Lurker > LusterSoldier

A new Sword/Shield game update is now available to download right now. I started downloading it around 7 minutes ago.
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Luster Soldier --- ~Shield Bearer~ | ~Data Analyst~
Popular at school, but not as cool as azuarc, Guru Champ!

At 9:00 AM EST / 6:00 AM PST today, there will be a presentation related to the Pokemon Sword/Shield Expansion Pass. It's unknown as to what will be revealed here, but there is potential for more new information.

Keep an eye on these pages for the new information to drop:

https://www.youtube.com/user/pokemon/videos
https://swordshield.pokemon.com/en-us/expansionpass/
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Luster Soldier --- ~Shield Bearer~ | ~Data Analyst~
Popular at school, but not as cool as azuarc, Guru Champ!

Cleffa 4
Clefairy 9
Clefable 9
Porygon 5
Porygon2 5
Porygon-Z 6
Unown 3
Girafarig 4
Baltoy 4
Claydol 5
Bidoof 7
Bibarel 6
Sigilyph 7
Solosis 3
Duosion 3
Reuniclus 5
Type: Null 5
Silvally 6
Indeedee 9
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Luster Soldier --- ~Shield Bearer~ | ~Data Analyst~
Popular at school, but not as cool as azuarc, Guru Champ!

We're less than a few hours away from the first DLC (Isle of Armor) being released in certain parts of the world, so I am getting this topic set it up right now. The previous topic (Part 3) purged before it even got close to 500 posts, so I'm going to remake this topic as Part 4 instead.

New Zealand would be expected to get the DLC first based on their time zone, followed by places like Australia and Japan next. The US would most likely get it at 12:00 AM EST on June 17th.

Serebii will be covering the contents of the DLC on his website here:

https://www.serebii.net/
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Luster Soldier --- ~Shield Bearer~ | ~Data Analyst~
Popular at school, but not as cool as azuarc, Guru Champ!

Jirachi 10
Deoxys 6
Dialga 9
Palkia 7
Darkrai 9
Arceus 8
Victini 10
Keldeo 9
Genesect 6
Tapu Koko 8
Tapu Lele 10
Tapu Bulu 7
Tapu Fini 10
Magearna 10
Marshadow 8
Zeraora 7
Eternatus 6

Deoxys Attack 6
Deoxys Defense 5
Deoxys Speed 6
Keldeo Resolute 9

Ratings for yesterday's stuff:

Nidoran F 5
Nidorina 3
Nidoqueen 8
Nidoran M 5
Nidorino 3
Nidoking 8
Slowpoke 5
Slowbro 6
Slowking 8
Kangaskhan 7
Horsea 6
Seadra 4
Kingdra 8
Slakoth 4
Vigoroth 3
Slaking 4
Piplup 9
Prinplup 5
Empoleon 9

Mega Kangaskhan 8
Galarian Slowpoke 5
Galarian Slowbro 5
Mega Slowbro 5
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Luster Soldier --- ~Shield Bearer~ | ~Data Analyst~
Popular at school, but not as cool as azuarc, Guru Champ!

Sandshrew 5
Sandslash 4
Slugma 4
Magcargo 3
Tropius 9
Hippopotas 5
Hoppowdon 3
Pidove 6
Tranquill 5
Unfezant 3
Audino 9
Axew 7
Fraxure 5
Haxorus 7
Wishiwashi 2
Wooloo 10
Dubwool 7

Alolan Sandshrew 5
Alolan Sandslash 4
Mega Audino 10

Ratings for yesterday's stuff:

Caterpie 4
Metapod 3
Butterfree 7
Weedle 2
Kakuna 2
Beedrill 6
Volbeat 5
Illumise 6
Sewaddle 3
Swadloon 6
Leavanny 6
Joltik 8
Galvantula 9
Cutiefly 9
Ribombee 10
Snom 5
Frosmoth 10

Mega Beedrill 6
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Luster Soldier --- ~Shield Bearer~ | ~Data Analyst~
Popular at school, but not as cool as azuarc, Guru Champ!

