7 Most Useless Transformations, Ranked

Transformations are an important aspect of Dragon Ball franchise and has been since its early days. Throughout the series, many of the greatest moments of all time have been when the main characters have undergone a powerful transformation that has changed the landscape of the series forever.

Despite the incredible importance of such transformations to the series as a whole, there have been a few over the course of Dragon Ball which in the end have only proved to be worthless.

7

The Ultra Instinct Sign only had half the power of the technique

User: Goku

Ultra Instinct is the ultimate martial arts technique in the multiverse and is the inherent power of angels. Because of this, it is notoriously difficult to learn, even for the Gods of Destruction, which is why it was so impressive when Goku managed to do it during the Powernament of Power.

However, before he could fully master it, Goku instead used the Ultra Instinct Sign, which was an incomplete version of the technique. Although the State made perfect use of the technique's auto-dodge capabilities, its offense was severely lacking and it burned off a lot of excess energy, making it mostly useless against the toughest enemies like Jiren.

6

Ultra Ego has flaws that need to be addressed

User: Vegeta

When Vegeta tried to create his own path to reach the highest levels of power in the multiverse, it ended up being one of the best decisions in the entire series. This path was realized with Ultra Ego, Vegeta's answer to Ultra Instinct, which had the power of the Gods of Destruction and even proved to be stronger than the Angel's technique.

However, despite his overwhelming power allowing Vegeta to match Ultra Instinct in his first ever use, Ultra Ego's distinguishing factor eventually proved to be the biggest chink in his armor, as the damage Vegeta takes in this state to become stronger can eventually prove to be too much for him to handle, which is why he was unable to finish the job against either Granolah or Gas.

5

The Super Namekian form had a short shelf life

User: Piccolo

Many fans tend to forget that at one point in history, Piccolo was the most powerful Z-Fighter of them all. Due to his fusion with Kami to face the threat of the Androids, Piccolo's strength was enhanced to an incredible degree with his Super Namekian state, even allowing him to battle Android 17 for a time and briefly even overpower him.

However, the real reason this form was unable to shine as much as it could have was due to the intervention of Imperfect Cell, who not only defeated the hero, but managed to absorb Android 17 to become even stronger. Although not completely useless in its application, the tragic result against Cell proves it to be an inferior state.

4

The Namekian giant form is just an empty threat

User: Piccolo, Other Namekians

The Namekians are one of the strongest races in the entire universe, and much of their strength comes from their ability to manipulate their bodies and cells. As such, one of their greatest powers is to grow exponentially in size and tower over their opponents with one of the most terrifying transformations in the series.

But their strength in this state is mostly fluff. Although they get an undeniable boost in physical strength, the Namekian giant form doesn't do much in the way of their overall power, as Piccolo even said in his fight against Cell Max. Despite his insane new Orange Piccolo power-up, the strength he gained in his giant form wasn't much different.

3

Ultimate Gohan never did anything special

User: Gohan

Contrary to popular belief, the most powerful non-fusion hero at the end of Dragon Ball Z was actually Ultimate Gohan, and not Super Saiyan 3 Goku. Having unleashed all of his potential in the world of Kais, Gohan's strength grew to astronomical proportions, to the point where he even left Goku and Vegeta in the dust.

However, despite his insane power-up, Gohan's ultimate form didn't do much, as he was overpowered by Buutenks shortly after defeating Super Buu and was eventually absorbed to create the strongest version of Majin Buu. Although he had moderate success in the Tournament of Power, the Super Hero arc only showed Ultimate Gohan matching the Gamma Androids.

2

The Super Saiyan God was quickly forgotten

User: Goku, Vegeta

When Dragon Ball returned after a hiatus that lasted almost 3 decades, the series was marked with a brand new signature transformation; The Super Saiyan God. Fans quickly embraced its stunning design and were excited to see which way it went Super would enter with a new and unique form at the head of the series.

However, to everyone's disappointment, Super Saiyan God was immediately discarded in the subsequent Resurrection F arc in favor of Super Saiyan Blue. The latter form was quickly adopted as the standard transformation for Superand while Super Saiyan God made appearances throughout, it didn't serve much of a purpose after being defeated by Beerus.

1

Super Saiyan Grade 3 was the worst designed Saiyan form

User: Future Trunks

Of all the Super Saiyan transformations in Dragon Ball franchise, none is remembered as unfavorably as Future Trunks' Super Saiyan Grade 3, or Super Trunks, form. As Cell's strength was far beyond anyone else's, Vegeta and Trunks underwent intense training in the Hyperbolic Time Chamber to unlock powerful new forms.

Although Vegeta's Super Saiyan Grade 2 had its flaws, it was still an improvement over the regular Super Saiyan. However, Super Trunks seemed to have sacrificed everything, especially speed, for immense physical strength, and while this increased his power quite a bit, the lack of refinement and speed ultimately proved to be a disadvantage, cementing this form in infamy.

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