Mewtwo Y (& X), Legendary Pokemon Philosophy: Thoughts and Suggestions
Hello! First, I've been playing Pokemon Unite since launch (~3,300 battles between solo and duo queue), and I really enjoy it, so thank you to the devs for making such a fun game! I'm not sure how much feedback is scraped from reddit and other forums, so I wanted to post my thoughts here.
Summary: The current Legendary Pokemon "leader" philosophy is unsustainable (and not fun) in its current iteration. The Mewtwos (and other legendaries) need to only be as strong as other pokemon, unless there is a high skill requirement for unlocking their "legendary power" state. Legendary pokemon can be powerful, but have that exist within a niche, narrow role, or skill cap.
Legendary balancing: I understand the idea that "legendary pokemon" should be powerful. However, the idea that should be "leaders" on their team is antithetical to an easy-to-play, short match MOBA. What is the point of continuing to add playable pokemon if someone is forced to play (currently, Mewtwo Y) because it is intentionally a more powerful pokemon? What happens when there are 5 legendary pokemon in the game, all as powerful as Mewtwo Y? I personally feel that the game shines when a player can play as their favorite pokemon and feel impactful with it in its role. Currently, nothing feels impactful into a decently-played Mewtwo Y.
Mewtwo Y (& X): This brings me to Mewtwo Y. I won't write a huge essay here, but Mewtwo Y has turned the game on its head. While I appreciate that it is intended to be easy to play, it is far too powerful (and does way too much) for how low of skill it requires. Zacian is powerful (and was too strong on release as well), but in Zacian's current state, it requires an appropriate level of skill to achieve its high level of power. Mewtwo Y requires the press of a single button to auto attack at a very large range to easily achieve a super-powered state that can push enemies, slow them, apply damage in a large area of effect, apply knock up in a large area of effect, receive speed and healing, etc etc. This Mega Evolved state (which is a cool mechanic) requires no skill to navigate and lasts for a very long time (considering a match is only 10 minutes long). Because it naturally slows with its auto attacks when Mega Evolved, it is impossible to approach (because it also has increased speed), and if a team does have one pokemon that can dash to it, Mewtwo Y can teleport away, shield and speed up, push it away, or become unstoppable to zone it away. I like Mewtwo Y (& X)'s abilities and moves - they are fun and fitting for a beginner difficulty pokemon. But Mewtwo Y should not have this many things in its kit if it is also dealing as much damage (over 1k crit with an auto at max range with slow) as it does.
To bring it back to the Legendary philosophy, why give one player this much power (which is fun for that one player) at the expense of 5 others? Personally, the fun I get from playing a pokemon MOBA is playing my favorite pokemon regardless of if they're more or less powerful. I can't speak for everyone, but I do know the general expressed sentiment is that this Legendary Philosophy that gives single players a power-fantasy experience is at the expense of every other player. Legendary Pokemon can be powerful, but it should be narrow in where they shine. Let Celebi have a time rewind for reviving itself or allies, but don't let it deal huge damage. Let Darkrai have strong CC (sleep), but don't let it also deal huge damage. Let Mewtwo Y deal huge damage, but don't let it have strong CC. There are ways to keep Legendary Pokemon feeling special without sacrificing the experience of the other 9 players in a match.