Dragon Ball: Sparking Zero has a ton of offline content to enjoy between its Episode Battles and player-made Custom Battles. But playing online is a different beast altogether. You’re bound to see more variance playing against people than you will against CPU, not to mention some prevalent metas that are subject to getting patched. But don’t let that dissuade you from enjoying the casual and ranked multiplayer modes! We’ve broken down the most important tips to survive online play, whether you’re barely starting out in multiplayer modes or returning after some time away.
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Mix Up Your Combos
The most consistent method of dishing out damage is using your Rush Chain combos. These are executed with the Rush Attack and Ki Blast buttons (X/Y and Square/Triangle for Xbox and PlayStation respectively). More specifically, each Rush Chain is made by inputting one to four Rush Attacks and ending with a Ki Blast.
You’ve likely noticed that mashing the Rush Attack button will result in a complete melee string that ends with a launcher and even segues into some Vanishing Attacks. As tempting as it is to just do that all the time, I don’t recommend it. Not only does it leave a lot of damage on the table, but your opponents will be able to land a counter much more easily.
A proper combo requires you to use different Rush Chains together. This isn’t just to make it harder to respond; it’s also because you can’t repeat the same chain in one combo. You’ll have even more success by mixing these attacks up. End some chains prematurely or reposition yourself to keep the opponent guessing and whittle down their health.
Avoid a Ki Collapse
Your Ki is something else you should keep an eye on. Ki used for everything from dashing around to Ki Blasts and Supers. Maintaining it is vital for both offense and defense. In the same vein, you do not want to enter the Collapsed state. Similar to a stun mechanic, the Collapsed state leaves your character exhausted and unable to move or defend. This state will last until the now-red Ki gauge has slowly recovered exhausted bars. You can speed up the process by moving the analog sticks around or mashing the face buttons.
A Ki Collapse most typically occurs when you use a boost during an Impact Action and overspend the Ki you have. Your opponent can also trigger it by causing a Guard Break when you have less than one bar of Ki left.
Use Your Skills
You might think Dragon Ball: Sparking Zero is all about inflicting damage and maintaining your Ki. While those are the basics that can carry you through Episode Battle and its various What-If stories, you’ll need to use other mechanics when fighting against real people. Character skills are one such mechanic that casual players might initially ignore, but are game changers when used properly.
Skills are typically a distinct ability or set of buffs to help you in a fight. Their dependence on a certain amount of your Skill Count means you need to use them strategically. They commonly fall into the following categories:
- Stat Increases
- Instant Sparking! Activation
- Automatic Melee Counters or Dodges
- Combo Breakers
- Debilitating Effects (Paralysis, Blind)
- Health or Ki Recovery
Learn what skills your preferred characters use. Everyone on the roster has two at their disposal, with any transformations swapping out at least one. While there are plenty of shared Skill names for memorable and generic techniques alike, such as Afterimage Strike or Saiyan Spirit, some are named after phrases specific to a character. It’s nearly impossible to figure out what a lot of them do on name alone. Make sure to pause during your next offline fight and select the Explanation of Controls option to see what skills you have.
Know the General Weaknesses of Each Character Type
With so many options to choose from, it can feel overwhelming figuring out every character’s strengths and weaknesses. Make this more manageable by understanding the differences across each character type. Although it’s not outwardly stated, every character belongs to one of five primary character classes:
- Android
- Giant
- Ki-Based
- Speed
- Strength
Read More: Dragon Ball: Sparking Zero Has A Hidden Class System You Need To Know About
The classes might all be unique on a micro level, but there are noticeable similarities between these classes. Androids require different play styles since they can’t manually charge Ki like the rest of the roster. Speed characters have access to more movement options to balance their weaker attacks. The game doesn’t tell you which category all the fighters belong to, however. You’ll have to memorize it. I recommend spending time with your favorites in Training Mode to determine what kind of character type they are.
Understand Your Movement and Counter Options
Dragon Ball: Sparking Zero is a fast-paced game where you want to dodge your opponent’s attacks, launch them into a mountain, and then catch up to do it again. It’s important to know what movement and counter options your character has to better defend yourself and return to throwing punches.
Let’s say your opponent is off in the distance and about to attack with a beam super. Here are some ways to respond:
- A well-timed Vanish or Dragon Dash can avoid it with minimal Ki cost. Besides the more muscular Strength characters like Broly or Giant characters, most on the roster can follow up with a Z-Burst Dash to instantly get behind the opponent.
- Super Perception can deflect the beam for two skill counts.
- Super Movement will lose the tracking from attacks while dashing towards the opponent. This is only available in Sparking! Mode for Speed characters and a scattered set of others.
There are also multiple options to avoid or counter in close range. A majority of these are available for every character, making them great to remember.
- Vanishing Assault teleports you behind the opponent in exchange for one Ki bar. This is a great place to be since there are only a couple of ways to defend against attacks from behind.
- Rush High-Speed Movement can be used midway through a Rush Chain to teleport you behind or even to the side of your target. Uses half a Ki bar.
- Step-in Sway is an additional input after a Step-in, allowing you to temporarily avoid melee attacks. This is available for a lot of characters, but it almost feels random as to who can do it.
- Super Perception can also be used to counter Rush Attacks. The Skill Count cost varies depending on the attack it’s countering.
- Sonic Sway will trigger if you use a Super Perception right as an attack hits, showing a short dodging animation before knocking the opponent away.
- Revenge Counter requires two skill counts, but will interrupt any front-facing attacks and respond with a hit.
- Super Counter works against nearly anything, including when you’re being attacked from behind. All it requires is some great timing, and then you’ll be able to send the enemy flying away.
Aim for the Back
I mentioned it earlier, but one of the most effective strategies in combat is to attack the opponent from behind. There are few ways to counter any attacks from the sides, and even less when they’re coming from behind.
I’ve already gone over most methods used to reposition yourself, but you can sometimes reposition your opponent too. Characters that have access to Rush Chain (Rolling Hammer) will turn their opponent around with the last hit. Some grabs will also launch the target with their backs to you, so it’ll help to remember your favorite fighter’s throws as well as any special throws if they have them.
Bring Big Teams for DP Matches
Outside 1v1 battles, Dragon Ball: Sparking Zero tries to provide balance with its Destruction Point (DP) system. Every character is assigned a DP ranking from one to ten. The lower end features Mr. Satan, while the higher end includes the most powerful fusions with the strongest attacks and biggest health pools. DP battles allow you to craft a team of up to five characters, but their total DP cannot exceed 15 at the start of a match.
It’s very appealing to start these fights with the most elite fighters in the Dragon Ball universe. However, DP matches are better fought with bigger teams. An important aspect of team battles is tagging out characters so that they can heal. Those ranked higher on the DP scale have to wait longer to tag, meaning it’s likely for them to be knocked out first. Playing with bigger teams will make switching a lot more feasible.
Additionally, you can always rely on characters that can transform. Goku (Super) has access to three transformations, not to mention two fusions who have their own set of transformations too. You can treat your matches just like the anime by starting small before powering up to your final form.
Just like any fighting game, Dragon Ball: Sparking Zero‘s online modes can be frustrating without deeper knowledge of its mechanics. Everything we’ve gone over in this guide will provide the foundation you need to take on the toughest Gogetas and occasional Yajirobes alike. You’ll still need to put what you learned into practice, so get out there and gain some real experience!
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