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Sword & Shield **Official news only** DLC Crown Tundra 22nd October
- Thread starter DHR-107
- Start date
THEY REMOVED THE GTS?! WHY?
Okay, yes, it wasn't perfect, a lot of people were making dumb requests either using or with Legendaries, but that's not a reason to get rid of the whole thing!
And yes, I know, I could just find someone here or one Reddit and set up a time & date to do a Link Code Trade... but it was so much easier to just put the Pokemon into the GTS, ask for what Pokemon I wanted (usually non-Legendary version exclusives) and usually within the hour I would check and see the Pokemon has been traded. Much easier with less fuss. Think I'll wait till end of the game to do some serious dex filling, though thinking of spending a day just evolving all the Pokemon I have cooped up in my Box to get their dex entries filled.
Okay, yes, it wasn't perfect, a lot of people were making dumb requests either using or with Legendaries, but that's not a reason to get rid of the whole thing!
And yes, I know, I could just find someone here or one Reddit and set up a time & date to do a Link Code Trade... but it was so much easier to just put the Pokemon into the GTS, ask for what Pokemon I wanted (usually non-Legendary version exclusives) and usually within the hour I would check and see the Pokemon has been traded. Much easier with less fuss. Think I'll wait till end of the game to do some serious dex filling, though thinking of spending a day just evolving all the Pokemon I have cooped up in my Box to get their dex entries filled.
I’m guessing they did it because of Pokémon Home. Pokémon Home allows trading globally, so they probably thought it was unessary for two online trading stations. Not that I agree. It was so nice to be able to put a version exclusive and get another one within seconds. Now you have to manually link up or hope for Max Raid Battles.
I used the GTS for anything that would be a pain to get normally, mostly by breeding something that takes knowledge to set up but little incremental cost. I'm still disappointed the changes to the messages in Gen 7 made it nearly impossible to announce you had egg moves (aura sphere squirtle and seismic toss chansey were my go-to in gen 6).
And no, I don't consider the relative lack of transfer-only mons to counteract the loss of this.
And no, I don't consider the relative lack of transfer-only mons to counteract the loss of this.
I used the GTS to get the SmogonU giveaways. Had at least two boxes worth of those guys.
And I know many breeders would giveaway their extra stock on the GTS, usually for decent offers if you knew what to look for (version exclusives and starters mostly). It was nice because it was so low-key, as long as you made a reasonable offer your pokemon would be traded within a day. Which as a person in the desert with not a lot of free time to watch posts on Smogon or Gamefaqs or Reddit to get a trade set-up, the GTS was great.
We're all sounding like a broken record now, but this game really is just nothing but cuts. It didn't move the series forward in any direction, it just sent us all back four or more generations.
And I know many breeders would giveaway their extra stock on the GTS, usually for decent offers if you knew what to look for (version exclusives and starters mostly). It was nice because it was so low-key, as long as you made a reasonable offer your pokemon would be traded within a day. Which as a person in the desert with not a lot of free time to watch posts on Smogon or Gamefaqs or Reddit to get a trade set-up, the GTS was great.
We're all sounding like a broken record now, but this game really is just nothing but cuts. It didn't move the series forward in any direction, it just sent us all back four or more generations.
I've finished the story and been doing a bit of postgame raiding - dex filling so I'll give my 2 cents on the game now.
Difficulty wise, it's actually surprisingly challenging in its later parts *IF* you are opting out of certain features (namely, the candies/TR dropped from raids if you do some,Arnie's Camp's boosts, and obviously not purposely overgrinding).
So my impressions are based on my choice of playing by
- Not grinding (I only took wild battles with pokemon I lacked in the pokedex, but I fought almost every trainer I could find)
- Even though I did several raids, I didn't use any of the rewards until I was in postgame, so no candyes to boost exp, no TRs to have 90 BP stabs early on. I did use a couple of the caught pokemon, which do come at a level based on your gym number at the time of the raid (usually on par or slightly lower than your average)
- SET game mode
- Used camp once in the entire playthrough to check it out
(As you might expect, playing on SWITCH, abusing Camp and candies/TR can easily make the game a joke difficulty wise)
Wild area pokemon and wild pokemon in general are tougher to beat, as they are usually on par with your level or even slightly higher... which is probably a consequence of being able to actually opt into fights rather than having to slog through 500 Zubats. I have been memed for having almost got 1v6d by a wild Stufful on stream, and that also happened again a couple more times later on. They definitely have messed with the catch rates for mons higher or comparable level than the player... idk if I like it or not, but it surely adds to the pseudo-difficulty and gives a bit more thought on if you want to take a wild battle or not.
