Defense 101 - DBFZ Tutorial Tips & Tricks

[@RathFGC]

I'm noticing a few people saying that this video might be less useful soon, since Dragon Rush will change slightly in season 3, but don't worry! The topics I chose to go in-depth here are important for any season of DBFZ (and any fighting game in general, actually). The lessons learned here apply perfectly even with the slight DR changes. (Thanks for watching my videos, as always! The support has been great from all of you)

[@frankphillips1743]

Yeah they're adding tic-grabs

[@xvgreen8586]

I was saying this

[@giraoshaw]

Turns out the change only makes this video more important as DRs have been sped up

[@xvgreen8586]

@@giraoshaw yes but they seem slower

[@perilous7316]

Why do u look like ur naked in ur profile picture?

[@iamspeed403]

All y’all that mash, mash reflect, and wake up buttons need to see this vid. Literally no one online plays defense on this game. Like a lot of players have great offense but once u get them in a sliding knockdown situation, their LAST option is to block the mix

[@gojirasaiyan3256]

I am Speed word. Online is superdash heavy, and only 2/10 fights for me are actually really fun because my opponent will take a mix up and play defense, so both of us can play the game.

[@PseudOni_]

Well I mash on wake-up as a guess sometimes, especially when I know the opponent got a particularly sh!tty sliding knockdown that's hard to meaty after.

[@gojirasaiyan3256]

PseudOni me too, my biggest pet peeve is when someone delays their wake up, and wakes up with reflect 😡

[@Bardock_Obama]

I don't know man, I play plenty of people online who block a lot and don't simply mash reflect or buttons. What rank do you play at?

[@gojirasaiyan3256]

Rio Gutierrez ssj rose

[@god_lushen8128]

I watch this everyday before playing rank, thank you Rath for you have taken me to SSJ rose Now I'm a Pride Trooper 😊The sky is the limit!🔥 A God of Destruction now🐐 You better listen to Rath Sensei

[@Lara777xD]

Yeah sometimes we forget it

[@jonlocke4443]

I’ll still kick your ass

[@god_lushen8128]

@@jonlocke4443 If you got a ps4 we can run it.

[@jonlocke4443]

《Lushen Axeed》 The Cooler King Bet SOUL_VENGENCE93

[@god_lushen8128]

@Giorno Giovanna He didn't accept my Request.

[@copilots3159]

"how do i block that mix?" "Get hit by that mix.....a lot. Learn what the mix looks like."

[@ividboy7616]

But that suuuuuuuucks

[@SnackCannon]

I feel like a large majority of people who play this game really needed this video. I've fought so many players who fail to realize the options they actually have, and do really stupid shit either out of habit, or simply because they're panicking. I think the most important part of this lesson is the emphasis on WHEN to do a thing, and not just HOW to do a thing.

[@bg-cc6hn]

High quality as always. Appreciate the explanation on what a fuzzy mash is since I have heard the term used more of late

[@inkpup1976]

Thanks for this. Honestly. Its crazy cause ive always wanted to be better at fighting games. In all aspects. I'm an advocate of "rank doesn't equate to skill" but I can say I have spent less than 5 hours total in training mode on dragon ball. I still dont understand everything all that much but I made it to living legend rank by sheer trial and error. Ill even ask for a teacher

[@Ed_Crane]

Hi Rath, just wanted to say that amongst all the fg channels I watch, you're by far my favorite. I love your content, so thank you for putting it out and have a good day. Now lets watch this

[@zenzosp]

Hey m8, hope you're having a nice day, thanks for the lessons

[@neevko267]

this video might be 2 years old but god damn is it helpful something I struggle a lot in fighting games is the lack of feedback, or just being unable to understand what I did wrong This video already helped me pick up on some of my habits thinking about my recent matches, especially the whole "thinking about reacting before actually reacting" It's rough getting better, but I've already noticed myself getting slightly better every time, I'm a "fool me once, shame on me, fool me twice, shame on you" kinda person, if you catch me off guard with something, I'll be looking for it the next time, the problem is, this game is so fast paced, you can hit me with the same overhead 5 times and it'll take a 6th for me to realize what's going on

[@CandyBlueSky790]

okay but everything is a coin flip when ur playing with frame delay on defense

[@vmox7453]

Not everything, besides 2 or 3 frame delay is not a big deal against nonpro players.

