The Best Beginner-Friendly Characters/Teams in DBFZ

I remember starting playing DBFZ from the story mode matches and then cautiously moving to multiplayer. The game introduces various mechanics quite well and gives the beginners that “taste” of various fighters. But there is not too much info on who is an easy-to-play character and where I should put them in my team.

Something I got quite quickly — like, it’s obvious that Super Saiyan Goku is the most straightforward character, and he feels great in different positions and in different game modes. Beyond that, I ended up having some pretty illogical conclusions about who I like to play and who I am good with. But playing vs CPU in Dragon Ball FighterZ and being in a match against a real person are rather very different experiences. Some characters in my personal list had a much wider toolset than I was ready to actually use. Some of them weren't really able to play their team role.

In addition to that, I kind of ignored those who were not highlighted in the story. Some of them are pretty good and beginner-friendly too…

Well, I‘m not claiming the achievement of reaching the top level of mastery and everything. Still, I certainly have the direct experience of messing with DBFZ characters to figure out who gives tools for enjoying the game at early levels. And I will use it to create this guide on the best beginner-friendly characters/teams in DBFZ. 

Before we delve into the topic, you may want to learn some basics on DBFZ Team-Building — please check out this dedicated guide.

And now, let’s go!

Super Saiyan Goku — Point/Mid/Anchor

Everything is good and simple for this character. His normals are quick, with a good range and intuitive effects. His Specials and Supers also feel natural and can be used in lots of various situations. SS Goku is the best one to practice the DBFZ simplest universal combo.

Just take this guy everywhere. He’s as universal as that combo and nicely highlights the most straightforward tools in the game. 

Super Saiyan Goku may be a Point for beginners, as you start your matches with the simplest character in the game. He’s better as Mid thanks to bringing his effective assists to play. SS Goku can be a good Anchor too — beginners would certainly want to feel confident with their potentially last character fighting.

Base Goku — Mid/Anchor

Like his Super Saiyan version, Goku has a well-rounded moveset, and it’s easy to use on the beginner level. But unlike SS Goku, the Base version brings more potential difficulty and motivates you to move a bit deeper into the grappler style and into learning somewhat trickier moves (like his Super Spirit Bomb or even Kamehameha).

Assists of Base Goku are quite good to use him on Mid. As an Anchor, he has the potential to teach you how to use mixups to open an opponent up (with no hope for an assist).

UI Goku — Point/Mid

Okay, this version of Goku is not as simple and straightforward as the previous two; this is true. But hear me out. I’m adding him for one reason specifically. On the beginner-mid level, he gives you a very effective knowledge-check tool. You use his 6H and easily punish opponents (out of the blue). It works well to a specific extent. And it gives you the motivation to move a bit beyond the straightforward shoto approaches (as we want to learn the game too). The same can be said about other moves, like 236 L/M/H and those annoying jumps of 214 L/M/H.

UI Goku emphasizes a defensive fighting style. He is good at Point, as you potentially want to cover his weaknesses with Assists. As a Mid, this character will boost his abilities thanks to the meter.

The knowledge-check feature will not work against experienced players (obviously). But before you reach that in Ranked Matches, you will have time to improve your general skills with UI Goku.

Super Saiyan Vegeta — Point/Mid/Anchor

In a way, he is very similar to SS Goku (both are Shoto beginner characters), but Vegeta’s anti-air Special (214 L/M/H) requires better preciseness. He has an unusual extra move (divekick j.2 L/M) and Energy Blast instead of a more straightforward beam. These are some cherries on a generally shoto cake.

Beginners can take SS Vegeta for any position (for the same reasons as Goku). But with the skill improvement, you should not play him as an Anchor; the game offers better options.

Trunks — Mid/Anchor

He is fast as a decent ninja, and he has tools for mixing opponents up (left-/right options). This makes Trunks very satisfying to play for DBFZ beginners.

And the animations with those swords are pretty cool. They give an emotional boost with a destructive effect on the victim.

Trunks underperforms on Point, having less possibility to show off with his Assists and general tools.

Android 21 Lab Coat — Point/Mid/Anchor

She is kind of a powerhouse in Dragon Ball FighterZ, giving many effective tools for pros and for beginners. (Is she still the most hated one?)

I like her as a beginner friendly because everything seems to work for her very well. Hits link into each other. Specials land gracefully and destructively. The general feeling of playing Lab Coat is… empowering, giving you the feeling that you really can do stuff in this game. 

It’s often an illusion, though. The feeling is nothing without more practice. But it’s enough to give more motivation for that training, as she is on top of our DBFZ tier list for a reason.. Beginners have much to learn about Lab Coat, but she is still awesome. Any position is good for her.

For more advanced info on this character, check out this Lab Coat guide by LegendaryyPred.

Vegito — Point/Mid

Who needs that cautiousness when you are as powerful as Vegito? Sure, it doesn’t work like this in DBFZ (and any fighting game), but the character gives excellent tools to bring this level of arrogance into your matches. Vegito is amazing on offense, and it’s great to play him this way — from dominating normals to great specials. He is one of the best beginner characters and can still be valuable when you get more exprience.

