Dynamax Adventures are an addition to Pokémon Sword & Shield that has really pleased players. The concept is much like a max raid, except you go in with three other people — either NPCs or actual gamers, if playing online — and work together to move through a series of raids, eventually encountering and getting the chance to capture a legendary.
These are a welcome addition. Not only do they add something new to the game, but they also make legendaries much more accessible Long gone are the days when catching a legendary in-game was a pipe dream.
However, there are certain mistakes players make with Dynamax Adventures that mean they don't get the most out of them.
7 Not Picking a Diverse Moveset
You'll get the chance to choose a Pokémon from a list of four to take with you into the den. Although you might be thinking about type and stats, it's important to consider a diverse moveset. After all, if you pick a Pokémon with mostly Fire-type moves and nothing else and then come up against a Water-type, you might not be able to contribute much except to be constantly fainting.
If there's a Pokémon with multiple move types, it's usually best to go for that one. That way you know if you come up against a monster your Pokémon is weak against on one type, you have a fallback move to use.
6 Not Considering What Pokémon Have Already Been Chosen
You should also be considering what Pokémon have already been chosen. If someone is using a Quilava, Charmeleon may not be the best pick.
Remember: you're going to come up against multiple different types of Pokémon throughout this raid. If you land in a battle where multiple on your team are weak, you're going to be in trouble.
5 Not Swapping Out When You Should
Even if you aren't interested in keeping the early Pokémon you encounter and are really just trying to get to the legendary, you should be catching them so you can swap out yours if need be. If your Pokémon gets low on HP or you just had a poor choice at the start, you want to have the option to switch them out for one that's more effective. Lots of people skip catching the Pokémon because they aren't looking to make them a permanent fixture on the team or already have one, but it's a bad move.
4 Not Looking Ahead
At the beginning of the raid, use the right stick on your Switch and look at the paths ahead. This will give you a better idea of what's coming and allow you to plan ahead.
Of course, there are multiple different routes that can be taken, which can be a bit of an issue — how can you predict what everyone else will choose unless you're in the same room discussing it? But you can at least get a pretty clear idea of which Pokémon just won't work for the battle. For example, if one option ahead is Water-type and the other is Rock-type, you know a Fire-type isn't going to be the best move to make.
3 Gambling On The Scientist Swap
On some paths, you can encounter a scientist that will offer to swap your Pokémon for a random one. Many people enjoy gambling on this, but it's usually a bad move. He could give you anything!
The only time you should even consider taking him up on his offer is if your Pokémon is truly, truly useless on the path to come and, if you picked wisely in the first place, you shouldn't really be facing this issue. It might be tempting to see what the scientist have, but skip his offer if you really want to reach that legendary at the end.
2 Using Low Damage Moves
Using low damage moves is just pointless, and you'd be better off using a stat move than doing this. Unlike in regular battles, low damage moves can do more harm than good because if the Pokémon's shield is down, they'll generate a new one. Leave that gap in attack for someone with a high power and effective move that can do more damage to the Pokémon, and save the low power attacks for chipping away at the new shield.
1 Using Stat Moves Too Much
Stat moves should pretty much only be used in this circumstance unless they're actually effective and damage the status of the other Pokémon. Moves that minorly improve or lower defense, attack, etc., just don't pack enough of a punch in Dynamax battles to consider them worth using.
Instead, chip away at the shield and use a high power move (if you have it) when the shield is down. Stat moves are overrated in both regular and Dynamax battles, so if there's ever a time when you're wondering if using one is worth it, the answer is likely no.
They do have their place, but that comes less often than you might think.