Pokemon Unite's latest patch contains a lot of nerfs across the board. Anyone who has seen the Aeos Tournament might have noticed that the meta seems to be settling in on a few Pokemon.
Hoopa is still practically necessary in team comps, and Blastoise saw a huge rise in usage. That’s along with Lucario, who always seems to be in S tier. All of these characters got nerfed, though.
Hoopa and Blastoise get massively nerfed in recent Pokemon Unite patch
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The biggest news from this patch is that Hoopa’s Unite move got hit hard. When it transforms into Hoopa Unbound, Hyperspace Fury and Psybeam deal less damage. This is by a considerable margin, too: Psybeam used to deal 2046 damage, and now it deals 1841.
Lucario also got hit with a damage reduction to Extreme Speed, in particular the + version. While both Lucario sets are viable, Extreme Speed had been incredibly popular in the top lane by stacking Attack Weight.
Blastoise’s Rapid Spin and Unite move both got hit with significant nerfs. The effect on Rapid Spin was weakened. This could mean that the move is slower, or that the unstoppable condition got changed. The Unite move now does 2023 damage as well.
Despite the nerfs, though, Blastoise also got buffed. Hydro Pump saw a full second shaved off of its cooldown. Hydro Pump and Surf remain the lesser used moves of Blastoise’s sets, but they may see some popularity now.
Here are the other big nerfs from the patch:
- Greninja’s Surf deals 173 less damage. Smokescreen also saw a bug fix.
- Effect on Aegislash’s Sacred Sword got reduced.
Despite the huge nerfs that are sure to change the meta big time, there were also some nice buffs given. The biggest winner from this patch was Azumarill, who desperately needed a damage boost.
Both Azumarill’s Aqua Tail and Play Rough have received damage increases. Aqua Tail’s last hit now deals 1055 damage, and Play Rough in total now deals 1074 damage.
Gardevoir was also the recipient of a very odd buff. It now evolves from Kirlia to Gardevoir at level 8. The only other Pokemon to evolve that early in the game are Sylveon, Espeon and Tsareena.
Other buffs given are as follows:
- Dragonite’s Attack increased from 495 to 520.
- Slowbro’s Scald has an attack increase as well as an increase on its effect. It’s Unite move also charges faster.
- Mr Mime’s Unite move now stuns opponents for longer.
- Tsareena’s Attack got boosted from 440 to 460.
- Venusaur’s Solar Beam is now stronger.
- Crustle’s X Scissor has 2 seconds shaved off of its cooldown.
Finally, there were several Pokemon who got nerfed and buffed at the same time. Those are as follows:
- Cinderace’s Blaze Kick deals less damage, but the effects from Pyro Ball and Feint got stronger.
- Blissey’s Egg Bomb got a damage reduction, but cooldowns on both Egg Bomb and Safeguard got lowered.
Overall, these changes should have a huge effect on what Pokemon teams will get formed. The chances of players giving up on Hoopa and Lucario is still pretty low, but Azumarill and Gardevoir might have more time to shine now.
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