When it comes to MOBA games, such as Pokemon Unite, winning often depends heavily on both a player's skills and those of their teammates. Though, sound tactics created by gaining an understanding of a title's mechanics can be used in combination with said skills for great results.
Trainers working their way up through the ranks of Pokemon Unite will need to understand how to put together a strong build as well as how to use it effectively. This can be accomplished through trial and error as well as observation of how other players act in battles.
Updated on September 25, 2021, by Reyadh Rahaman: Scoring goals is arguably the most important factor for winning battles in Pokemon Unite, however, that does not mean that this is the only aspect of the game that players should focus on. Defense around goal zones to prevent foes from scoring is also vital in this MOBA game, so splitting one's time between shutting down enemy scorers and scoring goals of one's own is often the ideal method.
Along with fast reflexes and knowledgeability about each pokemon, players are advised to familiarize themselves with the various Held Items and Battle Items, as they are crucial for improving one's capabilities in a battle.
Pokemon Selection
Player Preferences
Right away, every player who is familiar with the Pokemon franchise will likely find a pocket monster that they are fond of in Pokemon Unite's roster. However, even those grouped in the same category each require different mindsets and tactics to use effectively.
It is best to pick 2 or 3 different pokemon to try out and learn in order to get good at using them in battle. Since there are plenty to choose from, players are encouraged to swap favorites so that they can find the characters that suit them the best.
Team Composition
When going into a battle, it is important to note one's team composition before picking which pokemon one will play as for that particular match. For example, if one's team already has 2 Speedsters, even if that is a player's preferred role, it would be better in most cases to select a different kind of pokemon so that the team will be more balanced.
Every successful team will need both offensive characters to defeat foes and score goals as well as defensive ones to hold positions. Attack and defense are equally important in battle, as lacking either will create vulnerabilities that opponents can take advantage of, such as no one being around to stop them from scoring and more.
Why Team Roles Matter
As mentioned above, each role has a part to play, but the concept goes deeper than that. Attackers, Speedsters, and All-Rounders are most often considered to be the best roles for taking down opponents, however, they are not invulnerable. In terms of 1-on-1 confrontations, a well-built Defender should be able to stop any 1-player offensive charge by themselves, especially if the Defender is in one of their goal zones and is receiving passive healing from it.
This means that those taking to the offense will need their allies to support them in order to get any sort of success, while Defenders are more capable on their own if they intend to hold a position. Especially well-built Defenders can potentially even lockdown a goal zone against 2 or 3 enemies, so timing and teamwork are the factors that can change the tide of battle the most. A tip for creating the best strategies in battle is to pay attention to what one's teammates are up to and back them up if they look like they are about to assault an enemy goal zone or takedown a powerful wild pokemon.
Practice & Experiment
If one does not want their rank or win-loss ratio to be impacted, players are advised to utilize the Practice Area that can be found in multiple places of the game. Players can access it either from the main screen where the player is standing next to their favorite pokemon or from the pokemon selection menu that can also be found from the previously mentioned main screen.
Messing around with different movesets and items can allow gamers to not only learn about various pokemon and tactics but also potentially even find or develop a new and unheard-of strategy that could give them an edge in battle.
Items
Held Items
It cannot be overstated how important Held Items are in this MOBA game, as, when leveled up, they grant powerful stats that shift the tide of battle. Though, it is also of vital notice to pick the correct items for one's pokemon and desired build, as the Item Enhancers required to upgrade them need to be purchased with Aeos Coins or Holo Tickets.
The items pertaining to movement speed and HP are fairly self-explanatory, however, players need to be careful of whether they buy Special Attack or Attack items for offensive builds. Put simply, ranged attacks are often Special Attacks and melee attacks are often physical Attacks.
A pro tip for getting the strongest items is to complete events that grant Item Enhancers. With a recent update, Super Item Enhancers were introduced, which can help trainers get their items to the maximum level even quicker! Though, these Super Item Enhancers are a bit trickier to obtain, so be sure to put some time into completing those specific events.
Battle Items
Battle Items are also immensely important, though, since they are actively used and have cooldown times, they are not as constantly powerful as Held Items. These battlefield tools require proper timing for their effects to be used optimally, so players should do their best to recognize the scenarios where their Battle Item would be best to use.
Offensive Battle Items such as X Attack are best used when entering a skirmish to maximize one's damage output while defensive ones like Potion or Full Heal should be saved for when things are looking dire. Mobility-related Battle Items, though, can be used for both offense (chasing down targets) as well as defense (escaping danger) and have somewhat defined the meta, as can be noted by tons of players equipping the extremely useful Eject Button.