Going into a bit of more spoilery parts. (so check at your risk if you haven't yet played it and plan to)
Also, shout out for one of the best soundtracks in this generation of games.
The OST is hype as fuck, I absolutely love it.
All in all... I didn't come in SwSh with big expectations, I do think it's the best pokemon game to date, not because it's a great game, but because pokemon games always had the same issues SwSh has, just SwSh's were blown out of proportion due to the Dexit issue.
Taken in a vacuum, it's the best Pokemon Game to date.
Taken in comparison to other 60 € Switch titles, obviously it is very lacking. It could have been much more than this.
I'll be sitting in hope GF learned their lesson from the huge PR backlash SwSh had and won't just sit on the sales number for the next title, though. Time will tell.
I give it 7.8/10, not enough (water) Pokemon but too much death threats.
Difficulty wise, it's actually surprisingly challenging in its later parts *IF* you are opting out of certain features (namely, the candies/TR dropped from raids if you do some,
So my impressions are based on my choice of playing by
- Not grinding (I only took wild battles with pokemon I lacked in the pokedex, but I fought almost every trainer I could find)
- Even though I did several raids, I didn't use any of the rewards until I was in postgame, so no candyes to boost exp, no TRs to have 90 BP stabs early on. I did use a couple of the caught pokemon, which do come at a level based on your gym number at the time of the raid (usually on par or slightly lower than your average)
- SET game mode
- Used camp once in the entire playthrough to check it out
(As you might expect, playing on SWITCH, abusing Camp and candies/TR can easily make the game a joke difficulty wise)
Wild area pokemon and wild pokemon in general are tougher to beat, as they are usually on par with your level or even slightly higher... which is probably a consequence of being able to actually opt into fights rather than having to slog through 500 Zubats. I have been memed for having almost got 1v6d by a wild Stufful on stream, and that also happened again a couple more times later on. They definitely have messed with the catch rates for mons higher or comparable level than the player... idk if I like it or not, but it surely adds to the pseudo-difficulty and gives a bit more thought on if you want to take a wild battle or not.
Going into a bit of more spoilery parts. (so check at your risk if you haven't yet played it and plan to)
I liked the mix of weird challenges + trainer battles, definitely a upgrade over gen 7 trials even though I could swear whoever made the Ghost and Ice challenge is a sadic maniac. The Gym trainers are all super easy but I assume that's intended as they're there more to annoy than to challenge.
The Gym leaders are mostly easy if you have basic understanding of type matchups, and the fact they don't have 6 pokemon means in worse scenario you can just tank their D/Gmax with whatever active pokemon you have and send in your own Dinamax.
It is important to have good type matchups at least (duh...).
Also, gym 8 being double battles AND with sinergic teams is something I really loved. We need more of this stuff GameFreaks. If you're meant to have your main official mode as doubles, you need introductions like this to the sinergies and doubles-only abilities.
The battle against Leon is actually pretty brutal. Even assuming you bring Eternatus along, your team is going to be on average 5 if not more levels below his, and he's also going to have the final form of the starter that's strong against yours. His Cinderace also outsped my Boltund despite Nuzzle, so I am assuming his team is also IV/EVd (but feel free to call me on this)
The Gym leaders are mostly easy if you have basic understanding of type matchups, and the fact they don't have 6 pokemon means in worse scenario you can just tank their D/Gmax with whatever active pokemon you have and send in your own Dinamax.
It is important to have good type matchups at least (duh...).
Also, gym 8 being double battles AND with sinergic teams is something I really loved. We need more of this stuff GameFreaks. If you're meant to have your main official mode as doubles, you need introductions like this to the sinergies and doubles-only abilities.
