u/metamorphomo

So, it's Catch Cup week. Meaning I either ignore the game or... dive into Preview Cup!

For reference, I'm a steady 2,500-2,600 player. I've been playing a long time and have seen a few changes to PvP over the years.

This week, I've solely played Preview Cup, using up my sets every day. I've actually gained Elo, but not a huge amount. So, my thoughts...

Positives:

• Battles start quicker. I quite like that you get thrown straight in. Feels weird to begin with but you get used to it.
• I like that having your opponent close their app doesn't make you wait an age before sending their final pokemon in.
• Damage registration (non) error seems to be consistent. I kind of don't mind either way, but it's nice to have it consistent.
• I quite like the "pending" damage in my HP bar. I'm not sure how helpful it is really, but it's interesting.

Negatives:

• The game feels laggy and clunky. It seems to pause before you throw a charge move.
• I have failed to throw LOTS of charge moves. For example, I've been running Shadow Primeape with Rage Fist/Ice Punch. If I'm against a three-turner like Lickilicki or Gastro, I obviously want to throw on either 4 or 7. Multiple times I've tried to throw on 4, it hasn't registered, and I have to wait longer for my boost and also expend a shield because they then throw after my 6. In one game, I missed on the 4, they didn't throw, and I missed on the 7 as well. This has caused me to lose games, and while it might be a "skill issue", I have NEVER had the same issue in old PvP.
• Just once, I have had a shield fail to work (like a recent post on this sub).

I think ALL the errors and annoyances are down to moving the game timeline from client to server.

I found u/thanky169's (currently downvoted) comment here quite useful in explaining this:

"The server is the 3rd party now. In old PvP it was p2p so YOUR client says hey I pressed that in time and the clients both honoured that. In new PvP, the game will tick along irrespective of clients lagging or disconnecting. That's why it doesn't care you pressed shield if the action arrives late. It simply had moved on already."

If you're lagging even a few milliseconds, the game will never feel crisp and responsive because what you see on the screen is determined by an external server rather than your device. If you tap your charged move and you're lagging, the opportunity to throw may be gone before that move registers.

If that's a totally incorrect way of understanding it, someone please correct me!

Is this ready to replace "old" PvP?

In my opinion, no. It's a long way off. Despite this possibly being more "fair", being stopped from throwing moves on good timing and generally not entirely trusting the game to do as I say is a massive downgrade. And, honestly, I'm unsure if it could EVER be what we want it to be because of the fundamental shift in how the game will run.

All I can say is that I very much hope this does not roll out in its entirely next season, at least in its current state.

Thank you for coming to my Ted Talk.