Dragon Ball Z: Kakarot's third and final DLC still remains a mystery to fans, leaving them to speculate on all the possibilities. Though it may seem unlikely, it's entirely possible that Bandai Namco will skip straight ahead to the Tournament of Power as a final send off for Kakarot, introducing Ultra Instinct Goku to the fray. Alternatively, a second season pass would almost certainly include that story arc, so overall there's a good chance the form will come into play at some point. Though it shares a lot of similarities with other forms in Dragon Ball, it has some marked differences as well that would need to be portrayed.
Ultra Instinct is shown to be the pinnacle of power in Dragon Ball Super, outclassing even Super Saiyan Blue Evolution, the new transformation that Vegeta discovers around the same time. The ability to move autonomously without thinking provides Goku and edge over even the toughest opponents like Jiren, but how could that ability be translated into gameplay? Dragon Ball FighterZ and Dragon Ball Xenoverse 2 have both taken different approaches to it, and Dragon Ball Z: Kakarot may need to do find its own way to represent the unique power up.
Dragon Ball Z: Kakarot - Ultra Instinct Power Boost
Of course, this form isn't just about moving autonomously, as it also seems to give Goku a huge boost in power greater than what Super Saiyan Blue can offer. This is clearly shown by the devastating force of his blows against Jiren despite Goku and Vegeta hardly being able to phase him beforehand. Though it's impossible to know for certain, the pattern that already exists within Dragon Ball Z: Kakarot could be the key to predicting how powerful Ultra Instinct would be in terms of a direct power boost.
The Super Saiyan form in Dragon Ball Z: Kakarot provides Goku, Vegeta, and the other Saiyans with a 50% boost to all stats when it is fully leveled, and each form gets consecutively 50% stronger. For example, Super Saiyan 2 offers a 100% boost to all stats and Super Saiyan 3 provides 150% to all stats. With the introduction of the first two DLCs for Dragon Ball Z: Kakarot, Goku and Vegeta unlocked Super Saiyan God and Super Saiyan Blue, providing a 200% and 250% bonus to all stats respectively. It stands to reason then that Super Saiyan Evolution and Super Saiyan Blue Kaioken would add 300% to all stats, while Ultra Instinct would add at least 350%.
Dragon Ball Z: Kakarot - The Cost of Transformations
Another important thing to note is that transformations have a cost to maintain. Until players unlock the auto transformation know-how ability, staying in a form drains some kind of resource from the character. For Super Saiyan forms, this is represented by a constant drain of Ki, while the Kaioken form is unique in that it drains health. This is where Ultra Instinct would differ from Super Saiyan forms, as it would probably drain health rather than Ki, or potentially even both simultaneously.
The Ultra Instinct form is incredibly powerful and would come with benefits beyond just the typical stat increases, so it would make sense that it should be limited. In the anime, when he stays in this form for too long, it's revealed that it took too heavy a toll on his body, resulting in Goku almost losing to Jiren. In Dragon Ball Z: Kakarot, the skill should drain both health and Ki, and there shouldn't be a know-how skill that allows players to constantly be in the form without suffering the drawbacks. It takes Goku a while to master this powerful form, so players shouldn't be able to use it haphazardly.
Dragon Ball Z: Kakarot - Ultra Instinct Autonomous Movement
The big question is how Dragon Ball Z: Kakarot would handle the autonomous movement. Theoretically, the most accurate way to do this would be to have the AI control Goku perfectly, but that wouldn't be any fun for the player. Instead, the best thing to do is draw from features that are already in the game to represent this ability. When battling against Whis in his training, he sometimes enters a stance in which all attacks cause him to teleport and dodge the player, this is essentially Ultra Instinct.
While in this form, holding the block button should instead initiate this defensive stance allowing Goku to teleport and dodge any attack that's thrown his way. It may seem like this would be overpowered, but by all rights Ultra Instinct should feel overpowered. Goku could still take hits and receive damage while not blocking though, a way to represent that Ultra Instinct typically relies on either attacking or defending rather than doing both at the same time. This would add yet another layer of uniqueness to the transformation that helps set it apart from the countless other forms available in game.
Dragon Ball Z: Kakarot - Ultra Instinct's Many Forms
Finally, the last nuance to consider about Ultra Instinct is that it isn't just a one and done transformation like many others. When Goku first unlocks it, he uses something that the Gods of Destruction refer to as Ultra Instinct Omen. This isn't the full Ultra Instinct form and has some limitations. Later, he seemingly masters the defensive aspect of the transformation but is unable to perform offensively while doing so. In another fight, that switches, with the Saiyan showing off some brutal tactics but leaving himself open frequently.
It isn't until the end of the Tournament of Power that Goku reveals Mastered Ultra Instinct, so it would be interesting to see if Bandai Namco would split this form up into multiple transformations or not. Instead of making it three separate transformations, this could be represented by the level of the form. With other transformations, each level increases the power increase by about 25%, but with Ultra Instinct each level could unlock a new ability. Perhaps the first level unlocks the defensive teleportation stance, the second level increases the attack from 300% to 350%, and the third level could reduce the Ki and Health drain.
Dragon Ball Z: Kakarot is available now on PC, PS4, and Xbox One.