Leonhart4 posted...

I can't imagine Allen would deliberately keep out the big name games we actually want to see.

Also, a limit of 2 games per series would actually work against Allen because it means FFIV wouldn't make it into a Game of the 1990s contest. It's worth noting here since FFIV is Allen's favorite game. We would only get FFVI and FFVII in that contest if he imposed a limit of 2 games per series.

glassparkinglot posted...

Congrats to luster on a top 25 finish

The account "meganerdluster" is completely unrelated to me. I did not have any of my accounts end up on the final leaderboard for either the main bracket contest or the Second Chance contest.
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Luster Soldier --- ~Shield Bearer~ | ~Data Analyst~
Popular at school, but not as cool as azuarc, Guru Champ!

Poliwag 6
Poliwhirl 6
Poliwrath 7
Politoed 5
Cubone 5
Marowak 6
Lotad 4
Lombre 5
Ludicolo 8
Spinda 2
Kricketot 2
Kricketune 5
Larvesta 4
Volcarona 7
Meloetta 10
Bounsweet 8
Steenee 9
Tsareena 7

Alolan Marowak 7
Meloetta Pirouette 10

Ratings for yesterday's stuff:

Oddish 4
Gloom 1
Vileplume 6
Bellossom 7
Sunkern 2
Sunflora 5
Budew 3
Roselia 5
Roserade 10
Cottonee 5
Whimsicott 10
Chespin 6
Quilladin 6
Chesnaught 8
Fomantis 2
Lurantis 9
Gossifleur 6
Eldegoss 8
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Luster Soldier --- ~Shield Bearer~ | ~Data Analyst~
Popular at school, but not as cool as azuarc, Guru Champ!

Zubat 4
Golbat 3
Crobat 7
Krabby 6
Kingler 6
Totodile 8
Croconaw 4
Feraligatr 6
Starly 6
Staravia 6
Staraptor 9
Scraggy 5
Scrafty 4
Elgyem 2
Beheeyem 3
Yungoos 2
Gumshoos 2
Morpeko 8

Ratings for yesterday's stuff:

Nincada 3
Ninjask 3
Shedinja 5
Shuppet 3
Banette 5
Duskull 6
Dusclops 5
Dusknoir 8
Rotom 9
Giratina 7
Litwick 6
Lampent 7
Chandelure 9
Sandygast 4
Palossand 7
Sinistea 5
Polteageist 5

Mega Banette 5
Rotom Fan 7
Rotom Frost 7
Rotom Heat 9
Rotom Mow 6
Rotom Wash 9
Giratina-Origin 7
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Luster Soldier --- ~Shield Bearer~ | ~Data Analyst~
Popular at school, but not as cool as azuarc, Guru Champ!

Mew 9
Lugia 10
Ho-oh 7
Kyogre 9
Groudon 7
Rayquaza 7
Cresselia 8
Phione 5
Manaphy 9
Tornadus 6
Thundurus 6
Yveltal 9
Zygarde 8
Cosmog 8
Cosmoem 2
Solgaleo 6
Lunala 8

Primal Kyogre 9
Primal Groudon 7
Mega Rayquaza 7
Tornadus-T 6
Thundurus-T 6
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Luster Soldier --- ~Shield Bearer~ | ~Data Analyst~
Popular at school, but not as cool as azuarc, Guru Champ!

Diglett 5
Dugtrio 5
Pineco 4
Forretress 4
Trapinch 5
Vibrava 7
Flygon 9
Buizel 7
Floatzel 7
Trubbish 6
Garbodor 5
Phantump 7
Trevenant 6
Pyukumuku 3
Scorbunny 6
Raboot 4
Cinderace 7

Alolan Diglett 5
Alolan Dugtrio 6

Ratings for yesterday's Pokemon:

Happiny 5
Chansey 10
Blissey 10
Magikarp 6
Gyarados 7
Miltank 7
Torchic 7
Combusken 6
Blaziken 8
Spoink 6
Grumpig 5
Ducklett 5
Swanna 5
Clauncher 4
Clawitzer 4
Applin 4
Flapple 6
Appletun 9

Mega Gyarados 7
Mega Blaziken 8
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Luster Soldier --- ~Shield Bearer~ | ~Data Analyst~
Popular at school, but not as cool as azuarc, Guru Champ!

