1. Playerbase
Thank you to the 31 responses to the survey, this is an increase from the post OGPL survey by 5 responses. It similarly has a good mix of competitive players, builders, pilots, and casual players alike, so we are glad we are able to hear from all aspects of the community. For the remainder of the post we will consider the competitive responses to the post PL survey to be Blue, Red, and Orange.
2. Enjoyability
We implemented a new system for the enjoyability and balance of the tier being the 1-7 system. I will briefly explain how we will be considering each number. 4 will be the neutral opinion of neither enjoy nor dislike the tier. Then 5,6,7 will correspond to slightly enjoy, enjoy, and greatly enjoy the tier with 1,2,3 being similar but with dislike instead of enjoy. This is slightly different than the OGPL survey where we used the 1-5 scale and so comparing them might not be 100% mathematically sound so take all analysis going forward with a grain of salt.
The average enjoyability of the entire survey came out to 5.45/7 with a median of 5, which means that most people lie between slightly enjoying the tier and regularly enjoying the tier. Notably there were no respondents to the survey who had a negative view of the tier with all respondents being neutral or better, with 90% of the respondents finding the tier at least slightly enjoyable. Compared to the post OGPL survey which had an average enjoyability of 3.29/5 which I believe is an improvement. Additionally, the median for the OGPL survey was a 3 so we can pretty confidently say that more people are finding SS to be enjoyable. The average enjoyability for the competitive players was a 5.71/7 with a median of 6, which means that competitive players generally find the tier more enjoyable. Similarly this is an increase from OGPL where the average was 3.47/5. There is room to improve the tier but we generally consider this a good baseline at the very least.
3. Competitiveness
The average for the entire survey for competitiveness of the tier was 5.97/7 with a median of 6, which means most people find the tier competitive and balanced. Similarly, there were no respondents who indicated they believed the tier was slightly uncompetitive/slightly unbalanced with at worst some respondents were neutral on the balance of the tier. 77% of the respondents indicated a score of 6 or better which means that they believed that the tier was competitive or very competitive. Comparing this to OGPL where the average was 3.42/5 this seems to be a significant improvement in the view of t he tier's balance. The median for OGPL was a 4/5 which is fairly in line with a median of a 6/7. The average competitiveness of the tier for competitive players was a 6.05/7 with a median of 6 which means both competitive and casual players tend to agree on how balanced SS as a tier is. Similarly this is an increase from OGPL where the average was 3.32/5. We are always looking to improve the competitiveness and balance of the tier but we are very happy with where the tier is considering the response to this question.
4. Regidrago
To begin with Regidrago, there is a non-insignificant portion of respondents (40%) who would like to see some action on Regidrago, and even one respondent who picked no action who mentioned a more abstain perspective on Regidrago. At this time we will not be doing a suspect on Regidrago but we will continue to keep an eye on Regidrago moving forward. Compared to OGPL there has been a slight decrease in negative perceptions of Regidrago, namely No Action went from 54.2% to 61.3%, Suspect went from 33.3% to 35.5%, and Quickban dropped from 12.5% to 3.2%. Competitive players had similar opinions on Regidrago with 61.9% of competitive players supporting No Action on Regidrago at this time. We will continue to include Regidrago in future surveys as a default question.
5. Custap Berry
Continuing forward with Custap Berry, there is overwhelming popularity for No Action to be taken towards Custap Berry. Competitive players seem to have a similar perspective on Custap Berry with 80.0% of respondents being in favor of No Action towards Custap Berry. This is a major shift from OGPL where only 50% of the general survey respondents were in favor of No Action towards Custap Berry and 63.2% of competitive players were in favor of No Action on Custap Berry. This shift indicates that the view on Custap Berry has largely become more positive. We will not be including Custap Berry in future surveys as a default question, but feel free to continue to indicate support for action on Custap Berry in the miscellaneous ban/unbans section of the survey.
6. Miscellaneous bans/unbans
Sleep: There were 6 responses in total who mentioned Sleep in some regard. 3 of which were in favor of additional sleep bans of some kind and 2 were in favor of reversing previous sleep bans and finally one who was in favor of consistency (all ban or none ban). This remains a controversial topic so for the next survey we will be adding a question regarding Sleep and what type of action if any should be taken towards it.
Cresselia: There were 2 responses that mentioned a Cresselia suspect, with additionally a mention of wanting to have top tier mons be on the survey by default. We will consider adding this to future surveys but there is no guarantee.
Unbans: There were many individual banned mons mentioned (Zygc, Genesect, Necrozma, Zamazenta, etc) about these being unbanned. However there is no clear support for any individual mon so we will not be suspecting any particular mon at this moment. However, we believe that an unban tour might be enjoyable where every week a different mon is unbanned. Do note this hypothetical tour would be a for fun tour and would not count for reqs for a potential suspect. At this time we do not plan to add any individual banned mon as a default question on the survey.
7. Resources
Responses were generally positive towards SS resources which we are glad to hear. I realize there was never a post about updated samples so to those who mention outdated samples I am happy to say we have updated the samples and added 3 new teams. Please check out the post at the start of this thread which has the updated samples.
In other news we are going to be having a new channel in the 1v1 discord to help update the set compendium. Please reach out to Felucia or myself for more details on the set comp or if you are interested in contributing!
8. Closing Thoughts
We are very happy with the direction the tier is going and the survey seems to show that the community mirrors that sentiment. We will be doing a survey after every major tour (PL, OGPL, and WC). We will continue to be working on improving resources and ensuring resources are up to date. Any questions or additional comments are appreciated please feel free to reach out to myself or the rest of SS council. Once again thank you for all the responses!
