’s Body Change after performing Dragon Rush (Forced Switch) and not resetting the positions in-between these two actions.
• Fixed an issue where the combo damage is not displayed when an attack is counteracted by an armor move . An adjustment has also been made to prevent immediate health recovery when an attack is counteracted by an armor move.
• Fixed an issue where “OK!” is displayed on the Assist character icons even when they are crossed out with Assist Cooldown Setting set to Quick Recovery
• Fixed an issue where the training dummy fails to recover its health with some specific unconnected strings of moves
• Fixed an issue where the training dummy fails to guard in some cases even when the Guard Follow-ups option is selected
• Self-damaging moves will no longer affect the Combo Damage displayed
• Fixed an issue where the training dummy fails to guard attacks with some specific strings when the Guard Settings is set to Guard Follow-ups

Story Mode

• Fixed an issue where the defense-up skills are taking effects only the half of what they are supposed to

Gameplay Changes

Goku (Super Saiyan)

• Fixed an issue where the dust effect displayed for Goku (Super Saiyan)’s Kamehameha and Warp Kamehameha continues to be displayed while the game is paused by an opponent’s Super Attack

Vegeta (SSGSS)

• Fixed an issue where the Vegeta (SSGSS)’s Big Bang Attack does not explode when blocked by a Z Assist with an armor property (such as Android 18’s Z Assist)
• Fixed an issue where player cannot perform Vanish move when Vegeta (SSGSS)’s Big Bang Attack hits armor property objects (such as Broly’s Powered Shell)
• Modified the damage scaling of Vegeta(SSGSS) several Ki-Blast moves to match with a normal Ki Blast
• Modified the amount of the damage that’s done with the first attack of Vegeta(SSGSS)’s Niagara Pummel
• Adjusted Vegeta (SSGSS)’s On a Scale of One to Ten, I’ll Give You a Three! so that it’s easier now to grab an opponent and follow up with Z assists
• Fixed an issue where the move sometimes hits an opponent even after they’re K.O.-ed
• Fixed an issue where Vegeta (SSGSS)’s invincibility is disabled at the wrong timing when executing Final Flash Attack

Broly

• Fixed an issue where the energy ball goes up in the air when Broly’s Gigantic Meteor is clash canceled
• Fixed an issue where Broly’s Jumping Heavy Attack doesn’t clash cancel
• Fixed an issue where the Powered Shell effect appears for a split second when Broly gets K.O-ed
• Fixed an issue where an opponent wall bounces when a player hits the opponent with Broly’s Gigantic Strike with corner on the back
• Fixed an issue where hit count doesn’t increase when hitting an opponent with Broly’s Jump  Heavy Attack, the medium and the heavy versions of Lariat Express
• Matched the number of times Broly’s Jumping Down Heavy attack can endure hits with other moves to allow an opponent to counter it with a Crouching Heavy attack
• Fixed an issue where Broly’s Powered Shell disappears when hit by certain ranged Special Moves
• Fixed an issue where Broly is able to cancel into his Super Attack at the moment he catches an opponent with his Eraser Blow the medium and the heavy versions of the Lariat Express, Gigantic Claw and Gigantic Strike
• Fixed an issue where Broly’s barrier effect is out of sync when canceling into Sparking Blast 1 frame after the start of a Super Dash

Beerus

• Fixed an issue where Beerus’ Standing Unique Attack, Jumping Unique Attack and Sphere of Destruction disappear before they destroy what is in the background when reflected
• Fixed an issue where the lower energy ball of the two created by Beerus’s heavy version of Sphere of Destruction cannot be repelled by Beerus’ attacks when it bounced back without hitting an opponent
• Fixed an issue where Beerus is able to keep shooting Ki-blasts without an end after hitting an opponent with his Beerus Ball in a certain way
• Fixed an issue where Sphere of Destruction keeps flashing and making sounds when it takes hits during a pause
• Reduced the recovery frame of Beerus’ down medium attack to match with other moves

Tien

• Fixed an issue with character displays that’s observed when Tien hits an opponent who is positioned at the backside of Tien

Krillin

• Now Krillin’s Z assist will always throw a rock unless a player is inputting left when he appears on the screen
• Increased the duration of hit stun and the time an opponent isn’t able to recover for Krillin’s Z Assist

Nappa

• Adjusted the knock back distance of an opponent so that Nappa’s Jumping Down Heavy attack is more likely to hit twice
• Mitigated the damage scaling of Nappa’s Too Bad to balance out with other invincible moves
• Adjusted damage scaling of Saibaman’s explosive attacks

Yamcha

• Fixed an issue with appearances when a player defeats the last character of an opponent with Yamcha’s Ultimate Wolf Fang Fist

