Dragon Ball FighterZ Season 3

We are three years into the lifespan of Dragon Ball FighterZ and the game is more loved than ever. The fact that we’re getting a third season’s worth of updates and DLC isn’t surprising.

Here’s what you need to know about the major changes to the game.

Five New Characters

A new fighting game season means new DLC fighters and the folks at Bandai Namco were nice enough to unveil two of the five new characters joining the game, though one of them is technically in the game already; Goku (Ultra Instinct) and Kefla.

Having multiple iterations of Goku in the game has been the meme that has haunted FighterZ ever since it was announced, with Ultra Instinct being the fifth version of the character, joining Goku (SSJ), Goku (SSGSS), Goku (base), and Goku (GT). You could also make an argument that Goku Black, Bardock, Vegito, and Gogeta are also Gokus but let’s not go there. Despite all that, the short gameplay trailer for Goku (Ultra Instinct) does show that he’ll have some new moves and counters based on Dragon Ball Super so that should make him feel different enough.

Thankfully, Kefla was announced and she already looks like a more exciting character with a mix of rushdown attacks, while also having a decent amount of energy blasts at her disposal. The fusion of Universe 6 Saiyans Caulifla and Kale, Kefla is only the fourth female fighter in this game’s roster, joining Android 18, Videl, and Android 21, the latter of whom was made specifically for this game.

It’s not yet known who the last three characters will be, which should make speculation way more fun. Could we get more Super characters like Toppo or Cabba? How about Raditz or Dodoria from Z? Maybe comedic favorites like Master Roshi or Mr. Satan? We’ll just have to wait and see.

Goku (Ultra Instinct) was released in the Spring of this year while Kefla was released on February 28.

More Assist Attacks

New characters are great and all but the moment fans saw that FighterZ Season 3 would give each combatant new assists, they knew this season would be a game-changer. Prior to this, every character only had one assist attack each and fans had to memorize what they were to make their combo game better. Popular assists included Goku’s Kamehameha, Vegeta’s barrage of Ki blasts, and Yamcha’s Wolf Fang Fist, all of which almost-always appeared in various tournaments of the game.

FighterZ Season 3 changes that completely, giving every character three assists each, making the game feel like its spiritual predecessor Ultimate Marvel vs Capcom 3. This will allow fans to experiment with more fighters and have teams that should feel completely unique, especially when compared to before.

While most fans are hoping that each character now has a beam assist, we’re all hoping that this leads to more experimental teams down the line. Hopefully, the new assists mean we’ll see characters like Android 17, Captain Ginyu, and Nappa more.

Enhanced Sparking/X-Factor

Commonly called X-Factor by the Marvel vs Capcom crowd, the Sparking mechanic will be getting a huge upgrade in Dragon Ball FighterZ Season 3. While the technique is already powerful enough on its, increasing the player’s attack power and healing any red damage in the character’s health bar, Season 3 will double its power when the player only has one fighter left.

FighterZ is a game where one mistake can lead to you losing a character in your team so giving players an enhanced version of the Sparking mechanic is a godsend. While it might end up feeling a bit cheap in the long run but it will make fights feel less one-sided and that’s all any FighterZ fan can ask for right now.

New Dramatic Finishes

Dramatic Finishes recreate special moments in the anime/manga, depending on the characters and arenas chosen, and the Season 3 trailer confirmed a new one is coming by showing us an awesome recreation of the Dragon Ball Super finale. This had Goku and Freeza sacrificing themselves to eliminate Jiren from the Tournament of Power, which led to Android 17 winning it for Universe 7.

While it’s disappointing that this is done in the Space arena and not a new Tournament of Power stage, we are happy to see more of these from the developers at Arc System Works. With Kefla and Goku (Ultra Instinct) in the game, we’re also going to assume that they’ll redo that epic Kamehameha. Y'all know what I’m talking about.

Buffs and Nerfs

Finally, we have the obligatory patch that will change up the roster. Characters considered too strong might get nerfed, making them less of a threat online, while fighters that are a bit weak might get buffed and become better. Some of the fixes can also lead to big changes, like Tien getting a Level 2 Finisher that lets him use his cloning technique to do more damage with his Tri-Beam.

Dragon Ball FighterZ is available now on the PS4, Xbox One, PC, and Nintendo Switch. FighterZ Season 3 launched on February 28, along with DLC Character Kefla and FighterZ Pass 3. FighterZ Passes 1 and 2 are available for download now, with all the fighters from both passes now available.