Dragonball Z Budokai: 3

Androids 17 & 18 

FAQ and Game Guide
------------------------

{contact and copyright}

Kostia (vine_violet@hotmail.com)

This FAQ may not be reproduced under any circumstances 
except for personal, private use. It may not be displayed
on any web site or otherwise distributed publicly without
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strictly prohibited, and a violation of copyright. 
The following websites have permission to use this FAQ:

http://www.neoseeker.com/

{---{--{-{Version History}-}--}---}

Pre-finished: Submitted on Dec. 21, 2004. 
I'm not going to arbitrarily title it v.1.0.1.1 or 
something when I honestly don't have a numeric measure of
how incomplete it is. The only thing that is missing is a
list of combos and some death move info. 
Check back for that later.

Pre-f. 2: Submitted on Jan. 2, 2005.
gullstore@yahoo.ca has pointed out to me the
possibility of using Krillin in #18's Accel Dance under
special circumstances. I have confirmed this, and I will
research this to the best of my ability. And I still 
haven't finished the combos section, 
but I will when I have some spare time. 
{Note: visit http://www.iguides.net/mov_dbz3_top10b.html
in order to view footage of #18 and Krillin's special
version of Accel Dance.}

Pre-f. 3: Submitted on Jan. 15, 2005.
This should be the last version before I submit a
finished product (in other words, one that contains the
combo lists). In this version, I revised the Damage
on the Death Moves and Ultimates to include both the
damage when a capsule is set twice and the damage when
using a breakthrough, which is 25% higher.

Contents
--------
I.    Introduction
II.   Character Profiles
      i.   Android 17
      ii.  Android 18
      iii. In-Game Notes	
III.  Basic Moves and Combos
      i.   Android 17
      ii.  Android 18
IV.   Death Moves and Ultimates
      i.   Android 17
      ii.  Android 18
V.    Strategy & Character Discussion
      i.   Which Android is Best for Me?
      ii.  Who to Look Out For
VI.   Capsule Suggestions
      i.   List
      ii.  Android 17
      iii. Android 18
VII. Wrapping Up
      	




I. Introduction
---------------

I wrote this guide for a couple of reasons. First off,
because the twin cyborgs have always been my favorite 
characters from Dragonball Z. This gives me the chance 
to talk about them at length, which is something I don't
often get to do. 

I also feel that 17 & 18 are sometimes overlooked by
the people who play the Budokai series, as are many of 
the non-Saiyan, non-super villain characters. The truth
is, especially with the arrival of Budokai 3, characters
like the twins can put all of the others into fierce
competition, and cannot be tossed aside by a simple
transformation or two. To really appreciate a game like
Budokai 3, you have to understand the various nuances of
any character you're going to play, down to the littlest
of combos. Reasons like this make characters like the
twins very worth getting to know, if for no other reason
than to seek out the perfect set of move combos and death
moves. 

One thing this guide isn't intended to be is flashy,
time-wasting, or misleading. I'm just trying to educate,
and maybe scratch my android itch a bit. Hmmm... I don't
think I like the sound of that. But, oh well.





II. Character Profiles
----------------------

*For the record, out of all of my sources of information,
Akira Toriyama's manga takes a huge precedence over 
any language version of the show, but especially the 
English version, which not only misled many people about
power levels during the Frieza Saga and elsewhere, but
tends to fudge or get lazy when it comes to the history
of the cyborg twins. Also, learn not to trust everything
a subtitled video tells you, as I have. What I mean is,
no, Krillin did NOT wish for Android 18 to become a
human. His wish was simply became to remove the destruct
mechanisms from her and Android 17's bodies. Besides,
she and her brother are mostly human to begin with.*

i.   Android 17 // Jinzouningen Juunanagou

Power Level: 50 Million and Up
Killed: Dr. Gero
Killed By: Cell, Kid Buu (Earth's Destruction)
Revived: Both times
First Appearance: Awakened by Dr. Gero
Last Appearance: Giving energy to Goku's Genki Dama
Quote: "Run away if you want. I'll take care of the big,
bad monster."

