DRAGON BALL Z DOKKAN BATTLE: How the Covering Mechanic Works

To use the Covering (shielding) mechanic in DRAGON BALL Z DOKKAN BATTLE, check your characters' passive skill descriptions for covering or damage-redirection keywords, fulfill their activation requirements, and place your shielding unit into slot 1 or slot 2 during the turn preparation phase.

The Covering mechanic allows a designated defensive unit to step in front of an incoming attack intended for an ally. By redirecting enemy strikes away from fragile attackers or utility characters, you can survive high-difficulty events without needing top-tier defensive stats on every unit in your lineup.

Activation Requirements and Trigger Conditions

Covering functions as a reactive defensive skill built into specific unit passives rather than a passive dodge or general defense stat. The effect triggers automatically during battle when its specific conditions are met:

• Passive Skill Keywords: Check character passives for explicit mentions of shielding, covering, or attack redirection.
• HP Thresholds: Certain units require your team's HP to drop below or remain above a specific percentage before the shield triggers.
• Ally Pairings: Some covering skills require specific category allies or linked partners to be present on the same turn.
• Turn Limits: Specific unit passives may limit covering capabilities to early turns or activate them only after a set number of turns have passed.

If these requirements are not met during a turn, the Covering mechanic fails to activate, leaving vulnerable allies exposed to incoming enemy attacks.

Rotation Placement and Tactical Positioning

Because enemy attacks hit specific board positions, turn setup dictates how effectively your covering unit protects the team. Position your units during the selection phase based on enemy attack density:

• Slot 1 Placement: Ideal for high-density attack phases or pre-attack boss strikes. Setting your covering unit in slot 1 ensures they intercept early hits before vulnerable slot 2 or slot 3 units act.
• Slot 2 Placement: Best when enemy attacks cluster in the middle of the turn or when your slot 1 unit has strong baseline defense but lacks redirection utility.
• Protecting Support Allies: Pair low-defense support units (such as orb changers or stat buffers) with a covering unit to keep support utility on the field without taking fatal damage.

Maintaining active Link Skills between your covering unit and their turn partners is also critical. An un-linked covering unit loses valuable stats, making their damage mitigation far less effective against hard-hitting bosses.

Mechanics Limits and Support Item Management

Covering mitigates severe individual attacks, but it does not grant complete team invincibility. Understand these operational limits to prevent sudden run failures:

• Multiple Super Attacks: A covering unit may absorb the first major strike of a turn, but secondary attacks or subsequent super attacks can still defeat your remaining rotation if their base defense is poor.
• Item Stacking: Use defensive support items like Whis alongside covering mechanics during multi-attack turns or when HP activation conditions are dangerously close to failing.
• Fail-Safe Strategy: Treat covering as a supplement to defense stacking and damage reduction items, rather than a total replacement for baseline team defense.