Author: Casey "Waveflame" Rinaldi

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First Dragon Ball FighterZ balance patch announced; Will change system mechanics and at least 14 characters

A new age is about to begin for Dragon Ball FighterZ!

While many fans were basking in the divine glory of Fused Zamasu’s gameplay trailer, there was another surprising-yet-welcome announcement made by the Dragon Ball FighterZ developers: the game will be receiving its first post-launch balance patch sometime soon, with the goal seeming to be to increase the number of characters seen in tournament play.

Announced during a stream on OPENREC.tv, it was noted that the patch will be making various adjustments to the title’s system mechanics and game modes, as well as altering at least 14 FighterZ currently in the roster. The list of characters who will be impacted includes:

  • Vegeta (Super Saiyan)
  • Frieza
  • Krillin
  • Piccolo
  • Android 16
  • Android 18
  • Vegeta (SSGSS)
  • Nappa
  • Captain Ginyu
  • Adult Gohan
  • Kid Buu
  • Beerus
  • Android 21
  • Broly

Defttentacle provided a full translation of the graphic over on /r/dragonballfighterz, that reads as follows:

“UPDATE NEWS! Soon, we will release adjustments and modifications to the game system, modes, and character abilities.

The word “Etc.” was also listed underneath these character images, so there is a possibility for other characters to be changed as well.

In terms of confirmed changes on the stream, Vegeta’s assist will be adjusted just “a little bit”, to not be as oppressive on block.

Frieza was also mentioned, confirmed to be buffed.

The directors said that they want to preserve characters unique traits and abilities, while making adjustments to add variety of competitively played characters.”

It was also specifically noted that, in addition to buffs for Frieza and a slight nerf to Super Vegeta’s Air Consecutive Energy Blast Assist to make it slightly weaker when blocked, that Adult Gohan and Android 16 will both be felling the blunter side of the nerf bat. Jiyuna also notes that the undeniably top player in the game today, Cyclops Osaka’s GO1, feels the current mechanics are “incredibly good,” and is concerned about what the team may change. You can see the image announcing the patch that was released below.

DBFZ-Balance-Patch-Graphic

No release date has been set for this update, but it will most likely hit alongside the arrival of Fused Zamasu, (and perhaps the rumored SSGSS Vegito.) What are your hopes for the first big update to DBFZ? Leave your thoughts and hopes for the forthcoming update in the comments section below.

Sources: /r/dragonballfighterz; jiyunaJP (Twitter); OPENREC.tv

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Lilith Aensland seeks to become whole in the final episode of “Meet The Darkstalkers”

The Lost Child of Desire rounds out the playable cast in The Nostalgic Gamer’s latest entry!

After covering Jedah Dohma recently, The Nostalgic Gamer turns his attention to the final member of the 18 character playable cast: Lilith Aensland.

The last of the four New Challengers introduced in Vampire Savior, Lilith was originally conceived as an angel character by the name of Genevieve, but was changed to be a hermaphroditic succubus, as the team felt the angel character archetype was becoming overdone in video games at the time.

Given that she is technically part of Morrigan, many of her attacks and mannerisms are the exact opposite of her sister, potentially harkening back to the aforementioned angelic motif. Around 10 years after a portion of Morrigan’s soul was sealed away by Belial, it began to develop a consciousness of its own, as feelings, desires and an individual identity began to slowly emerge over 300 years. After this soul was drawn into the Majigen, Jedah struck a deal to give it a physical body, in exchange for it luring Morrigan and other Darkstalkers into his newly-created dimension, and thus Lilith was born.

Though Dohma always planned to use both Aensland sisters to merely increase his own power. After sensing Morrigan and learning of the Shinigami’s deception, Lilith’s ultimate fate is portrayed as her either merging with Morrigan into a single being in her sister’s Arcade ending, or tragically fading away in her own, unable to reach Morrigan in time.

Despite only being playable in Vampire Savior, The Nostalgic Gamer notes that Lilith has made cameos in a wide variety of crossover titles, most recently as a Crossover Costume for Juri Han in Street Fighter V: Arcade Edition, and closes the video with a bit of trivia concerning her voice actresses. You can see the full video below.