In the timeline Future Trunks came from, Android 17 was
an evil, murderous villain who resented humans and killed
them on sight. However, because of Trunks' (and Cell's)
intervention in the "fixed" timeline, Dr. Gero proceeded
differently in his experiments, and enough of 17's 
morality stayed intact for him to remain good. On top of 
that, he was quite a bit stronger. It should be noted
that 17 was originally a human, and thus, he is not 
actually an android, but rather, a cyborg. After killing 
Dr. Gero upon his (presumably) second release from 
cybernetic sleep, Android 17, along with 16 and twin 
sister 18, searches for Goku out of boredom. Along the 
way he encounters Piccolo and Cell. After easily 
defeating Piccolo, Cell turns on Android 17 and absorbs 
him, furthering Cell's evolution. 

Android 17 would later be revived by the dragon balls, 
and left alone by the Z Fighters who previously 
considered him a threat. While he presumably kept in 
touch with Android 18 and her family, he didn't bother to
assimilate into the larger group, as she did because of 
Krillin.

One of the only known interactions he has with Goku in 
the entire series occurs at the end, when Goku asks the
people of Earth for energy for his Genki Dama. 17 is one
of the very first to oblige, and in the anime he holds 
up two nearby strangers at gunpoint to get them to do the 
same.

ii.  Android 18 // Jinzouningen Juuhachigou

Power Level: 40 Million and Up
Killed: No One
Killed By: Kid Buu (Earth's Destruction)
Revived: Yes
First Appearance: Awakened by Dr. Gero
Last Appearance: With Krillin and Marron
Quote: "I guess I should disable your other arm, too."

Android 18, like her brother 17, was a very evil person 
in the timeline that Future Trunks came from. Also like
17, because Trunks and Cell came from their timelines to
the "fixed" timeline, she retained more of her morals 
than otherwise and was made even stronger. In the
transition from 17 to herself, however, Dr. Gero decided
that he had mistakenly given 17 too much of a free will,
and far too much power to back that up, so Dr. Gero tried
to reduce both of these things in Android 18. While these
traits are very slightly diminished in her compared to 
her brother, it is clear that Dr. Gero failed in his 
attempt to produce a strong, controllable cyborg. In the
end, she retained much of her personality, and rebelled
against Dr. Gero just as willingly as 17. After Gero is
killed, she searches for Goku with 16 and 17. This trek
is cut short when Cell arrives and absorbs 17, and 18
soon after. Unlike 17, however, 18 is spared of being
caught in his self-destruction: Gohan frees her by chance
when he causes so much physical trauma to Cell that he
regurgitates her. 

Later on, Krillin asks Shenlong to remove the bombs in 
hers and Android 17's bodies to help them out... this 
begins a process (that is left unexplained) that leads 
to Krillin and 18 getting married and having a child 
named Marron. They choose to live, for whatever reason,
with Master Roshi, who was Krillin's martial arts teacher
at a young age. Because of her proximity to Krillin, 18
manages to slightly assimilate into the Z Fighter's
group, although she never really changes. 

Like 17, 18 seems to completely anull any inborn desires 
to kill Goku, which never seemed to surface for either of
them in the first place. By the end of the series, she 
has completely settled into her role as wife and mother, 
but she does not give up fighting completely: she 
competes in the Tenka'ichi Budokai against Trunks and 
Goten, who she beats out of disqualification. She goes to
the semi-finals and throws the match against Hercule for 
a huge bribe. 

iii. In-Game Notes

Character Attributes (+):
-Fight with 4 Baseline Energy Bars*
-Good power up rate (3 sec/Extraneous Energy Bar)
-Good power retention (13.5 sec/Extraneous Energy Bar)
-Above-average speed 
-Improved move selection (re: Budokai 1, 2)
-[No.17]Energy Field
-[No.17]Improvement to hit-power
-[No.18]New/Enhanced combos and stances

Character Attributes (-):
-No special transformations

*Why are 4 Baselines good? I prefer 4 or 5, because once
you have any more than that, it's fairly easy to have 6%
or more of your guard dropped for the entire fight unless
you manage your energy very well, or are so good on
offense that you don't have to worry about guarding in 
the first place. Also, by having 4 Baselines, there is
a greater potential for powerup at the MAX stage compared
to 5, 6, or 7 baselines. This is not an end-all benefit,
but certainly something to think positively about.




