Dragon Ball FighterZ Combo Guide

Dragon Ball FighterZ Combo Guide

There’s a lot to learn with any new fighting game release, but when you get a brand new fighter that’s the first in a series, like Dragon Ball FighterZ, you have to learn everything from scratch. One of the most important game mechanic to learn is how the combo system works.

Dragon Ball FighterZ combos may seem a bit daunting at first, but once you understand how the combo system works, it’s not overly difficult. This article covers Dragon Ball FighterZ character combos and how the combo system works in the game, so you can start creating your own combos!

Combo Basics

There are four main attack buttons in Dragon Ball FighterZ: Light (L), Medium (M), Heavy (H) and Special (S). In addition, you can call your assist characters with Assist 1 (A1) and Assist 2 (A2). You’ll be using all of these buttons in a good number of combos, although if you’re more of a novice player you don’t have to worry too much about incorporating assists into your combos. If you haven’t already, be sure to check out our detailed coverage of the basic game mechanics and controls so you’re well-versed in everything that will be discussed in this combo guide.

Combo Flow

• Light > Medium > Heavy > Super Dash > Light > Medium > Heavy
• Light > Medium > Heavy > Super Dash > Light > Medium > Special Move > Super Move

While you can add and change up how combos flow in Dragon Ball FighterZ with Vanish, assists and other mechanics, the basic combo flow in Dragon Ball FighterZ is: Light > Medium > Heavy. You can mix between standing attacks and crouching attacks, but generally speaking you only want to use one of each in a combo, and you must go in the proper strength order of Light > Medium > Heavy. For example, you can start a combo with Light, then use a crouching Light before moving on to a crouching or standing Medium.

Most Heavy attacks will launch an opponent toward the wall, causing a wall bounce. If you press Down + Heavy, it will launch the opponent into the air. Both of these Heavy attacks can be followed by a Super Dash. You can manually press Super Dash (Heavy + Special), or just tap Heavy a second time and your character will automatically perform a Super Dash.

Going back to the combo flow, once you use Heavy or crouching Heavy and follow with a Super Dash, you’ll shift to an aerial state. In the air you can follow the same combo flow of Light > Medium > Heavy, which gives you a basic combo of: Light > Medium > Heavy > Super Dash > Light > Medium > Heavy.

If you use Heavy at the end of an aerial combo, it will send the opponent flying back down to the ground. However, if you use Down + Heavy instead, the opponent will fly higher into the air. Take a look at the combo limits section below to find out when you can extend combos beyond this point.

Jump Canceling

A very important part of the combo system is learning to Jump Cancel. You can Jump Cancel a normal attack by pressing Up or diagonally Up/Forward immediately following the attack. For example, if you wanted to Jump Cancel a Medium attack, you would press Medium, then quickly press Up/Forward. Using Up/Forward instead of just Up keeps your character a bit closer to the opponent so it’s easier to continue the combo. When we add Jump Canceling to combos in Dragon Ball FighterZ, you can extend your combo quite a bit.

Light > Down + Medium > Medium > Jump Cancel

This combo string starts on the ground, but after the Down + Medium the opponent will be knocked off their feet and in an aerial state. With this, you follow with the standing Medium and Jump Cancel it so you can follow the opponent into the air. If you have a hard time confirming your combo hit (and wasn’t blocked), you can add another Light attack to make it easier: Light > Down + Light > Down + Medium > Medium > Jump Cancel.

Using a Jump Cancel, you can save your Heavy attack until later in the combo, which not only gives you a combo extension, but also allows you to use a Heavy attack at the end of the aerial combo to cause a ground slide. During the ground slide you can use a super move to catch the opponent before they get up. A full combo with Jump Cancels looks like this:

Light > Down + Medium > Medium > Jump Cancel > Light > Medium > Down + Heavy > Super Dash > Light > Medium > Jump Cancel > Light > Medium > Heavy > Super Move (back on the ground)

Instead of the Heavy > Super Move at the end of this combo, you can opt for a special move, then a super move. Your team composition, available meter and the special moves of your character all play a role in deciding which route to take. For instance, if you have a team with mostly ground super moves, you’ll want to end the combo with Heavy to knock them back down to the ground before you perform a super move.

You’ll notice in the combo above that there are two Jump Cancels. The first is the Jump Cancel on the ground that moves the combo into the air. The second comes after you’ve knocked the opponent even higher into the air with Down + Heavy. It works exactly the same way as the first Jump Cancel, by pressing Light > Medium > Up/Forward > Light > Medium during this portion of the combo.

Base Combo System Examples

• Basic Combo 1: Light > Medium > Heavy > Heavy > Light > Medium > Jump Cancel > Light > Medium > Special Move > Super Move
• Basic Combo 2: Light > Medium > Down + Heavy > Heavy > Light > Medium > Jump Cancel > Light > Medium > Special Move > Super Move
• Intermediate Combo 1: Light > Down + Medium > Medium > Jump Cancel > Light > Medium > Down + Heavy > Heavy > Light > Medium > Jump Cancel > Light > Medium > Special Move > Super Move (in the air)
• Intermediate Combo 2: Light > Down + Medium > Medium > Jump Cancel > Light > Medium > Down + Heavy > Heavy > Light > Medium > Jump Cancel > Light > Medium > Heavy > Super Move (on the ground)
• Advanced Combo 1: Light > Down + Medium > Medium > Jump Cancel > Light > Medium > Light > Down + Heavy > Light > Light > Down + Heavy > Jump Cancel > Light > Light > Special > Super Move (in the air)
• Advanced Combo 2: Light > Down + Medium > Medium > Jump Cancel > Light > Medium > Light > Down + Heavy > Light > Light > Down + Heavy > Jump Cancel > Light > Light > Light > Super Move (on the ground)

When we put everything together, you get a few different combo options. While combos will vary somewhat depending on your characters of choice, most characters can follow the basic and intermediate combos listed above. Generally speaking, you want to start you combos on the ground so you can use crouching Medium > Medium > Jump Cancel to get into the air. This gives you a great combo extension by not using Heavy on the ground.

