Hello everybody ! I dediced to open this thread because there a few thoughts about DPP OU that I would like to share and I would like to spark some discussion around them.
DPP OU is pretty much a flawed metagame at the moment. This is obviously my subjective opinion but, having discussed with many good and experienced DPP players, I know I'm not alone in this. So, what exactly is wrong with DPP ? I would say there are two major issues:
My suggestion is to start a suspect process, in an attempt to make DPP a bit more balanced and less random. I believe this will only be achieved if we manage to slow the metagame down, so my personal suggestion would be suspecting Tyranitar. If Tyranitar is not banned, then I'm certainly in favor of bringing Latias back to OU. That's all I had to say guys. I hope this thread can reignite discussion around DPP and I'm really looking forward to reading your thoughts, as long as you behave yourselves.
Current State of DPP OU
DPP OU is pretty much a flawed metagame at the moment. This is obviously my subjective opinion but, having discussed with many good and experienced DPP players, I know I'm not alone in this. So, what exactly is wrong with DPP ? I would say there are two major issues:
- Pace: DPP OU is a very fast paced metagame. This caused by the obvious power creep, compared to the first three iterations of the game. Why is this a problem ? Well, unlike the generations that followed, there is no team-preview in DPP. This often makes games decided by a wrong guess of the opponent's last pokemon, which to be fair happens in every game without team-preview. The problem in DPP's case is that, most times, you simply can't make up for your mistake. Team guessing is indeed a skill in generations with no team-preview and I believe it should be rewarded but, on the other side, it's neither the only skill nor the most important one. Furthermore, DPP games tend to be much more linear compared to other generations and I personally believe that this leads to less-competitive games, often decided by guessing your opponent's team correctly or not.
- Over-centralization: DPP OU is definitely an over-centralized metagame. This is not inherently bad, as there are perfectly fine centralized metagames. For example, I consider RBY OU to be one of them (despite people still being preoccupied against it). The main reason I think this is a problem is because the pokemon, around which the metagame is centralized, are largely contributing to the aforementioned problem of pace. Being more specific, I think the most problematic core of our metagame is Tyranitar + Breloom. In my opinion, this core is very unhealthy for the metagame. It is so consistently good against defensive builds, that it simply downgrades their viability and thus, contributes to the problematic fast-paced metagame. It is also very, very restrictive in teambuilding and makes several -otherwise perfectly viable- defensive pokemon pretty much unviable. Tyranitar in particular not only deals with most Breloom checks/counters, but it can also trap (or threaten to trap) every single spinblocker of the tier and the only really viable spinner of tier, making the hazard game very difficult and risky to play, often forcing 50/50s.
Suggestions
My suggestion is to start a suspect process, in an attempt to make DPP a bit more balanced and less random. I believe this will only be achieved if we manage to slow the metagame down, so my personal suggestion would be suspecting Tyranitar. If Tyranitar is not banned, then I'm certainly in favor of bringing Latias back to OU. That's all I had to say guys. I hope this thread can reignite discussion around DPP and I'm really looking forward to reading your thoughts, as long as you behave yourselves.