III. Basic Moves and Combos
---------------------------

(Please bear with me for this section to be completed. I
am a student, and a fairly committed one, so between that
and lots of other things I do, I don't always have a lot
of time.)

i.  Android 17

ii. Android 18




IV. Death Moves
---------------

"Cost" refers to how much Energy a special move will take
from your character's Energy Bar on the scouter. 

"Damage" refers to the amount of damage an attack causes
when fired at close range using a single-press command.
The order of the numbers: X // Y // Z where X is setting
the capsule once, Y is setting the capsule twice, and Z
is the attack used via a breakthrough capsule. 

"Powerup" refers to if an attack can be set twice for
extra damage. This may already be implied in the
damage reading (if there are two separate ratings).

"Efficient" is determined by X amount of Damage divided
by Y amount of Cost in Energy Bars.

"Cooldown" refers to how long the character must devote 
him or herself to the attack before he or she can move on
to a new attack or defense.

"Condition" refers to whether the character has to
transform or achieve a certain state before using the
special move.

i.  Android 17

------{Power Blitz}------

Cost: 1 Energy Bar
Damage: 250 // 312 // 375
Powerup: Yes
Efficient: 250 // 312 // 375
Cooldown: 1
Condition: Normal

PPPPE
>KPPPE
>E

17's Power Blitz is your typical 1 Bar special move, a
blue energy blast fired straight forward in a stance that
resembles Vegeta's Big Bang Attack. The move does good
damage for 1 bar of energy, and can be used repeatedly
in battle without getting rusty. However, it is best to
use it sparingly, or else your opponent will teleport
as your energy begins to drop below the baseline.

The only time we see 17 use this move is in the "History 
of Trunks" special, where he gets ready to use it on 
Trunks, but 18 stops him, wanting to take the kill for 
herself.

------{Energy Field}-----

Cost: 2 Energy Bars
Damage: 320 // 400 // 480
Powerup: Yes
Efficient: 160 // 200 // 240
Cooldown: 0.5
Condition: Normal

P>PPE
>PPPKE
<E

Energy Field is a great move for counters because it 
radiates around your character in a sphere, rather than
projecting forward. It is very wise to note that because
of its unique design, Energy Field can take a variety of
roles in close combat. The best is usually to use it as a
turnaround. When your opponent comes in for an attack, 
dodge or sidestep and wait for them to come to a 
cooldown point (that is, once they've run out of steam
and have to stop for about 1 second). At this point,
activate Energy Field, and they'll be sent flying back
with plenty of damage against them. Energy Field also
negates any worries about teleportation and beam
struggles, because it can't be invaded while it is active
and automatically removes all death moves that strike it.

We see 17 use this move (defensively) against Piccolo's
Hellzone Grenade in their battle before Cell arrives. If
such a maneuver were possible in Budokai 3, 17 would 
be nearly impossible to defeat with ultimate moves. 

***NOTE***
Besides Cell, Android 17 is the only character to have 
this move or a move remotely like it. When playing as
17, be sure to take advantage of something so unique
and practical.
**********

------{Accel Dance}------

Cost: 4 Energy Bars
Damage: 849 // 1062 // 1273
Powerup: Yes
Efficient: 212.25 // 265.5 // 318.25
Cooldown: 0
Condition: Hyper Mode

P+K+G+E

Android 17 glances at the opponent, swooping overhead
as 18 flies in. The two batter their enemy back and forth
before knocking him or her downward. 17 comments, "It was
easier than I thought," and the two fire energy blasts
together that overwhelm the opponent. This does not 
create a ruined level afterwards.

We see this move performed in "The History of Trunks"
against Future Gohan, who is killed by it.

------{Breakthrough}------

Cost: N/A
Damage: N/A
Powerup: No
Efficient: N/A
Cooldown: N/A
Condition: Set in capsule tray.

