Tomorrow season pass holders get their hands on the next DLC character for Dragon Ball FighterZ, Master Roshi. Everyone else will sadly have to wait two extra days until Friday, September 18 to play as the turtle hermit. But the one thing that everyone has access to now are the new balance updates that accompany him. These season 3.5 patch notes are referred to as such, because we are now officially halfway through the third season of post-launch content for the game. There are also only two more DLC characters left to go, but I suspect it will be quite some time before we get any news on that front.
This balance update brings with it some sweeping changes that are sure to shake up the meta. Almost every character in the game received a buff or change of some kind. Today, we are only going to focus on the biggest changes: the ones made to the overall game system, as well as three of the bottom tier characters that received the most buffs — Krillin, Super Saiyan Blue Vegeta, and Gogeta. We will cover Jiren, Tien, and Videl in part two tomorrow. You can find the full and complete 3.5 patch notes here.
The first — and possibly most important — things to note are the few key areas where there was a lack of change. One of, if not the, strongest characters in the game, Ultra Instinct Goku, received no nerfs. This is quite surprising, and pretty much secures UI Goku’s placement as one of the best in the game for at least the rest of this season. Kid Buu and Fused Zamasu also did not receive any nerfs, as this patch is primarily focused on buffing low tiers instead of nerfing high tiers. Another unfortunate omission is that Bardock’s B type assist, arguably the most broken in the game, did not receive a nerf either.
System changes
First up are the system changes the new balance patch has brought to the game. All C type assists in the game now have faster start-up, except when the opponent is in hitstun. This is done in an effort to make a wider selection of assists more viable, as usually C type assists were the weakest of the three. Certain aerial special moves also received a tweak. While the notes did not say which moves specifically were affected by this, it was stated that landing attacks outside of the screen high up in the air will now have the camera center back on the action.
Attacks that reach the upper limits of the screen will now be much easier to follow. Training mode has also received a much-needed (and very welcome) update. You can now set the training dummy to specific counterattacks in the Enemy Settings menu.
Let’s move on to the characters that received the most significant upgrades in the season 3.5 patch notes. We’ll begin with everyone’s favorite rock-throwing, android-loving best friend.
Krillin
Standing medium and standing heavy now move Krillin forward much further during the attack, making combo extensions and confirms easier to do.
Krillin’s Kamehameha when performed in mid-air will move him forward during the beginning of the attack. A down input will cancel this movement. This gives Krillin some desperately needed air mobility, with the option to fake out the opponent. It also makes his air Kamehameha a much more viable offensive pressure tool from midscreen.
A bug was also fixed during Krillin’s B assist, the Kamehameha, where the ki effects would linger on screen. This doesn’t affect gameplay, but it is still worth noting.
Super Saiyan Blue Vegeta
Being one of the worst characters in the game, Blue Vegeta received an absolutely enormous list of changes with the season 3.5 patch notes. Blue Vegeta’s combo options have also greatly improved, giving him nasty combos from every range.
Vegeta’s jumping down S received a hefty list of changes. It no longer causes the character to pause in mid-air, has faster start-up, increased stun, reduced hitstop, and increased delay. The trajectory also now changes when it’s performed in a mid-air super combo as well as during a Z combo. This was one of Blue Vegeta’s worst moves, so if all these changes don’t make it good, nothing will.
His super dash kick and its follow-ups also received big changes. The amount of additional damage dealt by follow-up attacks after the heavy version has been increased overall. Follow up 1 has increased stagger and stun time, and the medium version has increased damage. Follow up 2’s knockback has been adjusted during the camera shift, so it’s easier to follow up. Blue Vegeta’s corner carry special, “On a scale of one to 10, I’ll give you a three,” specifically the light version, has faster start-up and more active frames.
His level 1 super, Niagra Pummel, has several changes as well. The distance moved during the attack is increased, and the move’s hitbox is now further up. The amount of space moved based on distance from the opponent has also changed. The camera shift when performing an additional input has also been adjusted. He can now also move before landing when additional input hits the opponent. That last change is huge and gives Blue Vegeta more opportunities to mix up the opponent. Lastly his level 3, Final Flash, has faster start-up.
Super Saiyan Blue Gogeta
Being another terrible character, Gogeta has also received huge changes including many of his normals. His standing light now has reduced delay, and the distance the character is pushed back when the initial hit is deflected with a Z Reflect has been reduced. Crouching light also has reduced delay, and standing medium has faster start-up. Crouching medium has faster start-up, moves Gogeta further forward during the attack, and the knockback on the move has been adjusted. Jumping heavy also has faster start-up, adjusted knockback, and the hitbox during start-up has been enlarged. Standing and jumping S both have faster start-up as well.
His special move, Soul Strike, now has more active frames, moves Gogeta forward further during the ground version, but has slower recovery when the ground version misses. His A assist, Super Dash Kick, moves him forward further and has longer active frames. Likewise, his B assist, Rising Vortex, has faster start-up and moves Gogeta forward further. Overall these changes make Gogeta much faster and safer as well as give him more options to put offensive pressure on the opponent.
All three of these characters have received massive buffs and are now more viable than they have ever been before. Check back in tomorrow as we go over the last three characters with the biggest changes from the season 3.5 patch notes, Jiren, Tien, and Videl.
