Dragon Ball FighterZ players left infuriated by “worst patch ever”

Carver Fisher
Dragon Ball FighterZ patch leaves players frustrated

Dragon Ball FighterZ’s 1.33 patch has not only come without rollback netcode, but its myriad changes have allowed a good portion of the cast to kill in one combo. The game’s meta has been broken open overnight, leaving longtime players frustrated.

While there’s no shortage of good Dragon Ball games to play, Dragon Ball FighterZ was a truly titanic release when it first came out back in 2018. Its popularity was driven not only by the name attached to it, but the quality and presentation of the game underneath it.

It’s been supported for years by additional DLC characters and numerous updates, and it’s still going strong despite its age.

However, the latest patch for the game seems to have thrown things completely out of balance. Several characters now have viable one-shot combos that can be carried out without even needing assists, leaving longtime players scratching their heads.

Dragon Ball FighterZ players frustrated by “one tap” patch

Though many 2D fighters may look similar, the way they play is very different. For instance, games like Street Fighter 6 or Guilty Gear Strive are much more about finding openings and pressuring the opponent rather than locking someone into a combo – outside of some rare occasions.

Meanwhile, games like UMvC3 and Melty Blood are known for players being able to string together ridiculously long combos with enough skill and the right opening. That said, even in games with long combos, there tends to be some sort of counterplay.

However, the latest Dragon Ball FighterZ patch has pushed many characters over the edge of being able to one-shot with a single combo, leaving players frustrated as they sit there for 30 seconds while their fighter of choice gets run through the meat grinder.

Broly, Master Roshi, base Goku, Gogeta, Trunks, Android 21 labcoat and many more characters have the ability to kill in one combo now. It’s hard to say just how many characters can pull this off with the patch being generally recent, but players are bound to discover more ways to do it.

The notes for Dragon Ball FighterZ patch 1.33 are 15 pages long, with almost every character in the game getting their moves sped up or buffed in some way, shape, or form, along with Meteor Attacks being usable right after Super Attacks while Limit-break is active.

The DBFZ subreddit is filled with players saying things like, “Who the f*** thought this was a good idea?” or “Who approved this?” in response to the patch. One player went as far as calling it the “worst patch ever“.

All of these changes have left the game in a state of chaos. And, granted, while the response has been overwhelmingly negative, some players are here for that chaos.

That said, the fact that rollback netcode is still a feature at large for the game is something that DBFZ players all dislike, with many convinced that the feature will never come.

It remains to be seen if these changes get revised to keep characters from putting together one-shot strings, or if DBFZ leans into this new style for the remainder of the title’s life cycle.

About The Author

Carver is an editor for Dexerto based in Chicago. He finished his screenwriting degree in 2021 and has since dedicated his time to covering League of Legends esports and all other things gaming. He leads League esports coverage for Dexerto, but has a passion for the FGC and other esports. Contact Carver at carver.fisher@dexerto.com