Pokemon Sword & Shield players divided over huge ranked online battle changes
Game FreakPokemon Sword & Shield’s Ranked Battle Series 9 ruleset has been announced, and there are a number of significant changes that have left the game’s community divided.
Battling against other players in Pokemon Sword & Shield is a huge part of the game for a lot of trainers. Therefore, changes to the ranked online battle ruleset can have a huge impact on the meta and which Pokemon players can use.
During Series 8, players are permitted to use one restricted Legendary Pokemon on their team. However, in a recent announcement, Game Freak has opted to revert the rule for the upcoming Series 9. This return to the Series 7 ruleset has divided the game’s community and left some players extremely disappointed.
Game FreakSword & Shield community divided over ranked online battle changes
As reported by Serebii, Game Freak has announced that the Series 9 ruleset will return to that of Series 7 and will not permit restricted Legendary Pokemon. Although these changes are still months away from being implemented, the news has certainly divided the Sword & Shield community.
In replies to both Serebii’s and Joe Merrick’s tweets on Twitter, players have voiced their opinion on Game Freak’s decision. Some trainers are over the moon that the current meta is being scrapped as they believe the Legendary Pokemon are overpowered.
“This is honestly great, I’m tired of people having Zacians on their team constantly… I shouldn’t have to lose my rank several times due to someone using a swords dance Zacian with max speed/defense.”
This sentiment was reiterated by another player who wrote: “Finally, I can play a match without getting blasted by a busted Legendary.”
Game FreakUnfortunately, not everyone agrees that these changes are beneficial and argue the constant meta changes make the game boring and difficult to keep up with.
“It’s all going by too fast, not allowing us to develop or have fun, it’s like lightning rounds of series to see what sticks and quickly move on afterwards or whatever, it’s so annoying.”
Finding a balance between fun changes and a stable meta is an extremely difficult task for developers. It’s always going to be impossible to please everyone with any changes made to ranked online battles.
Luckily, players who enjoy using the Legendary Pokemon still have a few months left before the changes are implemented when Series 9 comes into play on May 1, 2021.
However, with Game Freak going back on forth on so many updates, who knows what to expect for Series 10.