Dragon Ball FighterZ Tien Guide featuring ApologyMan

Like some other Dragon Ball characters, Tien Shinhan made a transition from being Goku’s rival to becoming one of his closest friends. We met this guy in the original anime, and then Tien participated in other series and many games.

He has quite a charismatic personality. Tien is honest and loyal, dedicated to his training, and motivated to continually strive for perfection. He is quite a guy to choose for your DBFZ team.

Of course, being a good hero is totally not enough to win matches in fighting games. It’s mostly about how you use Tien in Dragon Ball FighterZ. And there are not many better ways to improve your skills in that regard than practicing with an esports pro player. With such as ApologyMan, who has created this awesome video guide on how to play Tien.

ApologyMan is known for his many Top 8 placings at major DBFZ tournaments. And also, this guy knows a thing or two about other fighting games. For example, he placed second at the Guilty Gear -Stive- section of Red Bull Kumite. After that, DashFight published quite an interesting interview with him — please, check out our conversation with ApologyMan here.

Anyways, this post is about Tien Shinhan! Let’s watch that guide already.

Dragon Ball FighterZ | Tien Guide by ApologyMan

Tien’s Best Buttons in Dragon Ball FighterZ

According to ApologyMan, some other DBFZ characters have more great Normals than Tien. Still, the pro player mentions these attacks:

• 5M — it’s Tien’s best poke and one of his most important buttons. If you space it, the attack is -2, and it’s -4 in general. 5M has a 9-frame start-up. It’s fast and has a nice range. If it’s blocked, Tien’s 5M moves the character a bit backward. If the move is landed, it deals very good damage. 
• 5S — it’s another important button on the ground to play a safe game with Tien. It’s a quick projectile with a 12-frame start-up. While having the meter, you can confirm this 5S into Tien’s combos. With proper spacing, you can follow 5S with Volleyball Fist cancel. Also, you can go into Dodon Ray.

Best Special Moves of Tien in DBFZ

ApologyMan states that Tien is a pretty basic character overall, and his special moves reflect this. 

• Light Volleyball Fist (236L) — a decent lariat-style poke that hits low. ApologyMan reminds of the possibility to use this attack after 5S, mentioning also Assists in such situations. It’s -5 on block.
• Medium Volleyball Fist (236M) — it goes full screen, having a bigger start-up. Check out the series of attacks after it on the video. Some Assists help to build combos around Volleyball Fist.
• Dodon Ray (236S) — this attack is great in the air as Tien continues falling while shooting the blast of energy (similar to Krillin’s air Kamehameha). You also may freeze Tien in the air by holding down, but ApologyMan does not recommend that. Dodon Ray with Vanish might be a response when the opponent starts shooting multiple ki blasts. J.S combos into Dodon Ray.

Tien’s Assists

In this section of the guide, ApologyMan explains which Assist he considers the best.

• A Assist, Dodon Ray — it’s a really fast beam Assist with a 29-frame start-up. It’s good for a neutral game to cover your ground approach. It’s also a protection from the opponent’s actions. Still, Dodon Ray as Assist has 20 frames of block stun, which is short. One of the advantages is the visual explosion that kind of hides Dragon Rush. ApologyMan highly recommends this Assist.
• B Assist, Telekinesis — it calls Chiaotzu to immobilize the opponent for a short moment. It’s +40 on block. The tracking feature does not always work properly, though. It can be used with a beam-type special or a full-screen option. It has a lot of block and hit stun. If you’ve killed Chiaotzu with Tien’s Level 3 Special (Farewell, Tien…), you will not be able to use this Assist anymore.
• C Assist, Volleyball Fist — ApologyMan doesn’t recommend it. Tien lands his auto-combo. It’s an OK Assist with good block stun, and you can have some good mix-ups. 

Tien’s Pressure

EX Volleyball Fist is an important part of the offense game for this Dragon Ball FighterZ character. It is a command grab on the ground. It is good to throw in if you condition your opponent with Dragon Rush or cross-up j.M.

Air EX Volleyball Fist is really good because it comes out so fast (13 frames) and has armor. If done properly, it’s unreactable. This attack is especially good with the Sparkling. You need some practice with it.

Medium Crane Strike — Tien performs his knee attack and then pops up a little bit, so he can get his air dash out. You can do a 50/50 with it, which is very difficult to block.  

Tien has a really strong pressure, and it leads to a lot of damage. 

BnB Combos for Tien in Dragon Ball FighterZ

Combos of this character are not very complicated. ApologyMan shows a couple:

• Corner Combo

5L> 5LL > 5M > 2M > 5H > 5L > 5M > JC > J.M > J.LL > J.2H > JC > J.LL > J.S > SD > J.LL>J.S> J.214 L > 236LM

• Combo with EX Volleyball Fist 

5M> 2M > 5H > 236M > H > H > 2M > 5M > JC > J.M > J.LL > J.2H > JC > J.LL > J.S > SD > J.LL> J.S > J.214 L > Vanish > Dragon Rush

Please, check out the details of Tien’s combos in the video. 

Gameplan with Tien

Tien is usually played in the Anchor position. His neutral game is not the strongest. His power depends on the meter (for example, to perform EX Volleyball Fist). 

On the Point position, Tien damages himself with his Level 1. This damage is less in the Anchor position (no damage at all with Sparkling). 

Tien is an amazing robbery character. ApologyMan explains some tricks of making a comeback with Tien.

So, it’s time to start practicing the advice from this video guide!

Do you want to expand your knowledge of other DBFZ characters? We have quite a few pro guides, such as on Cell by ApologyMan, Janemba by Nitro, and Jiren by Coach Steve.

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