Dynamax Adventures Thread

I just rememebvred seeing Mewtwo use Psystrike
The Legends having the 4 moves they have when captured + a fifth move theory feels like it's holding water.

Probably a case of...If you have a siganture move, it's your 5th move. And then other Pokemon just use some random other move? Probably a stab or something?
 
Jesus Christ, I'm pretty sure I've had root canals more fun than Dynamax Adventures. AI partners are borderline-unplayable luck-based escort missions and human partners are worse. As soon as either it or Silver agrees to give me my shiny Ho-oh, I'm never touching this fucking thing again.
 
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The more I play the more I start to appreciate the old Solrock, ngl.
I haven't played the DLC yet (so no Dynamax adventures experience), but I suspect that Solrock would be a lot less frustrating if you weren't desperately trying to whittle down the boss's shields.

Do the Dynamax adventures bosses still have the stat and ability neutralizing "attack?"
 
Do the Dynamax adventures bosses still have the stat and ability neutralizing "attack?"
They don't have any shield, they still have the stat/ability neutralizing attack however the regular pokemon very rarely use it if ever, and the final boss will usually only use it if multiple stats get buffed or there's an ability preventing their damage.

At least Solrock doesn't endlessly buff the boss.
While I always was adamant (if you read my other posts in past) that the "standard" playerbase is actually pretty bad at the game and smogoners are just a vocal minority, I am pretty shocked lately to notice that I wasn't just right, but there's some grave lack of basic type chart or even *read what the attack does* cases.

If there's one thing this DLC taught me, is that GameFreaks has valid reasons for the handholding.
 

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While I always was adamant (if you read my other posts in past) that the "standard" playerbase is actually pretty bad at the game and smogoners are just a vocal minority, I am pretty shocked lately to notice that I wasn't just right, but there's some grave lack of basic type chart or even *read what the attack does* cases.

If there's one thing this DLC taught me, is that GameFreaks has valid reasons for the handholding.
Last night I was doing a few runs for ore. First guy picked the Gale Wings Hurricane Talonflame, and one of the other options was Drizzle Pelipper. I was like "This is going to be awesome until one of us needs to switch". The dude manages to pick Hurricane once in three battles before he switched out to another mon for the boss. He mostly used Flamethrower... In Rain... I was actually screaming at my TV.

The other thing is you see a Flying Boss and people are adamant to not touch any electrics with a barge pole. Its so confusing. It worked out in one instance cause the boss was Rayquaza and our Abomasnow actually made the KO. Even so, it's very confusing when people make really peculiar plays in this mode and I would much rather play in a group with you guys/friends etc.
 
They don't have any shield, they still have the stat/ability neutralizing attack however the regular pokemon very rarely use it if ever, and the final boss will usually only use it if multiple stats get buffed or there's an ability preventing their damage.


While I always was adamant (if you read my other posts in past) that the "standard" playerbase is actually pretty bad at the game and smogoners are just a vocal minority, I am pretty shocked lately to notice that I wasn't just right, but there's some grave lack of basic type chart or even *read what the attack does* cases.

If there's one thing this DLC taught me, is that GameFreaks has valid reasons for the handholding.
Or maybe, just maybe, a middle ground to teach you how to play somewhat decently should be the bare minimum during the game.

The base game shouldn't be a "let's click whatever and win" fest. Sword and shield are the worst offenders in the series: an immediate TRs, participation trophy a là mobile, Santa Clause simulation game where you could do braindead Raids and have a 20 level advantage at any point in the game. To boot, the game is already easier than most recent installments to begin with. And Pokemon games are easy.

Downward spiral if I've ever seen one.

The more you dumb down the base game the more incompetent the average player will be in the endgame. And Dynamax adventures are somewhat of an endgame activity, not the Mewtwo raids where you legitimately needed to have 4 competent people with optimized Pokemon.

And I'm not advocating that you should be a 200 restricted sparring streak record holder, Smogon 6vs6 OU 90% win monster, but that the game should at least teach you that types exist, items and abilities are not overlay text, and moves have effects. Maybe challenge the player to think about the above at least once, kids included.

My summary of iterations with Dynamax adventures:

1. Kyogre and Zygarde are brutal, but can be done. I managed both because with Kyogre it was the only time I had sentient human beings helping me while with Zygarde I had the luck to roll Beartic at the beginning and another team mate picked up Galarian Mr. Mime, which is fantastic.
2. Rental mons sets are better than I expected. There are some whack sets (the aforementioned Beartic is special...), but I was surprised by the amounts of actually useful status moves packed by the rental roster.
3. AI is not better than thinking humans, but thinking humans are the overwhelming minority. To add to the discouraging reports above I have: the obligatory I will boost the enemy, people opting to forfeit healthy Jolteon for Krookodile the very battle before Kyogre, using ground moves on Zapdos, Dynamaxing and using Dragon moves against the Tapus (all of this just last night between my sister and I playing).