Poll updates and trend charts for yesterday's poll:

https://docs.google.com/spreadsheets/d/1TjWTeHjqA2Lqd2CtyO3PIXZaYkAtdhmHgpd5bBLP1OM/pub?gid=988375554

The trends for yesterday's poll actually turned out to be very unremarkable and not what I was expecting to see. I was expecting to see trends more closely resembling the "how often do you visit GameFAQs" poll, as seen here - https://docs.google.com/spreadsheets/d/14PmFnPgwYASnutdjA905NiOFiQLjl3k_gseE3lVMeCo/pub?gid=1261620550

Unfortunately, that didn't happen here. The first 2 options in yesterday's poll remained somewhat consistent over the course of the entire poll. There were still trends in this poll, but they came in the form of age-based trends and there were even some Geolocation trends as well.

It shouldn't be too much of a surprise that a poll revolving around how long you have been visiting GameFAQs would have age-based trends here. Going off what we know from the age poll, the early vote has the highest percentage of younger voters and this was clearly seen in the early vote for "More than 10 years", which had an excellent board vote and also performed very well during the Power Hour as well. The morning vote was also the worst time period for "More than 10 years", which is also the time period that has the oldest voters on average based on past age polls.

"More than 20 years" performed worst during the board vote, though its Power Hour was only slightly worse than average. With the early vote known to favor the younger voters to a greater extent than all of the other time periods, this would clearly work against "More than 20 years". This option is also affected by Geolocation trends, as it performs worst during the night vote. Looking at the Geolocation trends here, we see that "More than 20 years" is very strong in the US and Canada (both over 35%) while being extremely weak outside of the US and Canada. "More than 20 years" has less than 30% in almost every country in Europe, even the UK which is an English speaking country. Due to this option's strength base being more concentrated in the US and Canada, it ends up performing best during the late morning vote and day vote.

"More than 5 years" and "More than a year" both have similar trends in their good early vote and night vote, but they do perform worst during the second half of the poll. Geolocation trends also played a role in the strong night vote, as both options fared much better in Europe compared to the US and Canada.
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Luster Soldier --- ~Shield Bearer~ | ~Data Analyst~
Popular at school, but not as cool as azuarc, Guru Champ!

Definitely tracking poll updates for today's poll, as there's definitely potential for some strong trends.
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Luster Soldier --- ~Shield Bearer~ | ~Data Analyst~
Popular at school, but not as cool as azuarc, Guru Champ!

GenesisSaga posted...

I think GameFreak has been running out of cool ideas for designs since generation V tbh, when pokmon started resembling ice cream cones and literal garbage. I was pretty much done when there was a keychain pokmon and a sword in the same generation. Like it's way too much like Digimon now, and you're not even out of animals you can base designs on so why are you looking around your friggin' house for inspiration? /rant

Why did you quit Pokemon?
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Luster Soldier --- ~Shield Bearer~ | ~Data Analyst~
Popular at school, but not as cool as azuarc, Guru Champ!

Omanyte 6
Omastar 7
Kabuto 5
Kabutops 5
Lileep 3
Cradily 4
Anorith 3
Armaldo 4
Tirtouga 6
Carracosta 6
Archen 5
Archeops 5
Tyrunt 7
Tyrantrum 8
Amaura 6
Aurorus 6
Dracozolt 7
Arctozolt 4
Dracovish 5
Arctovish 2

Ratings for yesterday's stuff:

Ponyta 7
Rapidash 7
Wooper 5
Quagsire 7
Feebas 1
Milotic 10
Cherubi 5
Cherrim 6
Throh 4
Sawk 5
Fennekin 7
Braixen 5
Delphox 5
Mudbray 7
Mudsdale 9
Impidimp 5
Morgrem 3
Grimmsnarl 3

Galarian Ponyta 9
Galarian Rapidash 8
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Luster Soldier --- ~Shield Bearer~ | ~Data Analyst~
Popular at school, but not as cool as azuarc, Guru Champ!