Thus, we seemingly arrive at the end of TNG’s “Meet The Darkstalkers” series, as the entire playable cast has now been covered. Though it is unknown if he will be making episodes about Hidden Characters like Shadow and Marionette.

Do you have fond memories of Lilith? Now that they’ve all been introduced, which Darkstalker is your personal favorite? Tell us in the comments.

Source: The Nostalgic Gamer

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The final members of the Skull Cross Gang assemble in the latest character profiles from the CFN Portal

The remainder of the Skull Cross Gang takes the stage in the latest set of CFN Profiles!

After beginning coverage on the underlings of Final Fight 3’s Skull Cross Gang, the Shadaloo Combat Research Institute returns to its records on the 1995 title to conclude their reports on these violent individuals. Once again, Low-Ranking Shadaloo Soldier Private Nakagawa is resuming his duties of relaying all of Shadaloo’s collected information.

First up, we have Arby’s partner Fat Jack!

Private Nakagawa: “Jack is a gang underling who doesn’t do much of anything, but he’s terrible when angered. He’s part of Callman’s team.”

Fat-Jack-SFV

Basic Info:

Name: Fat Jack
Height: 197cm
Weight: 181kg
Blood Type: B
Birthday: June 1st
Country of Origin: USA
Likes: Ramen
Dislikes: Mornings (he’s a night owl)

Private Nakagawa: “A giant active in Metro City’s downtown. He takes care of the destruction work, relying primarily upon his great strength. He often fights against Metro City’s policemen. Recently, he got into the habit of tirelessly frequenting a new Japanese ramen restaurant.”

Next up is Dirk.

Private Nakagawa: “A close friend of Rick, who uses metal claws like him. A silent worker who came from Mexico to the U.S.”

Dirk-FF3

Basic Info:

Name: Dirk
Height: 195cm
Weight: 94kg
Blood Type: A
Birthday: May 11th
Country of Origin: Mexico
Likes: Omelettes (with cheese)
Dislikes: Alcohol

Private Nakagawa: “Rick maintains his beloved metal claws. Apparently, he sends all his allowances to his family. He hates alcohol, because he remembers his father caused an accident while drunk.”

We now move on to the sole female member of the Skull Cross Gang: May.

Private Nakagawa: “No one expects such a cool beauty to be a violent gang member. Her specialties are knife attacks and the Frankensteiner.”

May-FF3

Basic Info:

Name: May
Height: 170cm
Weight: It’s a secret
Blood Type: 0
Birthday: January 28th
Country of Origin: France
Likes: Holidays, Baths
Dislikes: Haggar

Private Nakagawa: “She ostensibly works as a dancer, but is also an assassin, specialized in knives. They say that her favorite pastime is blissfully washing away the blood of her victims during a bath. She never actually learnt wresting techniques, but uses her skills and trained muscular strength as a dancer to compensate and is somehow able to do some moves.”

Finally, we close out the Skull Cross Gang, and Final Fight 3 profiles, with Ray!

Private Nakagawa: “And finally, the last FF3 character! He loves ‘Big B. and the Bullheads.’” [The punk band in the background of Union Station. We already know that Schot is a former member. Brilliancy is the girl drummer.] “He’s a big fan of Brilliancy. (Brilliancy is in Union Station.)”

Big-B-&-The-Bullheads-Brilliancy

Ray-FF3

Basic Info:

Name: Ray
Height: 180cm
Weight: 72kg
Blood Type: AB
Birthday: April 6th
Country of Origin: USA
Likes: Live Concerts
Dislikes: Annoying Landlords

Private Nakagawa: “A man who doesn’t care about the future, enjoying his present, everyday, life, along with a friend who came from the U.K. He can’t play instruments, but loves hearing music and making ruckus. He earns his daily income by working for a gang.”

And with that, we end the chapter on the Skull Cross Gang and close the book on Final Fight 3. Given her recent release, a CFN profile for Falke is likely coming soon, which should give us some more biographical information on the “Guardian Hawk.” But afterwards: what CFN profiles would you like to see next? Share your thoughts and ideas on the matter with us in the comments.

