As appropriate for a Dragon Ball Z game, Dragon Ball Z: Kakarot will employ a basic leveling system where players earn experience through fighting. Defeating enemies and completing tasks will reward players with experience in DBZ: Kakarot. Gaining enough experience results in a level up that leads to stat increases for HP, Ki, attack, and defense. Both the player’s chosen character and their support character will earn experience in battle and can level up.
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Experience levels are just the first of several progression systems in Dragon Ball Z: Kakarot, however. Secondary to experience levels is the skill tree, where Goku and friends will earn new Super Attacks and scale up their current abilities. Skills are unlocked by earning Z-Orbs, which are spread throughout the various open world sections of Dragon Ball Z: Kakarot. Players will have to explore to learn new abilities, just like Goku had to when he was young.
At certain points in these skill trees, players will be barred from further progress until they complete a training task. These training tasks involve fighting certain combinations of enemies, as well as acquiring another consumable called D Medals. D Medals are spread throughout the world much like Z-Orbs, but are considerably rarer and harder to find. Goku and friends can use the first-person ki searching ability to hunt these rare rewards down.
Finally, it seems like Bandai Namco is taking a chapter out of Monster Hunter World’s book for progression. Dragon Ball Z: Kakarot will have a robust food system that offers its own progression. Not only does food offer temporary stat bonuses to Goku and friends, but it also offers permanent bonuses. No wonder Goku was constantly eating. Food can be found throughout the world, cooked at camps, or made by chefs in cities or other locations.
Expect more information about Dragon Ball Z: Kakarot and its progression systems in the weeks to come.
Dragon Ball Z: Kakarot releases January 17 on PC, PS4, and Xbox One.
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