Pokemon Unite Lapras: Release date, Defender stats, moves, and more

With Lapras being the next character to be added to Pokemon Unite's playable roster, many players are wondering when it will be available to be played on the title's live servers. Thankfully, following a recent announcement on the game's social media page, we have the exact date Lapras will be released.

Being the franchise's first romp with the MOBA genre, many players were expecting Unite to be another half-baked project like some of Pokemon's other spin-off titles. However, it has quickly grown into one of the best mainstream MOBAs in the modern gaming industry, and this is partly due to the game's never-ending stream of new content.

So what should players know about the newest addition to Pokemon Unite prior to its release onto the game's live servers? Following the drop of Lapras' release date, more information has come out regarding the character, the role they play on a team, and various other important details.

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Lapras in Pokemon Unite: Everything to know about the new Defender

Lapras as it appears in the anime (Image via The Pokemon Company)

Considering that the last character that was added to Pokemon Unite's roster, Goodra, was a Defender, it is a bit unusual for Lapras to be a Defender as well. While a lot of players may be unhappy about this, the tank mains in the game's community have a lot more options.

It was also revealed that Lapras will debut on live servers on April 13. This is a mere two days away as of writing. However, before players can get excited about this character, it is important to know what makes Lapras such a unique and interesting case compared to the rest of Pokemon Unite's cast.

Based on gameplay footage available at the time of writing, Lapras appears to be a formidable tank character in the game. It is capable of dealing significant area damage around itself, making it effective in crowd control with slow and freeze abilities. Additionally, Lapras' passive ability, Shell Armor, reduces damage taken from burst damage, making it a valuable asset in team fights.

What truly sets Lapras apart from the rest of the cast is its special Unite Move which has a very unique interaction with allies. Lapras can select an ally and when they use their Unite Move, they will be able to pick up this ally and carry them on their back, taking them either out of danger or engaging in a battle with them.

This puts Lapras in a very interesting position. As players of other MOBAs may know, Lapras' unique interactions with allies as well as its strong engagement and disengaging options would classify the character as a Warden Tank. Unlike the standard Vanguard type of tank, Wardens are ones that excel at seeing their team in and out of skirmishes safely instead of controlling the fight with potent status effects or displacements.

Lapras' revealed stats as well as its stats in the main series, which is a key inspiration for the development team when building a character for Pokemon Unite, indicates that it will be a bulky HP tank with some preference towards special defense. The character also lacks mobility outside of their Unite Move which may be a turn-off for many.