Captain Ginyu

• Fixed an issue where the Z Assist Character is displayed while performing Ginyu’s Body Change
• Fixed an issue where Ginyu’s Jumping Heavy attack can put an opponent in the sliding knockdown state in a different timing than other characters

Hit

• Fixed an issue where Z assist characters remain on the screen in the case Hit’s I Keep Improving hits an opponent while the characters are in their hit stun

Frieza

• Fixed an issue where Frieza’s Death Saucer doesn’t vanish after clashing with Broly’s Powered Shell
• Extended the inner part of the hit box for Frieza’s Crouching Heavy
• Fixed an issue where damage scaling isn’t properly processed when executing Frieza’s You might not survive this time and connecting it with following Death Ball.
• Fixed an issue where Frieza’s Death Saucer flies in a wrong path when clashed once
• Fixed an issue where Frieza’s You must Die by my Hand! cannot be executed when getting a hard knock-down by certain moves (Nappa’s Arm Break, etc.)
• Adjusted the damage and the damage scaling for Frieza’s You might not Survive this Time

Piccolo

• Fixed an issue where Piccolo’s Z Assist doesn’t fire the energy blast when used right after a Super Attack
• Fixed an issue where a player can’t block Piccolo’s Z Assist unless the player is inputting the direction away from an opponent when the opponent switches the positioning of the player’s main character and the opponent’s main character while Piccolo’s Z Assist Homing Energy Blast is still on the screen

Android 18

• Modified the light version of Android 18’s Back Grapple’s so that the hit count increases when an opponent is smashed into the ground
• Also modified the damage value and the damage scaling in accordance with the above modification

Android 16

• Now players will be able to recover from the ground when hit by Android 16’s Dynamite Driver
• Removed the invincibility to ranged attacks from Android 16’s Standing Heavy, Jumping Heavy and Crouching Heavy

Vegeta (Super Saiyan)

• Reduced the duration of block stun for Vegeta (Super Saiyan)’s Z assist

Gohan (Adult)

• Modified the property of Gohan (Adult)’s down light attack to match with other light attacks
• Modified Gohan (Adult)’s heavy version of mid-air Ultimate Back Attack so that opponents are now able to ground recover when hit
• Reduced the frame advantage of Gohan (Adult)’s heavy version of Machine Gun Kick when it’s blocked by an opponent

Kid Buu

• Fixed an issue where Kid Buu’s Candy Beam sometimes hits an opponent for several times
• Made a modification to Kid Buu’s Pearl Flash so that the damage scaling of Super Attacks is now applied

Android 21

• Fixed an issue where the move property of Android 21’s Solar Flare which becomes available after absorbing an opponent isn’t ranged attack
• Android 21’s Total Detonation Ball has been adjusted so that it now disappears when hit by Broly’s Powered Shell
• Fixed an issue where a sound effect isn’t played when Android 21 executes a mid-air version of her special move Sticky Energy Blast
• Fixed an issue where Android 21’s hurt box isn’t consistent depending on which mid-air damaged motion is triggered

Gohan (Teen)

• Fixed an issue where wrong down state is applied to a character when getting hit by the medium version of Gohan (Teen)’s Flying Kick high up in the air
• Fixed the timing when Gohan (Teen)’s 5-Hit Combo disappears
• Fixed an issue where the effect was out of synch during Son Gohan (Adult)’s Jet Upper and Z Assist
• Fixed an issue where characters’ appearances become strange while they’re falling when Son Gohan (Adult) hits an opponent high up in the air with his ground version of the Ultimate Back Attack (after Potential Unleashed)

Gotenks

• Fixed an issue where the hitbox of Gotenks’ Z Assist remains even after he has left the screen
• Fixed an issue where Gotenks’ Jumping Heavy can put an opponent in the sliding knockdown state in a different timing than other characters
• Fixed an issue where Gotenks’ Z Assist can forcibly put an already mid-air opponent’s position back to the ground

Cell

• Cell’s Psychokinesis Crash has been adjusted so that the attack no longer appears behind an opponent character

Trunks

• Fixed an issue where Trunks sometimes doesn’t execute follow up attacks after hitting an opponent with his Shining Slash

Goku Black

• Made an adjustment so that Goku Black’s medium and heavy versions of the Fierce God Kick no longer locks down even a knocked out opponent

