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- Seen May 28, 2019
So at this point I'm sure everyone knows what IVs (individual values) are. Basically, they are hidden stats in your Pokemon determined by RNG and you have little control over it.
I'd like to discuss about the importance of IVs and what they bring to the game design. And I'll say it quick, it adds nothing. It is one of the worst design choice to plague the Pokemon series and there's many reasons why.
IVs are the cause of many controversies amongst fans, mostly in the metagame. They are essentially the sole reason the whole "RNG abuse" and "hacking" debates exist in the competitive environment, and it's easy to see why. IVs, for being uncontrollable hidden stats, are hugely crucial in battles. Yes, it is possible to get a Pokemon with perfect IVs, but it is undeniable that it takes hours and the process is extremely tedious that I'm sure no one would like to do it. Had it not been for RNG abuse and hacking, IVs would have caused the Pokemon metagame to move at a snail's pace, and in a competitive environment that is a surefire way to kill it. But the whole cheating thing, regardless of being relative to the IVs situation as a whole, is another matter.
Even outside of the metagame IVs can be a detriment. It can render your Pokemon useless if you're unlucky. You're fighting a friend and your Gyarados has very low attack IVs, that basically means it's useless and you just gave your friend a free win. Now situations like that aren't everyday and if you're a casual you might not notice/care much...but let's say you're a game designer, why would you even add that?
So let's discuss about the importance of IVs. What is the point of them? Do you think they add to anything? Do you think the problem is the fact that it's hard to get a perfect Pokemon?
I'd like to discuss about the importance of IVs and what they bring to the game design. And I'll say it quick, it adds nothing. It is one of the worst design choice to plague the Pokemon series and there's many reasons why.
IVs are the cause of many controversies amongst fans, mostly in the metagame. They are essentially the sole reason the whole "RNG abuse" and "hacking" debates exist in the competitive environment, and it's easy to see why. IVs, for being uncontrollable hidden stats, are hugely crucial in battles. Yes, it is possible to get a Pokemon with perfect IVs, but it is undeniable that it takes hours and the process is extremely tedious that I'm sure no one would like to do it. Had it not been for RNG abuse and hacking, IVs would have caused the Pokemon metagame to move at a snail's pace, and in a competitive environment that is a surefire way to kill it. But the whole cheating thing, regardless of being relative to the IVs situation as a whole, is another matter.
Even outside of the metagame IVs can be a detriment. It can render your Pokemon useless if you're unlucky. You're fighting a friend and your Gyarados has very low attack IVs, that basically means it's useless and you just gave your friend a free win. Now situations like that aren't everyday and if you're a casual you might not notice/care much...but let's say you're a game designer, why would you even add that?
So let's discuss about the importance of IVs. What is the point of them? Do you think they add to anything? Do you think the problem is the fact that it's hard to get a perfect Pokemon?