Pokemon Unite is a simplified MOBA, but a MOBA nonetheless. That means a lot of its high-level play is based around making strong character builds that have subtle differences from one another and counters to each other. Top players are already starting to come up with best practices for the gear loadouts and moves, but if you’re venturing out on your own, there are some rules of thumb you can use to optimize your character build.
In general, to make a decent Pokemon Unite build starts by envisioning your role in a typical game. At a high level that starts with your Pokemon’s class, like Attacker or All-Rounder. That will help determine the type of team role you’ll be fulfilling, and that helps the other parts fall into place. If you choose a Defender, for example, you’ll be far more effective if you build everything–from your move selections to your gear–around defense.
With that in mind, here’s how to make your best build. For more, check out our full list of Pokemon Unite guides, including detailed class breakdowns.
Choose Your Role
The most basic starting point is laid out for you in the game itself. There are five class types in Pokemon Unite:
- Attacker – strong Pokemon that specialize in offensive capabilities to defeat opponents
- Defender – hearty Pokemon that specialize in zone control and blocking
- All-Rounder – versatile Pokemon can switch tasks as needed in battle
- Speedster – quick Pokemon that specialize in reaching contested map points fast
- Supporter – helpful Pokemon that specialize in healing teammates or disrupting enemies
Each Pokemon also has one of two combat types, Melee or Ranged. That makes for ten total possible combinations, like Ranged Attacker or Melee Defender, though some classes do not have both combat options. For example, there are currently no Melee Attackers, Ranged Speedsters, or Ranged All-Rounders in the game.
Choosing your role will be the single most influential decision in determining how you’ll approach a typical match, and you’ll get a pretty wide selection for free as a newcomer. If you choose a Defender, for example, you should go into matches assuming you’ll spend most of your time keeping opponents from scoring on your own goals, or denying your opponents easy movement when tussling with your teammates.
Even within a role, though, there are subtleties that will make them play differently. For that, you’ll probably have to spend some time with your chosen Pokemon to get a feel for how they’ll play. A Ranged Defender like Slowbro is going to play very differently than a Melee Defender like Snorlax.
Prep Your Moves
Once you’ve picked your role, you’ll want to plan out your moves. Each Pokemon will get two choices during combat from a branching path of two moves. To see those, you can check the Progression tab from the Pokemon menu. These are oriented by direction, so with a little foresight and practice, you’ll be able to learn which direction to hit when the upgrade option arrives. For example, if you know you want Cinderace to learn Blaze Kick and then Flame Charge, you’ll know to press Right and then Left on the D-pad when those two options appear.
Knowing your moves will also help you know how long to stay in the jungle. “Jungling” is a MOBA mainstay practice of taking down low-level AI enemies for experience (and in Pokemon Unite’s case, some points). Some Pokemon level up faster than others, so if your Pokemon doesn’t reach its combat potential until it’s further leveled, you may need to hang out in the jungle picking off enemies, or stick close to your teammates for that much longer.
Attack vs Special Attack
Each Pokemon falls into one of two attack types: Physical or Special. It’s important to know which kind your Pokemon uses, because that will impact your build significantly. According to Serebii, the current roster includes:
| Physical: | Special: |
|---|---|
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Equipping Your Gear
You can equip Held Items in the Battle Prep section during the countdown before each match, but we highly recommend equipping your builds from the main menu instead, where there is no countdown timer. To find it, press X from the main menu, and then go to Battle Prep and then Held Items. Your Favorite Pokemon will be highlighted by default, but you can swap by pressing X once you’re looking at the gear.
This is where you can equip items, and it’s where all the knowledge above comes into play. Your chosen combat role will determine what kind of gear is best, and your Pokemon’s attack type will make the difference to which kinds of stats need a boost. Lucario, for example, is a Melee All-Rounder. It will naturally benefit from gear that boosts attack, but you need to make sure those buffs are to its physical attack with gear like the Muscle Band. Meanwhile, Support Pokemon that don’t get into direct combat will benefit more from an item like EXP Share. Play with different ideas.
This Battle Prep screen is also where you can level up your gear using earned Aeos Tickets. This has been criticized as pay-to-win, but don’t worry about buffing all of your equipment slots to level 30 right away. Giving them any kind of boost is helpful, and the bigger stat changes tend to come at the start of the upgrade path.
Consult the Experts
If you’re truly stumped about what kinds of builds to create, you have options. One of the world’s top players has already outlined recommended builds for each Pokemon available in the game. You can also find Example Sets in the Held Items tab by pressing Y when you’ve highlighted the items. These recommendations include two sets created by the developers and three more generated from worldwide Master players of each Pokemon. The nice thing about the developer-created builds is that they’re recommended for different priorities like Offense or Scoring, so that will help further guide your targeted playstyle.
Source: Gamespot
