Pokemon Unite: The 10 Biggest Fixes The Game Needs
Pokemon Unite is a new game developed by TiMi studios for the Nintendo Switch. The game serves as a spin-off from the main series, which sees the player taking control of a Pokemon in a 5v5 MOBA. The game has the player defeat both wild and enemy Pokemon to collect points and use them to score goals, which function as the enemy's 'towers'.
Pokemon Unite features Pokemon from across every generation, with the roster of characters getting even bigger, with 2 post-launch additions already, and another on the way. More Pokemon have been announced and it's like that more changes will also arrive in the future.
A Real Scoreboard
Pokemon Unite appears to intentionally obscure some of the more intricate details of the game from hardcore fans of the series, perhaps in favor of seeming easier to newer players. Many important details aren't easily found such as whether or not a Pokemon uses Special Attack.
The in-game scoreboard is equally as useless, telling players the amount of KOs and Assists each character has. The Scoreboard displays no actual score, and players have no idea of it aside from a voiceover that lets you know if you're ahead or not and is almost as useful as guessing based on counting the scores of the goals.
More Playable Pokemon
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The game was released with 20 playable characters and since its release both Gardevoir and Blissey have been added. Blastoise has been given a release date of September 1. Nintendo have also announced Sylveon and Mamoswine would be joining the roster.
This is a great sign for the future of the game, as the small number of characters will eventually become stale and put players off the game, however, the company should be adding too many Pokemon too quickly as it could get confusing for newer or younger players.
More Cosmetics.jpg)
As with most games these days, Pokemon Unite has a premium currency that can be used to purchase many things within the game. Things that can be bought include cosmetic items and skins for Pokemon. These both use different in-game currencies as well, though these take a great deal of time to earn.
The amount of cosmetics and skins is surprisingly limited for the moment, though this is likely due to the game's recent release. Hopefully, more outfits get added including some iconic looks from the games and anime, like Team Rocket outfits.
New Wild Pokemon
As it stands the main 5v5 mode has 5 unique wild Pokemon that can provide buffs to the players or the team. However, the map does have some room to expand and allow for more wild Pokemon that can provide small buffs.
Many MOBAs change their maps on a regular basis sometimes a few times a year, perhaps Pokemon Unite will follow a similar trend especially given that only one of the three legendary birds has made an appearance, indicating the developers may have plans for the other two.
Last Hitting Pokemon
It is fair to say that the last hit mechanic is flawed slightly, due to no particular fault on the developer's part. However, certain annoying players will simply idle next to a wild Pokemon while a friendly character attacks it, only to steal the last hit for the extra EXP. Additionally, players that do this can end up with an MVP medal at the end of the game despite doing an absurdly low amount of damage, or indeed anything.
Instead, EXP could be dealt out based on the percentage of damage done or something similar. As well as this, while the Zapdos catch up mechanic is incredible, it can feel pretty bad if a stray ranged attack from an enemy gets the KO and awards the enemy team 110 points.
Extra Information
Since the game lacks information in almost every area, it would be nice if everything was improved to provide more detail. However, one specific area that could be improved is in-game moves and this can be done by taking a look at most MOBA-style games.
Sometimes, in-game a player may forget what an ability does and so not use it to its full potential. Ideally, with a quick button press, a player could pull up a small tooltip style paragraph that lists what the ability does.
More Options For Communication
Communication between teammates is a vital part of any PvP game, especial in a fast-paced MOBA like Pokemon Unite. It is therefore unfortunate that the only communication in the game is a quick-select wheel with less than ten options.
With the game set to release very soon on Mobile Devices, it seems like there is an option for some kind of text chat to appear, but this seems unlikely due to the fact it will be difficult to censor and would make the game unsuitable for the younger audience it's designed for.
Additional Gamemodes
The three quick battle game modes are one of the things fans love most about the game as they provide a break from the more competitive nature of the 5v5 mode. These game modes rotate on a daily basis meaning players have to wait if they want to play a specific quick mode.
While allowing these modes to be played at any time would be a valid option, though would likely make queueing times longer, an alternative could be to add more game modes. Another 3v3 match could be implemented or an even small 2v2 map. An interesting idea could also be the normal 5v5 map with every Pokemon starting already at max level.
New Items
Pokemon Unite features a number of items, that appeared in earlier entries of the series, that can be held by a character to provide benefits. There is also a different set of battle items that can be used to provide an instantaneous effect or temporary buff.
However, while many iconic items appear in the game such as EXP Share, there are many items that do not. Because the battle items include both X Attack and X Speed, it seems likely items will be added as X Defense could easily join the list.
Added Complexity
Pokemon Unite is a great game for beginners to the MOBA genre due to its low complexity and simplified control scheme. However, it lacks the depth of other MOBAs on the scene at the moment. Unfortunately, Pokemon seems to be too simplistic for it to remain interesting for fans of the genre or the series.
One way to improve this could be to add new mechanics. Of these, type matchups would appear to make the most sense. As there is no way to know what an opponent picks before the game, it would remain somewhat fair, and it could simply deal more or less damage depending on the matchup. There is also the option for items to boost these types or even environmental effects on the map.
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