What Is Ranked?

Ranked matches are a great way to step up your game in Pokémon Unite. If you find yourself getting more into the game and taking your win/loss ratio more seriously, you might want to consider playing ranked. Ranked matches are played the same way as normal matches, you defeat enemy Pokémon and score on the opponents goals, but they’re meant for more competitive players. Though, this mode is better if you have a group of friends to play and cooperate with, it’s also possible to solo queue and get some decent teammates depending on your rank. Your Elo or MMR rating will determine who you play with and against. This means in ranked matches, you’ll always be paired up with other players with similar ranks. If you’re a high rank, expect to be paired with other players who know what they’re doing.

The Ranking System

When you’re playing ranked, there are 6 ranks you can earn. You start at Beginner and work your way though the ranks of Great, Expert, Veteran, Ultra, and Master. Within each rank, there are classes. Think of classes as an XP bar. When you win a ranked match, your class will go up. When you reach the highest class in your rank, you’ll advance to the next rank. But watch out, if you lose matches, your class can go down and so will your rank if you lose too many. This is the main difference between casual matches and ranked play. In regular matches, even when you lose, you still level up and make progress. In ranked, you only rank up if you win a match. This gives you bragging rights as the better you play, the more matches you’ll win. The more matches you win, the higher your rank will be. This is where cooperation and good teammates become important as you don’t want your team dragging your rank down.

Requirements For Ranked

Before you are able to play in a ranked match, you’ll need to meet a few requirements. The main requirement being your trainer level needs to be 6 or higher. This can be done pretty quickly, within the first couple hours of gameplay even. This also allows you to get some casual practice in before you head to a more competitive scene. The second thing is you need to acquire 5 Pokemon licenses. Lastly, you need to have 79 or more Fairplay points. Fair play points are points that you gain from having good sportsmanship and making the game fair for everyone. You should have enough Fair-play points if you don’t abandon matches early, sit idle in games, or are being reported by other players for any reason. Once you meet these 3 requirements, you’re ready to play ranked matches!

Blastoise was one of the first additional Pokémon that were supposed to be added to Pokémon Unite after its release. Blastoise’s picture even comes before Gardevoir in this graphic that shows the upcoming playable Pokémon but we still don’t have a release date for when Blastoise will be put in the game. As we all know, Garviour came to Unite before Blastoise along with Blissey, who wasn’t even announced until weeks after Blastoise was announced to be in the game. Now we have an official announcement from Pokémon that two new characters will be joining the roster before Blastoise. Sylveon and Mamoswine will become playable characters soon. So if they’re adding so many additional Pokémon, what’s taking Blastoise so long?

Blastoise, Gardevoir, and other Pokémon also can’t wait to join you on Aeos Island!

They won’t be battle-ready at launch, so stay tuned for more details on when they’ll arrive following the release of #PokemonUNITE on Nintendo Switch! pic.twitter.com/05szCFP3pK

— Pokémon UNITE (@PokemonUnite) June 17, 2021

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Where is Blastoise?

Many players in the Pokemon Unite community are upset by this delay to put one of the fan favorite starter Pokémon in the game. We already have Charizard and Venusaur. Everyone wants to run around the arena as Squirtle and push enemies back as a massive Blastoise. The list of Defender Pokémon is running a little low as there are only three defenders in Pokémon Unite at the moment, so we don’t think it’s because they want to add more of a different class first. It’s obvious the developers already have a working prototype for this Pokemon as Blastoise was playable during the game’s Beta phase. It’s possible that the devs ran into some bugs or balancing issues with this Pokémon so they delayed it’s release. If they were to release it with bugs or other issues just because players are pressuring them to hurry, then no one will be satisfied. The developers will feel rushed and not accomplished, while the player base will be upset that there was unfinished content added to the game. If this is the case, it’s very smart for the developers to hold off on the character just to make sure everything is perfect before it’s released to the public. The list of Defender Pokémon is running a little low as there are only three defenders in Pokémon Unite at the moment, so we don’t think it’s because they want to add more of a different class first.

