Overview
v.0.41: Having a rough time? Not the best at fighting games? Check here for some basic info to help get you started. Also has info on step cancels, dash vanishing, instant rise, etc.Added: DLC info, undocumented techniques, more tips n tricks(WIP)
What is this guide?
~~Intro~~
This is to help people get into Xenoverse!
Combat is deep and can be pretty confusing, and overwhelming at first.
Don’t worry! It’s a lot of fun!
This FAQ is half for newbies to fighting games and half for newbies to
Xenoverse.
Everyone should get something out of it, though!
Hope it helps.
~~~~~~~~~
~~FYI~~
I play Xenoverse on PC, on a decent computer.
I use an Xbox One controller via USB.
I work full time so this FAQ will be updated whenever there is time.
~~~~~~~
Keywords and Basic Abilities list
This section details certain words and phrases that are used when discussing
DBXV combat. Some are general fight game terms, some are unique to Dragonball
fighting games, some are new to Xenoverse. I use these liberally so I define
them here. Read them all! It might help! I’m not going to define things I
think are intuitive like “combo” and “chaining” or generic video game terms
but everything else should be included.
All definitions herein are assuming the player is using an X360/X1
controller.
((aura dash))
Flying with an aura around you by holding LT and the analog stick in a direction. Consumes stamina. Your combos change depending on whether or not you begin attacking while aura dashing. Also just “flying”.
((cancel))
The ability to stop one attack mid-animation and combo-chain it into another
attack. Most supers and ultimates can be combo’d into from a cancellable move.
Only certain moves are cancellable; sometimes depending on character.
((charge attack))
Performed by holding down the Y button. Breaks through guard and staggers an
opponent, leaving them open for further comboing. Usually part of a normal
combo.
Certain special moves can also be charged, like the Kamehameha. Other moves require other inputs, like mashing the button (Light Grenade) or input on the analog stick.
e.g. XXY(hold) is a charge attack as part of a normal combo (charge normal). It
is pretty common to almost every character.
((clashing))
A clash is when two characters, without input from either player, perform a
quick series of attacks against each other, similar to the show. This occurs
when two players hit each other with a similiarly-powered normal at the same
time. It restores a ki bar to each player.
((combo starter))
Sometimes just ‘starter’. Initial attack of a combo.
((dash))((evade))
LT+analog stick. You can do a quick evade by throwing the analog stick
quickly, or you can hold down both to fly fast, consuming stamina. Combos
change depending on whether you start them when you are dashing or not.
Throwing forward on the analog stick and pressing LT will close you in on
your opponent very quickly. Quick flight is also called “aura dashing”.
((evasion skill))
Referring to a skill you equip, activated by holding RT+LT and pressing A.
Usually takes a lot of stamina, but can escape from almost any attack.
((finisher))
A special move that “completes” a combo, usually not allowing for further
attacks during that chain.
e.g. Using a Kamehameha after a launch/knockback, when timed correctly, will
continue the combo. However, your opponent will be too far away to keep
attacking it (usually) and you cannot vanish out of a super to continue the
combo that way either. Thus a Kamehameha is usually used as a finisher.
((guarding))((defending))
LB, L1, or E.
Stamina drains at a reduced rate to health. You can be thrown when guarding. Tapping A while taking a hit while guarding will vanish you behind your opponent. Doing so will take 1 bar of stamina, as opposed to taking 2 bars when NOT guarding.
((guard cancel))
A guard cancel is tapping the guard button (LB) during a vanish normal. Doing this resets your stance and permits you to restart your combo. Good for mix-ups.
((instant rise))
This is done after a knockback by holding the dash button (LT) after getting knocked back and tapping A to recover once you hit the ground, but only if you hit the ground. You will fly upwards a good distance. Very quick recovery time.
((knockbacks))
A combo normal that will send the opponent flying. Usually followed by a
pursuit or vanish to continue the combo.
((launch))
B+Y. Can also be used during dash and can replace most Y attacks in normal
combos. Strong attack that will always knock back the opponent. Tapping the
A button after a launch will activate a pursuit. Launch attacks are not quite
the same as knockbacks, though they have basically the same effect.
((mixups))
A mix-up is deviating your attack pattern from its norm to confuse your opponent. A good combination of moves is the most effective kind.
((normal))
A regular attack, usually the X and Y buttons.
((normal combo))
A combo using only normals (the X and Y buttons). Differs character to
character.
((perfect guard))
Perfect guarding is tapping the LB at the precise moment of impact when being
attacked. This knocks back the opponent and restores a good amount of ki. VERY
difficult to pull off.