PrinceOfKoopas posted...

What was the reason for 2012's very high "in the last week" percentage not seen anywhere else?

Borderlands 2?

Meanwhile, I'm amused at how even the curve of the results is in the 2020 poll.

Probably from the release of Borderlands 2 back in 2012.

Also, they haven't changed the wording of the options ever since this poll started back in 2012. As a result, there has been a sharp increase in the percentage of the "Classic" and "Ancient" options due to their cut-offs being at 10 and 20 years. Even the "Pretty old" and "Not too old" options have gone up in percentage over the history of this poll. The real losers are the newer options, as they're doing even worse today compared to the earlier versions of this poll. This suggests that a lot of users on this site are rather slow in getting around to playing the newest games, only getting around to playing them more than a year after their original release date.
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Luster Soldier --- ~Shield Bearer~ | ~Data Analyst~
Popular at school, but not as cool as azuarc, Guru Champ!

Rattata - 5
Raticate 4
Munchlax 3
Snorlax 6
Aipom 5
Ambipom 3
Dunsparce 5
Zigzagoon 8
Linoone 5
Obstagoon 5
Zangoose 4
Bouffalant 3
Bunnelby 6
Diggersby 4
Stufful 6
Bewear 9

Alolan Rattata 5
Alolan Raticate 3
Galarian Zigzagoon 8
Galarian Linoone 5

Ratings for yesterday:

Pidgey 5
Pidgeotto 6
Pidgeot 9
Hoothoot 5
Noctowl 9
Swablu 5
Altaria 9
Chatot 8
Rufflet 4
Braviary 9
Vullaby 2
Mandibuzz 5
Noibat 6
Noivern 8
Oricorio 9
Cramorant 5

Mega Pidgeot - 8
Mega Altaria 10

Oricorio Baile 9
Oricorio Pom-Pom 8
Oricorio Pa'u 7
Oricorio Sensu 9
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Luster Soldier --- ~Shield Bearer~ | ~Data Analyst~
Popular at school, but not as cool as azuarc, Guru Champ!

The English website for Sword/Shield has updated with the new info from today's reveals.

https://swordshield.pokemon.com/en-us/expansionpass/pokemon/
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Luster Soldier --- ~Shield Bearer~ | ~Data Analyst~
Popular at school, but not as cool as azuarc, Guru Champ!

ctesjbuvf posted...

The two Regi Pokmon are Regieleci, Electric-type and Regidraco, Dragon-type

Looks like that's not their actual English names, since Serebii reported those names before we got the official English names.

The actual English names are Regieleki and Regidrago.
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Luster Soldier --- ~Shield Bearer~ | ~Data Analyst~
Popular at school, but not as cool as azuarc, Guru Champ!

ctesjbuvf posted...

Galarian Articuno is Psychic/Flying, Zapdos is Fighting/Flying and Moltres is Dark/Flying

Well, turns out I was right about Galarian Moltres's typing. I thought it would probably be Dark/Flying, while I considered Psychic/Flying as a very real possibility for Galarian Articuno. I was most uncertain about Galarian Zapdos, as the official artwork depicts as a roadrunner like design, so I thought Ground/Flying was one of the potential typings it could have been.
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Luster Soldier --- ~Shield Bearer~ | ~Data Analyst~
Popular at school, but not as cool as azuarc, Guru Champ!

Well, looks like we got to see Galarian Slowbro's official design in this trailer. Still no word on Galarian Slowking, but that will be available in the second DLC later this year, so they're probably holding it back for a future trailer if they're going to officially reveal it before the second DLC comes out.

