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Bandai Namco and Spike Chunsoft have detailed a major new update for Dragon Ball: Sparking! Zero ahead of the release of the Dragon Ball DAIMA Character Pack 1 and 2 alongside Shallot from Dragon Ball Legends. The patch introduces a new stage, major combat balance adjustments, DP Battle changes, and a long list of gameplay refinements across multiple modes.
The update also makes substantial changes to movement, Ki management, transformations, and character balancing. Some fan-favorite fighters have received buffs and nerfs, while several battle mechanics have been reworked to improve responsiveness and overall match flow.
Patch Notes
Update Information
- Update scheduled to launch on May 26, 2026 at 8:00 UTC
- Maintenance scheduled from May 26, 2026 between 8:00 UTC and 10:00 UTC
- Ranked Match and Custom Battle: World Library unavailable during maintenance
- Update released alongside:
- Dragon Ball DAIMA Character Pack 1 & 2
- Shallot from Dragon Ball Legends releasing on June 27
Supported Platforms
- Nintendo Switch 2
- Nintendo Switch
Version Numbers
- Nintendo Switch 2: Ver. 2A013.012.003.009.011
- Nintendo Switch: Ver. 2013.012.003.009.011
General Changes and Adjustments
Stage Updates
- Added the new First Demon World stage
Single Battle Changes
- Characters that previously recovered health after transforming will no longer heal
- Transforming with Skill Stock now grants a permanent attack increase buff
- Attack buff is removed when reverting transformation
DP Battle Adjustments
- Increased balance differences between character DP values in all online and offline modes
- Team battle rules remain unchanged
Feature Changes and Adjustments
Battle Rules
- Total DP in DP Battles can now be set to:
- 10
- 15
- 20
- Settings are now retained after the game ends
Character Select Screen
- Added a display toggle feature
Options
- Added ability to switch audio quality for certain combat sound effects
- Added battlefield boundary display settings
Game Mode Adjustments
Episode Battle
- Adjusted difficulty for some stages following battle system changes
Custom Battle
- Rebalanced several Extra Battles
- Added new 2D cut-ins and text
Battle System Changes and Adjustments
Skill Stock
- Slightly reduced auto-recovery speed
Short Dash
- Reduced Dragon Dash recovery time during Short Dash
- Players can now perform a second Short Dash immediately after movement begins once per sequence
Ascend and Descend
- Increased close-range movement speed
Rapid Ascend and Descend
- Increased Ki consumption
High-Speed Dragon Dash
- Improved rush attack connection timing
- Reduced Smash attack charge time during use
- Adjusted trajectory to better reach opponents directly
Z-Burst Dash
- Reduced initial Ki cost
- Ki consumption now scales with travel distance
Melee Attacks
- Increased Ki recovery on hit
- Reduced attack direction misalignment after Step usage
Rush-In
- Fixed guard interruptions during rush attacks
Rush Chain
- Rush Chain can now activate against auto-dodge abilities including:
- Goku (Super), Ultra Instinct
- Whis
Rush Ki Blast
- Reduced damage
- Increased scaling penalty on consecutive hits
Smash Ki Blast
- Reduced damage for spread-type variants
- Added deflection support against Ultra Instinct Goku Smash Ki Blasts
Guard-Breaking Smash Ki Blasts
- Can now be high-speed evaded
- Slightly reduced homing performance
Perception
- Cannot be used during guard stun
- Increased follow-up timing window
- Increased Ki activation cost
- Increased Skill Stock requirement from 1 to 2 for Smash Attacks and Rush Chain
- Follow-up attacks can now be charged
Super Perception
- Improved buff strength and duration
- Added slight Ki recovery when deflecting blasts
Ki Blast Deflection
- Improved responsiveness into Smash attacks
Guard Break
- Fixed Guard Break inconsistencies
Super Counter
- Disabled automatic Ki recovery during use
Tornado Slash
- Fixed unintended guard interruptions
Short Dash Attack
- Improved attack flow
Stun-type Smash Ki Blast
- Increased Ki consumption
- Enabled Revenge Counter from frontal hits
- Opponents are now knocked away after two hits instead of becoming paralyzed
Sonic Sway Attack
- Fixed unintended guard insertion issues for certain characters
Blast Attacks
- Reduced Blast and Ultimate Blast combo damage
- Reduced consecutive Blast damage
- Extended Blast Impact input timing
- Prevented diagonal Blasts from being nullified against beam attacks
- Standard-sized character charge Blasts now damage giant characters while knocking them back
- Increased rapid-fire Ki Blast damage
- Auto-evasion skills can now evade unblockable charge-type Blasts
Ultimate Blast
- Reduced combo damage scaling penalty
Auto-reflect
- Now restricted to DP 7 or higher characters during Sparking! Mode
Other Gameplay Changes
- Increased auto-recovery speed for the first Ki gauge
- Adjusted battle camera behavior between giant and standard-sized characters
- Reduced accidental throw inputs during aerial combos with Classic controls
- Adjusted timing before character switching becomes available
Skill Changes and Adjustments
Buff-type Skills
- Increased effect duration for skills such as:
- Saiyan Spirit
- Pump Up
Turles: Fruit of the Tree of Might
- Increased stat boost effect
- Added Ki recovery effect
Sparking! Mode Skills
- Defense is now temporarily reduced after activation
Afterimage Strike
- Ends if the user is hit by a Super Counter
Dyspo: Super Maximum Light Speed Mode
- Added effect icon display
- Reduced Short Dash Ki consumption during activation
Full Ki Recovery Skills
- Defense is now temporarily reduced after activation
Kale: Cry of Rage
- Increased activation time
Character Changes and Adjustments
Giant Characters
- Reduced rush and smash melee attack damage
- Increased recovery time on missed attacks
- Increased melee damage received
- Reduced backward Short Dash speed
Master Roshi, Mr. Satan, and Yajirobe
- Reduced Ki recovery speed
Dr. Gero and Android 19
- Super Perception against beam and projectile Blasts now triggers Sparking! Mode
- Removed stat boost effect
Ultra Instinct Goku Variants
- Increased cooldown between Smash Ki Blast usage
Dr. Wheelo
- Reduced maximum Skill Stock count
Nappa
- Reduced health
Recoome
- Reduced health
Spopovich
- Reduced health
Gogeta (Super), Super Saiyan God Super Saiyan
- Reduced Smash Ki Blast damage
- Reduced Smash Ki Blast homing performance
- Increased stationary Smash Ki Blast power
Whis: Symphonic Destruction
- Can now be high-speed evaded
Future Trunks (Super): Final Flash
- Increased Ki cost
- Increased damage
Super Trunks: Finish Buster
- Increased damage
Other Fixes and Improvements
Flying Kicks
- Adjusted hit detection
Battle Rules
- Fixed Ring Out issue where leaving boundaries would not trigger elimination
Stability Improvements
- Improved usability and overall game stability
Dragon Ball: Sparking! Zero launched on October 11, 2024 for PlayStation 5, Xbox Series X/S, and PC, followed by Nintendo Switch and Switch 2 versions in November 2025. The arena fighter features a roster of more than 180 characters and highly destructible battle environments.
Have you noticed these changes? Share your thoughts in the comments!
