Secret Pokemon Unite Drednaw buff just made killing Zapdos even harder

Games in Pokemon Unite can regularly come down to whichever team takes down Zapdos, but players found a “major disadvantage” for killing the legendary bird that not many people know about.

There are a few neutral objectives in Pokemon Unite, including the Drednaws that spawn at the bottom of the map. Claiming their buff gives the team extra XP and shields, but it also nerfs your team’s attack toward the ultimate neutral objective, Zapdos.

The electric-legendary Pokemon spawns with only two minutes left in the game, and the reported debuff can last up to 90 seconds – making it a near-impossible condition to claim it, especially if another team is contesting.

Pokemon Unite fans have been wanting the devs to release more specific details around multiple facets of the game, so it’s unclear if the problem is intentional or a bug.

Pokemon Unite players having a tough time beating Zapdos

A look into the bug on Reddit revealed that taking a Drednaw right before going on the Zapdos gives you a massive disadvantage.

“To be precise, after securing Drednaw your team’s damage to Zapdos is reduced by 55% for 90 seconds,” the user said. “You should not go for the last Drednaw right before the 2 minute mark as your team will be at a major disadvantage.”

In Pokemon Unite, whenever a team starts up the Zapdos, there’s usually an ensuing battle near its location in the center of the map. This turns into a push-and-pull battle, where teams decide to either hope for the last hit on Zapdos or turn on the enemy team to take the fight.

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The video below demonstrates a practice match where Pikachu has just killed the Drednaw. When Pikachu hits Zapdos, notice that Thunderbolt deals 435 damage. Later at 9:55, when the Drednaw debuff wears off, the same move deals 965 damage.

If a team takes the Drednaw right before, then they might not be aware of the massive attack damage nerf they’ll have once Zapdos spawns.

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Since the debuff can reportedly last up to 90 seconds, that would hurt any team that is looking for a game-winning Zapdos play to make a comeback.

It’s unknown if Timi are aware of this effect. Even if it’s intentional, Pokemon Unite players want the devs to take a look at this since it can be so damaging.