TL;DR
- Snorlax receives comprehensive nerfs to Heavy Slam, Unite Move, and Block duration
- Slowbro’s Surf nerf balanced by Scald damage improvements and bug fixes
- Crustle emerges as viable third tank option with multiple ability buffs
- Balance philosophy focuses on move diversity rather than pure power adjustments
- Tank meta likely to diversify with three viable options post-update
Pokemon Unite’s highly anticipated second balance patch arrives August 18, implementing targeted adjustments to the game’s dominant tank lineup while introducing Blissey as a new support option.
Following extensive competitive play since launch, distinct strategic patterns have solidified within the meta ecosystem. The initial balance adjustments successfully addressed overpowered elements like Cinderace and Gengar, creating space for diverse team compositions. This subsequent update continues the refinement process by targeting current top-performing Pokemon that have emerged as must-pick selections.
Attention, Trainers! #PokemonUNITE will be receiving an update on Wednesday, 8/18 at 12AM PDT! This update includes balance changes in addition to other minor adjustments.
See here for full update details: https://t.co/M15DJfkRD0 pic.twitter.com/KxZvRN6yg0
— Pokémon UNITE (@PokemonUnite) August 17, 2021
The development team’s approach extends beyond simple power reduction, incorporating strategic buffs for underutilized Pokemon. Several adjustments specifically target move diversity, encouraging players to explore alternative build paths rather than defaulting to established optimal choices. Crustle and Greninja exemplify this philosophy, receiving enhancements to their less-popular abilities to promote varied playstyles.
Snorlax Nerf Analysis: The End of Dominance?
Snorlax faces the most significant adjustments in this update, targeting its overwhelming presence in competitive team compositions. The heavyweight Pokemon has established itself as an essential pick across virtually all team strategies, providing exceptional value through crowd control capabilities and objective security.
The patch substantially reduces Heavy Slam’s damage output, diminishing Snorlax’s offensive threat during engagements. Additionally, the HP restoration from its Unite Move receives a notable decrease, reducing the Pokemon’s sustainability during critical team fight scenarios.
Potentially the most impactful change involves Snorlax’s Block duration reduction. This ability currently represents Snorlax’s most valuable tactical tool, proving exceptionally effective for goal prevention and controlling territory around Zapdos and other key objectives.These collective adjustments may precipitate a significant shift in tank priority within the evolving meta landscape. Strategic players should anticipate adapting their playstyle to account for these reduced capabilities.
Slowbro’s Strategic Shift: Surf Nerf vs Scald Buff
Slowbro undergoes significant modifications in this balance iteration. While currently not positioned as the premier tank option, this status largely results from Snorlax’s exceptional power rather than inherent weaknesses. Slowbro demonstrates remarkable durability when establishing early advantages and excels at immobilizing priority targets with precision.
This update implements a nerf to Surf, one of Slowbro’s primary ability choices favored by most players for its effective displacement utility and camp clearing efficiency.
Counterbalancing this adjustment, Scald receives substantial damage enhancements alongside unspecified bug fixes that could significantly alter the move’s performance characteristics.
Given the limited specificity in Pokemon Unite’s patch documentation, predicting whether these changes constitute an overall power reduction or improvement remains challenging. Despite Surf’s performance decrease, the Scald buffs may simply redirect optimal Slowbro playstyles toward alternative strategic approaches.
Crustle stands poised to significantly impact Pokemon Unite’s tank hierarchy. The rock-bug hybrid has occupied tertiary status primarily due to Snorlax and Slowbro’s established strength, but receives substantial enhancements in the upcoming balance patch.
Stealth Rock benefits from reduced cooldown timing and improved damage output, while Rock Tomb receives complementary damage amplification. These collective improvements could potentially establish three competitively viable tank options simultaneously for the first time in the game’s competitive history.
The evolving competitive landscape remains largely unpredictable, particularly with Blissey’s simultaneous introduction. Players will rapidly identify optimal strategic choices once these modifications become active tomorrow.
Action Checklist
- Test Snorlax’s revised Block duration in practice matches to understand new timing requirements
- Experiment with Slowbro’s Scald build to assess damage improvement viability
- Evaluate Crustle’s enhanced Stealth Rock and Rock Tomb in objective scenarios
- Analyze team composition synergies with three viable tank options
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