The battle against Leon is actually pretty brutal. Even assuming you bring Eternatus along, your team is going to be on average 5 if not more levels below his, and he's also going to have the final form of the starter that's strong against yours. His Cinderace also outsped my Boltund despite Nuzzle, so I am assuming his team is also IV/EVd (but feel free to call me on this)
We all know the issues this place has:
- Graphic is awful. Even with the eyecandy that it is to move the camera and watch the panoramic views, the "oot trees" and similar issues really stand out. There's no denying it.
- FPS gets murdered when you go online. I think that's actually due to the lag caused by constantly loading the trainers (might become less unbearable in future with less people online at same time) but it's really annoying.
However, it does have some perks.
It does offer a variety of catchable pokemon that was never seen before. I am actually amazed of the sheer replayability this area offers as even as early as your first trip in it you have access to what, 20-30 different species depending on whatever weather is going on at that moment, and it only increases the more you play.
Also, wild pokemon are brutal. With the fact you can actually opt in or out of encounters, they made wild encounters higher level and usually on par with what you are in the story if not slightly higher. Mowing through Zubats that are 10 levels than your party was obnoxious but pretty easy, however actually beating pokemon of even level, and taking a beating while trying to catch them is actually quite punishing.
Now, this can be sorted by just using Camp... but since Camp raises friendship, this would also end up providing Arnie bonuses so... if one wants a challenge, i'd recommending avoiding as much wild encounters as possible.
- Graphic is awful. Even with the eyecandy that it is to move the camera and watch the panoramic views, the "oot trees" and similar issues really stand out. There's no denying it.
- FPS gets murdered when you go online. I think that's actually due to the lag caused by constantly loading the trainers (might become less unbearable in future with less people online at same time) but it's really annoying.
However, it does have some perks.
It does offer a variety of catchable pokemon that was never seen before. I am actually amazed of the sheer replayability this area offers as even as early as your first trip in it you have access to what, 20-30 different species depending on whatever weather is going on at that moment, and it only increases the more you play.
Also, wild pokemon are brutal. With the fact you can actually opt in or out of encounters, they made wild encounters higher level and usually on par with what you are in the story if not slightly higher. Mowing through Zubats that are 10 levels than your party was obnoxious but pretty easy, however actually beating pokemon of even level, and taking a beating while trying to catch them is actually quite punishing.
Now, this can be sorted by just using Camp... but since Camp raises friendship, this would also end up providing Arnie bonuses so... if one wants a challenge, i'd recommending avoiding as much wild encounters as possible.
Ok, let's be honest, the plot is average at best.
We have a comparable situation to Maxie/Archie, with Rose wanting to do something good for humanity and actually fucking up everything instead. Except the RSE guys had a entire team behind them and Rose is just there being friendly and headpatting you while getting dragged around by Oleana.
Doesn't help that you're... barely partecipating in all this. You just see explosions everywhere with Leon going full hero mode, and are just in time as Deus Ex Machina to awaken the dogs and save the world.
I'll be honest, the story is my biggest disappointment in this game. It's a case of "I wasn't expecting much yet you still managed to disappoint".
At least the Gym challenge itself is very well hyped and executed, makes the complete absence of a "bad guy" better.
Team Yell was pretty clearly another case of Team Skull, and I don't mind them, I actually like them to most degrees.
We have a comparable situation to Maxie/Archie, with Rose wanting to do something good for humanity and actually fucking up everything instead. Except the RSE guys had a entire team behind them and Rose is just there being friendly and headpatting you while getting dragged around by Oleana.
Doesn't help that you're... barely partecipating in all this. You just see explosions everywhere with Leon going full hero mode, and are just in time as Deus Ex Machina to awaken the dogs and save the world.
I'll be honest, the story is my biggest disappointment in this game. It's a case of "I wasn't expecting much yet you still managed to disappoint".
At least the Gym challenge itself is very well hyped and executed, makes the complete absence of a "bad guy" better.
Team Yell was pretty clearly another case of Team Skull, and I don't mind them, I actually like them to most degrees.
I have a mixed opinion on raids.
When you're on *even level* with them, they're challenging enough, and can become impossible if you're too underleveled.
Raids from t1 to 3 are basically free even with NPCs as long as you have half brain (which is, something rare nowadays I heard).
T4 raids are relatively simple with at least 1 human partner and you can even bruteforce them with legendary + 3 AI.
T5 raids... some are pretty brutal I won't lie. I do wonder if a level 100 can actually manage to solo+3AI the ones that stack several barriers.
