Why didn't Piccolo use the Special Beam Cannon more?

[Peach]

If he had attacked Frieza, Nappa, Vegeta, the Androids, or Cell Jr the way he attacked Frost in the multiverse tournament, he could have defeated them. The technique seems insanely powerful.

[Lionel]

Well the obvious weakness of it requiring intense concentration with obstructed manoeuvrability makes regular combat difficult to carry out. Piccolo could avoid, block, and use basic ki attacks in his fight against Frost but otherwise he was commiting the bulk of his attention span to the SBC. In situations where you have allies this technique might be viable but one on one it's incredibly difficult -- particularly if the opponent is much stronger than you. Frost was superior to Piccolo but it didn't appear to be by too much during their fight (comparable to Cell vs Goku maybe).

The straightforward trajectory of the cannon and its heavy ki expenditure pose other risks as well. Any target would either need to not anticipate it or be restrained somehow for the blast to hit. It's otherwise going to accomplish nothing except drain Piccolo of vital stamina and ki.

As to your examples, I don't see why it couldn't have been used against Nappa as the Saiyan was prone to simple distractionary tactics and being caught off guard. Vegeta would be another story. Piccolo believed he could handle Freeza up until the tyrant transformed and from there it was a losing battle. His only opening would have been to immediately charge the attack as Freeza reverted to his original form. Now as to the cyborgs and Cell Jr -- I could believe Piccolo being hesitant to use it in front of them as Gero would have accumulated data on the technique from the battle against Raditz and so those opponents would know to anticipate the cannon.

[Yo'Goodfella]

Yeah Lionel makes really solid points. The technique REQUIRES quite a bit of charge time to be effective. It's devastating when it is though.

The example that I remember the most was in DBS ep 118 against the U6 Namekians, Saonel and Pirina. The technique was used two times, on the assumption that Ultimate Gohan would keep them busy while charging. Piccolo released it too early the first time, and it was not very effective against Pirina (the buff one) so Piccolo got punished for it.
The second time he managed to fully charge it, as he pretty much was in perfect position due to the Namekians being caught in a linear beam struggle. Also he could probably focus faster since he did not think that Gohan was in any danger this time (the reason why he prematurely released the first one), so that may have been a factor as well.

Still, Saonel (the slimmer U6 Namekian) was caught between the beam struggle and still acting, but that Makankosappo stopped him the instant it hit and it actually managed to pierce a hole in him, so when it works, it works.


To summarise, it's the equivalent of one of those charged super attacks that has a timer attached to it in videogames. Deadly for sure, most of the time it's game-ending, but you can find a way to stop it easily.

[Yosheets]

On the contrary, I actually think it's a breath of fresh air that it wasn't spammed in the Manga like it was in the Anime.

[Cipher]

So, 200 percent the two-handed version he uses against Nappa in the manga was meant to be an improved version of the technique (one that doesn’t take a minute to charge and require the opponent to stand still), but like most named techniques in DB outside of the Kamehameha, it never gets trotted out again in the original series.

The anime and both versions of Super decided he kept up the one-handed version, but they are wrong.

[Yuji]

So, 200 percent the two-handed version he uses against Nappa in the manga was meant to be an improved version of the technique (one that doesn’t take a minute to charge and require the opponent to stand still), but like most named techniques in DB outside of the Kamehameha, it never gets trotted out again in the original series.

The anime and both versions of Super decided he kept up the one-handed version, but they are wrong.

I was going to mention this. Piccolo had only used the one-armed version as a necessity because his arm had been blown off. The perfected technique in all likelihood didn't need one hand or much charging at all, and we saw that in the Saiyan arc against Nappa. Because of how iconic it is, though, they kept the one-handed one.

[TobyS]

So, 200 percent the two-handed version he uses against Nappa in the manga was meant to be an improved version of the technique (one that doesn’t take a minute to charge and require the opponent to stand still), but like most named techniques in DB outside of the Kamehameha, it never gets trotted out again in the original series.

The anime and both versions of Super decided he kept up the one-handed version, but they are wrong.

Isn't one interpretation that when he said the loss of an arm is no obstacle he literally meant “because I only use one arm on this anyway”

Also his hand position is different in the 2 handed attack on Nappa. I think it's more likely the corkscrew aesthetic was being presented as a staple of piccolos attacks and it was that plot point that was abandoned.

Perhaps two arms just has better aim and handles the recoil better but doesn't effect speed, power or charge time. He's closer in power to Nappa and has Kuririns backup so this could adequately explain why the charge time was less. Not to mention wanting to attack while nappa was stunned makes more sense then getting a bit more charge time but hitting a fully braced/able to dodge Nappa.

Edit to answer ops question:

Too large a power gap or enemies that were too fast/smart to let him charge it at first, followed by opponents who can regenerate easily which makes it a cost innefective attack on his part.

[Cipher]

Isn't one interpretation that when he said the loss of an arm is no obstacle he literally meant “because I only use one arm on this anyway”

Also his hand position is different in the 2 handed attack on Nappa. I think it's more likely the corkscrew aesthetic was being presented as a staple of piccolos attacks and it was that plot point that was abandoned.

He had a year to train and had only just invented the technique when fighting Raditz. I genuinely assume the two-handed version was meant to be its improved/completed variant, not needing the dubious charge time.

But since it was only shown once, and not in a prominently highlighted way, the one-handed version stuck around in other media.