Android 17 Dragon Ball FighterZ character breakdown

Today we are going to go over one of the newest DLC characters in Dragon Ball FighterZ, the world’s strongest park ranger, Android 17. We will go over his important normals, specials, supers, and his overall gameplan.

(For those unfamiliar with numerical fighting game notation, please check out this handy guide from Dustloop so you can follow along: https://www.dustloop.com/guides/bbcs2/systemGuide/notation.html)

Normals

• 2L hits low and is great for empty jumps and pokes
  
• 3H: Slide attack, can tack onto strings for an extra low like Cell
  
• 2M: Not very good with very short range
  
• Standard ki blast on ground
  
• Air ki blast locks in at a weird angle, hard to combo off of
  
• 17 can do a maximum of 4 lows in a row; 2L, 2L, 2M, 3H.

Specials

• Power Blitz: 2,2+S
  
  • Has to be charged first. Do motion again to throw orbs.
  • Beats super dash
  • Can get vanish combos after
  • Only way to get a sliding knockdown outside of launcher
  • Cannot cut charge short, need the second part of the animation. Use assists to charge during a combo. Can only be charged on the ground. If close enough, charge portion will combo
  • Good for corner combos and blockstrings
  • First orb in air goes at weird angle upwards. Ground version, both orbs go straight forward
    
• Acrobatic Assault 236+S & 214+S
  
  • Wall jump in direction of motion used
  • Can do any attack after jumping off of wall: normals, ki blast, specials, and supers
  • Completely vulnerable without assists covering you. Can be 2H’d
  • Can be done in air
  • Cannot double jump or air dash after jumping off of wall
  • Long recovery when landing, not great for lows but great for cross-ups

Acrobatic Assault, despite its appearance, is better used as a defensive maneuver than offensive due to its lack of speed. It is good for escaping the corner, but it must be covered with assists.

• Accel Driver 236+L/M/H
  
  • Rekka chain
  • Press buttons by themselves with no directional input to do mid, mid, high, low
  • Press 2 + L/M for low
  • 6 + L/M for overhead
  • 4 + L/M for fake overhead/empty jump
  • 2 + S for Power Blitz (charge or release)
  • 4/6+S for Acrobatic Assault
  • 5S to use Barrier, which absorbs one hit. Follow up attack with H to do small wall bounce that can be followed up in corner
  • H version crosses up
• Finishing Driver 214+L/M/H
  
  • Same as Accel Driver except 17 backs up first before dashing forward
  • Also great for baiting reflects

Damage on the Driver moves scales very heavy. The L versions of both Drivers are faster but with less range. You can hold a button down to stop attacking and fake the opponent out. This is very tricky with the right assists and is great for baiting reflects. You can cancel between Accel and Finishing Driver, and each new Driver you start counts as a new string and allows you to continue your pressure. Keep in mind that all S or H extensions will end your string, and you can only use each option once per string (low, overhead, etc.) But be careful because there are gaps in the overhead attack and fake out where your opponent can interrupt with an attack. Make sure to call assists to cover these gaps.

Supers

• Endgame 236+L/M or H/S
  
  • Combo ender
  • Switches side you are on and will cause you to lose your pressure in the corner
  • Can reach opponent anywhere on the ground
  • Will whiff on airborne opponents
  • Does more damage than air super
• Barrier Explosion 236+L/M or H/S (in air)
  
  • Does not switch your side
  • Better option in corner
  • After sliding knockdown in corner, can tiger knee move to do super close to the ground and not lose corner pressure. “Tiger Knee”ing a move is ending the move with an upward direction to perform the move as soon as you are in the air. To tiger knee Barrier Explosion, the move notation will be 2369+L/M or H/S. This will take some practice to get down, but will become second nature over time.
  • 17 will be invulnerable to all attacks except supers.
• Super Electric Strike 214+ L/M or H/S (air OK)
  
  • Combo ender
  • Causes a hard knockdown
  • Fast, full screen projectile
  • Will not cause hard knockdown when used high in the air, so make sure to use close to ground
  • Will be very familiar to anyone who remembers Zero’s Level 3 in Marvel vs. Capcom 3, Genmu Zero

Assist

H version of Barrier and follow-up attack from Accel Driver. Will not cause wall bounce from a distance. Will always do follow up attack. Can interrupt opponent’s attacks and can be used in blockstrings and to extend combos. It is a little slow though, and you will need to adjust your timing for blockstrings.

Game plan

Android 17 is a high-damage, high-mobility character who is designed to be a point character (the first character on your team). He becomes much better with assists to cover his offense, lock the opponent down, and cover your Driver moves and Acrobatic Assaults. When playing 17 your main objective is to get in close, make the opponent block, and force them to make a guess. 17’s biggest weakness is that he struggles in neutral without a strong projectile game and relies heavily on assists to back him up, further cementing his role as a point character. But with 17’s high damage output and strong mix-ups, he has the potential to be a high-tier character. With the right assists, 17 can create some of the best blockstrings in the game. Use fake outs, assists, and alter the timing on your mix-ups to confuse and fluster your opponent.

Synergy

Pair with assists that let you extend off of Accel/Finishing Driver and Power Blitz without meter. Full screen assists, like beams, help to make up for his weak projectile game and get him close to the opponent safely. Some of the best assists for 17 are as follows:

• Super Saiyan Vegeta
• Bardock
• Android 16
• Super Saiyan Goku
• Goku Black

That is all you need to know to get started with Android 17! Make sure to hit up training mode, practice your combos, and learn from your mistakes to keep getting better and better!