Overally, they're fun, and T5 raids do require the party to have dedicated measures (usually, good type matchups and half a brain).
sadly the AI is... questionable. The AI partners are pretty bad and can easily be deadweight in T4/5, and if you roll too many non-jolteon/salazzle partners you might just fail to break the barriers and die.
I do fear that with lvl 100s they are just a joke though, has to be seen.
When you're on *even level* with them, they're challenging enough, and can become impossible if you're too underleveled.
Raids from t1 to 3 are basically free even with NPCs as long as you have half brain (which is, something rare nowadays I heard).
T4 raids are relatively simple with at least 1 human partner and you can even bruteforce them with legendary + 3 AI.
T5 raids... some are pretty brutal I won't lie. I do wonder if a level 100 can actually manage to solo+3AI the ones that stack several barriers.
Overally, they're fun, and T5 raids do require the party to have dedicated measures (usually, good type matchups and half a brain).
sadly the AI is... questionable. The AI partners are pretty bad and can easily be deadweight in T4/5, and if you roll too many non-jolteon/salazzle partners you might just fail to break the barriers and die.
I do fear that with lvl 100s they are just a joke though, has to be seen.
Also, shout out for one of the best soundtracks in this generation of games.
The OST is hype as fuck, I absolutely love it.
All in all... I didn't come in SwSh with big expectations, I do think it's the best pokemon game to date, not because it's a great game, but because pokemon games always had the same issues SwSh has, just SwSh's were blown out of proportion due to the Dexit issue.
Taken in a vacuum, it's the best Pokemon Game to date.
Taken in comparison to other 60 € Switch titles, obviously it is very lacking. It could have been much more than this.
I'll be sitting in hope GF learned their lesson from the huge PR backlash SwSh had and won't just sit on the sales number for the next title, though. Time will tell.
I give it 7.8/10, not enough (water) Pokemon but too much death threats.
I don't know why they kept the catch EXP aspect from the disasters known as Let's Go. I try to catch as many Pokemon as I can every route on my first run through, and it's got me overlevel that I had to stop. Surely it wouldn't have made a difference to those who don't do what I do if they removed catch EXP, right?
Might actually be somewhat brutal in the final parts if you're doing challenge runs (so, not using broken mechanics like arnie).
I think it'd definitely be fun.
I also caught nearly every new Pokémon I saw and my levels seemed too high but the curve has been catching up pretty quickly. I’ll have to see if it stays this way.
Also catch EXP has been here seen XY
I just finished the 7th gym and I'm still too high leveled.
Oh yeah, it wasn't as big as issue back then because EXP Share wasn't mandatory.
Found a pretty strange error in the game. Before you challenge the Fighting Gym (sword) and you go to the left of the building, to the mural, (at least I noticed it) there is a hole in the mural where Bede has Rose’s Cupperajah hit it (to cause the hole) then after you beat the gym and then go to the mural, a cutscene shows the hole being made. Like what? XD, I was so confused, I was like “bruh, what the heck”. Then I realized that GF probably wasn’t anticipating a trainer to see the mural instead of going to the gym first (the order meant to be done via storyline).
So 100% the best part about Sword and Shield is that you can not only skip cutscenes, but since the Switch supports multiple profiles you can finally have multiple saves with only one copy of the game!
Since I completed Sword normally yesterday (overall the game was better than I feared, but still not what I was hoping for Gen 8) I decided to go ahead and make an account for a Nuzlocke run.
I highly anticipate a Nuzlocke being quite challenging based on my previous experiences in my first playthough. If anyone wants to join me in my run, here are the rules I am using for my challenge:
Since I completed Sword normally yesterday (overall the game was better than I feared, but still not what I was hoping for Gen 8) I decided to go ahead and make an account for a Nuzlocke run.
I highly anticipate a Nuzlocke being quite challenging based on my previous experiences in my first playthough. If anyone wants to join me in my run, here are the rules I am using for my challenge:
Standard Nuzlocke Rules: You may only catch the first Pokemon you encounter in a new area; if you KO a Pokemon you are trying to catch, you cannot try to catch another. If the Pokemon faints, it is considered dead and must be deposited in the PC or released. All Pokemon must be nicknamed.