How to win a battle can sometimes come down to a single goal, which can be made with ideal Battle Item usage. Items that help players score, such as the Goal Getter, can really turn the tide in battle, especially if there is little time left in a battle and a player manages to sink a shot worth double the points.
Items For Specific Roles
Picking Held Items and Battle Items also depends a lot on what one wants to do in Unite battles. Using Speedsters as an example once more, players in this kind of role will either focus on scoring or taking down opponents to open up scoring opportunities for teammates.
Those that intend on scoring should invest in Held Items such as Attack Weight (raises Attack with every goal scored) or Sp. Atk Specs (raises Special Attack with every goal scored) and other goal-related ones. Those who plan more on supporting goal-scorers should focus on items that passively increase their stats without needing to score, such as Muscle Band for physical attackers and Wise Glasses for special attackers.
The Best Strategies For Ranked & Standard Battles
Buddy System & Teamwork
Regardless of one's build, skills, and items, it is impossible to win a Unite battle without working with one's teammates. Going off on one's own for the majority of a match is never a good plan, and will only serve to diminish how effective one's team is and likely feed the other side easy takedowns if caught alone.
By feeding the opponents Exp in this manner, selfish players allow them to get ahead in terms of leveling and put one's team at a disadvantage. To avoid this, stick with an ally or 2 while not farming nearby wild pokemon so that one can combine powers and synergize their strengths.
Positioning & Farming
In regards to tips and tricks in battle, picking a path is not only a sound battlefield tactic but also a way to passively and easily communicate with allies where potential support can be found. While it is definitely better for Speedsters to stick to the center of the map to farm the wild pokemon there for the beginning of a battle, every other type of role should pick either the top or bottom path and treat one's farthest goal zone as the first line of defense.
While hanging around the desired goal zone, farm the nearby wild pokemon on occasion, though, don't stray too far from one's teammates or goal zone, as this can leave the player's side vulnerable.
Taking Advantage Of Rotom, Drednaw, & Zapdos
While tempting to rush to these powerful wild pokemon to defeat them for their mighty effects, players need to know that these effects will be applied to the team that gets the last hit on the wild pokemon. This means that if a player's team has decimated most of a target's HP, an opponent can swoop in to deliver the final hit to claim the buff for their team instead.
Since all 3 of these wild pokemon give great battle effects, it's better to take them out as quickly as possible by attacking them together with allies. Rotom should be used when the top path has an advantage and is looking to push it, Drednaw should be used just before trying to takeout Rotom or Zapdos or if the opponents leave the bottom path alone for a while, and Zapdos is best used when players need to turn the tide in battle, though, it's better to let the opposing team do most of the work in hurting the legendary bird before the player's team should come in to take the thunderbird down.
The Best Strategies For Quick Battles
Mer Stadium
This area for Quick Battles will function much like Remoat Stadium in Ranked and Standard Battles, but things will unfold much faster and there are fewer goal zones. Players should utilize the same tactics as in Ranked and Standard Battles here, though, farming wild pokemon will be even more important as to get more Exp early on for beginning advantages.
As a general guide, try staying away from the opposing team until one has learned at least 1 of their final moves or has fully evolved, as wasting time with pointless skirmishes where no one gets taken out will squander the few minutes one will have to score goals and get takedowns.
Shivre City
How to play Pokemon Unite on this icy map can be tricky, as it is quite long but not very tall, though comes with the speedways on both the top and bottom paths that connect the opposing goal zones, of which there are only 2: 1 for the player's team and 1 for the opponent's team.
While farming the small wild pokemon will be handy in leveling up at first, players should focus on farming the stronger wild Electrodes with teammates as they grant much more points for scoring. Using hit and run tactics to get quick goals would be best, especially when synchronizing goals with allies to take advantage of the short score multiplier.
Auroma Park
Like Shivre City, Auroma Park has a lot of speedways, though the map is a fair deal larger and the converter belts can be complicated to navigate due to their changing directions. Each of the 2 goal zones is located in opposite corners of the map and does not truly belong to a particular team, therefore it is possible to dominate both if one is fast enough to zip between them as well as continuously farm points and Exp from wild pokemon.
A great way to rack up a lot of points quickly is to stick with one's teammates in the far corners of the map to farm the Araquanids there as well as the surrounding pokemon before scoring with allies and continue making use of the scoring multiplier. If timed properly, every goal can become one that is worth double the points. In this manner, players would not even need to face off against opposing trainer pokemon to win a quick battle.
Pokemon Unite is available on Nintendo Switch, Android, and iOS.