How much do stat points matter? PvP
Can having one more point change the tide of a battle? Is it worth 16000 dust and 32 candies for an extra 2 def points?
Answers
More important to get the stat balance right. Suppose you wanted to have a Gengar in the Great League. With massive attack, the best Gengar will be one with very low attack and high defense and stamina. That is more important than the difference between 1497 and 1500.
This balance will vary from pokemon to pokemon. Still not sure what's the best scenario for pokemon with high defense. It's clear that low defense IV and high stamina IV are good, what's not clear is whether attack should be high or low - it probably varies from case to case.
> It's clear that low defense IV and high stamina IV are good
No, that is not clear. You don't gain energy for losing HP in PVP like you do in gyms and raids.
An extra point of defense could push you over a breakpoint which can decrease damage from each attack. That is specific to each unique matchup though and its IVs and level, so hard to predict when it will matter or not.
Honestly, I think it depends. I've fought in quite a few matches where either my Mon or my opponent's Mon gets off the game-winning charge move with the tiniest fraction of it's health left (literally 1 or 2 HP). In instances like that, yes, that extra point in one IV could make all the difference. Whether or not that's worth investing in, of course, is entirely up to you.
The differences in performance can be quite astonishing.
Whiscash for Example.
A Whiscash with perfect IV maxes out with 1482 CP at Level 25 for Great League.
At that Level the CPM of 0.667 making its stats:
110 (Attack)
104 (Defence)
171 (Stamina)
A Whiscash on the other hand with a total of 15 IVpoints,
1 (Attack),
1 (Defence),
13 (Stamina),
maxes out with 1496 at Level 29 where the CPM is 0.719!
Making it's stats:
Attack 109 (110)
Defends 102 (104)
Stamina 183 (171) !!
With the right IV set, a little extra Dust and Candy
can make a quite a difference.
Edit: words