Oh, I have another complaint that I haven't seen yet: AFK players. The Dynamax raid battle has been sped up, but given that you have 20-ish interactions between battles, NPCs, catches, and Mon substitutions, AFK people who just enter and then go have dinner can turn a straighforward run into a slugfest. Problem is, just one of those can seriously slow down 3 competent players.
 
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While I always was adamant (if you read my other posts in past) that the "standard" playerbase is actually pretty bad at the game and smogoners are just a vocal minority, I am pretty shocked lately to notice that I wasn't just right, but there's some grave lack of basic type chart or even *read what the attack does* cases.

If there's one thing this DLC taught me, is that GameFreaks has valid reasons for the handholding.
Yeah, i feel like a lot of people forget that pokemon's playerbase is mainly still kids. Sure, the "true fans" have grown up, but the formula hasn't changed. And if kids are like me when i was 6 playing platinum, they probably just spam their "strongest" move without thinking.
They don't have any shield, they still have the stat/ability neutralizing attack however the regular pokemon very rarely use it if ever, and the final boss will usually only use it if multiple stats get buffed or there's an ability preventing their damage.
I also hate the fact that they can do it through being frozen or asleep, at any time, without using an action. And the worst is that they get to keep their buffs, when the game says "stat changes", it's only yours and the dynamaxed's debuffs. So if Suicune decides to calm mind the first 2 rounds and you're mainly special without fake tears or metal sound, good luck winning that one
 
Or maybe, just maybe, a middle ground to teach you how to play somewhat decently should be the bare minimum during the game.

The base game shouldn't be a "let's click whatever and win" fest. Sword and shield are the worst offenders in the series: an immediate TRs, participation trophy a là mobile filled Santa Clause game where you could do braindead Raids and have a 20 level advantage at any point in the game. To boot, the game is already easier than most recent installments to begin with. And Pokemon games are easy.
I get what you mean, really I do & to be clear it oculd never hurt to increase the difficulty, but I think you underestimate how many people actually like...put a lot of thought into games.
I've seen kids give up on Mario games in the first couple levels. Mario games! A masterclass of the three act level structure and difficulty curve.

So you put it in a less active setting with moves that are strong and hp that needs to go down and....well, I think you're still going to get people who get to the post-game dynamax adventures and spam fire moves in the rain.

Hell raids in general SHOULD be teaching this. Both the normal ones and Adventures require different levels of strategy such that, if you do them enough times, you should be learning at least within the mindset of "this specific game type" and how to play around allies and what dumb bullshit the giant bosses can do.
But someimtes people just....don't learn, ever.
 
I get what you mean, really I do & to be clear it oculd never hurt to increase the difficulty, but I think you underestimate how many people actually like...put a lot of thought into games.
I've seen kids give up on Mario games in the first couple levels. Mario games! A masterclass of the three act level structure and difficulty curve.

So you put it in a less active setting with moves that are strong and hp that needs to go down and....well, I think you're still going to get people who get to the post-game dynamax adventures and spam fire moves in the rain.

Hell raids in general SHOULD be teaching this. Both the normal ones and Adventures require different levels of strategy such that, if you do them enough times, you should be learning at least within the mindset of "this specific game type" and how to play around allies and what dumb bullshit the giant bosses can do.
But someimtes people just....don't learn, ever.
Is this the part where I mention again my 13 year old cousin getting stuck in Let's Go because he refused to catch any Pokemon and got blocked by a trainer with a level 24 Kadabra with his Pikachu still being level 15, asking me to pass him a level 100 so he could finish the game?
The same who couldn't figure why in Ultrasun his Lunala's 100 base power dream eater did no damage since he never actually read that it requires the target to be asleep?
 
The other thing is you see a Flying Boss and people are adamant to not touch any electrics with a barge pole. Its so confusing. It worked out in one instance cause the boss was Rayquaza and our Abomasnow actually made the KO. Even so, it's very confusing when people make really peculiar plays in this mode and I would much rather play in a group with you guys/friends etc.
By the way going back to this real quick, I think that...I would probably do similarly because one of the flying bosses is Landorus, who is completely immune to electric attacks.
 
I was really looking forward to the introduction of all Legendary Pokémon in the Sword and Shield games. It hasn't even been a week since the Crown Tundra was released and I am really torn up about Dynamax adventures. I want to enjoy them and to enjoy the thrill of finding, defeating and catching a Legendary. However, Dynamax adventures just don't work for me. Here is why.

