That would make the game less casual than they prefer, even type chart is too much for a lot of people. Though I'm more concerned they might give physical moves to some special attackers and vice versa. They have to be smarter than that but I'm just paranoid. And if they introduce Natures, there better not be Special attack and defence in the game: imagine getting a 100% 'mon with the wrong nature, there's enough things messing 'mons up. On the other hand, Natures with non-subdivided stats are just an individualizing trait.
As for Status conditions, they just have to be introduced to make Poison, Electric, etc types more useful. I've read on Bulbapedia that Abilities came in Gen 3 (with Niantic following the path of the console series it's a real possibility), and many of them don't make sense without Status Conditions in game, so both have to come at the same time, though we can't rely on it. Unlike Natures that can cull your physical attacker's Attack in favour of its Special attack if you're extra unlucky, Abilities can be suboptimal but not too bad. Even the seemingly terrible Klutz ability can be used in some strategies in consoles. But I still think Natures only have the right to come along with move rerolls.
Forgot to add that while there are competitively unusable Abilities in the console, here a lot would depend on our own reflexes so a suboptimal ability can be compensated for in pvp.
The Issue of Balancing
So I've been a fan of the Pokemon franchise ever since Red and Blue came out, and while I am aware that Hanke has said that he has no desire to make Pokemon Go like the main series games, I feel that several elements of the main series need to be implemented if we are to ever have a "balanced" game.
I can choose many examples of how the game is unbalanced, but I'll stick with a select few.
With the way the game is right now, Pokemon with unbalanced attack and defense stats, large HP and low speed from the main games are much more favoured with Go's stat calculator. Rhydon and Raichu have the exact same base stat total of 485 in the main games, but we see a huge difference in max CP for these two Pokemon, 1275 to be exact. A possible solution? Well here's what I think.
Implement Special Attack and Special Defense into the game.
If we didn't designate Physical/Special to specific moves, the damage from an attacker to a defender could be calculated something like this.
Damage = (ATK/DEF + Sp ATK/Sp DEF)*(base move damage).
Or something like that anyway. It could see Pokemon with rounded stats be optimal defenders and generalist attackers, while Pokemon with unbalanced stats would be very powerful specialists. In other words, we would see a lot more diversity.
Some other ideas could be introducing status conditions as on hit effects for some moves, or as another charge move (imagine a Blissey with Toxic though, oh god). Making the attack speed of a move influenced by a Pokemon's speed stat could be interesting too.
I'm curious to see what you guys think of these ideas :)
Answers
Never understood why stamina is 2*hp and then again mons defending multiply it again making just high hp mons be the meta defining mons.
Movesets and their changes are just plain erratic, no correlation with main games. Making some moves useless or the best and then changing them withouth notice.
We can argue about formulas but then tomorrow zen headbut moves from 12 to 6 and the best defenders have their power halved withouth notice.
Water gun moves to 20 and vaporeon becomes the top defender in no time
Let's not forget - there isn't any moveset on attack or defense that makes any mon even close to unbeatable.
I am surprised by how many people inspect every minutia of a mon's movesets when in reality is doesn't matter much at all. What it all comes down to is time. The worst moveset of any mon can still get a job done, just takes a little more time.
I just wish movesets mattered nearly as much as people act like they do.
Movesets do matter, the fact that you choose your attacker makes them less and hp sink mons even less.
Try to prestige against a high attack mon with a really good moveset like eggy with confusion or jolteon with volt switch and see what happens if you miss a dodge. Do the same against a bullet seed or thunder shock and see the diference.
Attacking as it is its true its brainless and just spaming as no mon is unbeatable and its just a matter of time. But i expect somehow someday the game would be more like prestitging feels like
In terms of pokemon being balanced, I would say that they are very balanced in terms of their actual performance. It is only cp, and its use for gym placement that makes pokemon seem unbalanced. The reality is that a 1200 cp Tangela is capable of taking out any Rhydon or Vaporeon, provided you dodge the charge moves.
I think the main issue they run into is how to promote a team game, yet make it possible for solo players. What if they made gyms hard enough that you NEEDED a team? How do you make them easy enough for a casual level 25 player to be able to compete?
Honestly, I think one of the biggest issues is the limitation on potions. They should make them easier to get or impliment some type of battling that doesn't require them so people could train, practice, and test things out.
Like carnie vortex said, adding in special attack and defense stats would make the game less casual (although I would this addition). And if they did, what would determine currents mons' stats? Would their current attack and defense transfer over to SpA and SpD or would they be random (don't you dare say random)?
I think the BIGGRST change they can make to balance the game is make STAB =/= Super effective by either:
- decreasing the multiplier for STAB
- increasing the multiplier for effectiveness
- OR both!!
It's not very thought-out.
As you said, status conditions would make the game slightly more interesting. Apparently Poison Sting used to inflict residual damage over the course of a battle; there was a thread about it back in the day I'll find it and link it.
In summary, change the multipliers!! It's necessary for the sustainenvd of PVP!!!