[@Bruh-7]

Laughs in 19 frames delay

[@Bruh-7]

Chaotic Evil Monk ikr I cant even combo proberly

[@34_Conflict]

I know this is old, but you do know you can turn on frame delay in training mode. I practice with 4 frame delay.

[@LOSTGAM3R]

wifi warriors and console babies don't know how to plug in an ethernet cable

[@MrFlip2247]

This was really an insightful video. Defense is always kind of scary but this broke it down into something easy to digest and make it less scary to understand.

[@shade9200]

This was all what I needed to improve my defense, thanks for the vid!

[@tako_shop]

you’re a legend brother. you’re the man

[@Phasmania]

Your vids are great. Concise, to the point, well edited, and informational. Hope your channel blows up one day (context is important for that last sentence)

[@supersaiyantravis6962]

Holy hell, more people need to see this video(or not lol, it'd make my life easier). These tips are great, especially how they call out all the natural Instincts and thoughts of someone trying to figure out defending on their own!

[@Matthehuman]

I get so hyped when I see you’ve uploaded

[@zigguratdafoo]

I feel like I knew all this already. Still refreshing to see though

[@eddiebutler9233]

Oh okay XxMegaGamer2007xX

[@alecsiszuniga1297]

Bro, I find this video for a KZbin suggestion, and you actually help me so much. Thx for that and nice form to explain, bless you.

[@rakunbuncit2324]

i swear everytime rath upload a vid it's always a treat

[@MGSBigBoss77]

Your videos of this game are insightful stuff man! very intelligent and well put discussions in every DBFZ video you post. You certainly come across as another cool person out there, besides maybe few others like; Desk, Xiao or Zed596 who make cool ass stuff around DBFZ! Well done playa.

[@gupgupgupgup9790]

I watch the feet and the green stuff, usually works fine to react to most things.

[@antoinecroes8510]

i bought dbfz 2 days ago and all of the sudden i get recommended all of these videos

[@thekoolaidman6983]

Love the videos. Even if I already know all this from the first time watching this, its always a great video to rewatch as a refresher as well.

[@SpaceO2]

Love this video, I definitely recommend it to any one who needs to work on their defense including myself. However with that being said, when it comes to online defense; it’s an entirely different situation. (At least one my opinion). Especially with the current net code piled on top of input delay. I can’t count how many times I see a string coming to block low/high and I still get opened up. Literally makes no sense. Also when it comes to punishing on your end, that delay can really cause a disaster for your punishes, mixes etc.

[@MrFlip2247]

So I'm not crazy? And I actually am blocking high when I get hit by an overhead?

[@fredbanditt7087]

The jabbing out of empty jumps is good to know, dont know why i never thought of it

[@rodimusprime8616]

much appreciated lesson ~i want to improve on this first and foremost before i just go hopping into being aggressive. results may vary but you gotta start somewhere

[@Lara777xD]

What i really like about fgc is that everyone has opportunity, if you are good enough you can win

[@dcfighter14]

Perfect I just went on break at work, love your videos man

[@zlpriime]

Learning your defensive options before your offense is probably the best thing I can tell someone. I just poke out of people’s stagger pressure most of the time which forces them to either commit completely or try to bait my poke but even then the only real things that can punish me are supers and DPs because I can just vanish during my poke. Staggering isnt the best tactic, as some think, anymore. I dont poke every time just when I know someone is staggering alot. I respect people’s turns but when they’re staggering then I punish them for trying to extend their turn.

