Incompetent Players
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(I need her to teach me too! Lol... Maybe you can post a "word of the week" on your wall or make thread because... Pokemon IS afterall cross-generational and we all need to use the same terminology to effectively communicate ideas, thoughts, questions, feedback, complaints, etc.... hmmmmmm..........)
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YES!!!
Make it happen, @Hades0918 !!
(See, @Annimorpheus , we're team players even if we go about things differently 😉.)
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Ahhhh, I think we are getting somewhere! I was under the impression that you knew about meta and how game mechanics adjust to it, but didn’t care. I’m glad to find out that that isn’t true 💜
Are you interested in learning about what meta is? If so, read on for a very condensed, and probably lacking, explanation.
In UNITE, “meta” is a word that describes the CURRENT most powerful & effective Pokémon, Held Items, strategies, etc. which greatly impact game mechanics and how players interact with the game and each other. This is what I mean when I say “rules” or “playing conventions”. Put another way, Ranked “rules” and playing conventions revolve around adapting to meta.
Every time an update/patch comes out with new Poké, balance adjustments (buffs, nerfs), new Held Items, etc, the meta often changes and players have to ADAPT the way they play to navigate the changes. Strategy-building is a huge part of this. While some strategies are specific to the current meta, other strategies are permanently entrenched. One of these is the strategy involved in choosing lanes to level up.
The entire point of Ranked is to win. How do you win? You gain experience so that you can out-level & out-lane your opponents and WIN. THIS is why where a Pokemon levels up is important. If a 3-phase evolution Poké takes twice as long to level up because it’s in the lane instead of center/jungle (Cinder, Gangar, Gardevoir, Greninja, etc etc etc), then it hurts the team instead of helping it because the opposition gets the advantage and it snowballs from there.
This is a strategy that is widely used, accepted and expected in Ranked because those who know the game mechanics know that it’s the quickest, most effective way for a Carry (high damage, usually 3-phase evolution Poké) to level up and then go help their team on lane by: A) ganking opposition; B) helping teammates to score; and C) helping secure contested farm (this is the farm that is in the middle of a lane such as Swablu and the farm in the middle on the top & bottom of the lanes). This strategy & game mechanic has been the norm for years because it’s the quickest, most effective way to HELP THE TEAM in the early game.
There are myriad other things to mention in relation to meta but I’m focusing on this one because it was the basis of my original post on how choosing a lane is an expected part of TEAMWORK in Ranked.
This is a very quick and dirty, off-the-cuff bit of a summary, but I hope this helped! You can always learn more from trusted UNITE sources like Mathcord, Spragels, Game8, etc etc etc). I’ll try to find the time to do a search and edit this post with helpful links later, when I have more time.
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Thank you for the explanation.
(I knew much of that already just by playing for the past 6 months, I was super unclear about what the term meta was but had a slight idea when I assumed it was AI based algorithms that plug in x vs. y Pokemon into equations to run probabilities on successful outcomes. Yeah, I know the buffs and nerfs greatly affect the game, that's why we're all on the edge of our seats when they get announced and why we all adapt by using diff techniques, held items, and pokemon during gameplay in ranked. Also why we change who we ban in ranked. I also know, believe me, about the leveling-up-quickly-for-the-advantage issue. And rotating who gets to focus on leveling up and when. The word meta still bugs me though. I don't know why, lol. I guess my question is, who is doing all the scenarios/calculations? Just the youtube people?)
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I agree... sigh. It's sad when we're all expected to conform to be able to play competitively. Where IS the originality??? It's almost like why bother play if it's all practically predetermined.... Lol... Yep, I'm not giving it up anytime soon so I may skip some of expected things, still be a team player, but still try to show that WE CAN do well without being cookiecutter versions of YouTube people. Let's be innovative!!!
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No, I do not play like everyone else, and neither do other people. How rude. That’s like saying that any athlete who follows the rules of their respective sport isn’t having fun/enjoying it and can’t be creative or original.
What we ARE doing is putting the team first.
It’s a false assumption that Ranked play style is based on YouTube influencers or that people are trying to be “cookie cutter”. It’s a reductionist straw man argument and a convenient way to avoid addressing the issue at hand. Try to dismiss “meta” and “YouTubers” all you want, it doesn’t change the fact that the “meta” mechanics are baked into the game. It is on the Official Pokemon Website. So, if you think they’re unnecessary, take it up with the developers.
Like I said, if you’re on a 5-member team and you’re all on the same page about ignoring lane/role/game mechanics, then go for it. You have every right to play however you want, but not in arenas that are set apart for a specific type of gameplay. It doesn’t help the team when you solo, duo, or trio queue with that approach.
Anyway, if you still disagree even after seeing that it’s explained on the Official Pokemon website then please consider playing Casual instead. There’s a reason they created the Casual arena with the exact same map as Ranked; it’s for those who are not into learning the inherent mechanics and just want to “play the way I enjoy.” Nothing wrong with that; just find the appropriate outlet (Ranked is not it). The rest of us, who are doing our best within the Ranked conventions, (lane mechanics, roles, etc etc etc) don’t want to be teamed with those who dismiss it.
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