Source: CFN Portal

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Was Rashid overnerfed? VesperArcade’s Mir examines his fate in Street Fighter V: Arcade Edition

With the advent of Season 3 in Street Fighter V: Arcade Edition last January, one of the characters who quickly became a hot topic of discussion was Rashid, with many top players arguing that he was perhaps the best character in the entire game. After starting out as a solid fighter in Season 1 and seeing continuous buffs in subsequent updates, the recently-released Season 3.5 patch was rather unkind to the wielder of the “Turbulent Wind”.

His stun was reduced from 1,000 to 950, making him easier to dizzy — on top of an overall damage, stun, invincibility, and frame advantage reduction for a large portion of his moveset, including his new V-Trigger II “Easifa”. However, his standing light kick is now cancelable and will now naturally combo into his light Eagle Spike, and his standing medium kick has seen an increase in its forward hitbox, despite becoming a weaker button overall.

In VesperArcade’s latest video, Mir examines the consequences of the Arabian techie’s changes, and also offers players who have chosen to stick with the character some new approach options to overcome these setbacks, that they perhaps hadn’t previously considered. You can see the full video below:

You can find links to  VesperArcade’s pervious coverage of Season 3.5 character changes below:

What are your thoughts on Rashid’s current play in the SFVAE meta? Do you think Capcom was too hard on him, or that this list of nerfs was justified? Feel free to start a dialogue in the comments section below.

Source: VesperArcade

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Jedah Dohma looks to create a better Makai on the latest episode of “Meet the Darkstalkers”

The Ebony Messiah takes the spotlight in The Nostalgic Gamer’s latest Darkstalkers retrospective!

After last covering Pyron and Q-Bee around Halloween, The Nostalgic Gamer returns for another episode of his “Meet the Darkstalkers” series. This latest episode focuses on the self-proclaimed “Vampire Savior” — and youngest of the three Makai Nobles — Jedah Dohma.

After the release of The Night Warriors in 1994 introduced the concept of Hunters who battled against the creatures of the night, the development team decided to explore the idea of a new antagonist that would overshadow and eclipse all other conflicts in the Darkstalkers world, forcing all of them to put aside their individual differences to unite against a greater common enemy.

When asked to create a short story about the conflict between the Houses of Aensland and Maximoff for promotional purposes, they created the initial concept that would eventually give birth to the graphically expressive God of Death that we know and love today. Following his resurrection after being betrayed Ozom, Jedah began a plan to unite all of the “worthy” souls within the demon realm into the Majigen to create a singular being within the Fetus of God.

After covering a variety of his connections with the rest of the cast, The Nostalgic Gamer discusses his playable history, which includes Capcom Fighting Evolution, appearances in the RPG’s Cross Edge and Project X Zone, as well as his grand return in Marvel vs. Capcom: Infinite — also going into what makes him such a memorable design over 20 years since his creation. You can see the full video, along with a closer look at his canonical strength, in an episode of “How Strong Is,” narrated by The Nostalgic Gamer, below.

Sources: The Nostalgic Gamer; PowerCrunch

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PSA: Online registration for Texas Showdown 2018 ends tonight

Don’t miss your chance to join the largest fighting game tournament in Texas!

Established in 2000, Texas Showdown is back for its 19th installment this year and — like the state itself — looks to be bigger than ever. Taking place at the Hilton Post Oak in Houston May 4-6, this year’s event will feature 14 main games, with the lineup being as follows:

  • Street Fighter V: Arcade Edition – CPT 2018 Ranking Event
  • Tekken 7 – 2018 Tekken World Tour Challenger Event
  • Dragon Ball FighterZ
  • Injustice 2
  • Guilty Gear Xrd REV 2
  • Under Night In-Birth Exe: Late [st]
  • The King of Fighters XIV – MAX Cancel Cup
  • Marvel vs. Capcom: Infinite
  • Killer Instinct
  • Super Street Fighter II Turbo – Tournament of Legends III Qualifier
  • Street Fighter III: 3rd Strike
  • Capcom vs. SNK 2
  • Vampire Savior (Darkstalkers 3)
  • Windjammers

In addition, there will be a cosplay contest, a “Battle for Texas” 3V3 SFVAE Team Battle event to determine which region of the state is supreme, and the upcoming SoulCalibur VI will be available for attendees to get their hands on.