Other Pokémon

At least they’re constantly updating the game and releasing new playable characters. With Sylveon and Mamoswine coming to Unite, they’re obviously working very hard to deliver updates and patches with new content every other week. This shows that there is a reason for them not putting Blastoise in the game and the devs aren’t just being lazy. If this were the case, we wouldn’t see all of these updates and content being released at all. We just hope that whatever the reason, the developers take their time to perfect our beloved, classic starter Pokémon’s moves. If a character is rushed into the game, this will cause more problems than just a delay.

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Update on Blastoise Release Date

There has been an official announcement with a release date for Blastoise on Twitter. Blastoise will become a playable Pokemon on September 1st, 2021 according to this PokemonUnite Twitter post.

https://twitter.com/PokemonUnite/status/1430515310340321282?s=19

Today, August 4th 2021 (8/4/2021), Pokemon Unite will be getting a new game update. This is the first major patch since the game’s release a couple weeks ago. This server update will be at 12AM PDT/7:00 UTC. If you’re having issues with servers at this time, try to update your game before troubleshooting further. You can do this just by restarting the app on your device.

Patch Notes:

Bug Fixes

Greninja, Alolan Ninetales, Lucario, Machamp, Zeraora, Gengar, Wigglytuff, and Absol, have had bugs that were fixed on several moves but again, the patch notes don’t go in depth on what bugs were fixed.

Text Fixes

There isn’t much information on the text changes in the new update, but this is most likely small changes to the UI that will go unnoticed.

Spectate Feature Test Release

“A test release of the Spectate feature will be performed from 8-4-2021 at 12AM PDT/7:00 UTC until 8-6-2021 at 12AM PDT/7:00 UTC.” This spectate feature will allow you to watch a match being played in real-time while not being an active player in the battle.

Pokemon Changes

Changes are being made to Pokémon’s stats and moves. This is for further balance of battles and fixes to the game. Many players in the community have pointed out that the patch notes for these changes are not very specific. Hopefully future patch notes will be more detailed and include numbers for these changes.

Charizard (buff)

The effects of Flamethrower, Fire Punch, and Fire Blast have been strengthened. The cool down has also been reduced to Flamethrower and Fire Blast.

Talonflame (buff)

The amount of damage dealt for the following abilities have been increased, Acrobatics, Ariel Ace, and Fly.

Venusaur (buff)

Sludge Bomb and Unite Move (Verdant Anger) now does more damage. The cooldown on Solar Beam has been reduced. There’s a patch note that mentions the Petal Dance move has been “upgraded” but there’s no further information on this change.

Absol (buff)

Damage dealt has been increased to Night Slash and Sucker Punch.

Wigglytuff (buff)

Wigglytuff’s Defense, Sp. Def, and HP stats have been increased. Effects on Double Slap and Sing have been strengthened and Double Slap now deals more damage.

Eldegoss (nerf)

The ability, Cotton Spore, got a buff by now having a reduced cooldown, stronger effects, and the move’s Defense/Sp. Def has been increased. That’s where the buffs stop for Eldegoss. Cotton Guard now has a longer cooldown and it’s HP restoration decreased. Eldegoss’ Unite Move, Cotton Cloud Crash, also had an HP restoration decrease. Many people agree with these changes, as before the update Eldogoss was able to heal and deal a lot of damage solo.

Cinderace (nerf)

Cinderace’s Attack stat has been decreased. Blaze Kick now does less damage. Pyro Ball does more damage. Feint had a “Move Downgrade” but no information has been released passed that.

Gengar (buff)

Damage dealt with the Shadow Ball move has been increased. Hex had a “Move Downgrade”. Dream Eater had a “Move Upgrade”.

Zeraora (buff)

Damage has been increased for Wild Charge and Zeraora’s Unite Move, Plasma Gale. Cooldown has also been reduced for Wild Charge.

Cramorant (buff/nerf)

Damage for the move Whirlpool has been decreased, while the damage for Dive has been increased.

Machamp (buff/nerf)

Cross Chop’s damage has been increased, while Close Combat now does less damage to opposing Pokémon.

