"Standard games are fully dead": Pokemon Unite community laments the current matchmaking situation

Players have begun to notice an unfortunate development in Pokemon Unite's casual scene. Rather than seeing actual human players in the Standard Game matchmaking queue, some have noticed that they have been replaced with players that are controlled by an AI. This has led to many calling the game "dead."

For those who are unaware, Pokemon Unite is the franchise's first dive into the competitive MOBA genre and is similar to games like League of Legends and Dota 2. However, unlike the previously mentioned titles, Unite tends to focus on being more beginner-friendly and easy to learn as well as having an easily-accessible Ranked queue.

While many may see the Ranked queue being made available for everyone as a good thing, this has had an unfavorable impact on the game's casual scene, Standard Game queue, and even the competitive community as well.

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Reddit reacts to Pokemon Unite's dying casual scene

Recently, on the Pokemon Unite subreddit, Redditor u/reddhuh started a thread stating that they had been testing the Standard Queue for the last three days but could only find games filled with AI players. Drawing attention to this, many have shared their thoughts on the topic, with some even sharing other threads with tips on how to win against these bots.

Players also discussed the effects these bot games have on their MMR. Some have noticed that these AI-polluted games appear much more often for new players and those on a losing streak, further demotivating unfortunate players from playing the game.

On the opposite side of the spectrum, players have come to the thread stating that they haven't experienced the issue due to them primarily playing the Ranked mode of the game. Ranked is often considered to be the competitive game mode, so many players prioritize grinding the ladder and trying to become the best.

This brings up another point of discussion. Among mainstream MOBA titles, Pokemon Unite seems to have the lowest requirement for players to take part in the Ranked mode. In other competitive video games, players are often required to grind for long periods of time to hone their skills before they are eligible to participate in the Ranked mode.

However, for Pokemon Unite, players only need to have their account at level 6. This is a problem because players do not unlock most held or battle items until their account is around level 10. This means that new players can take part in Ranked mode before they have access to all of the equipment they will need to win games.

With such low requirements to take on the competitive ladder, many have noticed their games being ruined by players who have never played a MOBA before and lack any experience, thanks to Pokemon Unite hardly requiring them to practice beforehand.

However, the developers may be able to knock out two Pidgeys with one Rock Throw. Simply increasing the level cap of Ranked mode for new players can incentivize them to practice before they take on the competitive scene. Increasing the level cap to around 15 or 20 will give new players a chance to earn all of the level-up rewards as well as give them an opportunity to practice with their favorite Pokemon Unite fighter.

Pokemon Unite players will be hoping that the developers make changes in response to the community's complaints. Despite the game only having celebrated its one-year anniversary recently, players who once held the title in high regard seem to now be referring to it as a "dead game."