Pokemon Unite fans want Dota 2 and League of Legends inspired Zapdos changes
TiMi Studios / Riot GamesZapdos has the ability to instantly turn the tide of even the closest of Pokemon Unite matches, but a number of players believe the Legendary boss would benefit from some Dota 2 and League of Legends style changes.
Just like most MOBAs, Pokemon Unite features a powerful overworld boss that can be taken down to claim a huge advantage. Zapdos spawns in the middle of the stadium during the final stages of each game, giving players the opportunity to defeat it and steal a victory away from their foes.
The team that manages to land the final blow to Zapdos unleashes damage to opponents, claims 20-30 points, and has their scoring time reduced to zero. This can instantly turn the tide of even the closest of fights, making Zapdos a particularly potent way to claim a victory.
Pokemon Unite Zapdos changes
The Pokemon Company / TiMi StudiosDue to the huge impact this boss has on the outcome of each game, many players often try to steal the Legendary bird from their enemy team’s clutches. Not only is this frustratingly easy to do, but there is also very little counterplay involved.
Because of this, one Pokemon Unite player has come up with a Dota 2 style change that could fix this frustrating issue. “A Zapdos steal should be a rare and incredibly hype moment in a match. Not something that happens every other game and feels incredibly cheap to everyone involved,” says Indigopurple97.
This is certainly true for MOBAs like League of Legends and Dota 2, where Baron and Roshan steals are often a rare occurrence. In fact, stealing either monster is incredibly hard to do, thanks to the general positioning of each boss camp.
“In Dota, the Zapdos equivalent, Roshan, sits in his own little cave in his corner of the map. Now the inside of Roshan’s cave is completely concealed by fog of war to anyone standing out of his cave, meaning that unless your character is standing in Roshan’s cave, you can’t see Roshan at all,” says Indigopurple97.
Riot GamesLeague of Legends’ Baron Nashor pit is also partly walled off and concealed by the fog of war, which makes stealing the buff incredibly risky. These furious beasts offer such a huge impact on the outcome of each game, that stealing them away from your enemy is a tricky task in itself.
“Roshan is [also] immune to damage sources outside of his cave. So yet again, unless you’re standing in his cave you cannot do any damage to Roshan. I think these kinds of changes would go a long way towards making Zapdos feel like a much fairer mechanic in Pokemon Unite.”
Indigopurple97’s idea has certainly garnered a lot of attention from the Pokemon Unite community, with many agreeing that Zapdos needs its own unique arena. One player even suggested that Zapdos should spawn inside a Gen-1 style power plant, while another noted that adding a roof to Zapdos’ stadium would alleviate the amount of steals.
“I think the League of Legend’s Rift Herald route may be easier,” said one player. “After a team secures Zapdos, a member of that team has to walk up and claim the Zapdos buff. If the enemy team defends the Zapdos buff on the ground, it will despawn after time. This makes it so even if a player runs by and last hits the thunderbird, their team won’t actually receive the buff.”
Whether TiMi Studios takes inspiration from these Dota 2 and League of Legends style Zapdos changes remain to be seen, but for now, the Legendary bird will continue to remain divisive.