Dragon Ball Z is a quintessential shonen anime. It's full of big, bombastic fights that will make any anime fan's heart blaze up. Moves like the classic Kamehameha, or Spirit Bomb are certainly powerful and have helped win the day on more than one occasion, but this anime is about more than just pure strength in battle.
Many times, these heroes, and or villains, would not gain anything if not for supportive abilities to help bolster their attacks. Sometimes the fighter with the most brains can win the fight too so let's remember some of these abilities and the fights and characters they are most associated with.
10 Telepathy
Being able to telepathically communicate while in battle would be a lifesaver for any reality. Dragon Ball has used it countless times for support. The first big one comes when Goku uses it to convey a message via King Kai in the afterlife about the Saiyans and his recovery. For the most part, it’s usually through King Kai that a lot of these scenes are played out.
9 Ki Sense
From as early as Dragon Ball, heroes have been able to detect someone’s amount of power. Power levels though were not so much a thing by name until Dragon Ball Z started with Raditz using his Scouter on that poor farmer. Eventually, Frieza’s army is at a disadvantage because the Earth heroes can use this Ki Sense without a machine like the Scouter. It also plays into the whole over 9000 meme which is great.
8 Body Change
This is not seen in the anime much, but it is still a power worth discussing. Body Change is a special ability learned by Captain Ginyu. In the Frieza arc, he uses it to gain the power of Goku which works out well for him at first.
However, eventually he finds himself in the mind of a frog on Namek. In the right hands, this power could be very useful. In fact, he even eventually uses it to get a new body later on in Dragon Ball Super.
7 Solar Flare
Solar Flare is like the quintessential supportive ability that is used time and time again in the anime. From the Saiyan arc and on, it’s almost a staple to use at least one, if not multiple times per season. The point of the power is to use the sun’s glare in order to blind the enemy. There are other variations to this technique, but Solar Flare will always be the number one star.
6 Time Freeze
This is a power that is also held by one of the Ginyu Force members, Guldo. He may be short, squat, and not that powerful, but his ability to stop time is a pretty cool move. The one thing that is missing is a better user than Guldo. It’s a supportive technique in that in order to make full use out of it, one needs to train their breathing as well as be strong enough to finish off an opponent in a single blow. A sword would have helped him just like Trunks later on in Dragon Ball Z.
5 Instant Transmission
There are a bunch of movement abilities that have helped both heroes and villains over time in the anime. Flying is a good technique that starts off as a unique quirk before becoming as standard as walking. Some characters could also move so fast it looked like they teleported. The real teleportation technique that stands above all others is Goku’s Instant Transmission he learns from otherworldly aliens.
4 Reproduction
This is a blanket term for characters with the ability to create minions from their own bodies. One of the first big ones was King Piccolo in the original Dragon Ball anime. He pukes out an egg which eventually sets up the Piccolo everyone knows and loves today. Way later arcs after this had stronger versions like Cell’s ability to chuck mini versions of himself at others. Buu, to some extent, could also copy himself up.
3 Healing
If there is one thing any warrior in this series needs, it’s healing. For the most part this is done through rest and or Sensu Beans. Then, in the Frieza arc, they learn that the young Namekian Dende can heal. Namekian’s in general can heal themselves as seen even earlier than this when Piccolo regrows an arm through regeneration. To a lesser extent Ki Transfer is also a healing adjacent ability.
2 Transformation
There are too many transformation techniques to go through but let’s highlight a few key essentials. In Dragon Ball, both Puar and Oolong use their abilities in order to trick enemies for the party.
Past this in Dragon Ball Z, Buu can literally shoot a beam to transform things, even humans, into food. The most powerful form of transformation though is through the melding of two bodies aka Fusion.
1 Powering Up
Fusion could also be seen as a powering up move so either way, it is a top-tier talent. As for other versions, the first big one can be seen in the Saiyan arc wherein Goku unleashes his Kaio-ken technique. Then, in the arc after that, Goku turns into a Super Saiyan. The Dragon Ball series is basically about Goku learning new ways to power up his body so how could this type of ability not be ranked at the very top? Being able to power down and hide one’s true power level is also a good adjacent ability worth mentioning.