((pingpong))
The act of swatting an enemy back and forth with knockback attacks, either by yourself or with other players.
((pursuit))
Either tapping the A button to initiate an auto-pursuit after a launch, or
following a knockback attack with L2+analog stick to fly quickly and continue
the combo before the enemy recovers.
((skirmish))
The brief period where you and your opponent are actually next to each other
fighting.
((snap vanish))
Defensive vanish. Many attacks, but not all, can be snap vanished or ‘snapped’.
There is a way to force a snap vanish by throwing the analog stick in a direction along with LT and A when you are being attacked. When you force a vanish in this way, it does not consume stamina, however, it is difficult to perform and doesn’t always work.
((step cancel))
Some combo normals can, instead of allowing the combo to continue, be reset by tapping LT to dash forward at the precise moment of the end of a certain blow.
Check the advanced combat section for example step cancels.
((super))
You can equip four super attacks. These can be anything from a ki charge
ability, a melee combo attack, the Kamehameha, Solar Flare, etc. Usually easy
to combo into.
((throws))
Throws are actually pretty important. A guarding opponent can easily vanish behind you when taking an attack, While a throw’s animation can be interrupted, For clarifications sake:
To throw, press the ki blast button (B or circle) while guarding. (Guarding is LB/L1.)
((ultimate))
Ultimate attacks have a very slow activation time. However, they do massive damage.
They CAN be comboed into (technically), but your combo will certainly break and you will likely miss your opponent. Be careful using these!! Also, you will not be stunned when attacked when activating an ultimate. Instead, your stamina will drain at a reduced rate from your health. If your stamina is reduced to 0 in this way, you’ll be staggered and stunned without completing your ultimate attack.
((vanish))
A button when being comboed or after a launch/knockback attack. The
disappearing evasion/teleport move common to DBZ. Usually places you behind the
opponent. Takes 2 ki bars. Easy way to continue combos.
Vanishes can be forced by tapping A when holding towards on the analog after a quick dash with LT. Check the advanced combat section for more info. This is also called a “dash vanish”.
((vanish normal))
A vanish that is a part of a character’s normal combos. Can be cancelled.
e.g. Female Majin’s dash+XXXXX combo has two vanish normals, where she kicks
the opponent back and forth. Immediately following either vanish, you can, for
instance, fire off a kamehameha to finish the combo.
Combat and Combo Basics
Read this, really!
I can understand how, especially for people who have never played a tournament-
style fighting game before, Xenoverse can be extremely unintuitive at first.
The tutorial does a good job of giving you all the information you need, but
not in a way that you can cohesively understand, especially for your first
time.
Xenoverse combat is more or less broken into skirmishes. This is due to the
size of the battlefield and the speed at which the characters move back and
forth. This also gives it a closer feel to the show, where opponents would
square off for a brief period (well, several episodes of DBZ amounts to a
couple seconds in XV).
It’s a common mistake by many players to simply use ki supers over and over
(for instance, kamehameha as a super saiyan or death ball with Android 18’s
infinite ki soul) because they’re powerful. However, most of them are easy to
dodge. Many super and ultimate attacks can be avoided simply by moving aside,
some can be snap vanished, and others can be defended against. Beam attacks,
especially, are terribly ineffective at long range. You never want to waste ki! It’s
hard to get back!
Luckily, we have combos. Usually super attacks can be comboed into as
finishers, giving you instead of a 20% chance to hit your opponent, a 100%
chance! Isn’t that neat?
The hard part is starting the combo.
Learning how to appropriately use a starter, linking into a lengthy combo with
several chunks using launches and vanishes, and then a finisher is the key to
maximizing damage output. Every character is different, remember! You need to
learn their normals and specials very well to keep that combo count high!
The best reference there is is pulling up the combo list from the in-game
pause menu. It’ll give you a display of all the normal combos that character
has, including which ones can be charged. It won’t tell you which, if any,
are normal vanishes, and which are knockback attacks: that’s up to you to
figure out and learn on your own by playing.
So, the best way to start practicing is to learn those normal combos and how
they behave; which normals can be cancelled, which of your supers you can combo
into from what normals, etc.
Usually, a combo will start with a couple weak attacks (X), go into a heavy or
two (Y), and then finish with a super (RT+button). The trick is getting that
first attack to hit. In other fighting games, especially Street Fighter, there
was a technique called a jump-in. Jump-ins meant you jumped behind your
opponent and landed an attack on their back hitbox, away from where they were
guarding, allowing you to continue with a combo once you landed. In Xenoverse,
you have a number of techniques available to initiate the skirmish, but keep
in mind your opponent is doing the same thing.
