Hello, the first forum-based survey for Monotype has been a great success and the results are as follows. I've decided to follow the OU format for results so its more clear and concise and easier for you all to grasp.
Enjoyment
- General - 6.26
- Qualified - 5.98
The lowest enjoyment ratings we've ever received, it is evident that the player base has a clear dislike towards the current state of the metagame and hopefully the tiering changes in the not too distant future will improve this.
Competitiveness
- General - 5.41
- Qualified - 5.12
Similar to enjoyment, extremely low numbers; this was more apparent following MWP with the entire metagame revolving around Dragon-type with the DLC 2 release. A lot of room to improve.
As for what everyone's excited for, the actual Pokemon!
- General - 3.57
- Qualified - 3.71
Gouging Fire suspect is up! Gouging Fire received the most support for tiering action in the survey and is generally considered to be the key contributor towards Dragon being as dominant as it is in the current metagame while playing a key role on Fire teams as well. This was more apparent in the recently concluded MWP with Dragon usage being at an all time high, while Gouging Fire in particular sported respectable usage and win rates on both types. With this, along with general community sentiment regarding the Pokemon in mind, the council unanimously agreed to suspect test Gouging Fire.
- General - 3.33
- Qualified - 3.62
Despite being suspected in the previous metagame and ultimately remaining unbanned, Baxcalibur gained a substantial amount of support for tiering action. This is most in part due to Dragon as a whole being extremely overpowered and Baxcalibur being a key contributor towards the type's dominance. With amazing support on both types, Baxcalibur is a top tier threat in the metagame and with the current level of support, some tiering action could be looked into in the future following the Gouging Fire suspect test. One key thing to note is that most of the qualified players showed much greater support for action on Baxcalibur in comparison to the overall results.
- General - 3.41
- Qualified - 3.33
With Dark and Ice type teams being slightly less dominant than they were in previous metagames, one would assume Chien-Pao is no longer as dominant as it used to be.... but they would be wrong according to the survey-takers. Chien-Pao had a noteworthy amount of support for tiering action but how much of this support is due to the remnants of its dominance in previous metagame is a question mark as it has failed to show similar levels of dominance as it did in older metagames; this was more apparent with its lackluster usage throughout MWP. Moreover, it gained noticeably less support for tiering action by the qualified playerbase as well. However, given the substantial amount of support the council will keep a close eye on it as the metagame progresses forward following the Gouging Fire suspect test.
- General - 2.97
- Qualified - 3.21
Hearthflame was considered suspect-worthy by many towards the latter part of the DLC1 metagame, and while the support allayed in the new DLC2 metagame, it is still considered a threat by many. The qualified playerbase believes Hearthflame to be substantially more problematic than the general average, which lies below the neutral point (meaning majority of the players lean towards no tiering action taken on it). With Grass-type usage being near non-existent, Hearthflame's dominance is almost exclusively through Fire-type teams. In the event that Gouging Fire is banned and Fire-type teams are nerfed to a noticeable extent following the suspect test, it is likely that Hearthflame will be less of a threat in the current metagame as well. The council is not keen on taking any tiering action on it in the foreseeable future for these reasons.
- General - 2.90
- Qualified - 2.88
Ursaluna-Blood Moon was a powerhouse that surpassed the impact of its alternate form when it was released during DLC1, with access to reliable recovery, a compatible set-up move in Calm Mind, and powerful STAB options. However, the threat it poses has reduced since then, judging that it received a score below 3 (neutral) by both the overall and qualified voter section. With the current state of the metagame, and considering that there are more dangerous threats at play, it is unlikely that action will be taken on this Ursaluna variant in the near future.
- General - 3.06
- Qualified - 2.90
Flutter Mane has been continually discussed throughout the generation thanks to its speed, breaking power, and ability to run multiple sets and even on those sets never continually be locked into the same four moves. It received more support with the general playerbase than with qualified voters, but less so than multiple other options that are more primed for immediate tiering action, and so it will continue to be monitored moving forward.
- General - 2.78
- Qualified - 2.64
Kingambit received limited support and is unlikely to be considered for tiering action at this time. Some of this support is likely due to recency bias from it having a better presence prior to DLC2. As one of its checks at the moment is about to undergo a suspect test, this could change afterwards, so it is something the council will keep their eyes on moving forward.
- General - 2.28
- Qualified - 2.57
Ogerpon-W received limited support and is unlikely to be considered for tiering action at this time.
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Lastly, from the free comments sections Archaludon, Zamazenta and Heat Rock were brought up a handful of times but didn't gain enough support to be noteworthy enough. There were very few mentions here and there regarding unbanning tera without the type lock but to reiterate what has been said a million times already, that would break the whole concept of Monotype giving Pokemon permanent type changes and the council has no intention whatsoever to unban tera under such circumstances.
Thank you to everyone who responded to the survey, be sure to check out the Gouging Fire suspect test
HERE!