After a pretty long wait, a Dragon Ball FighterZ update is finally here. The balance adjustments change the character move sets significantly.
Getting this DBFZ update is a nice treat for the dedicated community. The game was in a state of uncertainty after the previous World Tour Global Finals. Then, the developers announced a new official global league and a balance patch arriving after Evo. It's quite a delay, but it’s here. The DBFZ 1.38 patch notes are a 21-page document. The update affects all of the characters, mainly buffing them.
DBFZ patch notes 1.38
As it was announced via the official social post, this update for DBFZ was released on Sept. 4, 2024. It’s already available on most platforms, and only the Nintendo Switch version must wait for a little bit longer.
As for the full DBFZ 1.38 patch notes, they are available via the official website. It’s a pretty big update, with many adjustments for all of the characters. It is a good idea to check out the detailed information on your characters and the ones you see a lot in online matchmaking.
DBFZ update: Buff everyone!
The history of later patches is shaky. There was a period of crazy domination of Lab Coat and Blue Fusions in the competitive scene. The developers fixed it with a two-stage patch. The first one nerfed those characters — mainly by making their ki accumulation slower. The second one just buffed the roster in general, trying to make everyone stronger.
That was a long time ago. The marathon with the DBFZ rollback netcode continued for quite a while, including hilarious bugs in the spectator mode. Now we have this massive DBFZ 1.38 patch. It’s interesting to check out what the update brings in general.
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DBFZ patch 1.38: A brief breakdown
The DBFZ 1.38 patch notes start with a common section and a couple of nerfed features.
- C Assists have an even longer cooldown now
- Anti-air attacks can stop certain invincible moves
There is only one buff in the system mechanics. You can link Super Dashes and Special Moves to other Special Moves while in Sparkling Blast.
Then, the character adjustments start in the patch notes, and they are mainly buffs. Here are the changes:
- Extra moves are allowed in combos
- Recoveries reduced
- Startups are quicker
- Hitstuns increased
- Increased damage
- Quicker movement
DBFZ update 1.38 buffs characters even more. It feels like the whole roster of fighters is stronger now. This can be a good solution to prepare the game for its life as a casual fighting title.
Dragon Ball FighterZ: Update in the middle of the World Tour
One aspect makes this DBFZ patch pretty important for the competitive community. We are in the middle of DBFZ World Tour 2024. Four more Power events are coming soon, and the battle balance changes may affect their outcome.
- Ultimate Fighting Arena is from Sept. 13 to Sept. 15
- Thunderstruck 2024 is also from Sept. 13 to Sept. 15
- Thaiger Uppercut 2024 is from Oct. 5 to Oct. 6
- East Coast Throwdown 2024 is from Oct. 11 to Oct. 13
It will be interesting to witness how pro players can adapt to the new meta for such a short period. The current standing leaders are listed below.
- INZEM, who won CEO 2024 and Evo 2024
- Yasha, the winner of The MIXUP 2024, CROSSOVER 2024, and Emirates Showdown 2024
- maddo, the winner of RMIT Games Day #10
The 13 top players on the leaderboard will qualify for the DBFZ World Tour 2024-25 Global Finals.
DBFZ is within the tag-team fighting sub-genre. Some interesting new releases are joining this category soon: Hunter x Hunter Nen Impact and 2XKO. A fighting game based on the same manga/anime is also right around the corner — Dragon Ball Sparking! ZERO.
For more fighting games news and updates, stick around on esports.gg!
