Massive Bug with Pokemon Go Mega Boost: Mega Boost is 85.9% with Dual Moves!

Massive Bug with Pokemon Go Mega Boost: Mega Boost is 85.9% with Dual Moves!

Mega Pokemon have come to Mega Pokemon Go with quite some controversy. We here at Pokebattler have stayed out of the conversation regarding what the appropriate cost for Megas should be and if they should be limited use or not. We do not believe it is possible to make that decision until the research has been done to say how Megas actually work!

From Niantic, “Mega Pokemon are intended to give you a 1.3x Mega Boost for using the same type of move as the Mega Pokemon itself and 1.1x Mega Boost otherwise.” Pokebattler set out to research this with the help from some kind people on the PogoRaids Discord. Almost all of the numbers matched a straight 1.3x boost on top of the existing weather boost, friend boost, shadow boost, STAB boost and type advantage boosts.  This boost exists as long as the Mega is alive.

There was one particular video that didn’t make any sense. Mega Venusaur destroying Alola Raichu in just 80 seconds. We attributed it to some transient error and updated the website with all the findings.

But this was not a transient error.

More examples started coming in of people beating the simulations by crazy numbers. A crack research team was assembled and there is a massive bug with the way dual moves work!

Mega Boost can reach as high as +85.9% damage!

Our current understanding of the way Mega Boosts work at this time based on current research:

• Bug – If the Mega Pokemon has dual charge moves and all three move types match its own types,  the Mega Pokemon is getting a +30% * +30% * +10% = 85.9% boost!  Example: Venusaur with Razor Leaf, Frenzy Plant and Sludge Bomb.
• Bug – If the Mega Pokemon has Dual charge moves where just the quick attack and a single charge attack matches its own types, the quick attack is getting a +30% * +10% = 43% boost and the charge attack is getting either a 30% or a 10% boost depending on whether it matches or not.
• Intended – If the Mega Pokemon has Dual charge moves and the Quick Attack does not match the Pokemon’s own types then quick attack gets a 10% boost.
• Intended – If the attacking Mega Pokemon has only a Single Charge move, the Mega Pokemon gets a 30% boost for the moves that match the type and a 10% boost for moves that do not match the type.
• Intended – Other players get a 30% boost if the move matches one of the types of the Mega Pokemon but only while the mega Pokemon is in the raid.
• Intended – If the Mega Pokemon is remotely invited, the expected 10% or 30% boost applies

The exact combination of attributes required to trigger the bug has not been fully found but there are multiple videos below showing the behavior

Is This a Bug? (Insert Beedrill Joke Here)

We here at Pokebattler assume the huge mega boost is a bug, but there is a chance it may not be! Perhaps they are testing out the effects of having remote raiders do less damage. In that case, a dual move Mega Pokemon is the single biggest DPS available and should be invested in immediately. Not only does it provide a 30% boost to other Pokemon in the raid, it also provides itself a 85.9% boost in damage! These Pokemon with their high stats and signature moves were already taking all the top slots in the raid rankings, and this would make the mega inflation even more pronounced.

So of course it’s a bug. They will fix it. Are Megas still justified in being a temporary effect? Mudflation is a concept that has been around for years meaning that as a game goes on in years everything becomes more powerful and older things are worth less. Megas are a very dangerous step in this direction. You can’t just create a new class of characters, give them an enormous 30% party buff effect and have them be around 100% of the time. If they are to be around for every raid, the effect should be reduced to perhaps 10%.  As it is right now without the bug, if 3 players are close to beating a raid, use 3 Megas and do some minimal dodging and coordination, they will do the damage of 4 players. This makes some raids go from not-winnable to winnable which is a good thing for the game… in small doses.

Niantic has already significantly reduced the cost of Megas and dramatically increased the mega energy accumulation rate. We do expect Niantic to continue to add additional ways to create mega energy and placate the justified concerns of the community.  We here at Pokebattler are divided. On the one hand at its current power level, Megas may be too strong to be need to be 100% available for game balance reasons in our opinion. We also like the idea of breaking out the Megas only on special occasions that really warrant it. On the other hand, the built-in limit of only 1 mega per player may be enough to prevent this from being a problem.

The Pokebattler preferred balance change is to only apply the 30% buff if you use the mega energy but the mega stats would be permanent! 

We expect in the end, Megas will be rather easy to get, a lot of people will max out on Mega energy and you could use them most raids but you might not have the right Mega to give a 30% boost.