[@ronsonaquino8532]

Always anticipating your vids :) I learn a lot from them! Thank youuu

[@jackshepherd17]

Nice video as always! 💪🏻

[@tjlewis7868]

That last tip tho 👌 didn't think about that

[@hrmkone235]

You do really nice videos, thank you for all this!

[@Wolfflybynature]

fuzz blocking is a thing....insightful!

[@gabrielmelendez-oppenheime37]

you are a beast. please please please keep doing these once season 3 drops :)

[@psyonicpanda]

The discord sound at 6:04 xD

[@MasamuneNinjo]

Good notice

[@molina1345]

If you press dragon rush While guarding you still guard, so techincally you could just Mash The Button until you tech it

[@Hokag3Chrisku]

This was so needed

[@coolperson4283]

LIT!!

[@YellingVoiceDude]

Great video, thanks!!

[@SUPERSONIC100123]

very useful vid, thanks!

[@Killercombodude1]

Season 3 hype

[@kuukuusings9641]

Dude I love your stuff

[@kuukuusings9641]

But somehow i suck so bad yet I'm an orange square and it suuuuuckkkksssss I'm always scrambling and dropping lol

[@ken-yo2hz]

Yoooooo that BEAT

[@shira2151]

Why would they think or react when they can just mash with the best mashing characters in the game? ArkSys truly needs to crackdown and nerf this kind of player. The player wont change, he will mash and choose a team to emphasize his mashing. The other big problem is mashers only care about "winning", not enjoying the game or learning. If they are not winning its not fun. So if they do pay attention to this video, they'll try to block but soon as the person opens them up enough times they'll say "Fuck it, back to mashing" A mashers defense is (note that all these defensive tools are offensive or focus on defense that steals the other persons turn) -Auto Combo -Raw Tag -Guard Cancel -Mash -Up Tech Mash Light - Delay wake up Mash Light - DP - DP to counter super if you have UI Goku -Assist - Some EX move they think is a DP

[@Kingdes121]

These are great tips! What parts of defense will you go more in depth about🤔

[@RathFGC]

Thanks Desmond!I think I will wait until after we have some time with season 3 to decide what feels most important to cover next.

[@Kingdes121]

@@RathFGC Good point! I never thought of that. Anyway I love your content so keep up the good work

[@michaelehaverstock]

I just picked up the game and am getting my ass kicked. These help so much and I'm having a lot of fun learning

[@prabhaspenumatsa6935]

thank you very much

[@4lexflp]

This is like ultra instinct theory in a nutshell

[@unholyrevenger72]

i wish we could download a combo from online to practice against or practice in-putting, just to build the necessary muscle memory.

[@FirstDegreeGaming26]

I feel like this is the last step to truly upping my game. Those upper ranks basically hit me at will with all the dam cross ups and mix ups and shit. Super frustrating

[@ndk4]

I am a defensive player and i managed to reach Majin rank. No fancy combos, rare level 3s. Mostly just spam 24 and 26 h, few level ones

[@MrUriel95]

This video: you have to not think and just react. Whis: am i a joke to you.?

[@TaigaGalette]

GL on reacting to tick throws son cya ina week

[@Kaio_Kid]

I came to learn defense, but left with self awareness.

[@ggmasterguiltygear6315]

This video was helpful, but what about the auto-correct combos that switch sides and reward mashing mid screen?

[@freddienomoto]

Thanks for this video! I’m one of the young DBFZ players who has an Elite BlueGeta/Gotenks on Keyboard (ikr?). Defense has been a struggle for me because my reaction times do suck, matter of fact. However, I have a mighty offense. The thing is, I wanna learn more about my top 2 characters and I heard that people might pick them up in Season 3. So, anyways, can you make either a BlueGeta 101 or Gotenks 101 Videl next? Thank you so much! If you’re on PC, you could coach me sometime

[@Lunar_Eclipse27]

My defense in this game sucks LOL. I rely so much on reflect, vanish and Guard Cancel to avoid pressure because I personally can't handle it and it's that way for all fighting games I play. When put in a situation where I am dealing with an opponent's pressure I get too nervous because I know if I make one wrong guess I could be punished and potentially lose a character so I try to avoid that scenario entirely which ends up being a bad habit since my opponents always pick up on it.

