As top 100 players in Pokémon UNITE adapted to the addition of a new option last week, Azumarill saw a lukewarm introduction to the multiplayer online battle arena, while the S-Tier for usage saw itself empty for the first time. After several weeks of Duraludon dominating the meta, players got a nice reprieve last week as the Pokémon pool opened up a bit.
They say all good things come to an end, though, and this week brought back more of the same to the Pokémon UNITE meta despite no must-have options at the top of the list.
S Tier:
- Empty
A Tier:
- Lucario – 13% (+0.5)
- Hoopa – 13% (+1)
- Talonflame – 11.5% (-1)
B Tier:
- Blastoise – 8% (+0.5)
- Greedent – 7% (-0.5)
- Ninetails – 5.5% (+1)
C Tier:
- Wigglytuff – 5% (-0.5)
- Decidueye – 4.5% (+1)
- Slowbro – 4% (+/-)
- Dragonite – 4% (+2)
- Cinderace – 3.5% (+1)
- Blissey – 3% (-1)
- Pikachu – 3% (+3)
- Absol – 2.5% (+1.5)
D Tier:
- Azumarill – 2% (-2)
- Duraludon – 1.5% (-3.5)
- Venusaur – 1.5% (-0.5)
- Machamp – 1.5% (+/-)
- Garchomp – 1.5% (+/-)
- Charizard – 1.5% (+1.5)
- Mr. Mime – 1% (-1.5)
- Greninja – 1% (-0.5)
- Eldegoss – 1% (+/-)
Aegislash, Cramorant, Crustle (-1), Gardevoir, Gengar, Mamoswine, Snorlax, Sylveon, Trevenant (-0.5), Tsareena (-0.5) and Zeraora all saw no noticeable play during the past week among top 100 players.
Below we have the four-week moving average for the 10 most used Pokémon:
Pokémon UNITE meta seems to stagnate
Changes in usage distribution among top 100 players over the past week reached a near-historic low. Thirteen players have either changed mains or are experimenting with different Pokémon, well below the average of 21 and near the all-time low of 11. Likewise, the mean change in usage rates among Pokémon that did see change was only 1, tied for the lowest amount recorded and far below the average of 2.15.
Damage types: a historical perspective
Historically, ranged attackers and special attackers have been slightly outgunned by melee and physical attackers in the Pokémon UNITE meta, with both groups having a 47.4% – 52.6% average spread among the top players since release. This closeness makes sense since most physical attackers are melee and most special attackers are ranged, but there are many Pokémon that do not fit this bill as well. The attack damage carries of Cinderace, Decidueye and Greninja, for instance, are all ranged physical attackers. Mr. Mime and Wigglytuff, on the other hand, have been prevalent defenders who are melee special attackers.
Early in the meta there was a clear preference for ranged attackers, something that flipped in late October with the introduction of Greedent and first fall of Eldegoss. Afterward, there was a sustained preference for melee attackers as a series of powerful all-rounders were introduced into the game. Patch 1.4.1.2 led to a more stabilized meta, with ranged attackers and melee attackers seeing more equal representation.
Methodology: This data is collected using both the rankings tab in Pokémon UNITE and the Pokémon UNITE API. A Pokémon is considered a “main” of a player if is it the most played Pokémon in their most recent 16 ranked matches. In the event of a tie or near tie the data will reflect that. If more than two Pokémon are tied, the 32 most recent matches will be considered instead.
