Is Dragon Ball FighterZ about to surpass its limits?
We knew the balance patch was on the way — and Bandai Namco have now verified when we’ll see the patch go live, and what it will contain. The update rolls out on May 9, on all three platforms (PlayStation 4/Xbox One/PC). The changelist has been posted to Bandai Namco’s Facebook page; the new features to be added are:
• 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
(More information will be revealed soon for the events linked to these new features)
And here is the full list of balance changes they have posted. Check to see how it will affect your team members!
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:
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
OTHERS:
• 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.
Source: Bandai Namco (Facebook) via Bandai Namco US (Twitter)
Story beats aside, both books sport fantastic artwork, from Omar Dogan in Street Fighter Legends: Cammy, and from Joe Ng in Street Fighter Unlimited: The Balance. Ken Siu-Chong fires out the story and dialogue in Unlimited, providing an engaging read throughout; the legendary Jim Zub provided the story for Cammy’s Legends outing, and while I’m not a fan of the overall tale, the character dialogue and pacing are still on point from this master storyteller. And as per usual with UDON’s books, these are gorgeous, hefty hardcovers that do justice to their source material and the efforts of the creators. Both are still available from online retailers such as 
Taki confirmed for SoulCalibur VI through early character reveal trailer
Street Fighter V: Arcade Edition — Basic Falke primer: General gameplan, combos, & more