[@kelvinmonteiro6485]

Man sometimes i get fckd by people mashing dr on every occasion, people that always tryna input 6m after any hit, left & right situations, hellzone supers that completely blinds you, people that's always mash grabs, and recently 6m in spark goddam this stuff is crazy, and the fact that i don't usually use reflect when it's important or guard cancel or d.r. but that my reaction time that needs to be strong

[@ShardTown]

basically a lot of this comes down to "learn the matchups"... which is really hard in this game since you potentially have to learn the strengths and weaknesses of 3 different characters that you dont play.

[@jevzhy3653]

sir in every fighting game you have to learn matchups.

[@jaedenmarshall9154]

You have to learn matchups in every game, in this one I find it a bit easier tho, as there are quite a few characters that you really don't need to be afraid of when blocking, vegito blue, goku black, blue vegeta just to name a few (those characters have like NO solo mix and whatever mix they have is very unsafe)

[@ShardTown]

I know you have to learn matchups for every fighting game obviously. I'm saying for something like Tekken (which is hard as fuck), at least once you know the king-heihachi matchup, that's it you know the matchup. But with dbfz, you learn the cell-trunks matchup but that's only a small piece because you still have to lab how cells weaknesses may be covered by his teammates or how his teammates weaknesses are covered by him and how trunks in particular should handle it and all that is a whole other level

[@shalamar2671]

You know what would be great? Adding player-generated block strings that would be saved into a database. Then anyone could practice against any blockstring.

[@MrFlip2247]

Or combos that you can upload to the ai

[@AhmedZwawininja]

Something that i wish i can do in training mode is having all dlc unlocked in it I really wanns figure out the way to get out of ZBroly command grab but i dont have the dlc Idk why do they not do that

[@jaedenmarshall9154]

Broly main here, z broly's command grab is as simple as avoiding any command grab, you jump, the only problem is broly's command grabs, (especially the light version) are fast as hell, but he can't do the light version in a normal block string, my best advice is to say try and recognize when z broly delays the end of his block string, he's probably setting up for a command grab, or if he uses a low blockstun assist.

[@AhmedZwawininja]

@@jaedenmarshall9154 ikr , the thing is i know "what" to do but im not used to it Like if a broly does that my head is like : jump out of it , but my hands aren't used to doing that if you get me

[@skittlz111]

can u make a video on recording/setting up these scenarios to practice or at least some common ones?

[@RathFGC]

I have been thinking about a video along those lines actually. It won't be my next project but it'll definitely happen at some point.

[@electro806]

F2p’s wanting to know how to counter dbs broly’s grabs: 😬

[@PurpleBoy420]

Literally every player-MASH

[@MikuCobraCole]

What about a team building guide for season 3 based on new assist types and new mechanics? I'm having troubles to setup a final team (my main is Gotenks, I run him on mid position, I added Goku blue as point but damn, I find hard to do block strings) I'm a little lost 😭 Edit: been trying a17, looks cool but his gameplan its so different compared to the rest

[@transmath]

Me I m facing block drop issue with my DS4 - Dpad, most of the time my defense drop when I switch between crouching and standing gard.

[@CasteHappy]

I strongly recommend watching this Sajam video about the mental stack: kzbin.info/www/bejne/baTJd4CCadV0mLs Which talks about a twitter thread: twitter.com/TheKeits/status/1171418257154330624 It's about this kind of situations 1:39, and why newer players are overwhelmed by having too many options when they can just priorize a couple of moves or strategies and build from there.

[@xmtiaz]

Besides new assists opening up completely new team comps, what else do u think will shake the game up the most?