A more ki oriented character would attempt to initiate the combo with normal B-button ki blasts. At the right range, a quick dash can take you in for a knockback and ki blast finisher combo.
A trick that usually works on the computer is to dash around him in a circle
to get him to start an attack, then dash in with an X-button attack to initiate
a combo. Players will do all kinds of things like use teleport skills, fly
right at your face, shoot you from across the arena to stun you, etc. These
techniques may work, they may not, the important part is getting in there and
being the one to start the combo, because unless you have 2-3 stamina bars,
once a combo starts its hard to get out of it. You just have to grin and bear
it.
Thus, Xenoverse combat tends to revolve around a mind-game of sorts to initiate
a skirmish and then finishing it as effectively and powerfully as possible. Not
only is combat intuition important, but so is knowing the game system, AND your
character.
The knowledge of your opponent is effective too. How much ki does he have remaining? How much stamina? Normally, if you’re confident, a lengthy melee skirmish can drain your opponent’s stamina, but yours as well. Drain attacks can be particularly effective at controlling your opponent’s resources. Keep in mind your opponent’s defense when planning your next attack.
If you still can’t figure out what to do, look on YouTube, particularly the
Bandai-Namco channel for dev-made combo videos. Hang in there, and remember the
combo system is only as good as you want it to be – there’s tons of room for
play and freedom, but you need to get CREATIVE! Good luck!
Advanced Combat
There are a number of techniques that can be utilized to increase your effectiveness in battle.
-Step Cancels-
Step cancelling requires precision and speed to do properly, but it can be a massive advantage to melee-oriented builds. It’s basically a free combo reset on certain combo normals. Instead of continuing the combo as normal, you hold towards your opponent on the analog and tap LT at the precise end of a certain normal. Your character will dash forward and will be within range for a split second to continue/reset the combo. This is a bit faster than guard cancelling from a vanish and can result in slightly stronger combos but it’s harder to do.
Example step cancels (confirmed for male Saiyan and female Majin):
At the end of aura dash+XXXX, tap forward and LT and immediately X…
At the end of XXXXXYY immediately after the launch….
At the end of YYYYY… (this is much easier for male Saiyan than female Majin)
(Female Majins can also step cancel after their X…YY normal launch, but I find that this is only effective as a mixup against someone defending or as an evasive move. I have not been able to successfully pursue like this.)
-Forced Vanishing-
Forced vanishing is not documented anywhere in the game, but you will notice occasionally some players or NPCs will dissappear for a moment and become invulnerable, and might move in another direction. It also requires zero stamina.
This is not Illusion Fist and it’s not a defensive snap vanish. It’s a forced vanish within a dash move. They are very tricky to perform, but you can evade many attacks with it.
After dashing TOWARDS your opponent by tapping LT and forward on the analog, after a brief pause (1/4 to 1/2 of a second) tap the A button. Note that you can’t be flying or “aura dashing”, you must be doing an ordinary dash. If you perform it correctly, you will vanish for one second, as if you were “jumping” through the air. You can alter your trajectory slightly after doing so. The “jump” aspect is important, because you can land an attack by tapping X or Y as if you were doing a normal jump.
This move is very, VERY effective in PvP where people are either a) unaware of it or b) enjoy spamming very large ultimate attacks. With practice you can become a master evader.
-Launch Pursuit-
The launch attack using the B and Y buttons simultaneously is quite powerful. Don’t be surprised if you cancel out your opponent’s attacks frequently when using it. After a successful launch, tap A and you can easily trail your opponent. The interesting thing about this method is that the pursuit attack you land by pressing X is a single tap attack that will reset your stance, allowing for a full basic combo. Normally, a dashing pursuit attack (X while flying with LT) has a different, shorter combo.
-Continuing Combos-
Any opponent, generally speaking, can escape your combo easily with 3 bars of stamina and decently with 2 bars; 1 bar if you’re being silly and attacking a guarding opponent. The objective therefore becomes a question of how to deal the most damage possible to an opponent before they get a chance to recover. Here’s a brief outline of how to maximize your combos.
1. The jump-in: Be aware that even though its easier to confuse your opponent by changing your direction for an effective starter hit when aura dashing, the aura dash combo is shorter (thus weaker overall) than the basic combo. However, it has two vanish+lateral knockback moves which are easy to guard-cancel. The downside is that it takes four hits to get to the knockback/vanish – valuable time your opponent is regaining stamina. The aura dash+Y knockback move can be a very effective jump-in as well, since it can be followed-up by a vanish, easily continuing the combo.
