"Did the developers not test this?": Pokemon UNITE players complain about Mew's damage

Mew as it appears in the anime (Image via The Pokemon Company)
Mew as it appears in the anime (Image via The Pokemon Company)

The first Mythical Pokemon, Mew, has been added to Pokemon UNITE's roster as part of the game's anniversary celebrations. It arrived in the game on September 2, 2022. While some players are happy with the new addition, many have criticized the lack of balance surrounding the creature's abilities.

As many players are aware, the recent Pokemon UNITE anniversary event has brought a lot of content to the game, including a new map, characters, and cosmetics.

Mew's imbalances came to light via a recent Reddit post by user Chloromancy. In the post, the user detailed how players can do upwards of 10,000 damage by pairing Mew's Solar Beam attack with its boosted attack.


Why is Mew such a problem in Pokemon UNITE?

What gives Mew such a powerful early game is its access to Solar Beam. This move has one of the best accuracy in Pokemon UNITE.

Mew is a great choice for players looking to build a loadout that prioritizes an all-out offensive build as it can dish out uncontested damage from far away. It is essentially a sniper in the game.

Mew's ability to deal unreal amounts of damage is enabled even further if it chooses to run a lane with an ally. This increases the value of its other moves significantly. It also gives the opponents a distraction while the Pokemon charges its Solar Beam from outside of their field of vision.

Many Pokemon UNITE players feel this ability to deal outlandish amounts of damage for free is unfair. The fact that Mew can start every game with its Solar Beam move means that it can pester opponents at every stage of the game. Things can get even more broken with the introduction of Solar Beam's upgrade.

When players level up Solar Beam, Mew receives a secondary effect where it can reduce its cooldown for every target hit. While this does not sound too unfair, the secondary effect applies to Wild Pokemon that are caught in the blast as well. Players have reported that Mew's Solar Beam has its cooldown mitigated when used in the Altaria group.

This means Mew is an asset to have on the teams of many competitive players, which can be infuriating for the opponent and can make the game stale in higher tiers. This can lead to many players leaving the game either because it is no longer fun to play or because it is too frustrating to play seriously.

The original poster of the Reddit post mentioned above, Chloromancy, believes the rest of Mew's moves in Pokemon UNITE are well-balanced. However, according to them, Solar Beam needs to be changed.

One potential fix could be to hold off on giving Mew Solar Beam until level 3 or 5 by replacing it with Agility, its dash move.

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Regardless of what changes are made, many players agree that Mew is currently a problem in Pokemon UNITE. Considering the amount of damage one attack allows the Pokemon to do, some serious changes need to be made for the health of the game.

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