But you better act quickly to get in on the action, as Online Registration for the event ends tonight at 11:59 PM CT. Emergency on-site registration will be available on May 4th until 9:00 PM, but will see the fee increase from $55 to $70, and you will be both unseeded and either given byes in your bracket or placed into a “death pool.”

Registration (via smash.gg,) is available at txshowdown.com/Home/Register.

Sources: Texas_Showdown (Twitter); txshowdown.com/Home

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Fused Zamasu Dragon Ball FighterZ V-Jump scan translated by ShonenGameZ

The most sinister god arrives!

Following confirmation that Fused Zamasu is going to be the third DLC character in Dragon Ball FighterZ, his scan from the most recent issue of V-Jump magazine has been translated by ShonenGameZ, enlightening us more about the semi-Immortal god’s play-style.

After noting that he’ll be officially referred to in-game as Zamasu (Fusion) the scan notes that, “He’ll play somewhat differently than any of the current characters released.” This is largely in part to the fused deity’s ability to float, similar to BlazBlue’s Izanami. This gives him access to an 8-way airdash, providing him with unequaled aerial mobility. When mixed with Assists and Vanishes, this could prove quite terrifying for any pathetic mortals who dare to impede his holy plans for a utopia.

Furthermore, his Level 1 Super, “Holy Wrath”, sees Zamasu fire a large amount of energy from his fingertips. Shonen notes, “this is an ideal move for closing out your attacks!” Based on that description and the provided photos, I suspect this Super will gain increased hits and damage with falling momentum, similar to Frieza’s “Death Ball”, Goku Black’s “Holy Light Grenade” and Broly’s “Gigantic Meteor”, making it the ideal final attack during an Ultimate Z-Change.

His Level 3 Meteor Special is the Lighting Of Absolution, which sees Zamasu “bring forth a giant figure spreading its wings. This Meteor Special is a wide area attack that fires lightning.” He also appears to have the “Blades of Judgment” in his arsenal.  Lastly, we learn that more information about this release will be revealed in the next issue of V-Jump, which should release around a month from now — possibly even with the official announcement of the other leaked character: Super Saiyan God Super Saiyan Vegito. You can see the full translated scan below:

DBFZ-Zamasu-Fusion-Translated-V-Jump-Scan

Zamasu (Fusion) can be purchased individually for $4.99 as part of DLC 2, or as part of the FighterZ Pass, which also has Bardock, Broly, and five other unannounced DLC characters for $34.99. Dragon Ball FighterZ is available now for PlayStation 4, Xbox One and Steam PC in North America, Europe and Japan.

What are your thoughts on this newest addition to the DBFZ roster, now that you’ve heard further details on how he plays? Was his style what you were hoping for, or were you looking to see something else from him? Tell us in the comments below!

Source: ShonenGameZ

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Here are the balance changes and bug fixes in Injustice 2’s April update

See how the Injustice 2 meta may shift before the Pro Series kicks off!

With the recent announcement of the 2018 Injustice 2 Pro Series, NetherRealm Studios decided to release another round of surprise balance changes and bug fixes before the competition heats up.

The April update brings the game up to Version 1.19 and contains some interesting buffs for Captain Cold, Gorilla Grodd, The Joker, and Deadshot, while Firestorm, Black Adam, and others tasted the nerf bat. There have also been adjustments to DLC Legendary Multiverses, the Learn Hub, Gear Drops favoring Black Manta and Hellboy pieces, certain Interactable’s throw immunity and more. You can read the full patch notes below.