2. The mix-up: You need to ensure your opponent can’t recover after you start your combo! If you’re not sure if your opponent has stamina or not, you’ll need to throw in a mix-up to keep them from snap vanishing your combo. Knockbacks are difficult to snap vanish. Timed charge attacks are difficult to snap vanish (and impossible to block – plus they kill your stamina bar). A blocking opponent can’t block throws. An opponent using a charge attack can’t be staggered, but they CAN be thrown. In general, a wide arrange of moves is much more difficult to dodge and counter than using the standard XXXXXYYY combo over and over.
3. The finisher: Depending on your move set, you may need to launch a super earlier or later in the combo. The important part is getting the timing down to ensure that you will connect. The fifth hit of the XXXXX combo, or most YYs seem to be easily comboable with most supers. Supers can not be snap vanished, only with escape skills can you avoid them. Knockbacks also take a minute to recover from; a vanish or proper persuit can continue the combo.
4. The wake-up: Wake-up is the moment when the enemy gets off the ground after you knock them down with a combo. If your opponent has remaining stamina, he/she will quickly hop-up after touching the ground, or recover mid-air (this is done by tapping A), or fly up immediately after touching the ground (by holding LT). If your opponent does NOT have remaining stamina, or it is recovering, they will simply hit the ground. This is a key opportunity. If your opponent has stamina remaining you should stay back and possibly launch a long-range ki assault as they recover. If they do NOT have stamina, you should increase your offense and close in, taking advantage of their lack of defenses. Depending on the fight, if you have the ki, you may simply want to position yourself properly and fire off an ultimate.
Good luck!
-Guard Breaking-
By holding down the Y button, all characters can charge their attack to perform a guard break attack. These can be combo’d into, and are noted by the Y with the blue circle around them in the Combo list. Certain skills, as well, can break through blocking opponent’s defenses.
When comboing a blocking opponent, you’ll notice occasionally the “flash” that occurs when your strike lands becomes red instead of blue. If this happens, continue your assault! It means your opponent’s guard is almost broken, and it’s time get in there.
-Finishers-
A beam attack or otherwise fast-moving ki strike is an excellent finisher after a knockback. After the standard 5-hit normal combo (XXXXX), the enemy is usually staggered enough to chain into a super: in addition to beam attacks, any strike super works well in this case, too. Note that after the super or ultimate’s animation finishes, you are unlikely to continue the combo.
-Vertical and lateral movement–
Position is important in Xenoverse, not only for you, but for your enemy. If your position isn’t quite right, your combo may not connect successfully. Knockback normals, vanish normals and slams will reset your character’s position so that you may continue comboing as normal.
In multiplayer, your opponents position becomes doubly important, since you and your allies will always be knocking them in different directions. To be effective, you need to be quick and accurate with your rises and falls so that you may launch an effective attack when the opportunity arises.
-Recovery on wake-up-
After being knocked back, it takes a second to recover. If you have any stamina remianing (as in, green bar, not grey), you can tap the A button to do a mid-air stop. Holding a direction while tapping A will make your character tumble in that direction.
Alternatively, if you are being knocked to the ground, whether by an overhead smash attack or by a powerful knockback, holding the dash button (LT) and then tapping A as you touch the ground will make your character rise up very quickly as soon as they make contact. This is a very effective wakeup evasion. It gives good distance, is fast, and doesn’t take stamina.
Skill- and Soul-specific Tips and Tricks
The Solar Flare skill can be comboed into, and it stuns your opponent if
you’re attacking head-on, leaving them open for more combos.
Destructo Disc is unblockable. For a measly 1 ki bar you can almost always start a combo.
Gravity Impact costs ki, but you will not flinch when activating, and it almost always guaruntees a knockback. It also cancels out most ki blasts, including supers.
The Mirror Image skill costs 0 ki or stamina. If you time it right, you can
avoid almost any attack in the game. It takes up a super slot, but you may
find it worth it.
Similar to Mirror Image, Instant Movement costs 0 and can permit you to travel long distances very quickly. It’s also good for mix-ups.
Many skills, like Kamehameha and Light Grenade change their effect depending on button input.
Meteor Strike can drain up to 3 bars of ki, doing 30 hits simply by holding down the button. this appears to have been nerfed to 2 bars of ki for ~18 hits.
