Dragon Ball FighterZ: How to Master Ultra Instinct Goku (Character Guide)

When future fans of the genre discuss some of the most influential fighting game entries of all time, Dragon Ball FighterZ will be at the forefront of the discussion. Through the genius of the development team at Arc System Works, FighterZ provides one of the most accessible fighting games ever created. Its visual style is nothing less than gorgeous, being the closest Dragon Ball Z game to recreate the visual design of the classic anime. With its obvious attention and love for the source material, FighterZ is a must for fans of the anime and die-hard fighting game players alike. Even if a player is not familiar with the fighting game genre, FighterZ provides plenty of resources to make the game approachable, while not sacrificing depth. FighterZ can be argued to be one of the best fighting games available now, for these and a list of other reasons.

Part of what makes Dragon Ball FighterZ such a fun game for fans of the legendary Shonen anime is its recreation of the cast of Dragon Ball Z and Super into fully functional fighting game characters. From Krillin to Cooler each character in the game has a unique feel that satisfies Fighting Game archetypes while embodying what makes each of these characters unique in the anime. When playing as Frieza the game does an excellent job of drawing inspiration from iconic scenes, such as his use of Destructo Disks and how those disks return to him like the classic battle on Namek. With this in mind, players who pick up the newly added Ultra Instinct Goku will experience how insanely powerful this version of Goku actually is. The final form of Goku is just as powerful as the anime leads the audience to believe. Here is all you need to know to truly master the power of Ultra Instinct in Dragon Ball FighterZ.

Ultra Instinct Goku’s Powerful Special Moves in Dragon Ball FighterZ

Like most characters in the popular fighting game title, Ultra Instinct Goku has a variety of useful special moves. Each of which provides the character with an interesting and unique playstyle.

Before discussing Ultra Instinct Goku’s arsenal of powerful special moves, it is important to discuss the character’s unique and versatile “auto-combo.” To perform this move players simply need to press the light attack button three times, this will allow Goku to perform a unique animation with some powerful functions. Unlike many characters Ultra Instinct Goku’s auto-combo allows the character to perform a powerful side-switch. This allows Goku to reverse his attacking side when performing this auto-combo. This becomes useful if a player is trapped in the corner and wishes to switch sides with his opponents. Be aware, that if you are maintaining corner pressure, using this auto-combo might not be the wisest decision.

Goku has an array of unique command normals, or moves that are performed by pressing a direction and a particular attack button. His forward Ki blast button allows Goku to fire a Ki blast that covers in front and behind the character, making it a useful aggressive move and defensive move.

Goku’s Godly Display, performed by doing a quarter-circle forward and light, medium, or heavy attack provides the character with a powerful combo ender, or starter. As the heavy version of the move grants Goku a wall bounce, which can set up some high damage combos. Goku also possesses a powerful invincible Dragon Punch style attack in his quarter circle back and either light, medium, or heavy attacks. The light version of this special move, called Godly Strike, is only invincible to projectiles, while the medium and heavy versions are fully invincible. This provides the character even more powerful defensive capabilities.

Utilizing Ultra Instinct Goku’s Counter Moves Effectively in Dragon Ball FighterZ

What makes this version of Goku so unique both in the anime and in FighterZ is the character’s powerful display of defense and counter-attacks. Being a true master of Ultra Instinct will require players to utilize these counters often and effectively. Making them as dangerous on defense as they are offense.

The most important counter provided to Ultra Instinct Goku is his command normal, forward, and heavy attack, which when performed correctly will teleport Goku behind his opponent. This animation will occur when Goku counters his opponent’s attack at just the right moment. This will allow Goku massive frame advantage and will allow him to begin to counter-attack his opponent.

What makes this move so powerful is that when performed correctly it can allow Goku to initiate a full combo dishing out massive damage. To truly master this ability players will need exceptional game sense. Knowing when their opponent will strike them, or when to not utilize this move. However, there are some tricky setups that can trick an opponent into falling for this counter move. One setup is performing an unsafe move on an opponent, then waiting for your enemy to strike then press this counter button in order to punish them for their attempted attack. This will make your opponent think twice when trying to punish you for unsafe maneuvers allowing Ultra Instinct Goku players to get away with fighting game murder. This will force players to think twice before attacking players even if they know the move blocked is punishable.

The main way Ultra Instinct Goku players will find success with the character is to combine offense and defense together. That way your opponent will be afraid of Goku both on their own defense and offense, as the character excels at both. Keep in mind when picking up this character he is one of the more technically difficult characters in the game. His combos are a bit tricky but when mastered he will dish out massive damage. However, Ultra Instinct Goku is one of the coolest and flashiest characters in the game making him a blast to play.

Dragon Ball FighterZ is available now on PlayStation 4, Xbox One, and PC on Steam.