17's Breakthrough effectively places 9 capsules in his
skill tray even though 7 is the normal maximum, making
this a good option when you don't feel the need for any
Items or Equipment. The capsule layout is:

Power Blitz X3
Energy Field X3
Accel Dance X3

Normally, you cannot set a skill 3 times, which makes yet
another perk out of using the Breakthrough. When a skill
is set 3 times, it is operating at 150% damage (a skill
set twice operates at 125%). Thus, heavy damage is
guaranteed. 

ii. Android 18

------{Power Blitz}------

Cost: 1 Energy Bar
Damage: 250 // 312 // 375
Powerup: Yes
Efficient: 250 // 312 // 375
Cooldown: 1
Condition: Normal

PPPPE
>KP>PKE
>E

18's Power Blitz is your typical 1 Bar special move, a
pink energy blast fired straight forward in a stance that
resembles Vegeta's Big Bang Attack. The move does good
damage for 1 bar of energy, and can be used repeatedly
in battle without getting rusty. However, it is best to
use it sparingly, or else your opponent will teleport
as your energy begins to drop below the baseline.

This move appears to be more closely tied to Android 17
in the anime, but that isn't to say that 18 couldn't have
known it, either.

------{Destructo Disc}---

Cost: 2 Energy Bars
Damage: 400 // 500 // 600
Powerup: Yes
Efficient: 200 // 250 // 300
Cooldown:
Condition: Normal

KK>K>KPE
>PKPE
<E

18's Destructo Disc is worlds different from 17's Energy
Field. It operates at +25% Damage compared to Energy
Field, and travels further, for the same price. The only
real disadvantage this displays, by comparison to Energy
Field, is having to worry about teleporting or a death 
beam struggle. If you're a good enough player, those
shouldn't worry you anyways.

18 uses this move in one of the Dragonball Z Movie 
specials (I want to say it is #9, where Broly reappears),
as well as in the series against Trunks and Goten, who
are at the time dressed up as an adult participant in
the Tenka'ichi Budokai. 18 literally cuts them out of the
competition.

------{Accel Dance}------

Cost: 4 Energy Bars
Damage: 800/949 // 1000/1186 // 1200/1424
Powerup: Yes
Efficient: 200/237.25 // 250/296.5 // 300/356
Cooldown: 0
Condition: Hyper Mode

P+K+G+E

Android 18 taunts her opponent, swooping overhead
as 17 flies in. The two batter their enemy back and forth
before knocking him or her downward. The twins pause in 
the air before 18 drops to ground level to give a 
crippling kick to her opponent's arm.

In an alternate version of this move, 18 is joined by her
husband Krillin, and gains a nice increase in damage as
well. The only way I have found to activate this is to
power up to the MAX rating on your scouter, and to 
perform the ultimate as fast as you can before your red
energy reserves drop below 3 bars or more. Still, it
seems to be determined mostly by chance: half of the time
you get 17, and the other half, you get Krillin.

This move is not exactly taken from the manga/anime, but
serves as more of a paraphrase to the episode when 17
has to step in and help 18 fight off Trunks and other
fighters looking to save the life of Vegeta. As that 
fight goes on, we see 18 deliver the trademark kick
that finishes this move. 

------{Breakthrough}------

Cost: N/A
Damage: N/A
Powerup: No
Efficient: N/A
Cooldown: N/A
Condition: Set in capsule tray.

18's Breakthrough effectively places 9 capsules in her
skill tray even though 7 is the normal maximum, making
this a good option when you don't feel the need for any
Items or Equipment. The capsule layout is:

Power Blitz X3
Destructo Disc X3
Accel Dance X3

Normally, you cannot set a skill 3 times, which makes yet
another perk out of using the Breakthrough. When a skill
is set 3 times, it is operating at 150% damage (a skill
set twice operates at 125%). Thus, heavy damage is
guaranteed. 




V. Strategy and Character Discussion
------------------------------------

i.   Which Android is Best for Me?

Androids 17 & 18 are both worthwhile characters that a
serious player should consider pursuing if he or she
finds an affinity for faster characters with power to
match. On top of that, they're both just plain cool.

Deciding which Android suits you better was harder in
previous versions of Dragonball Z: Budokai. For one, 18's
combos were mostly stolen from 17, and the two shared
identical movesets (with the exception of Destructo Disc,
which was unique to 18 and debuted in Budokai 2). Now,
however, the task is not nearly as difficult because
Atari has worked to dispel any hyper-similarities that
hide the differences in the twins. 