APRIL UPDATE

General Gameplay Adjustments

  • Move list corrections and improvements to AI logic
  • Fixed an issue with progress tracking on page 3 of Legendary Multiverses
  • Made UI Improvements to Infinite Transforms
  • Inventory advanced gear filter can now sort up to level 30
  • Fixed an issue that was causing some players loot drops to favor Black Manta or Hellboy gear over other characters
  • The missing level 30 Augments which increase Defense are now available (Tank, Steamroller, Juggernaut)
  • Gear earned in Story Mode can now be regenerated past level 20 up to level 30
  • Changed Level 30 Base Health of Cyborg, Supergirl, Starfire, and Enchantress to 1175 (from 1100)
  • Text and Grammar fixes in Learn Mode
  • Adjusted the conditions for the finals tasks in Advanced Blocking Tutorial and Corner Combo Tutorial to be more consistent
  • Character Tutorials will no longer sometimes award rewards when they are skipped
  • Fixed a soft lock that could occur after disconnecting a controller during a character tutorial demo and then skipping the lesson after reconnecting the controller

Stage Specific Adjustments

  • Fixed some Background Interactions being throw immune during their recovery frames

Character Specific Adjustments

Atom

  • Fixed a rare bug where Making Matter Gear Ability could leave a lingering visual
  • When Atom’s Legendary is equipped there is now a button prompt for interacts that he can use

Batman

  • Fixed bug that could cause Mechanical Bats to appear during the victory screen

Black Adam

  • Lightning Strike Meter Burn base damage is now 15.4 (from 19.3) and it is no longer throw immune
  • The 2nd and 3rd hit of Lightning Strike Meter Burn will no longer hit airborne opponents outside of juggles
  • Fixed a rare bug that could prevent the opponent from getting a first hit bonus while Orbs of Seth Character Power is active

Black Manta

  • Slightly reduced backdash distance
  • Speared And Seared (Super move) now does 36.7 base damage (down from 40.1)

Captain Cold

  • Cold Blast Meter Burn recovery 10 frames faster, has 5 less frames of block stun, and causes a bigger reaction on hit
  • Ice-Solated (Away + Medium, Hard) now hits mid and had its hit region adjusted
  • Prison Break (Away + Medium, Hard, Medium) has 2 more active frames, 9 less recovery, is +4 on block (up from +2) and had its hit region adjusted
  • Legendary Augment “Cyclotron Charge” recharge rate is now affected by Flash’s character power

Deadshot

  • Wrist Cannon, Trick Shot, Bullet Barrage, and Low Wrist Cannon Gear Ability have 5 less recovery frames while character power is active

Doctor Fate

  • Displacer Orb Meter Burn duration is now 180 frames (down from 240)
  • Amon Ra Blast now does 6 base damage (down from 7)
  • Apophis Blast now does 8 base damage (down from 9)
  • Fixed bug that caused the 4 piece set bonus for “Fate Reborn” and “The Finery of Order” healing amounts to be larger than intended

Firestorm

  • Adjusted hit region of Short Burst (Down + Light)
  • Atomic Burst Meter Burn has 5 less frames of block stun and slightly increased damage scaling
  • Molten Trap has 5 less hit advantage, 5 less block stun, and 3 more recovery frames on miss
  • Molten Trap Meter Burn has 13 less hit advantage, and 5 more recovery frames on miss
  • Fusion Charge has 3 more recovery frames on block and no longer shakes the camera upon landing

Gorilla Grodd

  • Reduced length of jump forward, backward, & up by 2 frames
  • Slightly increased initial step forward and step backward speed
  • Stampede Cancel now have a more distinct animation and recovers 2 frames faster

Hellboy

  • Slightly reduced hit region of Up Devil’s Revolver

Joker

  • While Character Power is active Joker takes reduced hit damage and greatly reduced block damage relative to the HA level

Red Hood

  • Slightly adjusted Hit Region of Quick Strike (Down + Light)

Scarecrow

  • Fixed bug that could cause Terror Charge Gear Ability to have lingering visual effects when interrupted

Starfire

  • No longer throw immune during some of the recovery frames of Starbolt Meter Burn