[@MrKickassFTW]

Imtiaz Ahmed half bar ex

[@cerejadoll]

What is a 50/50? I saw a thread on Reddit about it, but it didn't make sense to me

[@gabrielmelendez-oppenheime37]

would it be weird to do a rejump concept video? i feel like it's and odd concept, but every character can do it, i just don't know wheeen i should just be patient and recognize he'll be stunned for enough time for me to rejump..... i can't think of someone better to explain it

[@asaari1088]

Why do Goku and Gohan switch places in Gohan's level 3

[@rodrigodelarosa2561]

Can we fuzzy tech too?

[@RathFGC]

Yup! Delaying a button to tech specific dragon-rush timings while beating other options is pretty common. I think fuzzy-tech options will be slightly weaker in season 3 though, since there will be more possible times where you'll have to consider dragon-rush as a possibility (since tick grabs will be a thing)

[@NerroEXTV]

HOW DO U DO THAT SIDE SWITCH AT 6:54

[@RathFGC]

I made a video all about that specific thing. Look for "escape the corner with this simple trick"

[@NerroEXTV]

RathFGC thank you so much!

[@prototypeAleks]

:)

[@jj-oo6oi]

The current problem is that there is too much characters in the game for the beginner to memorize. By the time the beginners gets to a decent level, we would probably have a new game since bandai namco is under obligation to produce a new dbz game every year and since the last game release is a rpg game then next year we will have fighting game, most likely dbfz2.

[@RathFGC]

Luckily, you don't actually need to memorize every move in the game in order to defend well. People eventually pick up on patterns that hold true for almost every fighting game that will help them intuitively defend against new things. Like how overheads are often airborn, or how command grabs have their opponent's arms wide open. Also, concepts like keeping track of whether your opponent used a double jump, or the "fuzzy" defense shown at the end apply to a huge range of games and probably DBFZ 2 if that is released someday.

[@jamestaylor7045]

When is the streaming schedule ?

[@RathFGC]

between my engineering classes and my internship, I don't have a consistent enough schedule to plan my streams out far in advance. I'm pretty random with it for now

[@jamestaylor7045]

RathFGC I gotcha , best of luck with all that man

[@panaceanfrequency]

Suggestion: You’re using FGC terminology in an intro video. Perhaps include explanations for what some of these terms are. People new to Fighting Game probably don’t know what MixUps, Punishes, or 2L refers to.

[@DeathmentalPvP]

evwee wun has habbits 4:15

[@andrewgrime8389]

Just don't find yourself in a situation where you have to block. Simple.

[@kevinmartinibarra2222]

Is not that simple.

[@xthelegionargamingx6030]

Awww yes thats perfect advice I’ll never have to block in this game

[@andrewgrime8389]

@@xthelegionargamingx6030 No problem. I'm happy to help. (:

[@poloinsane9481]

a quick mash like and sub from me great video

[@white-ts5np]

Who the hell is disliking this????!!!

[@gamingpanda9546]

Oh man this might’ve been an unfortunate time to upload this since dr got confirmed to be changed majorly like it can cancel normals

[@RathFGC]

Not a problem. I don't think any of the advice in this video changes as a result of that. I tried to keep everything in this video very general and focus more on how to improve a defensive mindset, rather than how to beat specific things that might change in Season 3.

[@gamingpanda9546]

RathFGC yea you did that very well in the video, a great guide as always man!

[@void_kitsune9381]

Make a guide of kid buu rath fgc please

[@chaoticstarfish3401]

I play on a 50" TV and regularly get 4 frames of delay online. It's actually impossible to react to anything

[@jaedenmarshall9154]

It's possible, just REALLY REALLY HARD, try expecting something to happen, and what I mean by that is prepare yourself for the option based on their current habit, for example (he might dragon rush) but don't tunnel vision to the point where all you look for is the dragon rush

[@chaoticstarfish3401]

@@jaedenmarshall9154 I've tried countless times. Even if I know with like 90% chance the opponent will dragon rush, I still can't react. Just the TV delay is enough to mess me up on that, let alone online. Maybe I'm just bad.

[@viniciusrosa8209]

I feel you.

