All the Ways to Tag Characters in DBFZ

I’ve learned a lot from my opponents in Dragon Ball FighterZ. Well, the same could be said about other fighting games too, but for this article I would like to focus on one aspect — switching between characters during DBFZ fights.

I was pretty much stuck with the most basic pattern explained in the in-game tutorials. “You press this button, and the other character super dashes to the stage.” But those opponents, they performed miracles of switching within their combos, while doing Supers, or in defense. 

Sure, such tricks were somewhat explained in those tutorials, but they weren’t converted into practical skills because… you don’t really need to use them in the story mode matches, and when you finally reach the multiplayer, tutorials turn out to be erased from your memory. The opponents show that various stuff is possible, and I got curious — “how?”.

After some time (now), I remembered that process of looking for this info. All the ways to switch between characters in DBFZ — this could be great to gather these methods in one place for other players to quickly find and use for their game progress. You know, the opponents are mainly not interested in teaching you; they want to get another W.

Z Change — The Most Basic Technique

To perform this “default” switching, you need to hold down the assist button:

• L1 (PS) / LB (Xbox) / L (Nintendo Switch) — to tag you Mid character;
• L2 (PS) / LT (Xbox) / LZ (Nintendo Switch) — to tag your Anchor character.

* This is information for newcomers to the game, so I just have to mention our DBFZ Guide for Beginners, which explains controls in more detail. Also, the essential knowledge includes DBFZ Team Composition — this guide explains who the Point, Mid, and Anchor characters are.

This raw tag technique is really the most basic one. You absolutely need to know the button for switching between characters, but if you try to do that just in the middle of a match, get prepared to be punished.

First of all, this tagging takes a few moments to happen. In such a fast-paced game as Dragon Ball FighterZ, it’s a lot of time. You don’t want your character to stand there, waiting for the opponent to land a quick hit (and disrupt the tagging).

Moreover, most intermediate+ players will see this happening and will punish your next fighter. 2H is a universal button for such situations. It perfectly hits incautious Super Dash and raw tags.

This doesn’t mean that this type of switching should be forgotten, though. The game is dynamic, and you should be unpredictable in it. Sometimes, your opponents will not be expecting anything as basic as a raw Z Change — and here you are, switching to a new character (to replenish blue health and bring a better matchup). 

Just don’t spam this thing to use the surprise factor at the best moment possible. Beyond that, other tagging techniques are much better.

Quick Z Change

This is also a technique from in-game tutorials, so everything you should do is not forget it exists.

• Press Forward and the Tag button simultaneously — Z Change happens substantially quicker. 

It’s a good technique for tagging in defense, so do it while blocking.

Well, it’s also not your safest option. You need to feel the moment when to do so and not get punished. The task is to see the opponent’s move that will cover your actions (they are not able to react with a heavy or block+a quick hit).

Z Change with an Assist

This is kind of the most obvious thing to do to make Z Change safe. Call an Assist from another character to keep your opponent busy during those few dangerous moments.

The requirements are:

• You need your three characters to be alive;
• The Assist shouldn’t whiff.

However simple this sounds, it’s not always possible. Plus, you basically waste one of your Assists. It could be used for opening your opponent up or for extending your combos, which is more important in terms of DBFZ.

Z Change After/During a Long Move | Combo Tag

Here we start something really practical and effective. It’s the same raw tag, but it becomes part of your offensive actions. You need to find a proper move to make this thing possible. That could be something like a

• launcher (2H, for instance)
• wall bounce move
• hard knockdown move
• long multi-hitting move (on block)

You land it and tag the next character. The opponent is within active hit/block-stun frames and can’t do anything — your tagging Super Dash is hitting them to continue the combo or just be safe.

What move should you use for this type of tagging?

This fully depends on your character. Lab experiments are here to help. Esports matches may give you ideas (if you are attentive enough).

To feel the thing practically, use the auto-combo (just an example; don’t mash buttons in fights, please). At some point, your character performs j.H and hits the opponent down. It’s a moment to press the Z Change button and see how the combo tag technique works. 

Also, just talk to Yamcha in the Dojo — he will teach you some important stuff about Z Change in DBFZ combos.

For extra info around proper tag combo moves, check out our DBFZ combo guide.

Ultimate Z Change — Super into Super

This is the most safe way to switch between characters, and actually, it’s a much simpler trick than everything else (including attempts to find a safe moment for a raw Z Change).

1. Land a Super Move
2. Hold the Tag button after the Move connects
3. Enjoy your tagged character appearing and landing their Super too

This could be Level 1 into Level 1 and into Level 1. Not only is this technique safe, but also, it’s essential for Adult Gohan to unleash his potential.

Level 1 into Level 3 is possible by pressing back + the Tag button

A downside of Ultimate Z Change is also here, as you need at least two bars of meter for such a tag. If you need to switch between characters but don't have enough meter, consider tagging from a normal into a Level 1 Super. It’s possible as part of the described earlier tag combo technique and thanks to the half-circle input (41236) + the Tag button. 

A normal into Level 3 is possible with the back-half-circle input (63214) + the Tag button. 

Tagging characters properly is quite important for being successful in DBFZ — yep, even one the casual level.

Info from this article should be brought to the lab and then to proper matches to become part of your muscle memory, especially the tag combo. Good luck training, and have fun playing!