Dragon Ball FighterZ: The Best Z Assists

Dragon Ball FighterZ included another reason to think carefully about your team composition thanks to the use of Z Assists, and some of these team-based attacks are already proving to be more useful than others.

To use a Z Assist in FighterZ, all you have to do is tap the button that’s mapped to swapping out your fighter. Holding it will tag out the fighter with another, but a quick tap will call in your teammate for an attack that varies depending on the fighter. The left trigger on consoles can also be used to call in the third fighter for a Z Assist as well.

But much like the abilities and fighting styles of each Dragon Ball character, the Z Assists also have different levels of usefulness with some invaluable for certain team compositions and others ones that you can probably just ignore. With that, here are some of the best Z Assists (not ranked in a particular order) that you can use to round out your team as well as ones that might be better to leave out of your strategies.

Gotenks

His abilities might have some goofy names, but Gotenks and his moves are no joke, and neither is his Z Assist.

The fusion between Goten and Kid Trunks uses his signature Galactic Donuts move as his assist, a move that resembles exactly what the name suggests. With a golden halo-like glow, it puts a ring around enemies and entraps them. This ability doesn’t do a great deal of damage to enemies, but that’s not its main purpose.

Instead, Galactic Donuts should be used to set up your own combos. It keeps Gotenks safely behind your main fighter to avoid taking damage, and if the attack successfully hits, it leaves the enemy wide open to the start of a combo. Using this move while staying on the offensive with a few Ki bars is a quick way to set up a devastating Meteor attack with little counterplay.

Teen Gohan

Teen Gohan was strong enough to take down Cell in his Perfect form, and he’s definitely strong enough to have a spot on your team with his assist.

Super Dragon Flight is Teen Gohan’s Z Assist, a move that some might recognize by other names like Soaring Dragon Strike. This move is a fierce uppercut that was first seen in the Cell Saga of Dragon Ball Z when Super Saiyan 2 Teen Gohan fought Cell. In Dragon Ball FighterZ, it’s still a swift attack that sends opponents airborne.

But one of the best parts of this move is its usefulness when you’ve been jammed into a corner. Getting out of this situation and blocking attacks from above and below isn’t easy, but Teen Gohan’s Z Assist is one way to free yourself. It’s a close-quarters attack that comes out quickly and will set you up for a heavy attack to widen the playing field or a vanish attack to turn the tables and put your opponent in the corner.

Vegeta

A staple in many players’ fighting rosters, Vegeta famous aggression comes to life in his Z Assist with a fierce barrage of Ki blasts.

Vegeta’s Consecutive Energy Blast is his Z Assist, a move where he jumps high into the air and fires off more than enough Ki blasts to cover your main fighter’s advances. Instead of firing one burst of energy, this move peppers opponents with enough attacks to force them to keep their guard up or be knocked off balance should one of the attacks hit. You’ve got several options to capitalize off of this, the easiest one being if the attack is successful and another being an easy guard break if they keep up the guard by the time you reach them.

It’s also worth noting that this attack is reserved for his Super Saiyan form, not his Super Saiyan Blue version. Blue’s Z Assist is surprisingly lacking due to its slowness, but Blue appears to be strong enough a fighter to outweigh the lower-tiered Z Assist.

Frieza

As far as energy attacks go, Frieza is just about the master of attacking enemies at a distance, so it makes sense that he’d have a powerful Z Assist in his kit.

Frieza’s attack that he helps teammates with is his Death Slash, a move that causes a huge explosion to erupt from the ground. While Frieza can use three different variations of this move when fighting on his own – one hits closer, another further away, the a third covering both spots at the cost of a Ki bar – this assist appears to be his medium form that hits farther away. The blast is almost instantaneous once Frieza enters the field behind your fighter which makes it hard to react to, and should it hit, it’ll also send opponents flying which opens them up to a devastating airborne combo that will again lead into a successful Super or Meteor attack.

Kid Buu

Perhaps one of the best Z Assists to use out of all the fighters listed, Kid Buu’s Arm Ball is a truly frustrating attack if you get hit by it.

An attack that’s unique to Majin Buu and his various forms, Kid Buu pulls off a blobby piece of his arm and tosses it at enemies. While the regular Majin Buu has a non-assist move that works similarly to Gotenks’ Galactic Donut, Kid Buu’s attack strikes enemies with the ball which then hits them multiple times while zigging and zagging around the enemy.

Like Vegeta’s Consecutive Energy Blast, this attack is the perfect way to keep your opponent on the defensive while you either advance for your own attack or take a breather to power up your Ki bar. There’s little to be done against this attack aside from blocking it, and with Kid Buu alright a powerful fighter with a mix of energy attacks and combos, expect to see the Arm Ball attack used in many online fights.

Android 18

Android 18 changes things up with her Z Assist by providing one that’s defensive rather than offensive.

The Android doesn’t bring in Android 17 for her Z Assist like she does with several of her own attacks, but her assist is useful enough on her own to help players use an enemy’s attack to their advantage. Her Z Assist is simply called Barrier, a green shield that allows Android 18 to absorb energy much like other Androids could in the Dragon Ball Z series.

While it’ll block an incoming, the interacts with the move’s brief hitbox, it’ll also transfer that attack into a resource for the player using the assist. The Ki bar will start charging after an attack strikes the shield to give players a little something extra to fire back with while the opponent just spent their Ki on a futile attack.

Assists to Avoid

Aside from the best Z Assists listed here, several of the other character’s attacks are simple variations of different fighters’ moves such as the Kamehameha ability. These options are neither great nor disappointing, but there are some moves that are hardly among the most useful Z Assists to utilize.

Unlike his more vicious counterpart, Majin Buu’s assist is one that you won’t be able to use as effectively. Majin Buu uses his Sweeping Breath attack, a move that has a decent area of effect that it covers immediately in front of a fighter, but it’s also limited by its close range. Piccolo’s Homing Energy Blast is also an assist that won’t be landing every time due to its slow speed. It can also be dashed through with a Super Dash, an attack that’s quite common and will catch you off guard if you’re planning on your assist to land.

Lastly, Captain Ginyu’s Z Assist is one that might look useful at first, but it ultimately doesn’t do much to help your team. Ginyu rushes out with a shoulder charge that covers a screen’s length, but it can be easily blocked and doesn’t give your fighter a great deal of time to catch up to while other assists have more manageable ranges. It also leaves Ginyu open to being attacked after the assist finishes which means that you might do your team more harm than good by calling him in.

The preferences in Z Assists ultimately depend on what kind of team you’re trying to run, but until you figure that out and the meta settles into certain dominant fighters, try and avoid these Z Assists while using the previous ones to help get the edge in your online fights.