[@sawano9321]

I don’t think breaking dragon rushes is possible on more than 0 frames, I was playing with my freind and legitimately pressed the button a split second BEFORE he did and I still got hit by his dragon rush

[@Shad-OW18]

am i the only one who is fine with blocks until 6m's come into play?

[@lukadelic4697]

moi je préfére les chiens

[@TitanGenericGod]

Offense 101 pls i suck

[@gabrielarthur9129]

It's sad that I can't record dlc characters ;-;

[@dbfighter1983]

Record Blue Goku then, he's a good one to practice with.

[@Tomi-berry]

Just use ginyu S defence tool lol

[@NickLycos]

I don't even play this game lmao why am i here

[@Ace2k12onxbox]

Well Dragonrush got changes so this is an oof

[@BaronSterling]

What changes?

[@Bardock_Obama]

@@BaronSterling You don't have to delay your inputs to do A DR after normals. For example, right now you can do 5LL, delay, DR. If you hit DR too soon you'll just do another normal. A new change in season 3 is that you can do 5LL, DR. It comes out a lot faster. Everyone has a tic throw now.

[@BaronSterling]

@@Bardock_Obama Where's this information coming from?

[@Ace2k12onxbox]

@@BaronSterling they did a stream on some Japanese streaming service but it's all true

[@Boi-qk8uq]

Yeah but then u have the millions of impossible to react to mixes like 18’s ex 17 mix where u literally can’t see a thing, not to mention 90% of the time ur guard cancel is gonna get punished cus it’s the easiest thing to bait out in the game. Honestly once ur opponent gets u in a mix unless ur some reaction god ur gonna get hit every time. Blocking in this game is ass.

[@dbfighter1983]

The mix you brought up is with only 1 character that almost no one plays online. They have already taken almost all other 50/50s out of the game and buffed defensive options. Stop asking for defense to get buffed again.

[@clickbaitpolice9792]

I feel this game is asking too much from players though. Defence is incredibly difficult. You have to look for too many things at one time. And there are plenty of 50/50s. Reactions can only get you so far in this game.

[@MGSBigBoss77]

Its the exact same with; MVC2 & UMVC3, Various Guilty Gear games, KOF titles, and any Super Smash Bros games. These Vs fighting games wouldn't be so chaotic yet fun if they didn't have those 50/50's in'em. Yes, point blank, reactions can only take you so far in this game, agreed! (shrugs)

[@blueberryblues5644]

U_U If it helps, you only have to worry about one character at a time! Assists yes, but one character can only open you up so many ways with assists. Learn what a character can do and try to think what your opponent would (or should) be doing, and you’ll be able to do what you need to do to prepare. Kid Buu’s buu ball is the scariest thing ever for me, so as long as I’m never at that angle, or am blocking/ reflecting if I am, I avoid getting hit. And if you can never get hit by buu ball, congrats your matchup win % against kid buu just skyrocketed. Prepare for broly to grab you. Prepare for Yamcha to left/right you. And on some players, prepare for the level 3 on incoming or wake-up. Think ahead.

[@truediamant777]

Dislike: he called dbfz "a fighting game" instead of the art of fighting

[@jhonathancampos3687]

The fact the this game has a strat called 50/50 that half the time you'll be right is the dumbest shit I've heard

[@dbfighter1983]

All fighting games have that. In DBFZ, most 50/50s have gotten nerfed and there are very few 50/50s anymore.

[@jelaninoel]

TLDW: there are tons of things to look out for and every player is different so best to have great reactions. I swear these “helpful” videos all boil down to the same conclusion smh

[@RathFGC]

Actual TL;DW: -learn to improve how you react (don't accept "bad reactions" as fact) -When you know a 50/50 is coming, either guess or spark. Don't autopilot heads every time on the coin flip. -take note of what your opponent does, so you can be ready for it next time or lab it in training mode later -introduction to fuzzy options (delaying defensive options to beat multiple offensive options, so you don't have to react/guess in certain situations)

[@jaedenmarshall9154]

You clearly didn't actually watch the video my g