Other Adjustments

• Fixed an issue where some characters don’t instantly transition to their down motion but keeps performing their super armor moves until the end in the case the character loses all its health by an opponent’s move that has a property to lock down an enemy
• Fixed an issue where a character reacts and turns back to an opponent after the Vanish attack while they are performing certain Special Moves or Super Attacks such as Goku (Super Saiyan)’s Kamehameha
• Fixed an issue where a character floats in the air for a short period when getting a sliding knock down by particular moves such as Goku Black’s Holy Light Grenade
• Fixed an issue where Z Assist characters fly high up in the air when they are forced to leave the screen by certain moves such as Goku Black’s God Slicer Dance
• Fixed an issue where a player’s character loses its ability to move properly when the player performs Z reflect against some specific moves such as Android 16’s Hell Flash
• Fixed an issue where a player’s normal Jumping Heavy Attack works in the same way as an auto combo finisher when an opponent’s Z Assist character leaves the screen while the player is performing a combo
• Fixed an issue where scaling that should have been applied to non-recovery frame to prevent a combo loop isn’t applied when starting a combo with certain moves
• Fixed an issue where a character slides horizontally with facing downward when triggering Super Dash under specific conditions
• Fixed an issue where certain voices aren’t played in certain situations
• Fixed KO voices so that the appropriate voices that are corresponding to certain characters will be played
• Increased the duration of throw invincibility for both air and ground back dash
• Made some adjustments to make it harder to execute the Z reflect for the second time in succession
• Fixed an issue where the invincibility of Z assist characters aren’t properly disabled when leaving the screen due to the main character getting a hit
• Fixed an issue where a player’s main character is able to cancel moves to an another move even when they are whiffing in the case the player team’s fireballs got reflected by an opponent’s Z-reflect or Super dash.

March Patch Notes

• Releases on March 16

The new patch will be available on March 16, and once again the replay structure will be changing. That means any replays you have saved before the patch will no longer be watchable after the game has been updated with the March patch. Make sure to use the record features in the PS4 XMB, Xbox Dashboard or Windows to record your matches so you can view them after the patch update. In addition, ranked and casual matches will now be best of five (first to three wins) instead of the current best of three (first to two wins) format. It basically means players will be able to choose the rematch option until one player has three wins.

There are a few minor character bug fixes which you can see in full below, but what’s really interesting are the Z-Unions. Players will be able to join what is essentially a fan club for your favorite character and earn rewards based on how long you’re a member of that fan club. The longer you’re in the club, the better the rewards will be. You’ll also be able to access the offline lobby option from the title screen instead of the server selection screen like before.

Modes

• REPLAY CHANNEL: To enable implementation of the below gameplay adjustments (see “Gameplay” section), recorded data from Replay Channel will be erased
• WORLD MATCH: Changed rematch system to 3 matches in both Ranked and Casual World Match
• RING MATCHES: Improved match-making and server stability

Gameplay

• SSGSS GOKU: Fixed a bug that makes “x10 Kaioken Kamehameha” combo continue even if the opponent gets away from the attacks
• CAPTAIN GINYU: Fixed a bug that makes Ginyu Force members collide with the opponent character and sometimes interrupts the latter’s attacks
• NAPPA: Fixed a bug that makes Saibamen collide with the opponent character and sometimes interrupts the latter’s attacks
• ALL CHARACTERS: Fixed a bug that makes characters float in the air if Dragon Rush Clash happens when landing from mid-air back step
• ALL CHARACTERS: Fixed a bug that makes main characters say the wrong name when calling a Z-Change or Z-Assist
• ALL CHARACTERS: Fixed a bug that alters the hit box of Z-Assist characters under certain circumstances
• HIT/SSGSS GOKU/SSGSS VEGETA: Fixed a bug that triggers Z-Change voice over dialogues instead of Z-Assist ones

New Features

• Z-UNION: Added Z-Union feature that enables players to join “Unions” (fan clubs) of their favorite character and get special rewards. And the longer you stay in a Union, the better the rewards become.
• GAME LOBBY: Added the possibility to leave the Lobby by using the stairs at the entrance
• OFFLINE LOBBY: Added option to enter the Offline Lobby from title screen

February Patch Notes

Party Match Changes

Some of the patch notes are easier to understand than others, so let’s take a quick look at what’s changing. There’s already a Ring Party Match in the game, but Party Match is being added to a queue so that you can search for five other players and get down in a party match. For those who are unfamiliar, this allows each of the six total players to take control of a single character in the game and play a 3 vs. 3 match.

Replay Channel Changes

The Replay Channel is getting more functionality in the way of a search option, and the ability to follow a specific channel. However, with these changes comes the fact that any replays saved before this patch goes live will no longer work. If you have any replays you definitely want to watch after this patch, be sure to record them via the built-in PS4, Xbox Live or Steam/PC recording features before you download the patch. There’s a slim chance players will be able to remove the patch and access the game offline to view these old replays, but don’t count on it.

Arcade Mode Changes

Moving on to Arcade mode, players will now be able to choose the next destination on the grid instead of the game automatically selecting your next match. The pause screen in Arcade mode will also allow players to return to the course select or character select. While these aren’t huge changes, they should make Arcade mode a bit more convenient for players.