If you want to take it a step further, you can try the advanced combos above. These use the aerial Light auto combo (which simulates Light > Medium > Heavy) to give your character a bit more lift in the air compared to the manual version of it. Using the added lift from the auto combo you can actually Jump Cancel a second Down + Heavy in the air to get even more damage out of your combos.

Character Tags and Assist Supers

If you hold Assist 1 or Assist 2 during a combo, that assist character will tag in with a Super Dash. Anytime you would normally Super Dash in a combo, you can hold A1 or A2 to have an assist character come in and continue the combo instead. You can also tag into an assist following a Vanish, then continue your combo from there.

Another way to get an assist character in the game is to perform a super move. There are two ways you can do this. If you get to the end of your combo and perform a super move with your point character, you can press A1 or A2 and an assist character will follow the first super move with a super move of their own. After the second super move, you can press the other assist button to add a third super move (assuming you have enough meter). You can even use a level three super move by pressing QCB+A1 or A2, but you can’t follow a level three super move with another super. Keep in mind, not all super moves attack at the same height, so make sure you have a team that synergizes well so all of the super moves hit.

The second way you can get an assist character into a combo is to press HCF+A1 or A2 or HCB+A1 or A2 (for a level three) in the middle of a combo. That’s a full half-circle instead of a quarter-circle, which is what’s normally required for a super move. By using this notation you can tag in an assist character with their super move, without using a super move on your point character.

Vanish

You can extend many combos by using the Vanish ability if you have at least one bar of super meter available. When to use the Vanish does vary a bit from character to character, but a general rule of thumb is to use a Vanish after a special move or Heavy attack. While you can usually only get one wall bounce in a combo, the Vanish wall bounce does not count toward this total. So you can score a wall bounce with a Heavy attack or special move, then get another wall bounce with a Vanish attack.

Depending on the situation, you can usually follow a Vanish with a Super Dash, Dragon Rush (throw), tag, assist, or super move. If you’re still on the ground you can even follow with a full combo. You may need to dash forward a bit depending on your positioning, but since the Vanish will knock the opponent off their feet, you can continue a combo with something as simple as Vanish > Medium > Jump Cancel if you get a wall bounce from the Vanish attack (depends on position and when you use the Vanish in the combo).

Combo Limits

• One wall bounce/ground slide (aside from Vanish).
• One Super Dash other than a character tag.
• ~12 Hits on the ground.

There are some limitations on what you can do in combos in Dragon Ball FighterZ. While there are some exceptions for certain special moves and characters, you can generally only get one wall bounce using a special move or Heavy attack. In addition, if you use a wall bounce other than Vanish, you cannot get a ground slide as well. You get one or the other, which is why the Jump Cancel combos are generally preferred over the combos that use Heavy attack early.

The game also limits combos to a single Super Dash, but this does not count tagging in another character (who comes in with a Super Dash). If you start a combo with a Super Dash, the only way you can use a second Super Dash in the combo is by holding one of the assist buttons to tag in another character. If you attempt a second Super Dash with your point character, it will not execute.

If you manage to get an extended ground combo, there is a limit to the number of hits you can perform. We’re still narrowing down that number, but it’s somewhere in the 12-hit range depending on the assists used and other variables. Of course you can still perform longer combos, but you need to launch the opponent into the air, go into a super move, Vanish or some other mechanic before you hit the ground combo limit.

Character Specific Combo Mechanics

• Android 21
• Nappa
• Piccolo
• Yamcha

While we’re still going through the characters and will update this section as we detail how their combo ability varies from the rest of the cast, some characters have to make adjustments to the general combo flow in order to complete a full combo.

Android 21 – Her aerial Heavy attack does not slam opponents to the ground like most other characters. Because of this she can use Light > Medium > Heavy > Down + Heavy in the air, then follow with Light > Medium > Jump Cancel > Light > Medium > Heavy before going into a special move or super move. If you want to slam the opponent down to the ground, use the Hors d’Oeuvre Stab (QCB+L/M/H).

Piccolo – Unfortunately, Piccolo has to spend meter to knock an opponent down to the ground after an aerial combo, if you want to follow with a super move. First off, his aerial Heavy attack will not slam opponents back to the ground. In addition, while his Light Demon Slicer (QCB+Light) will bring the opponent down to the ground, you can’t follow with a raw super move like most other characters in similar situations. You have to use the Heavy Demon Slicer (QCB+Heavy), which costs one bar of super meter. This will give you the ground slide so you can follow with a super move.

Yamcha – Yamcha’s Heavy attacks do not function the same way as most of the other characters in the game. His normal Heavy attack will not combo if you try Light > Medium > Heavy, so you’ll have to use his Down + Heavy on the ground instead. In the air, his Down + Heavy is a dive kick and will not knock the opponent higher into the air, while his normal aerial Heavy attack won’t knock an opponent back to the ground for any kind of ground slide. Instead, you’ll need to use his Medium or Heavy Wolf Fang Fist: Gale Claws (QCB+M/H) to get a ground slide from an aerial combo.

For more strategies and advice, including the best assists in the game, check out our Dragon Ball FighterZ game hub!