X20 Kaioken gives you infinite stamina and vanish usage. If you have high stamina, consider strongly using this skill as you are nearly unstoppable with proper vanish timing and combo knowledge.
Shining Friday is a crazy good touch-range ki attack that is easily comboable from any Y and is chargable up to 12 hits. Super deadly for a hybrid melee build.
Shining Slash and Burning Slash can be a deadly combo for humans and saiyans. Shining Slash functions just like Instant Movement with the vanish technique that comes when you hold down the button. You can warp across the entire map like this. Burning Slash can be comboed into extremely easily, and if you tap the button after execution you get a powerful ki blast knockback. While there are only two sword skills, and you can get bored of them pretty quick, they’re still decent.
Evil Whirlwind is deceptively strong. While it can’t be comboed out of everything, it can be comboed from most vanishes and has a terribly powerful knockback with good damage. A male saiyan can execute it from their XYY uppercut or any class from their full combo’s final up-vanish.
General Tip: Be careful when trying out new souls!! This game has a spotty translation, and many souls depend on or affect KI and STAMINA. Unfortunately, in the Japanese version, “stamina” is “ki” and “ki” is “technique” so there is a high probability that if your z-soul doesn’t do what you think it does, it’s because the translation is off.
Also, don’t get too caught up in flavor-of-the-week z-soul-centric builds. Certain Z-souls are broken and either have already been or will be fixed. Don’t be afraid to use a z-soul you think is effective for you.
S-Stoooooop!!! procs often enough to be useful. Never underestimate the power of a quick and free paralyze.
I’m an android is deadly for a defensive build Namekian.
You don’t understand girls!! is an extremely useful soul that just gives a flat bonus to stamina regeneration. It can make a low-stam build suddenly a stam build.
I’ll turn you and your planet into space dust! does crazy damage. A ki blast/health build can outdamage most things with this Z-soul and Gallick Gun.
Wow! Look at you! How cool! is a good alternative to Gohan never forgives evil! if you want the auto-gaurd boost but with a different pose/buff move.
Haaaaaaaaa!!!, Tien’s Z-Soul, gives you immunity to any attack with “kamehameha” in the name. No further explanation needed. (You need DLC pack 1 to get this)
FAQ, Recognition, Thanks
Q) What’s in DLC pack 1?
A) Tien and Yamcha as masters and their associated quests and skills, 4 quick Time Patrol (story) quests, 3 parallel quests, 3 playable characters, and a pack of z-souls, costumes, and accessories.
Q) What is currently broken? (March 15th 2015)
A) Certain skill and z-soul combinations are very overpowered (one shots in cases). Certain Ultimates are still very difficult to evade, making PvP difficult for non-Saiyans. Practice dash vanishing!
Q) I wanna be a Super Saiyan!
A) If you can’t get it to drop off of the parallel quest, wait until you clear the Android Saga in the main story. You can then purchase it from the skill shop for 100,000z.
Q) I can’t connect to the servers!
A) You can play offline! Just restart Steam or your console in offline mode.
Q) My special effects and ki effects are disappearing!
A) Try turning off VSYNC and setting rendered frames to 60. This works for some, but not all.
Q) I keep crashing on the multiple fat Buu fight!
A) Try not inputting anything on the controller or keyboard as you defeat the last of the first three Fat Buus. This fixed it for me.
Q) Does the PC version REALLY look better than consoles?
A) Heck yeah it does. I played Xenoverse on 360, PS4 and XB1 before the PC
version came out. The PC version surpasses them all by a LARGE MARGIN.
Q) Are there lots of hackers?
A) I haven’t seen any, but some reports are that they exist. I am assuming they can’t get into multi lobby, but are still able to host rooms and things.
Q) Is there any way to get the day 1 / pre-order DLC? (SS4 Vegeta, Silver/Gold battle armor)
A) Nope, sorry! Bamco might be nice enough to release it later, but as of the writing of this guide there is no other way.
Q) How do I throw?
A) Press the ki blast button while guarding!
Q) Is there split-screen co-op?
A) No. Only 1v1 offline.
Q) What’s your favorite Dragonball game?
A) Xenoverse. After this, Attack of the Saiyans on DS and Budokai 3. DIMPS
is awesome. (Believe me, I’ve played em all)
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**RECOGNITION AND THANKS**
Dragonball is trademark and belongs to Bandai-Namco and Funimation. While the
content of this FAQ is written by me, I do not own or gain profit off of
anything related to Dragonball.
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Version 0.3
More coming soon, including class- and skill-specific combo lists.