We also got to see higher quality designs of the 2 new Regi-like Pokemon, though we still don't know what their names are.
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Luster Soldier --- ~Shield Bearer~ | ~Data Analyst~
Popular at school, but not as cool as azuarc, Guru Champ!

Less than 5 minutes left until the new information drops.

Get hyped!
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Luster Soldier --- ~Shield Bearer~ | ~Data Analyst~
Popular at school, but not as cool as azuarc, Guru Champ!

Shonen_Bat posted...

It's that but a scummy business practice, woohoo.

You are in the minority in not liking the idea of DLC for these games. On the Sword/Shield boards, more people liked the idea of having DLC instead of a third version.

The advantage of DLC over a third version is that I don't have to play through the entire game all over again just to gain access to the new stuff that was added in the third version. I can use the existing save file from my Sword/Shield game to play through the DLC. Also, the DLC is currently cheaper than an entirely new game. If we got a third version, it would have been another $60 on top of the $60 you already paid for the original Sword/Shield where as the DLC is only $30. That makes the DLC cheaper than a third version, unless they end up doing more DLC next year.
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Luster Soldier --- ~Shield Bearer~ | ~Data Analyst~
Popular at school, but not as cool as azuarc, Guru Champ!

This is good news for sure, as we've gotten no new information since the initial reveal back in January. The only new Pokemon related information we really got since then was the reveal of Zarude, though that wasn't specifically related to the DLC itself.

Hopefully we get the release date for the first DLC tomorrow, as that's scheduled to come out sometime this month.
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Luster Soldier --- ~Shield Bearer~ | ~Data Analyst~
Popular at school, but not as cool as azuarc, Guru Champ!

Aerodactyl 7
Bonsly 4
Sudowoodo 6
Shuckle 6
Aron 5
Lairon 3
Aggron 8
Lunatone 7
Solrock 6
Cranidos 5
Rampardos 6
Roggenrola 5
Boldore 5
Gigalith 5
Minior 7
Stonjourner 4

Mega Aerodactyl 7
Mega Aggron 8

Ratings for the previous 2 days:

Abra 4
Kadabra 6
Alakazam 6
Natu 6
Xatu 6
Ralts 7
Kirlia 8
Gardevoir 10
Gallade 9
Bronzor 4
Bronzong 5
Munna 5
Musharna 3
Bruxish 1
Blipbug 4
Dottler 6
Orbeetle 6

Mega Alakazam 6
Mega Gardevoir 10
Mega Gallade 9

Machop 5
Machoke 5
Machamp 7
Tyrogue 4
Hitmonlee 6
Hitmonchan 7
Hitmontop 8
Meditite 4
Medicham 6
Timburr 5
Gurdurr 5
Conkeldurr 5
Mienfoo 4
Mienshao 6
Hawlucha 9
Crabrawler 5
Crabominable 2
Falinks 5

Mega Medicham 6
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Luster Soldier --- ~Shield Bearer~ | ~Data Analyst~
Popular at school, but not as cool as azuarc, Guru Champ!

Murkrow 6
Honchkrow 8
Seedot 5
Nuzleaf 5
Shiftry 6
Carvanha 4
Sharpedo 7
Absol 9
Stunky 4
Skuntank 4
Spiritomb 5
Zorua 8
Zoroark 9
Nickit 4
Thievul 3

Mega Sharpedo 8
Mega Absol 9

And my ratings from yesterday:

Koffing 4
Weezing 4
Bellsprout 5
Weepinbell 5
Victreebel 6
Mime Jr. 4
Mr. Mime 6
Mr. Rime 5
Cacnea 3
Cacturne 5
Chingling 3
Chimecho 6
Carnivine 6
Foongus 4
Amoonguss 5
Inkay 5
Malamar 5
Mareanie 5
Toxapex 2

Galarian Weezing 5
Galarian Mr. Mime 6
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Luster Soldier --- ~Shield Bearer~ | ~Data Analyst~
Popular at school, but not as cool as azuarc, Guru Champ!