Android 17 may be the better character statistically, but
I can only say that out of observation from the player's
perspective--I don't know any of the parameters that were
actually programmed into the game. 17 can match 18 for 
ki-gathering/spending, but he outdoes her in speed and in
some areas of the damage department. His superb punch
combos, for one, are a great deal stronger than hers, as
are almost every one of his simultaneous button combos.

18, however, is simply designed for a different style of
play--subtley so. While she has many similarities to 17,
Budokai 3 has emphasized many new combos that give her a
well deserved uniqueness. I find her K+G variations to 
be especially fun. The designers also gave 18 different
stances than 17, and these tend to suit her character
better than before. Lastly, she seems to have placed a
little more emphasis on a good dose of Death Moves where
17 would not be relying on them as often--this is even
reflected in Dragon Arena, where his main attribute is
Attack, and hers is Arts.

Their Death Moves should come down to a matter of 
preference. When choosing between the two on terms of
Power Blitz, it should be noted that the move does the
same damage using the >E command but 17 gains the
advantage when more complex commands come into play. 
Each has a unique secondary combo, and this may decide
who you like better as well.

17's second Death Move is Energy Field. This is my
favorite move in the entire game for many reasons. Anyone 
who practices this move enough will eventually notice its
immense usefulness and practical nature in close combat.
However, you may notice that its efficiency level seems
lower than most 2 Bar Death Moves. The designers tweaked
Energy Field to work very differently than most 2 Bar
Death Moves, and it probably would have been overkill
to have powered it up to the full stage and let it keep
all of its other advantages. Interestingly enough though,
for both Cell and 17, the skill card reads that the attack
only takes 1 Energy Bar. Wouldn't that be sweet?

18's second Death Move is Destructo Disc, and certainly
it provides the range that Energy Field does not. Sadly,
it is costly enough that you probably shouldn't be using
it from more than a few steps away from your opponent,
unless they're stalled by fatigue or something similar.
The speed is fairly good, but Destructo Disc shines more
in the damage department. Save it for a more special
occassion than you would Power Blitz, which is a more
efficient move in terms of Energy Bar expense.

Both of the Twins have Accel Dance, each with his or her
own special twist on the concept. 17's is reliably
powerful, whereas 18's, granted you meet the special
conditions, has a chance of either being a little bit
weaker or a little bit stronger than his. It will
probably be a matter that doesn't possess you to switch
between which character you like best, though.

Whichever character you decide to use more often (if you
even want to play primarily as either one of them), don't
regret your decision. They're both very good, and in a
Player vs. Player controlled match-up between the two, 
I have no doubt that the fight would be decided entirely
by the skill of the human players; neither character has
a glaring handicap in light of the other one. 

In the words of Android 17, "This game fascinates me to
no end." And in the words of 18, "Sheesh... men."

ii.  Who to Look Out For

Fortunately, this section is pretty short. The Twins
don't have a ton of "natural enemies" in Budokai, because
they are both very versatile characters and can adapt to
most any match-up with ease. And don't think the
programmers added in any special disadvantages for
certain match-ups just because of how things turned out
in the the manga/anime. Believe it or not, but when I'm
using Android 17 against Cell (human or computer) I
usually breathe a sigh of relief. I tend to beat him very
reliably.

There is one thing to consider, though: transformations.
Not necessarily for the power up benefits, but the brief
advantage in battle that a well placed transformation can
create. A good player will use this at every possible
chance. That's why I don't rejoice when I see that I've
starved someone out of Hyper Mode and they're back to
their normal stage, like Goku, because now I have to deal
with him going through each of his stages again, and if
he places them well he's going to get in a lot of free
hits. Since 17 and 18 can't do anything like this besides
max out their energy (gives brief invincibility but does
not break guard, obviously), the only thing to do is to
avoid getting too close when a character is likely to
transform. If your friend is using Goku's breakthrough,
consider the fact that he'll have 5 chances to knock you
off guard before being out of transformations, and if he
or she fails a Dragon Rush, he'll probably get 5 MORE
chances. Deny them any chance to build up more energy;
force them to actively engage you, to teleport, and then
to teleport some more. By that point they'll be running
on empty and unable to knock you off balance.