First, rental Pokémon. Rentals have been the bane of my existence ever since their introduction in Emerald. I just don't see the fun in purposefully using bad Pokémon with infinitely worse movesets. Granted, the rentals here are not that bad, but I just want to be able to use my own carefully trained ones instead of having a Jigglypuff or a Munchlax shoved down my throat, especially when I am going to face a Legendary.

Second, the AI. In my experience, there is no controlling or predicting their moves whatsoever. Sometimes they save the day, other times they screw up so badly that I curse everything and everyone involved with the development of this game. To illustrate: on the one hand, there is this Bronzong Skill Swapping with allies like there is no tomorrow, wasting turns and potentially ruining the poor unfortunate ally at the business end of its whims. On the other hand, there was a genius Octillery using Acid Spray on a Suicune that ended up winning me the battle because nearly all Pokémon on my team used special attacks. And don't even get me started on the AI's behavior in swapping their Pokémon.

Finally, Zygarde. That thing is just rude. We encountered one on day 2 of the Tundra and still haven't been able to beat it. On the other hand, we beat a Kyogre on the very first attempt without even a single super-effective move to use against it.

Dynamax Adventures are based more on luck than skill in my experience: Luck with the starting rentals; with whatever you encounter prior to the boss; and with seemingly random AI choices in their moves and their swaps. That is a complete shame and sucks the fun out of it for me.

If anyone has a suggestion how to make this more fun instead of a sure descent into madness and despair every time I try this, I'm all ears.
 
If anyone has a suggestion how to make this more fun instead of a sure descent into madness and despair every time I try this, I'm all ears.
Play with friends or people you know.

No, really, just that. Organized adventures are both MUCH funnier and consistent.

It takes a little learning curve in order to know which paths to take (opting to take less damage rather than try to pick up a supereffective pokemon for example), which rentals are good and which aren't, and the fact that you better pick up a Wide Guarder if you want a chance at basically half of the actually good raids.
(Spoilers, Wide Guard nearly trivializes Zygarde unless you had REALLY REALLY REALLY bad luck with the rentals on the way).
 
I get what you mean, really I do & to be clear it oculd never hurt to increase the difficulty, but I think you underestimate how many people actually like...put a lot of thought into games.
I've seen kids give up on Mario games in the first couple levels. Mario games! A masterclass of the three act level structure and difficulty curve.

So you put it in a less active setting with moves that are strong and hp that needs to go down and....well, I think you're still going to get people who get to the post-game dynamax adventures and spam fire moves in the rain.

Hell raids in general SHOULD be teaching this. Both the normal ones and Adventures require different levels of strategy such that, if you do them enough times, you should be learning at least within the mindset of "this specific game type" and how to play around allies and what dumb bullshit the giant bosses can do.
But someimtes people just....don't learn, ever.
Long answer in spoiler to not bore everyone:

Hell, I can't disagree with facts. There are button mashing kids barely having any idea and there are Smogon-hardened players that have been playing pokemon since the calendar year started with a 1.

However, I am convinced that the Mewtwo and Zeraora raids highlighted (together now with adventures), the most worrisome aspect, that probably gets lost in the seasoned players vs kids playing argument: those are the extremes, but the average player is terrible at the game (for endgame purposes and has no idea about strategy or synergies.

Now, I have unfortunately little to no evidence about the average playing age as surveying and sampling such an aspect would be hell-like - all online data surveys I could find are hugely unreliable for the trained eye, and I have spent far more hours reading stats in my life that I'd like to admit. As you correctly say, sometimes people just don't learn. The problem here is that SwSh structure opens the gates for a lot of them to never have any incentive to.

You gave yourself the answer: easier interactions with the same mechanics should at least teach you how to be competent (whether this is achieved via: somewhat tutorial-ish battles, a stonewall preventing people from helping you with Level 100 Zacians until you've somewhat proven yourself competent, or something else, I don't know: your pick) and significant rewards should at least provide some sort of a challenge.

Instead, in most aspects, SwSh is a dumbed down version of USUM, or if you look from the other perspective, a glorified mobile game with some structure, but always aiming to give you the next dopamine release easily when you subconsciously know that a little button mashing will give you what you want.

Is the game reward structure that determines how proficient the player will be at the end of the game, not the other way around (the players' initial proficiency itself).

Again, I'm not advocating for a super-hard game and impossible rewards like THIS (I actually did that quest blind with friends and was incredibly amazing: to this day, I still remember every step in the back of my head and how satisfying it was) I never would, but some semblance of reward structure, a modicum of a challenge, or some hard-wall to some rewards (like the MasterBall, a legendary encounter... again, your pick) would go a long way to prevent what I am disappointingly witnessing.