5 Phoenix Wright: Ace Attorney - Spirit of Justice
0 Assassin's Creed IV: Black Flag

5 Pokemon Black/White
0 Stardew Valley

3 Horizon Zero Dawn
2 Digimon Story Cyber Sleuth

0 Life is Strange
5 Kid Icarus: Uprising

1 Tomb Raider
4 Kirby's Return to Dreamland

1 Ys VIII: Lacrimosa of DANA
4 Donkey Kong Country: Tropical Freeze
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Luster Soldier --- ~Shield Bearer~ | ~Data Analyst~
Popular at school, but not as cool as azuarc, Guru Champ!

Vulpix 9
Ninetales 9
Magby 4
Magmar 6
Magmortar 8
Torkoal 5
Chimchar 7
Monferno 6
Infernape 9
Darumaka 5
Darmanitan 8
Fletchling 7
Fletchinder 7
Talonflame 8
Turtonator 5
Rolycoly 5
Carkol 3
Coalossal 5

Alolan Vulpix 10
Alolan Ninetales 10
Galarian Darumaka 5
Galarian Darmanitan 8
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Luster Soldier --- ~Shield Bearer~ | ~Data Analyst~
Popular at school, but not as cool as azuarc, Guru Champ!

ctesjbuvf posted...

Same thing in Denmark. A lot of places they straight up don't take cash. Most grocery stores and such don't in the evening.

I would expect tourists to be much more likely to pay with cash, since they wouldn't be expected to own a Danish credit card or debit card if visiting Denmark. If most places there aren't accepting cash, how would tourists (particularly non-European) pay for things while in Denmark?
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Luster Soldier --- ~Shield Bearer~ | ~Data Analyst~
Popular at school, but not as cool as azuarc, Guru Champ!

MoogleKupo141 posted...

maybe thats some kind of strange Bulgarian thing? I dont think cash on delivery is an option here for anything other than ordering pizza at this point.

Cash does have 66.67% in Bulgaria, although with a sample size that's pretty limited.

One thing I noticed with the Geolocation trends is that the US and Canada really love their credit cards. Outside the US and Canada, credit cards are way less popular with debit card generally being preferred more heavily. Asia seems to be about the only region where cash is still pretty popular.
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Luster Soldier --- ~Shield Bearer~ | ~Data Analyst~
Popular at school, but not as cool as azuarc, Guru Champ!

Scyther 9
Scizor 8
Pinsir 7
Heracross 9
Surskit 7
Masquerain 5
Combee 4
Vespiquen 5
Dwebble 6
Crustle 5
Scatterbug 5
Spewpa 4
Vivillon 9
Dewpider 5
Araquanid 2
Sizzlipede 4
Centiskorch 6

Mega Pinsir 7
Mega Scizor 8
Mega Heracross 6

And for yesterday's set:

Grimer 3
Muk 4
Gulpin 3
Swalot 2
Croagunk 5
Toxicroak 5
Venipede 4
Whirlipede 3
Scolipede 6
Skrelp 4
Dragalge 5
Salandit 5
Salazzle 4
Toxel 6
Toxtricity 8

Alolan Grimer - 4
Alolan Muk 7
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Luster Soldier --- ~Shield Bearer~ | ~Data Analyst~
Popular at school, but not as cool as azuarc, Guru Champ!

5 Mass Effect 2
0 Until Dawn

3 Ori and the Blind Forest
2 The Outer Worlds

5 Red Dead Redemption
0 Tekken 7

2 Rocket League
3 Phoenix Wright: Ace Attorney - Dual Destinies

5 Splatoon 2
0 The Stanley Parable

0 Hotline Miami
5 Fallout: New Vegas
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Luster Soldier --- ~Shield Bearer~ | ~Data Analyst~
Popular at school, but not as cool as azuarc, Guru Champ!

MithosLowell posted...