Team Wipe Game Over: If you are ever teamwiped, the run is considered lost and you cannot continue.
Limited Trainer Battle Items: You may only use an item in battle with a trainer if your opponent used an item in battle. You can use items during battles with wild Pokemon.
Limited Wild Pokemon Battles: Any time you encounter a wild Pokemon, you must attempt to run first. If you fail to escape, you MUST battle that Pokemon until it is KOed. Obviously don't run from Pokemon you are trying to catch.
Raid Rules: You may partake in raid battles; however, you cannot participate with other players (you must battle with the AI trainers.) If your Pokemon is KOed during a raid, it is not considered dead. Instead, if you lose the raid, your Pokemon is considered dead. You cannot catch Raid Pokemon and they do not count as your first encounter in an area.
Wild Area and Camping Rules: Each zone in the Wild Area counts as a new area for catching Pokemon. You are allowed to visit other players camps. You cannot use camping to safely grind your Pokemon (where is the fun in that?)
The different encounter system in Sw/Sh is going to add a fun twist to Nuzlockes. Gym battles should be extra challenging due to Dynamax; I found in my normal playthrough that one of the best strategies was to fodder some of your team to stall the opponent's Dynamax. There is a little more agency in picking Pokemon that compliment your team. At the same time, Nuzlocking will make Raids much riskier. I think it will be fun to measure the risk vs. reward of trying to take on a raid, especially when your teammate is the AI. I specifically didn't disallow EXP Candies; it encourages taking part in tougher raids. Since the EXP share cannot be turned off though, I felt like I had to limit some EXP gain through wild battles...
Team Wipe Game Over: If you are ever teamwiped, the run is considered lost and you cannot continue.
Limited Trainer Battle Items: You may only use an item in battle with a trainer if your opponent used an item in battle. You can use items during battles with wild Pokemon.
Limited Wild Pokemon Battles: Any time you encounter a wild Pokemon, you must attempt to run first. If you fail to escape, you MUST battle that Pokemon until it is KOed. Obviously don't run from Pokemon you are trying to catch.
Raid Rules: You may partake in raid battles; however, you cannot participate with other players (you must battle with the AI trainers.) If your Pokemon is KOed during a raid, it is not considered dead. Instead, if you lose the raid, your Pokemon is considered dead. You cannot catch Raid Pokemon and they do not count as your first encounter in an area.
Wild Area and Camping Rules: Each zone in the Wild Area counts as a new area for catching Pokemon. You are allowed to visit other players camps. You cannot use camping to safely grind your Pokemon (where is the fun in that?)
The different encounter system in Sw/Sh is going to add a fun twist to Nuzlockes. Gym battles should be extra challenging due to Dynamax; I found in my normal playthrough that one of the best strategies was to fodder some of your team to stall the opponent's Dynamax. There is a little more agency in picking Pokemon that compliment your team. At the same time, Nuzlocking will make Raids much riskier. I think it will be fun to measure the risk vs. reward of trying to take on a raid, especially when your teammate is the AI. I specifically didn't disallow EXP Candies; it encourages taking part in tougher raids. Since the EXP share cannot be turned off though, I felt like I had to limit some EXP gain through wild battles...
Is surprise trading allowed? How about 1 surprise trade per pokemon center? And whatever you get, you get.
I'm actually having a lot of fun. The Pokemon formula just works, and they haven't screwed the core mechanics of that. There are some big flaws for sure buuuut I think this is way better than Moon so far.
I wish the Wild Area was... Bigger? And the transitions between sections/weathers made a little more sense. However it's a lot of fun running around catching the seemingly endless supply of new Pokemon, finding items, getting cheesed by some overpowered mon etc. I catch at least one of everything, battle all trainers, and post grass gym I'm not particularly overleveled. I seem to be on par. I've also imposed a rule of not using any healing items outside of battle and only equipped berries/held items in battle.
The sheer variety is insane so I have no idea what to use. I'm just going totally random and seeing what synergizes at this point.
The world could be a bit bigger in general. The Galar Mine has a great atmosphere and amazing soundtrack, just missing a few more rooms or a puzzle to flesh it out. Otherwise the region is interesting so far.