Is this the part where I mention again my 13 year old cousin getting stuck in Let's Go because he refused to catch any Pokemon and got blocked by a trainer with a level 24 Kadabra with his Pikachu still being level 15, asking me to pass him a level 100 so he could finish the game?
The same who couldn't figure why in Ultrasun his Lunala's 100 base power dream eater did no damage since he never actually read that it requires the target to be asleep?
And this is the part where I mention again my 13 old friend in 2003 who got to 59 wins in Ruby Battle Tower with no clue about RNG abuse for ivs (an incredible feat by itself, regardless of age) because he wanted a reward for his secret base (the Red Tent or a Statue, can't remember) so badly, I guess?

Such anecdotal evidence is pointless bar for reference. Dumb the game down and you'll progressively dumb players down, plain and simple.

A roulette addict would never play chess, but the same roulette player can grasp checkers' rules.
By the way going back to this real quick, I think that...I would probably do similarly because one of the flying bosses is Landorus, who is completely immune to electric attacks.
Yes, I actually wonder if they didn't bother to put dual tabs for dual typed legends or this is done on purpose. If it is, it's quite funny and can create some sweet mind games and cunundrums.

I had the same experience the first time I saw "Flying". I had only experienced single types up to that point, so I wholeheartedly thought it 100% was Tornadus. The team may have been in a similar spot, as we entered the final battle with Jolteon, Electabuzz and I think I was the lucky one because I had that weird regular Slowking with NP, Foresight and Ice Punch. It was indeed Landorus. Fun battle, unfortunately it only lasted a couple of turns, and not because we did great...
 
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Is this the part where I mention again my 13 year old cousin getting stuck in Let's Go because he refused to catch any Pokemon and got blocked by a trainer with a level 24 Kadabra with his Pikachu still being level 15, asking me to pass him a level 100 so he could finish the game?
I hated how you have to catch a lot of Pokemon to raise levels, while battles don't really contribute much exp. I didn't end up liking the Go catch mechanics, so leveling is really annoying to me in those games.

Anyway, once a large number of people have caught most of the legends, do you think people will stop doing Max Lair? To me it seems there's still a lot of people doing the max raids, so I'm guessing we'll be able to find human teammates for max lair also for a long time.
 
I hated how you have to catch a lot of Pokemon to raise levels, while battles don't really contribute much exp. I didn't end up liking the Go catch mechanics, so leveling is really annoying to me in those games.

Anyway, once a large number of people have caught most of the legends, do you think people will stop doing Max Lair? To me it seems there's still a lot of people doing the max raids, so I'm guessing we'll be able to find human teammates for max lair also for a long time.
Since a lot of people shiny hunt and will get the game at christmas, i think people will still do a lot of max lair stuff for a while yeah. I'm still on Suicune and haven't done any other legendaries, so it's fair to say i'll put a lot of hours into that, and i think a lot of people will do that as well.
I agree on the RNG part of the battle, especially against the legend. I lost a raid because haha double calm mind go brrrr then another because of a flinch on a weezing, who would have finished it off.
 
Adding another voice to the list of confirmations that I've definitely had legendaries use moves in raids which they didn't have when I caught them, notably Thousand Arrows.

EDIT: Just had Groudon use Precipice Blades aswell
 
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Is this the part where I mention again my 13 year old cousin getting stuck in Let's Go because he refused to catch any Pokemon and got blocked by a trainer with a level 24 Kadabra with his Pikachu still being level 15, asking me to pass him a level 100 so he could finish the game?
The same who couldn't figure why in Ultrasun his Lunala's 100 base power dream eater did no damage since he never actually read that it requires the target to be asleep?
Reminds me of the story about Morimoto thinking his kid was stupid after watching him play one of the 3D Mario games.

Edit: Also have seen Kyogre and Latias use their signature moves too.
 
can the swsh crown tundra source code leaks so we can really just tear apart the ai routines
I would actually love this haha, if they're programmed in a certain way, that means we could strategize more and maybe predict how it would act. Like taking a certain pokemon or leaving it...
I'd rather not cause I do not want to see that it is just "roll d4" :(
But yeah, sometimes i think it's like that, sometimes they'll do the big brain prediction by using entrainment to give water absorb to Suicune's next target or switching their fire type to an electric just before the final battle. And then sometimes they'll just use pollen puff because our barraskewda is missing one HP while they have a supereffective move...
I'm also guessing the AI taking a mon could also be based on their remaining PP, so you couldn't end up with an AI that has only 2 moves left if you fought a dusclops before.
 
But yeah, sometimes i think it's like that, sometimes they'll do the big brain prediction by using entrainment to give water absorb to Suicune's next target or switching their fire type to an electric just before the final battle. And then sometimes they'll just use pollen puff because our barraskewda is missing one HP while they have a supereffective move...
Well in gen 7 we already knew that the facility AI most likely did "weighted rolls" and wasn't 100% predictable outside of very specific scenarios... which is why I'd be worried to literally just see dice rolls in raid AI :\
 

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