Matchmaking and Gameplay

When you’re initially matched with an opponent while searching for Ring, Casual or Ranked matches, the controller will now vibrate in addition to the sound effect it already makes. During matches, movement will now feel more stable. It’s unclear what this means specifically, but many players have complained about getting hit while clearly holding back or down/back to block. This change more correct that glitch, or it may simply make movement feel smoother. Once again, we’ll clarify once more information becomes available.

Changes have been made behind the scenes to how matchmaking works. These changes should allow players to find matches much faster. Before the patch some players complained of wait times up to 30 minutes on the PlayStation 4 version of the game. While Bandai Namco and Arc System Works have stated that it may take more than this first patch to fully correct these issues, this should at least help a little bit.

Finally, players will now hear whatever background music they have selected when matched with people online. At present, the system picks one of the two selections and plays that. However, with the DLC Anime song and BGM pack coming soon, this allows players who purchased this DLC (or got it bundled with the game) to hear their music no matter what the opponent selects.

The patch does not have a specific release date, but it should be available before the end of February. Official patch notes can be found below! Be sure to check out our Dragon Ball FighterZ game hub for more information and tips!

Full Patch Notes

Thank you to everyone who has been enjoying Dragon Ball FighterZ. Bandai Namco and Arc System Works would like to announce the contents of the late February update to the game. 

Update Contents

• Added the Party Match feature which enables automatic match-up with 5 other players to play a Party Match.
• Replay Channel has had the following functions added: Follow Channel, Search Channel.
• The flow of Arcade Mode has been changed so that you can choose your next destination at the Results screen after clearing a course. 
• When accessing the pause menu in Arcade Mode, we’ve added “Return to Course Select” and “Return to Character Select.” 
• When an opponent is found while searching for a Ring Match, Casual Match or Ranked Match, the controller will now vibrate.
• Replay Data has been adjusted to the new version – Once this update goes live, you will no longer be able to view replay data from the old version. Please be aware.
• Gameplay movement should now feel more stable.
• Effects and cinematic moments have been adjusted to display more correctly during gameplay.
• A bug has been fixed in which a Dragon Rush forced character switch would cause hitboxes to be reversed, if you used a move that switched your position and your opponent’s position.
• To improve the online matchmaking in the game, one part of the system has been revamped. We are planning to gradually continue working on improving this area through additional patches coming as early as mid-late March.
• For the DLC Anime Song and BGM pack, we’ve changed the settings so that Player One and Player Two can each hear their own chosen song when playing online.
• Fixed a Training Mode bug that shows the Dragon Balls collection animation while options were set on “Do not display”.
• Fixed a Training Mode bug that made the Assist Gauge recover when player guards continuously.
• Fixed a Battle Tutorial bug that prevented the UI to be displayed properly when player passes the objective right after the beginning of the match.
• Fixed a bug that prevents Destructive Finish and Stage Destruction effects to appear with a character resurrected by Shenron.
• Fixed a bug that prevents voices of Support Characters (like Android 17 or Ginyu Force) to be played normally when called into battle.
• Fixed a bug that reversed the guard controls when a character is being tagged in by a Dragon Rush.

Character Adjustments

• Android 18: Fixed a bug of voice/mouth synchronization when special dialogues are played against Piccolo and Vegeta.
• Android 21: Fixed bug that prevented Android 21 from disappearing immediately after she is called in for a Z-Assist and the main character takes damage.
• Android 21: Fixed a red visual bug when Android 21 is called in for a Z-Assist and the main character takes damage.
• Frieza: Fixed a bug that prevents Frieza to properly use “You Must Die by My Hand!” when lying on the ground after his Golden Frieza transformation.
• Ginyu: Fixed a bug that allows Ultimate Z Change to be performed with less than 3 gauges after performing “Powerful Energy Wave”.
• Goku Black: Fixed a bug that prevented the character from disappearing when Goku Black’s Special Move “The Work of a God” was used after an Ultimate Z Change.
• Hit: Fixed a bug that prevents the “Super Ghost Kamikaze Attack” effect to disappear when used during Ultimate Z Change and Hit’s Meteor Special Attack.
• Hit: Fixed a bug that prevents the Z-Assist character to disappear when the main character is damaged at the very same moment by Hit’s “I Keep Improving” attack.
• Majin Buu: Fixed a bug that makes the opponent invincible if Majin Buu’s “Standing Light – Follow Up 2” and the opponent’s Super Dash hit simultaneously.
• Tien: Fixed a bug that makes a character invisible when both the main character and Z-Assist character are damaged by Tien’s attack “Farewell, Tien…”.

Please continue enjoying Dragon Ball FighterZ in the future.