I wish the Wild Area was... Bigger? And the transitions between sections/weathers made a little more sense. However it's a lot of fun running around catching the seemingly endless supply of new Pokemon, finding items, getting cheesed by some overpowered mon etc. I catch at least one of everything, battle all trainers, and post grass gym I'm not particularly overleveled. I seem to be on par. I've also imposed a rule of not using any healing items outside of battle and only equipped berries/held items in battle.
The sheer variety is insane so I have no idea what to use. I'm just going totally random and seeing what synergizes at this point.
The world could be a bit bigger in general. The Galar Mine has a great atmosphere and amazing soundtrack, just missing a few more rooms or a puzzle to flesh it out. Otherwise the region is interesting so far.
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trubbish
Banned deucer.
Hey. Potentially large post coming through but I discovered something in-game that I wanted to share to hear some other thoughts on.
So. Here is my level 60 Skwovet. I did not evolve him because I love Skwovet. But what is so special about a simple level 60 Skwovet? The answer: I only have 3 gym badge.
Yes, despite not even making it halfway through my gym challenge I now have a Pokemon at an end-game level. Did I do an obscene amount of grinding to get this? Not really. It only took me about 2 hours of playtime.
This occurred through playing dynamax raids. As you probably know, the rewards of such raids include, among other things, Rare Candies and Rare Candy pieces, of various sizes. Rare Candy pieces grant a certain amount of EXP, depending on how big they are, with bigger candies granting more experience. I heard through the grapevine that it was possible to get an absurd amount of levels just from playing dynamax raids, and I wanted to try that out. I did not anticipate how successful (and easy) it would be.
So, with only about 2 hours of playing dynamax raids (which came out to probably around 10 - 15 actual raids) I was able to increase my precious Skwovet from level 32 to level 60. That is almost a 50% increase. And I didn't even use Skwovet in any of the raids. I do not know of any game, RPG or otherwise, that lets you drastically increase your strength by that degree so early in the game.
Now, I know what you might be thinking. "Of course if you powerlevel you're going to end up with an overleveled Pokemon." But here's the thing: I do not consider what I did to be "grinding." Dynamax raids are a highly advertised and highly anticipated mechanic. They are available to you very early in the game. 2 hours, in video game time, is not a very long time, either. I do not consider it grinding. I consider it just playing the game. I did not do use any kind of game-breaking exploit or get lucky with some crazy RNG. All I was doing was playing the game as it was intended to be played and using the rewards as they are meant to be used. I generally feel like it would be possible for someone, without knowledge of this strategy, to accidentally stumble upon it just by playing raids for fun.
Obviously, this method completely dismantles the game itself, since now its virtually impossible for me to lose any battles with my hulkingly powerful Skwovet. But I am not using this to complain about the game's difficulty. Even before this method, the games were easy. I don't have too much of a problem with that, per se. I'd prefer them to be difficult, sure, but Pokemon is interesting because it puts the difficulty of the game in the hands of the player. You have a lot of options to go about configuring your team, so you can sort of decide your own difficulty through the various options you can choose from. Nuzlockes are huge, monotype runs, etc. etc. If I want a hard Pokemon game I'll just log onto Showdown.
BUT, I just can NOT overlook this as a massive design flaw. The methods absurd ease just by playing the game this early-on makes it feel almost completely trivialized. RPGs are already difficult as hell to balance, and throwing this completely puts a wrench in the system. Allowing the player to strengthen themselves up to overcome a challenge is one thing, but allowing them to completely trivialize the main game by blowing passed every obstacle is just poor design, in my opinion. Balancing not only requires the game to be fair - but the tools available to player to be fair, too. Otherwise everything just falls apart.
Im not trying to shit on the game too much, I am genuinely enjoying my playthrough of it. I am a little upset that my Skwovet hero is useless now, since I don't want to completely blow through the game with an absurdely powerful 'mon, but I do want to here your thoughts on this. Am I just lucky to have gotten so many Rare Candy pieces? Am I making a big deal over nothing? Should Game Freak (and game developers in general) be more responsible for keeping their players in check?
So. Here is my level 60 Skwovet. I did not evolve him because I love Skwovet. But what is so special about a simple level 60 Skwovet? The answer: I only have 3 gym badge.
Yes, despite not even making it halfway through my gym challenge I now have a Pokemon at an end-game level. Did I do an obscene amount of grinding to get this? Not really. It only took me about 2 hours of playtime.