Not everything from Vegito’s moveset is easily accessible for beginners. But it’s like with other characters from this list — you have a lot to learn, and Vegito will follow your skills growth, still rewarding from the very start. For instance, he doesn’t gain too much meter in the current version of the game, so you should be careful with spending the resource. 

The rushdown style is better for Point and Mid positions, as you would probably stick to a somewhat safer Anchor.

Tyrant gives a more detailed and profound overview of this character in his guide on how to play Vegito in DBFZ.

Tien — Anchor

This guy has strong normals to fight well on the beginner level. And his Volleyball Fist Special feels awesome to land. In addition to this, Tien’s Supers are very damaging. Would you like to have this power in your hands?

One of the good things for Tien comes from the necessity to consider the consequences of your actions, which is a very good lesson for fighting games players. Tri-Beam Supers eat Tien’s health. Using Farewell, Tien… is a one-time entertainment during a match, and Assist B doesn’t work after that too.

As for the team position, Tien unleashes his damaging potential best on Anchor. He can fight without holding back, but you sure have to be careful with this.

Delve much deeper into Tien as a DBFZ character with this guide by ApologyMan.

Yamcha — Point/Mid/Anchor

Well, this guy certainly loses his might on the top level of play, but Yamcha remains quite viable for beginners — thanks to his straightforward offensive tools. The wolf style feels pretty effective and generally cool. Yamcha may help you learn neutral and land some damaging Specials. Sure, quite soon, you will reach his limits, but you will not be the same beginner then.

One of the powerful lessons with Yamcha is that you have to abandon your newcomer ways after getting decent experience in the game. This thing intensifies with the guy, as you actually have to abandon the character (don’t have any illusions about Yamcha in DBFZ, he is weak). But also, in general, you have to change the way you play the game (careless Super Dash, skipping neutral, etc.)

Considering everything about Yamcha, you can place him anywhere on your team. His offense is good on Point. He benefits from having some extra meter on Mid and Anchor.

ApologyMan explains Yamcha much better, so don’t hesitate to check out his video guide if you are interested in this character.

Adult Gohan — Anchor

Dragon Ball FighterZ nicely implements the anime feature of Adult Gohan, when he unleashes his potential and gets significantly stronger — to fight Kid Buu. On the one hand, this growth of abilities makes Adult Gohan one of the most difficult characters. You need to place him on Anchor to reach a high level of Potential Unleashed without getting involved in action with under-developed hits and moves. On the other hand, Adult Gohan becomes a very effective fighter even on his Level 1 and 3. Put a bit of effort into learning his leveling-up feature, and you will get dominating normals, tricky mixups, and a devastating Bros. Kamehameha beam.

His Specials are kind of tricky to land. Consider that another accessible training opportunity. That can be said about the DHC feature too (a Super into a Super by another character). Adult Gohan is not the easiest one in this list, for sure, but he is one of the best for beginners to unleash their own potential.

This Adult Gohan guide by Alukard is a much better introduction to the character.

Cell — Point/Mid

This is a choice for those who like the evil side in DBFZ. Cell has great offensive tools, and knows how to protect himself. His normals have a long range. His Kamehameha offers all the advantages of a beam in this game. Cells’ Supers are versatile and damaging, making him one of the best characters even on pro esports level.

It is better to play Cell on Point, as he benefits from having an Assist to start his neutral game. But on the beginner level, this is not crucial, and you will feel his power on Mid too.

Our pro guide on Cell in DBFZ has been made by ApologyMan.

Janemba — Mid/Anchor

Unlike Cell, Janemba fully dominates neutral, helping the beginners learn this dimension of DBFZ — with one of the strongest characters on your side. With Janemba, you will learn how to deal with projectiles and Super Dash spamming — all the characters have tools against this, but with Janemba they work almost perfectly.

Good Assists make Janemba a decent Mid character. He also can bring you results as an Anchor.

Nitro breaks down Janemba in this DBFZ video guide.

Broly — Point/Mid/Anchor

He plays a grappler bully role in DBFZ, and it’s quite satisfying to direct his overwhelming might on your opponents. Broly dominates neutral, has excellent zoning options, and can just grab those impudent playing a defensive game. Broly gives the power excitement from the very beginning of your experience in DBFZ. And sure enough, he opens some deep game aspects for you to learn.

It is the meter management for him, as Broly’s damage comes at a cost. And also, Broly is big and has big hurtboxes; quick opponents will exploit that. You should learn defensive tricks even with a grappler.

You have a chance to try and master the art of comeback with Broly as an Anchor in your team. He also may bring you some initial advantage as a Point. As a Mid, Broly joins the fight having enough meter, and this makes him just terrifying. 

What about learning how to play Broly with knowKami?

As beginners, we play a fighting game a bit differently. All those frame data, okis, and tricky assist synergies come later. Being a beginner is a good period, when you can afford to do … illogical stuff, be incautious — to simply enjoy the game, feel it, and start to understand how to get better at it. The characters in this list should play their role in this process quite well — and then, you may feel power to explore the DBFZ roster and experiment with your team freely.

For more general info on the game, take a look at our Dragon Ball FighterZ Guide for Beginners.