VI. Capsule Suggestions
------------------------

i.  List

First, a brief list of their capsules. Since I don't have
anywhere near 100% yet, this is an ongoing project. I'll
list general capsules first, then unique ones after for
each character.

{General Capsules}

Power Amplification System
(Attack +10%)

Special Coating
Improved Special Coating
Nanomachine
Improved Nanomachine
(Guard +10-40%)

Potential
(Attack gradually improves to +40%)

Mode Switching Systems
(Same idea as Potential, but includes Guard)
*Note: I can't get this to work, at least in practice
mode, the way it did in Budokai 2. Nothing seems to
happen after the initial increase. Any ideas?*

Last Ounce of Strength
(Health drops below 1/6: Attack shoots up)

Rage!
Rage!!
Rage!!!
Spirit!
Spirit!!
Spirit!!!
Serious!
Serious!!
Serious!!!
(You ought to know by now)

Automatic Restoration
(Damage reduced by using set percentage of Ki)

Overtension
(Slowly drain health for +30% Attack)

Gero’s Deflection R&D
Gero’s Deflect Back R&D
Gero’s Energy R&D
(You should know this by now)

Viral Heart Disease
(Both opponents slowly lose health)

Power Save System
(Reduce Ki expenditure)

Yakon
(Fighters lose Ki quickly when transformed)

Turtle Shell
(Double cost to Dodge and Teleport)

Concentration

Sparking!
Sparking!! 
Sparking!!!
Sparking!!!!
Sparking!!!!!
Sparking!!!!!!
Sparking!!!!!!!
(+% Tournament Prize Money)

WE GOTTA POWER!
WE GOTTA POWER!!
WE GOTTA POWER!!!
WE GOTTA POWER!!!!
(+% Dragon Experience)

{Specific}
Android 17: Androids' Goals
(Ki expenditure reduced in Hyper Mode)

Android 18: Marron's Wish
(Ki expenditure reduced in Hyper Mode)

[NOTE: Asterisks after a capsule denote the number of
spaces a capsule takes up. If none appear, the space the
capsule requires is 1.]

ii.  Android 17

17 should be the character who goes on a kind of hit and 
run offense, not a tank by any stretch; at least, that
has been my experience. For this reason, I would say not
to waste any time with +Guard % capsules on him. Nor do
I see him as the kind of character you'd play with a
second chance item like a Senzu Bean, mostly because
17 was meant to get the job done right the first time.
The only item capsules I could suggest would be the brief
power burst capsules; you might want to use them just
before a Dragon Rush or Accel Dance.

Here are some various mods for 17:

Damage
------
Energy Field
Energy Field
Accel Dance
Accel Dance
Potential**
Power Amplification System
--OR--
Breakthrough

Efficient
---------
Energy Field
Energy Field
Accel Dance
Accel Dance
Power Amplification System
Power Save System**

Knock-out
---------
Energy Field
Accel Dance
Accel Dance
Potential**
Paozusaurus Tail**

iii. Android 18

My feeling about 18 is that she does better as a cancel
combo user than a vanilla hit and run like 17, but that
doesn't mean your capsule approach should change that
much. One thing you can readily decide, though, is which
of her Death Moves you're going to want. Unless you
feel like you really need both (you don't), you really
shouldn't pack the two on. You can still use their combos
of course. Basically you'll want to decide if you're
going for heavy damage (Destructo Disc), annoyance
(Power Blitz), or efficiency (Power Blitz x2). It's good
to limit yourself because it gives you room for 2 Accel
Dances, which 18 needs.

Damage
------
Destructo Disc
Desturcto Disc
Accel Dance
Accel Dance
Potential**
Power Amplification System
--OR--
Breakthrough

Efficient
---------
Power Blitz
Power Blitz
Accel Dance
Accel Dance
Power Amplification System
Power Save System**

Annoyer
-------
Power Blitz
Power Blitz
Accel Dance
Power Save System**
Yakon
Tempura Bowl




VII. Wrapping Up
--------------------------------
Thanks for reading!
--------------------------------
{Copyright 2004}
--------------------------------
Only Neoseeker is authorized to
--------------------------------
use this guide. That's all I'm
--------------------------------
going to say.
--------------------------------
Now go outside. Breathe the air.
--------------------------------