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brightknightie) wrote2019-01-20 07:11 pm
brightknightie) wrote2019-01-20 07:11 pm
Entry tags:
Do IVs matter in PvP?
One of the big questions around the Pokémon GO community lately is whether Individual Values (IVs) matter in player-versus-player (PvP) battles. It depends. How're we defining "matter"? :-D
We can play the game wholly, successfully, and with tremendous fun without ever knowing what IVs are! This is more true than ever since super-effectiveness got boosted a few months ago. So, no: IVs don't matter. If you don't care to, don't worry about them! Just pick the best CP, type, and moves you have for the job at hand, whether raids, gyms, or PvP.
However, if fussing with IVs makes you happy — hello! — there's plenty to dig into.
For raiding and gym sweeping, it's been the same for a long time: (1) IVs really come into play only if we're maxing out a pokémon. Seriously. When we are maxing out, then (2) higher is better, and (3) attack is more important than stamina (HP), which is more important than defense. End of story. (Hard-core raiders will point out that 15 attack / 10 defense / 15 stamina — or even 15/0/15! — is actually better for dealing damage in a raid or gym sweep than 15/15/15, because of how energy-gain works in gyms, but that increment won't register unless we're trying to beat a best time or raid with the fewest possible players.)
For PvP in Master League (unlimited CP), pretty much the same applies! We want to max out our best IV individual pokémon in the best species. The difference is that defense isn't a value to sneeze at in PvP. (Energy gain in PvP differs from that in gyms, among other things.) So definitely pick that elusive "hundo" (15/15/15) over an attack specialist (15/10/15), if you're so lucky as to have both. Basically: we'll use the same pokémon for raiding, gym sweeping, and Master League PvP.
For PvP in the Ultra League (max CP 2,500) and Great League (max CP 1,500), our goals change. The CP caps are everything! It's Price is Right rules. We want the highest level — level, not necessarily CP, though both together is ideal — that we can get without going over the CP cap. Since the CP rework, attack stats boost CP significantly more than stamina (HP) or defense stats do. So not only could a pokemon with generally poor IVs potentially get closer to a league's CP cap than one with great IVs, one with specifically lousy attack stats will probably get closer than one with awesome attack stats.
Probably? Yes, probably! It varies not only by pokemon species but by each specific possible combination of IVs. Yay!
I admire, but don't personally play at, that ultimate level of calculation. I still personally pick better IV pokemon when powering them toward the caps. Mainly, this is because I worry I'll accidentally power them up one turn too many and then need them to be able to make their way in Ultra League or even Master League. (This has already happened once. ~grin~) However, I did try to trade my worst IV Cresselia for someone else's worst, hoping that the IVs would plunge in the re-roll and she'd slide in just under the 1,500 CP cap for Great League. (It didn't work. ~wry~)
We can play the game wholly, successfully, and with tremendous fun without ever knowing what IVs are! This is more true than ever since super-effectiveness got boosted a few months ago. So, no: IVs don't matter. If you don't care to, don't worry about them! Just pick the best CP, type, and moves you have for the job at hand, whether raids, gyms, or PvP.
However, if fussing with IVs makes you happy — hello! — there's plenty to dig into.
For raiding and gym sweeping, it's been the same for a long time: (1) IVs really come into play only if we're maxing out a pokémon. Seriously. When we are maxing out, then (2) higher is better, and (3) attack is more important than stamina (HP), which is more important than defense. End of story. (Hard-core raiders will point out that 15 attack / 10 defense / 15 stamina — or even 15/0/15! — is actually better for dealing damage in a raid or gym sweep than 15/15/15, because of how energy-gain works in gyms, but that increment won't register unless we're trying to beat a best time or raid with the fewest possible players.)
For PvP in Master League (unlimited CP), pretty much the same applies! We want to max out our best IV individual pokémon in the best species. The difference is that defense isn't a value to sneeze at in PvP. (Energy gain in PvP differs from that in gyms, among other things.) So definitely pick that elusive "hundo" (15/15/15) over an attack specialist (15/10/15), if you're so lucky as to have both. Basically: we'll use the same pokémon for raiding, gym sweeping, and Master League PvP.
For PvP in the Ultra League (max CP 2,500) and Great League (max CP 1,500), our goals change. The CP caps are everything! It's Price is Right rules. We want the highest level — level, not necessarily CP, though both together is ideal — that we can get without going over the CP cap. Since the CP rework, attack stats boost CP significantly more than stamina (HP) or defense stats do. So not only could a pokemon with generally poor IVs potentially get closer to a league's CP cap than one with great IVs, one with specifically lousy attack stats will probably get closer than one with awesome attack stats.
Probably? Yes, probably! It varies not only by pokemon species but by each specific possible combination of IVs. Yay!
I admire, but don't personally play at, that ultimate level of calculation. I still personally pick better IV pokemon when powering them toward the caps. Mainly, this is because I worry I'll accidentally power them up one turn too many and then need them to be able to make their way in Ultra League or even Master League. (This has already happened once. ~grin~) However, I did try to trade my worst IV Cresselia for someone else's worst, hoping that the IVs would plunge in the re-roll and she'd slide in just under the 1,500 CP cap for Great League. (It didn't work. ~wry~)