Why Duraludon was unhealthy in Pokémon Unite on its release
28Build used in this video:
-Muscle Band
-Scope Lens
-Attack Weight (6 stacks, which is the maximum)
-X Attack
What you SHOULD be using:
-Muscle Band
-Focus Band or Scope Lens (preference)
-Buddy Barrier
-Eject Button, Full Heal, or X Speed (preference)
Music Used:
-Megalovania from Undertale
Just wanted to see in theory how fast Duraludon could shred and secure Zapdos on its own. I hope this proves the point I was trying to get across. Even without full offense items and X Attack, the solo Zapdos shred and secure should only be a few seconds slower than this at most.
I know I'm level 15 in this demonstration, but Duraludon reaching level 14 or 15 before endgame, especially as jungler, is a very common scenario currently.
The current ranked meta in Pokémon Unite feels like it comes down to whoever has the better Duraludon, and/or whichever Duraludon has more objective control. Giving a character this much shred and secure with this much attack range was a horrible idea, especially when it power spikes so heavily at level 5. It's very exhausting to play against, and feels unfair to the rest of Unite's cast.
Duraludon makes the game feel like it revolves around coin flips instead of team fights at objectives, especially at Zapdos. Duraludon simply using Dragon Pulse within a general timing window after building stacks on a target is enough to win games on its own. A team game should never revolve around one Pokémon or player determining the outcome of a match like this.
Duraludon is currently the best jungle pick in the game, since it can clear so fast, and it leverages a level lead and snowballs games more than any other Pokémon in Unite. It has some of the highest attack range and damage in the game, and even without being a dive character, it can dive goal zones with 1-2 teammates after its first jungle rotation and generally win those fights, score, take bees, and go back to jungle with an experience lead much easier than any other Pokémon in the game.
Running Duraludon in lane isn't ideal comparatively speaking, but it's good enough at level 5 for the rest of the game that it's still ridiculously strong without a level lead. Even before level 5, the damage and attack range should win trades or poke wars in lane in almost all cases. Having a Duraludon in this meta is always, or at least almost always, better than not having one.
I think Duraludon needs an attack range nerf, attack stat nerf, and Dragon Pulse nerf to bring it in line with the rest of the cast. It does way too much damage from far away, and it has no right having the level of objective secure it has.
Even if you run Full Heal to cleanse stacks from the enemy Duraludon, that only helps you, and there's really no counterplay to Duraludon shredding and securing an objective unless you have your own Duraludon. You can Dragon Pulse to remove the enemy Duraludon's Dragon Pulse stacks, then pray that your team secures the objective, but nothing is stopping them from throwing Stealth Rocks and a few basic attacks on an objective to build stacks up again, then pulsing second if the objective isn't too low on HP. A Pokémon's worst matchup being themselves should never be the case for balance purposes.
Duraludon takes far more effort to counterplay than it does to play and succeed with. Characters like this aren't healthy for Unite, and we'll likely see some nerfs related to Duraludon soon.
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