This occurred through playing dynamax raids. As you probably know, the rewards of such raids include, among other things, Rare Candies and Rare Candy pieces, of various sizes. Rare Candy pieces grant a certain amount of EXP, depending on how big they are, with bigger candies granting more experience. I heard through the grapevine that it was possible to get an absurd amount of levels just from playing dynamax raids, and I wanted to try that out. I did not anticipate how successful (and easy) it would be.
So, with only about 2 hours of playing dynamax raids (which came out to probably around 10 - 15 actual raids) I was able to increase my precious Skwovet from level 32 to level 60. That is almost a 50% increase. And I didn't even use Skwovet in any of the raids. I do not know of any game, RPG or otherwise, that lets you drastically increase your strength by that degree so early in the game.
Now, I know what you might be thinking. "Of course if you powerlevel you're going to end up with an overleveled Pokemon." But here's the thing: I do not consider what I did to be "grinding." Dynamax raids are a highly advertised and highly anticipated mechanic. They are available to you very early in the game. 2 hours, in video game time, is not a very long time, either. I do not consider it grinding. I consider it just playing the game. I did not do use any kind of game-breaking exploit or get lucky with some crazy RNG. All I was doing was playing the game as it was intended to be played and using the rewards as they are meant to be used. I generally feel like it would be possible for someone, without knowledge of this strategy, to accidentally stumble upon it just by playing raids for fun.
Obviously, this method completely dismantles the game itself, since now its virtually impossible for me to lose any battles with my hulkingly powerful Skwovet. But I am not using this to complain about the game's difficulty. Even before this method, the games were easy. I don't have too much of a problem with that, per se. I'd prefer them to be difficult, sure, but Pokemon is interesting because it puts the difficulty of the game in the hands of the player. You have a lot of options to go about configuring your team, so you can sort of decide your own difficulty through the various options you can choose from. Nuzlockes are huge, monotype runs, etc. etc. If I want a hard Pokemon game I'll just log onto Showdown.
BUT, I just can NOT overlook this as a massive design flaw. The methods absurd ease just by playing the game this early-on makes it feel almost completely trivialized. RPGs are already difficult as hell to balance, and throwing this completely puts a wrench in the system. Allowing the player to strengthen themselves up to overcome a challenge is one thing, but allowing them to completely trivialize the main game by blowing passed every obstacle is just poor design, in my opinion. Balancing not only requires the game to be fair - but the tools available to player to be fair, too. Otherwise everything just falls apart.
Im not trying to shit on the game too much, I am genuinely enjoying my playthrough of it. I am a little upset that my Skwovet hero is useless now, since I don't want to completely blow through the game with an absurdely powerful 'mon, but I do want to here your thoughts on this. Am I just lucky to have gotten so many Rare Candy pieces? Am I making a big deal over nothing? Should Game Freak (and game developers in general) be more responsible for keeping their players in check?
You do get a pretty chunky amount of candies from raids, but I’ve only done around 5 or so raids total (around your level, only going to the ones reasonable to reach and using 1 wishing star once), no clue how you did for 2 hours. Also, where did you get that Sinistea?
Don't mind me. I'm just playing with the follies of mankind.
Do we know the exact rates of HA in max raid battles? Of all the ones I’ve done, I’ve only encountered 3.
I don't know if this has been mentioned or even where the best place to talk about it is, but I just got the IV judge feature and I have a theory that the number of stars a Max Raid is, is also the number of Max IV stats it'll have. This is just based off my memory of how many stars my past raids had.
I mean yeah maybe they should only drop XS/S candies at best and save the bigger ones for later raids/post-game, but you could have just.... not used them either? Of course if you pump your Pokemon full of EXP Candy it will be grossly overleveled. You made that decision, its not like all that EXP is from actual unavoidable battles. GameFreak has said before that players set their own difficulty (a cop out for not including a hard mode, but also true in a way).
sadly no aside raids + hitting trees
I'm really annoyed that the mints are Battle Tower prizes only/cost 50 BP. I was hoping to use them during a playthrough to fix up some shitty natures, or at least have them be way more accessible. I wasn't expecting them to be easy but maybe have them be rare shiny spots or Raid rewards?? What a bother. Two sets forward one step back.