Easily recognized by the user’s lack of eyebrows and incredibly long hair, the Super Saiyan 3 transformation made its anime debut in Dragon Ball Z’s Buu Saga when Goku used it to fight Majin Buu. Due to his intense training in Otherworld, he gained the power he needed to go beyond Super Saiyan 2.

Goku intentionally didn’t use it when he fought Vegeta, who was jealous of Goku’s newfound power when he heard about it. Goku later taught the ability to Goten and Trunks, who were able to use it after fusing into Gotenks. At this point, Goku and Gotenks are the only characters who have entered this form, but Universe 6’s Caulifla intends to achieve Super Saiyan 3 as well.

Vegeta Chose Not to Use Super Saiyan 3, Rather than Being Incapable of It

Vegeta is certainly strong enough to pull off the transformation, so it’s a mystery as to why he never tried it. First, it should be noted that Vegeta couldn’t go Super Saiyan 3 in Dragon Ball Z. He simply didn’t have the physical capabilities at the time, as Super Saiyan 2 was the extent of his power. However, Vegeta was powerful enough to use it throughout the entirety of Dragon Ball Super, given his ability to use stronger forms like Super Saiyan Blue. In fact, Super Saiyan 2 Vegeta handled himself better against Beerus than Goku did while in his Super Saiyan 3 form. Therefore, Vegeta must have made a conscious decision to avoid it.

Super Saiyan 3 has flaws that Vegeta surely knew about, either from observing Goku or by trying it out for himself offscreen. It’s a physically taxing form that drains the Saiyan of his energy at far too rapid of a rate. Vegeta had similar concerns about the Ultra Super Saiyan form, which he expressed to Future Trunks during the Cell saga. Vegeta could easily have shared the same opinion about Goku’s Super Saiyan 3 form and simply decided that it wasn’t for him. When it comes to combat, he’s more tactical than Goku, and could have come to the conclusion that a better strategy is to stay with Super Saiyan 2.

Vegeta Chooses His Own Super Saiyan Path

For this reason, it makes sense that, prior to the Golden Frieza Saga, Vegeta believed that he was better off using Super Saiyan 2 as his primary form. After all, it is an efficient transformation that has served Goku and Vegeta well in both Dragon Ball Z and Dragon Ball Super. A third factor that may have motivated Vegeta to not use Super Saiyan 3 was his rivalry with Goku. The previous two forms were first achieved by Goku and Gohan respectively before Vegeta got the same results. When taking Vegeta’s pride into consideration, it’s understandable that he would have found continuously copying Goku distasteful.

Wanting his path to diverge from Goku’s was Vegeta’s reason for foregoing Ultra Instinct and inventing Super Saiyan Blue Evolved. Such a plan worked, as later in Dragon Ball Super‘s manga, Vegeta was able to develop his own unique Ultra Ego form. While Vegeta may never use Super Saiyan 3 in Dragon Ball canon, the truth is that he never needed to and never pursued it.