For many years, the Dragon Ball franchise has been synonymous with an ever-expanding list of character transformations. From the original Kaio-ken technique in the original Dragon Ball Z to the more recent Super Saiyan Blue version on display in Dragon Ball Super, the characters of the Dragon Ball universe are constantly getting a fresh look and a major power boost. While it is the main character, Goku, who tends to get the majority of these transformations, other characters in the series have gotten their fair share of transformations as well.

In the 2022 movie, Dragon Ball Super: Super Hero, Goku's son, Gohan, had one such major transformation of his own, called Gohan Beast. Gohan himself is mostly retired from being a front-line fighter in the Dragon Ball universe, so such a major transformation came as a surprise to many fans. The video game Dragon Ball Xenoverse 2 is now the most recent title to include Gohan Beast, adding the new transformation in the form of DLC.

Updated on February 7, 2024, by Kennedy King: With another Xenoverse 2 DLC seemingly in the works and Gohan Beast officially introduced to the Dragon Ball Super manga, there's still plenty of excitement surrounding the long-running Dragon Ball franchise. As a result, this list has been updated to include the most up-to-date information about unlocking Gohan Beast.

What Is Gohan Beast?

To fully appreciate Gohan's new Beast transformation in Xenoverse 2, it's important to first understand its role in the Dragon Ball Super narrative. The form made its debut in the 2022 film Dragon Ball Super: Super Hero before appearing in the Dragon Ball Super manga the following year. Although the narrative of these two works is slightly different, their presentation of Gohan Beast and the events that lead to its arrival are almost the exact same. In both, the grandson of Dr. Gero, Dr. Hedo, is tricked into using the Red Ribbon Army's research to build a trio of brand-new Androids, each of which is far stronger than any who appear in the Cell Saga.

As the Z Fighters square off with Dr. Hedo's creations, Gohan and Piccolo do their best to protect Earth, as Goku, Vegeta, and Broly are all away from the planet training with Whis and Beerus. Eventually, Dr. Hedo's most powerful creation, Cell Max, proves to be too strong for Dragon Ball Super's heroes, and it seemingly kills Piccolo while the Namekian is using his Orange transformation. Much like the moment when Gohan witnesses Android 16 perish, this triggers the young hero's sense of rage, leading him to break through and achieve a brand-new transformation: Gohan Beast.

The Beast transformation is completely unique to Gohan, and there are no signs that any other character in the Dragon Ball universe has ever achieved it. However, because of how rare it is, there's very little concrete information about where the Beast form draws its power from, minus a few hints provided by the author himself.

According to Dragon Ball's creator, Akira Toriyama, the Beast transformation is an evolved form of the Potential Unleashed states that are given to Gohan by the Grand Elder Namekian and the Old Kai. That said, Gohan has slacked off on his training since the Buu Saga, so it isn't until Gohan watches Cell Max defeat Piccolo that he finally harnesses his full potential and eradicates the villain in a single attack.

How To Unlock The Beast Transformation In Dragon Ball Xenoverse 2

Although Gohan Beast (as well as Orange Piccolo) is unlocked as soon as players purchase the Hero of Justice DLC, Xenoverse 2 players will still need to grind a bit before they can obtain the Beast transformation for their own characters. To do so, the first thing that players need to do is max out their Friendship Level with two separate mentors: Piccolo and the combo of Gohan and Videl. Piccolo can be found just outside the entrance to the Time Nest, unless he's already the player's mentor, in which case he'll be located near Orange Star High School and the Elder Kai. On the other hand, Gohan and Videl are located in one of two areas depending on the player's progression in Xenoverse 2: the Orange Star High School area or the Resort Area.

At this point, many Xenoverse 2 players have already maxed out their Friendship Level with the game's various mentors. However, players who haven't can increase this meter by training with various characters, recruiting them as instructors, and completing a variety of quests. This applies to Piccolo, Gohan, and Videl, the latter two of which share a single Friendship meter. Once players have established maximum Friendship with Piccolo and the Gohan and Videl Duo, they can continue to the next step of unlocking Gohan Beast.

Assuming that the player has already purchased the Heroes of Justice DLC and maxed out the appropriate Friendship meters, they must then return to Piccolo, initiate a conversation, and select, "I want to receive further training" and "Let's spar" when prompted. This unlocks a new, special side-quest that is necessary for obtaining the Beast Transformation.

Piccolo's mission leads the player to a secret boss fight against the character Cell Max, a highly powered-up version of the popular villain Cell that appears in both the Dragon Ball Super: Super Hero movie and the Dragon Ball Super Manga. The villain, who also serves as the catalyst for Gohan's Beast form, is the final hurdle between the player and this transformation. Should the player make it through this fight and defeat Cell Max, they will unlock the Beast transformation, at which point they can add it to their custom character by selecting "Beast" in the Awoken Skill slot.

Why Unlocking Gohan Beast Is Worth It

Many Dragon Ball fans are already familiar with the Gohan Beast transformation from the Dragon Ball Super: Super Hero film, but even those who aren't should be able to see its devastating potential in Xenoverse 2. When applied to both Gohan and the player's custom character, this transformation pushes its user to an animalistic, bestial state that bears a striking resemblance to Gohan's original Super Saiyan 2 transformation. As expected, the Beast transformation significantly increases the player's attack strength, amplifying every type of they inflict by 30%. In addition to this, the transformation also increases the player's Ki Restoration by another 20%, making it as offensively potent as Xenoverse 2's strongest transformation.

Unfortunately, these advantages do not come without a notable weakness. The Beast form also makes the player much more vulnerable to damage, as it increases the amount of damage that the player receives by 20% as well. Because of this trait, the Beast transformation has a bit of a learning curve attached to it, as the massive drop in defense will likely take some getting used to for most players. However, given the fact that Gohan Beast Form's 30% Damage Output Bonus is even better than Super Saiyan Blue's 25% Bonus, it's undeniable that the benefits of Gohan Beast greatly outweigh the detriments, and as a result, it is one of the most powerful transformation upgrades in the entire game.