Teenage Mutant Ninja Turtles

  • Practice mode AI Reversal and Wakeup Attack order is now consistent with other characters
  • (Air) Shellicopter MB can now be performed while (Air) Shellicopter and Shell Slide Gear Abilities are equipped on the same loadout
  • (Donatello) – Bo-llistic MeterBurn Gear Ability can no longer be clashed
  • (Leonardo) – Michelangelo’s Turtle Power assist can no longer be parried by high projectile parries
  • (Leonardo) – Fixed bug preventing Michelangelo’s and Raphael’s Turtle Power assist from being performed by holding forward or back when Donatello’s Turtle Power assist is on cooldown
  • (Michelangelo) – COWABUNGA! Character Power attack can now be parried by low parries

What are your thoughts on this patch? Are you happy to see certain characters buffed or nerfed, or do you feel your main got left out? Sound off in the comments section below!

Source: WB Games Community Forums

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Learn how Falke “harmonizes” Psycho Power in her Street Fighter V: Arcade Edition Character Introduction video

Get an introduction to the “Guardian Hawk,” courtesy of Matt Edwards.

With Street Fighter V: Arcade Edition‘s third Season 3 DLC character –Neo Shadaloo’s Falke– set to swoop down onto the roster next Tuesday, Capcom UK Community and Esports Manager Matt “The Street Writer” Edwards has released the customary Character Introduction video for the upcoming fighter.

After briefly covering the newcomer’s lore, Edwards describes the intricacies of her Variable System, noting that, due to her specials lacking traditional motion inputs like her Neo Shadaloo counterpart Ed, she is “tailor-made for single-button hit confirms with her far-reaching normals and ease of access.”

After showcasing some fancy combos utilizing both of her V-Triggers, a Critical Art confirm and multiple Stuns on Ed, Edwards closes with the following statement on why players might be interested in picking up the “Guardian Hawk.”

“With her long pokes, projectile pressure and two-button anti-air, Falke has a strong repertoire of mid-range tools and can easily convert stray hits into fully-stocked combos.” Catch the full video below.

Falke will be available next Tuesday, April 24th, for either 100,000 Fight Money or $5.99. She can also be acquired as part of the Season 3 Character Pass — which also includes Sakura, Blanka, and the yet-to-be-released Cody, G, and Sagat — for $29.99.

Source: Street Fighter

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NRG Esports signs SuperNoon and HookGangGod for Dragon Ball FighterZ

NRG Eports makes its first FGC singings beyond Super Smash Bros. by grabbing two of the hottest DBFZ players today!

Founded in 2015 and long-known for their exploits in Super Smash Bros., For Honor, Rocket League, Overwatch and Counter-Strike: Global Offensive, NRG Esports has now reached into the FGC by picking up Steve “SuperNoon” Carbajal and Summit of Power East Coast qualifier Eduardo “HookGangGod” Deno to compete in Dragon Ball FighterZ.

Known for his frenetic Kid Buu play — backed up by Cell and Super Saiyan Vegeta — Supernoon’s accomplishments in FighterZ include placing 7th at Dragon Brawl, 5th at CenCal Standoff, 3rd at NCR and 9th at Wednesday Night Fights West Coast Summit of Power Qualifier, (which has made him eligible for nomination into the SoP’s voting process), as well as several WNF victories. He is also an extremely accomplished player in both Ultimate Marvel vs. Capcom 3 and Marvel vs. Capcom: Infinite.

HookGangGod has also made quite the splash in FighterZ, getting 17th at Winter Brawl 12, 5th in the Microsoft Battle for the Belt Bracket, and 2nd at both Bum’s Birthday Bash and the East Coast Next Level Battle Circuit Summit of Power Qualifier, falling both times to Echo Fox|Sonic Fox. Considered one of the world’s best Piccolos and even currently holding the #1 Online Rank on PSN, he’ll certainly be someone to watch out for in the future.

Both players will begin representing NRG at Super TSB in New York on Saturday, April 28th. You can see tweets from all three parties below. On behalf of everyone here at Shoryuken, we’d like to congratulate both players and wish them all the best of luck in the future!

Sources: NRGgg (Twitter); TheSupernoon (Twitter); HookGangGod (Twitter); ESPN Now