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Characters inDragon Ball: Sparking Zerohave varied movesets that reference their time in the series, made up of attacks, grabs, specials and skills. The skills cost the aptly named skill points to use, a resource that grows over time and that is also used for characters to transform and fuse.
The game may have over 180 characters for you to choose from, but you don’t have to remember all their skills to be good at the game. Several of them are repeated throughout, and knowing the best (or most commonly used) skills can help you pick a main, or counter what everyone else picks.
Paralysis
Getting stunned in any game can be costly, but in Sparking Zero,it gives your opponent an openingto unleash their ultimate attack.This skill often has a large tell,but with a bit of armor attached, making itlethal for players that rush inand smash buttons without paying attention.
If you want to make the most out of this skill,nearly all Frieza forms have it, often named Psychokinesis. It’san unblockable skillthat only costs two points, letting you catch your opponent even when their defenses are high.
Attentive players, however, will have an easier timedodging the attack, or simplygrabbing you out of it; besides, the stun only lasts for three seconds.A better version of the skill, present in characters like Chiaoutzu or Goku as a Super Saiyan God, canstun for five seconds. It can be blocked, but it does open up far more avenues of counterattack.
Solar Flare
Solar Flare blinds your opponent briefly, making their screen brightly white andremoving their lock-on. It isn’t as effective as the paralysis skill when it lands, butit is far easier to land it, and it also costs only two skill points.
You can use the skill asa set-up for a combo, or justspam it to throw your enemy off guard. Several fighters that have Solar Flare don’t have transformations, so spending two skill points on blinding your opponent can often certainly give you an edge.
If you’re subjected to Solar Flare, you aren’t helpless;you’re able to still move and attack.Blast attacks that cover wide areas or eventhe Explosive Wave skillwe’ll cover later are good ways to deal with it, butyou can always just fly awayif your opponent doesn’t immediately begin a counterattack.
Regeneration And Sleep
A lot ofonline matches have a time limitfor the fight to take place, after whichthe total health of both players is comparedto decide a winner.Strategies revolving around stalling outyour opponent are only viable thanks tohealing skills like Regeneration and Sleep.
All regenerative abilities cost four skill points, except for Yajirobe’s Senzu Beans, which cost six.
Sleep is tricky to use, since, as you may expect by the name,your character takes a moment to nap.Successfully performing the animationheals your character up to 30 percentof their total health, as well asgiving them a full ki bar, so it can be devastating to let someone Sleep in the middle of a fight.
It is fortunately easy to counter the Sleep skill sincea simple ki blast will interrupt it, butthe Regeneration skillis far more punishing.It heals between 40 and 20 percentof your max health, depending on the character, andthe triggering animation is significantly faster, although you may still interrupt it.
If you want to try these skills for yourself or be on the lookout for whoever can use them,here are the most popular characterswith regenerative skills. Some of them have unique names but do the same thing.
30 percent heal and max energy
20 percent heal
Instant Transmission
Chasing your opponent down is crucial in Sparking Zero, mostly due tothe size of the combat arenas.You’ll often be sending your opponent flying through the air, having to do a follow-up chase to keep the pressure up, giving them plenty of time to react.
Being able toinstantly get to where they areis a powerful tool, one that Goku is very well known for using. This teleporting skillis often called Instant Transmission, it only costs two skill points, and does exactly what you expect:teleport you right next to your opponent, often behind them andmaking them lose their lock-on.
A lot of Gokus have this ability, making them reliable characters as well as difficult to shake off. Many other characters have the skill as well, and it isn’t always called Instant Transmission: it’sDimension Shift for Super Janemba, andTime Skip for Hit, just to name a few examples.
Explosive Wave
If you’rehaving trouble getting your opponents off you, then you shouldfocus on defensive skillsthat push them away.Explosive Wave is ideal for this, being simple and to the point:you send your opponent flyinga short distance, being able touse the skill even when being hit, and letting you start your combo.
Many characters have this option, so you don’t have to worry about little variety when wanting someone with Explosive Wave.Nearly all versions of Vegeta have it, as well as Jiren and a few Androids, although the skill has different names for them.
Sincethe skill only costs two skill points, it is a great tool to rely on in most situations. There areversions of the skill that cost three skill points, and while the difference might not seem like much, spending that much on Explosive Wave makes the skill feel much worse.
Afterimage Strike
We have already gotten over the value of defensive skills, but there’s a set of skills that, unlike Explosive Wave, becomepassive protection for your characterduring a short period. These skills areWild Sense, Afterimage, and Afterimage Strike.
Wild Sense and Afterimage arefairly average skillsthat let youdodge a single attack, although that is something you may do either waywith proper timing and enough ki.Wild Sense has you dodge a single melee attack and then counter it, while Afterimage lets you dodge any single attack.
The most powerfulof these passive defenses by far is theAfterimage Strike, hence whyit costs three skill pointswhen the other skills cost two. It makes youdodge all attacks except ki blasts for 15 seconds, letting you perform nearly any combo without fear of repercussions.
It ishard to counterit beyond stalling for the duration, but thankfully,the skill tends to be given to fairly weak characters.The biggestexceptions to this are Zamasu and Vegito(Super Saiyan), the latter being extremely dangerous as it packs the damage and health expected from a fusion.
Instant Sparking Charge
When you’re playing with friends or against the CPU, you’ll often haveplenty of time to charge up your ki, either because you’re just playing for fun or because inexperience makes both sides apply little pressure. In normal matches, however,it is rare to just let someone charge up, let alone reach their Sparking charge, since it opens up the possibility of an ultimate attack.
Certain characters don’t need to wait long to have a full ki bar, like the many Gohans in the game. The real powerful skills, however, arethe ones that take you into full Sparking mode, often onlycosting you three skill points.
Many variants of this skill also buff your character in some way, so read each one carefully.
The name of the skill is oftenan iconic phrase of the character, and it is present in far too many to list. In all cases,the effect triggers rather instantly, leaving no room for your opponent to interrupt the effect, having to instead deal with your powered-up Sparking state.
A few key characters to watch out for regarding this attack, other than the many Gokus, areAndroid 18 and Captain Ginyu.18 because the skill makes hercircumvent her inability to charge up, and Ginyu becausehis ultimate makes players switch bodies, making it one of the most dangerous ultimates in the game.