Known Issues

With the new update being released, players have noticed a major bug with Gengar where they do 0 damage. This has been confirmed on the official Pokémon Unite Twitter page and they claim to be working on it and will have all issues fixed soon.

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The following bugs have been confirmed in the current version of the game.

Details
– Gengar: Hex

We deeply apologize for any inconvenience this may be causing and hope to have all issues fixed soon.

— Pokémon UNITE (@PokemonUnite) August 4, 2021

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Pokémon Unite has been released and many players are thinking about spending money in-game, since the game was free. It’s easier to spend money on a free title than a game that costs you $60 upfront. If you’re looking to spend money on Pokémon Unite, you’re likely looking at the Battle Pass as it offers the most items for the price. Like many other games, the battle pass allows you to claim some rewards without buying the pass but this only accounts for a small portion of the rewards available. To get the most out of the battle pass and your Pokémon Unite experience in general, you should buy the battle pass. There are two different battle passes. The Premium Battle Pass allows you to unlock items as you complete tasks and level up. There’s also the Premium Battle Pass Plus. This automatically gives you 10 levels in the pass, which unlocks the next 10 items and gives you a head start.

How The Battle Pass Works

When you buy the Battle Pass, you don’t immediately unlock all of the rewards that come with it. You need to level up and earn these rewards by playing matches and completing tasks. These tasks are broken up into 3 categories, daily missions, weekly missions, and season missions. This just describes how long you have to complete that mission before it refreshes and gives you a different task. If progression is important to you in a game, this will definitely help you feel like you’re making some progress in Unite. This is a huge selling point for all Battle Passes in games as it not only give you rewards immediately but it feels satisfying to unlock things as you play. Without the battle pass, the amount of items you unlock slows down as you level up but with this pass you’re able to unlock a reward every battle pass level.

Is It Worth It?

Of course this is a subjective question but the community overall seems to think that the Battle Pass offers plenty of rewards and is cheap enough for it to be worth your money. The Premium Battle Pass will cost you 490 Aoes Gems, which is about $5, while the Premium Plus Pass costs $10. The 1st Season’s Battle Pass offers a lot of Item Enhancers and other items. There aren’t many amazing cosmetic items you get through out leveling up the pass, but you’ll get plenty of stuff to have your own style and stand out from the crowd. Hopefully in future passes they’ll add even more unlockable character customization.

The best held item depends on which Pokémon you’re playing as each Pokémon has different abilities, stats, and purpose in battle. Some items may help other types of Pokemon more than others. For example, a supporter may benefit more from a speed boost than a speedster would.

1. Float Stone

Float Stone seems like an underwhelming passive buff but is arguably the most useful held item in the game. No matter if you’re in early, mid, or late game, a faster movement speed will help you get to where you’re going faster. Going after enemies when they run away, running away from dangerous situations, going to and from score zones. The float stone has you covered in all situations and will let you get ahead of your opponent (literally). This is recommended for Pokemon that have low mobility and move slow such as defenders and support characters but they help everyone.

2. Shell Bell

Recovering HP quickly is very important in Pokemon Unite. This item allows you to stay in combat and heal while you deal damage so you don’t have to run away to pick up berries or go to your score zone. There are many combat situations where you and your opponent will both be low HP, with this item you’ll have the advantage over them. While they’ll have no choice but to run away. If you have an ability ready to use you’ll be able to heal and deal damage at the same time. Health related items like this are recommended for squishy characters such as speedsters, attackers, and all-rounders. Defenders already have a lot of health but it would be useful if you don’t have a support character around. Some support characters already have the ability to heal so there are other items that may help support Pokemon more.

3. Focus Band

Once again, recovering health is very important in any MOBA game. The Focus Band allows you to gain health when you’re low HP. This can easily save you in sticky situations when you’re trying to run away or when you’re going against an opponent with low health. This is an item that will help attackers and all rounders more than anyone but this item is useful no matter who you’re playing.

4. Rocky Helmet

This is another great item held by your Pokemon that will assist in battle. This helps close combat Pokémon such as speedsters because you need to be close to your opponents for this damage to be dealt.