2. Enjoyability
We implemented a new system for the enjoyability and balance of the tier being the 1-7 system. I will briefly explain how we will be considering each number. 4 will be the neutral opinion of neither enjoy nor dislike the tier. Then 5,6,7 will correspond to slightly enjoy, enjoy, and greatly enjoy the tier with 1,2,3 being similar but with dislike instead of enjoy. This is slightly different than the OGPL survey where we used the 1-5 scale and so comparing them might not be 100% mathematically sound so take all analysis going forward with a grain of salt.
The average enjoyability of the entire survey came out to 5.45/7 with a median of 5, which means that most people lie between slightly enjoying the tier and regularly enjoying the tier. Notably there were no respondents to the survey who had a negative view of the tier with all respondents being neutral or better, with 90% of the respondents finding the tier at least slightly enjoyable. Compared to the post OGPL survey which had an average enjoyability of 3.29/5 which I believe is an improvement. Additionally, the median for the OGPL survey was a 3 so we can pretty confidently say that more people are finding SS to be enjoyable. The average enjoyability for the competitive players was a 5.71/7 with a median of 6, which means that competitive players generally find the tier more enjoyable. Similarly this is an increase from OGPL where the average was 3.47/5. There is room to improve the tier but we generally consider this a good baseline at the very least.
3. Competitiveness
The average for the entire survey for competitiveness of the tier was 5.97/7 with a median of 6, which means most people find the tier competitive and balanced. Similarly, there were no respondents who indicated they believed the tier was slightly uncompetitive/slightly unbalanced with at worst some respondents were neutral on the balance of the tier. 77% of the respondents indicated a score of 6 or better which means that they believed that the tier was competitive or very competitive. Comparing this to OGPL where the average was 3.42/5 this seems to be a significant improvement in the view of t he tier's balance. The median for OGPL was a 4/5 which is fairly in line with a median of a 6/7. The average competitiveness of the tier for competitive players was a 6.05/7 with a median of 6 which means both competitive and casual players tend to agree on how balanced SS as a tier is. Similarly this is an increase from OGPL where the average was 3.32/5. We are always looking to improve the competitiveness and balance of the tier but we are very happy with where the tier is considering the response to this question.
4. Regidrago
To begin with Regidrago, there is a non-insignificant portion of respondents (40%) who would like to see some action on Regidrago, and even one respondent who picked no action who mentioned a more abstain perspective on Regidrago. At this time we will not be doing a suspect on Regidrago but we will continue to keep an eye on Regidrago moving forward. Compared to OGPL there has been a slight decrease in negative perceptions of Regidrago, namely No Action went from 54.2% to 61.3%, Suspect went from 33.3% to 35.5%, and Quickban dropped from 12.5% to 3.2%. Competitive players had similar opinions on Regidrago with 61.9% of competitive players supporting No Action on Regidrago at this time. We will continue to include Regidrago in future surveys as a default question.
5. Custap Berry
Continuing forward with Custap Berry, there is overwhelming popularity for No Action to be taken towards Custap Berry. Competitive players seem to have a similar perspective on Custap Berry with 80.0% of respondents being in favor of No Action towards Custap Berry. This is a major shift from OGPL where only 50% of the general survey respondents were in favor of No Action towards Custap Berry and 63.2% of competitive players were in favor of No Action on Custap Berry. This shift indicates that the view on Custap Berry has largely become more positive. We will not be including Custap Berry in future surveys as a default question, but feel free to continue to indicate support for action on Custap Berry in the miscellaneous ban/unbans section of the survey.
6. Miscellaneous bans/unbans
Sleep: There were 6 responses in total who mentioned Sleep in some regard. 3 of which were in favor of additional sleep bans of some kind and 2 were in favor of reversing previous sleep bans and finally one who was in favor of consistency (all ban or none ban). This remains a controversial topic so for the next survey we will be adding a question regarding Sleep and what type of action if any should be taken towards it.
Cresselia: There were 2 responses that mentioned a Cresselia suspect, with additionally a mention of wanting to have top tier mons be on the survey by default. We will consider adding this to future surveys but there is no guarantee.
Unbans: There were many individual banned mons mentioned (Zygc, Genesect, Necrozma, Zamazenta, etc) about these being unbanned. However there is no clear support for any individual mon so we will not be suspecting any particular mon at this moment. However, we believe that an unban tour might be enjoyable where every week a different mon is unbanned. Do note this hypothetical tour would be a for fun tour and would not count for reqs for a potential suspect. At this time we do not plan to add any individual banned mon as a default question on the survey.
7. Resources
Responses were generally positive towards SS resources which we are glad to hear. I realize there was never a post about updated samples so to those who mention outdated samples I am happy to say we have updated the samples and added 3 new teams. Please check out the post at the start of this thread which has the updated samples.
In other news we are going to be having a new channel in the 1v1 discord to help update the set compendium. Please reach out to Felucia or myself for more details on the set comp or if you are interested in contributing!
8. Closing Thoughts
We are very happy with the direction the tier is going and the survey seems to show that the community mirrors that sentiment. We will be doing a survey after every major tour (PL, OGPL, and WC). We will continue to be working on improving resources and ensuring resources are up to date. Any questions or additional comments are appreciated please feel free to reach out to myself or the rest of SS council. Once again thank you for all the responses!