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    Pokémon Unite: Classes Explained and How to Play Each Role

    The Pokémon Unite controls are relatively easy to grasp and tweak to your liking: what makes the difference is how you act in the arena.

    Each of the five classes in the game has a very distinct set-up, be it by their parameters or their move sets. To play the game well, it’s better to pick a Pokémon based on your preferred style of play rather than trying to mould a Pokémon to suit you – unless you’d like to diversify your game.

    On this page, you’ll find out about each class in Pokémon Unite and how you should go about using the Pokémon within the class.

    Pokémon Unite: All-Rounder class

    Pokemon Unite Classes Explained All Rounders

    Pokémon: Charizard, Garchomp, Lucario, Machamp
    Attack Types: Melee
    Parameter Lean: Balanced
    Lane Preference: Top Lane or Bottom Lane

    Official Description: “Pokémon that have a great balance of offence and endurance and excel at adapting to a wide variety of situations.”

    With decent ratings for offence, endurance, mobility, and scoring, the All-Rounder class is a solid class for beginners and can be used effectively in the top or bottom lane.

    Three members of the class excel in a different parameter: Machamp has the most offence; Garchomp has the most endurance; and Lucario boasts the most mobility. Charizard is the most balanced of this balanced class.

    The role of an All-Rounder is flexible, often based on their lane pairing. So, if an All-Rounder finds themselves with a glass-cannon-like Attacker in the top lane, they’ll play more as a Defender by taking the brunt of an attack while the Attacker picks them off from range.

    On the other hand, alongside a Defender or Support, the All-Rounder can turn into the Attacker. With melee being the main form of attack among All-Rounders, this would involve letting a Defender shield much of the assault and then swing in and out to chip away at the enemies.

    Being so well-rounded, the game plan of an All-Rounder can be very flexible, reacting not only to the momentum of the game but also to take down high-value wild Pokémon.

    Early on, the focus in either lane is to keep your teammate insight while harvesting wild Pokémon. Still, when your opponents approach, you’ll want to be the one to make first contact, and then split into your role, be it pivot to the edge to play more as an Attacker, or remain in front to be the Defender.

    All-Rounders can find success in either the top lane or the bottom lane, but the key is to stack up on Aeos energy, be in the thick of it, and then make the most of the favourable scoring rating to net points often.

    Pokémon Unite: Attacker class

    Pokemon Unite Classes Explained Attackers

    Pokémon: Alolan Ninetales, Cinderace, Cramorant, Greninja, Pikachu, Venusaur
    Attack Types: Ranged
    Parameter Lean: Heavy Offence
    Lane Preference: Top or Bottom Lane

    Official Description: “Pokémon that have great offence and excel at ranged attacks.”

    The Attacker class is all about laying down large amounts of damage, with their lack of endurance being balanced by their ability to attack from range.

    All six Pokémon of the Attacker class have at least four stars for the offence parameter, but Venusaur and Pikachu boast four-and-a-half stars for their offensive output. That said, Alolan Ninetales has some support capacity, and Greninja, Cinderace, and Cramorant have better mobility.

    The role of the Attacker is simple: deal lots of damage from range. You’ll want to pair up with a Defender or All-Rounder to act as your shield, pile into any enemies that come your way, and be the first to start drilling into the high-value wild Pokémon of your lane.

    Top lane is the preference for the Attacker, but they can perform just as well down below if the teammates align better than those running down the bottom lane. If they have the speed, an Attack could also take on the role of a Jungler, utilising their ranged attack to get an edge.

    Pokémon Unite: Defender class

    Pokemon Unite Classes Explained Defenders

    Pokémon: Crustle, Slowbro, Snorlax
    Attack Types: Melee and Ranged
    Parameter Lean: Heavy Endurance
    Lane Preference: Same as an Attacker

    Official Description: “Pokémon that have high endurance and excel at protecting ally Pokémon.”

    The Defender class utilises its high endurance rating to gobble up damage and defend Pokémon with higher damage output ratings. That said, a Defender can still do plenty of damage in the mixer.

    All three Pokémon of the Defender class come in with high endurance and low mobility, but Snorlax has an extra star of endurance on Crustle and Slowbro. Instead, those two top up on support.

    As the Defender, you’ll want to go down the same lane as the team’s Attacker, which will be either the top lane or the bottom lane. While you’ll start by farming wild Pokémon to level-up and quickly get more HP, whenever the opposition attacks, you’ll need to step in front of the attacker to take the brunt of the assault.

    One of the hidden perks of the Defender is that you’ll regularly pinch kills from your more offensively-set teammates. So, be sure to also slowly work your way towards Goal Zones and become even more valuable to your team by netting points.

    Pokémon Unite: Speedster class

    Pokemon Unite Classes Explained Speedster

    Pokémon: Absol, Gengar, Talonflame, Zeraora
    Attack Types: Melee
    Parameter Lean: Heavy Mobility
    Lane Preference: Middle Zone

    Official Description: “Pokémon that are characterised by agile movements and that excel at chasing down opposing Pokémon and creating good conditions for scoring.”

    In the traditional MOBA lexicon, Pokémon Unite’s Speedster class would generally lend itself to the Jungler role, with the Pokémon using its mobility to assist teammates in either the top or bottom lane.

    Talonflame is the fastest of the Speedsters, boasting five-star mobility, but both Zeraora and Absol have a lot more offensive output, making them arguably superior in support.

    As the Speedster, you’ll want to run around the middle zone that doesn’t feature any Goal Zones. Here, you’ll hack away at wild Pokémon to level-up until you see your teammates needing support. Then, you use your mobility to get to the battle and add another number to your side, hoping to overpower your opponents.

    One of the most important jobs of a Speedster is to watch the map. As soon as you see opponents starting to swarm one of your Goal Zones, rush up and provide an assist. Also, be sure to look out for unguarded Goal Zones as your speed and decent scoring rating should help you to pinch some points.

    Pokémon Unite: Support class

    Pokemon Unite Classes Explained Supporters

    Pokémon: Eldegoss, Mr. Mime, Wigglytuff
    Attack Types: Melee and Ranged
    Parameter Lean: Heavy Support
    Lane Preference: Follow the Solo Pokémon

    Official Description: “Pokémon that excel at supporting ally Pokémon and restoring their HP.”

    While they lack in offence and mobility, the Support class of Pokémon Unite can be very useful when used strictly to prop-up other team members.

    Each of the Support Pokémon operates differently. Eldgegoss can be built as a healer or a movement speed suppressor. Wigglytuff is primarily a movement speed suppressor but can also remove status conditions with its Unite Move. Mr. Mime debuffs the defence and special defence or can put up a barrier to stop enemy movement.

    As such, each Support Pokémon needs to be used differently. Eldegoss is best deployed a bit further back, applying its healing moves from range while also attacking from range. Wigglytuff and Mr. Mime are more useful closer to the action, but only the latter has the endurance to really be in the mix.

    So, now that you know where you should deploy each Pokémon class and how to engage in battles, you can explore the strengths of different Pokémon and tweak your strategies to maximise their potential.

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