5. Scope Lens

Held Items are very easy to overlook, especially for newbie players, but are actually really important. If you don’t pay attention to your Pokémon’s items you’re missing out on major buffs and boosts that can make the difference between you winning or losing a battle. Upgrading these items will give you an even bigger advantage as they’re more effective the higher level they are. After you reach Trainer Level 9, you unlock the ability to upgrade your held items. Spend Item Enhancer tokens to level up your held items and make them more beneficial.

Pokémon Unite just released last week and many people are downloading and playing the game already. With it being a free to play game, there are going to be a lot of players willing to spend more money on cosmetics and other in game purchases. Micro transactions are the main way for free to play games to make money. These can be seen as a good thing, as they help support the game developers and makes updates and DLC more likely but they’re infamous for making the game “pay-to-win / P2W”. Pay to win means that there are purchases you can make with real money that will give you an advantage over your opponent in-game.

There has been debate and evidence lately that Pokémon Unite is pay to win. Recently a Twitch live streamer by the name of Charlie, largely known as MoistCritikal or Penguinz0, was streaming himself playing Pokémon Unite. His goal during this stream was to spend real money on micro transactions until he had a complete, unfair advantage over his opponents. His strategy was upgrading his held items until they gave him buffs that couldn’t be matched. He upgraded some passive items all the way to level 30, which would take a long time to get without spending money. With this he was able to solo 2 opponents at once but it wasn’t the type of overpowered-ness he was looking for. He then upgraded a passive buff that increased his critical hit chance so much, he was getting crits back to back sometimes. This not only allowed him to have an advantage over one or two opponents, he was able to take on the entire enemy team and pushed them into their spawn.

By the end of the livestream, Charlie spent more than $100. There aren’t many people that are willing to drop that much money on a game, so hopefully you won’t run into overpowered players often. That being said, there are definitely some people that ARE willing to spend $100+ on Aoes gems, as MoistCritikal did. This means there are players that will have an advantage without earning it.

The good thing about held items being an advantage is you can obtain these beneficial items without paying real world money. As you level up your Trainer, you unlock items that can be held by your Pokémon and give them buffs. You’re able to unlock all held items just by playing the game. The only items that are exclusive to micro transactions are cosmetic holo wear.

There obviously is evidence that if you spend a lot of money on Aoes gems, you can give yourself an advantage but the same goes for high level players. You shouldn’t have to worry about running into players that do this often but it will be frustrating for the people that do. Hopefully the developers address this issue and balance the items more so specific players won’t dominate matches single-handedly.

Pokémon Unite just released and many people are wondering how to get the Zeraora license. It took myself a while of exploring the newly released game’s menus until I found where to claim this exclusive character. You only have until August 31st, 2021 to unlock this limited time Pokémon so act quickly or you may not be able to play as Zeraora in the future. Zeraora is a free character, as long as you play before the specified date, you won’t have to pay to play as them.

How To Get The Zeraora License

Once you’re on the main menu, press X to open a purple settings menu on the left side of your screen. Select the option that says mail. This is where you’ll receive messages from other players and the dev team. Under system messages you should see a new message that is titled “Launch Bonus”. Upon opening this message you’ll be able to claim Zeraora.

1. Go to the main menu
2. Press ‘X’
3. Select “Mail”
4. Go to “System Messages”
5. Press ‘A’ to claim the launch bonus

Playing as Zeraora

The difficulty for this Pokémon is Expert, so you may want to practice with this new playable character before entering a public match. Zeraora has great offense and mobility but low endurance, this puts them in the Speedster category. Towards the beginning of the match, Zeraora can be squishy, as they don’t do a lot of damage and can be easily ganked. Make sure to level up a bit before taking on enemies. Stick to the middle of the map and focus on wild Pokémon for a while. The middle of the match is where this Pokémon really shines, if you’re able to level up quickly, you’ll be able to push your opponents back and help your team score a lot of points. Make sure to use agility to your advantage to escape risky situations.