Tell Final Fantasy XV and Kingdom Hearts 3 Playrate is the most important factor of strength.

Its not. Its always been how many people loved it and re willing to support it in a 1v1 or contest format

You cannot tell me Hollow Knight has anywhere NEAR the same playrate as FFXV on this site. Or even GTA against PErsona 4 Golden. Theres just no fucking way. If its a contest of "Have you played this" The older the game is and from a more established franchise the more likely someone has played it.

Playrate is still in important factor for strength. It determines your strength ceiling, but does not actually dictate what your actual strength is. Higher playrate means a higher potential maximum strength. How well-loved (or hated) a game is what ultimately determines how that playrate translates to being a strong game or a game that is very weak. But a game is still at a severe disadvantage for having a low playrate, as a majority of voters require hands on exposure with the game to actually vote for it in a match. Only the extreme contest diehards like us would go as far as vote for a game we haven't played. It doesn't matter how well-loved a game is when very few people have played it. Tell that to Tales of Berseria, which was very well-loved by Tales fans and was a top 3 game in the series by most fans who have played it. But the game ended up being extremely weak despite being well-loved, which suggests that it has a low playrate that is severely limiting its strength.

Persona 4 Golden isn't a good example here because that game was clearly a proxy for the original Persona 4, so it's one of the few cases where playrate doesn't apply. The playrate for the original Persona 4 is likely quite excellent.
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Luster Soldier --- ~Shield Bearer~ | ~Data Analyst~
Popular at school, but not as cool as azuarc, Guru Champ!

KamikazePotato posted...

Actually, here's how the indies shook out in the current (and probably final?) version of the X-stats:

Minecraft should be on that list too. It's technically an indie game because it started out as an indie game. Minecraft's status as an indie game doesn't change just because a big company (Microsoft here) buys out the rights to Minecraft from the original developer. I get that some people might not think of Minecraft as an indie game because it's managed to become so well-known in the mainstream gaming community in a way that some big name AAA releases have achieved and that other indie games haven't been able to do.
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Luster Soldier --- ~Shield Bearer~ | ~Data Analyst~
Popular at school, but not as cool as azuarc, Guru Champ!

Smash Ultimate would have lost to Witcher 3 if it had be placed in that half of the bracket, so it wasn't like that game had any chance of winning the whole contest.
---

Luster Soldier --- ~Shield Bearer~ | ~Data Analyst~
Popular at school, but not as cool as azuarc, Guru Champ!

Articuno 7
Zapdos 8
Moltres 7
Raikou 6
Entei 7
Suicune 9
Latias 10
Latios 10
Heatran 6
Shaymin 10
Reshiram 8
Zekrom 9
Hoopa 6
Volcanion 7
Zacian 8
Zamazenta 6

Mega Latias 7
Mega Latios 7
Shaymin-Sky 9
Hoopa Unbound 5
Zacian Crowned Sword 9
Zamazenta Crowned Shield 6
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Luster Soldier --- ~Shield Bearer~ | ~Data Analyst~
Popular at school, but not as cool as azuarc, Guru Champ!

I took the most popular option in this poll, which is the Blinky option.
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Luster Soldier --- ~Shield Bearer~ | ~Data Analyst~
Popular at school, but not as cool as azuarc, Guru Champ!

Wow, I just noticed how bad the vote totals are on today's poll. It might not even make it to 7000 votes, and this is after most of our regular polls have been breaking 10000 votes over the past 2 months.

The only explanation I can provide for today's poll sucking so badly is that a lot of voters can't properly tell you which Pac-Man ghost has killed them the most times. I think you would definitely see higher vote totals in this poll if there was an option for "I don't know, I couldn't tell you".
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Luster Soldier --- ~Shield Bearer~ | ~Data Analyst~
Popular at school, but not as cool as azuarc, Guru Champ!

Geodude 5
Graveler 4
Golem 6
Chinchou 6
Lanturn 9
Nosepass 5
Probopass 2
Skorupi 4
Drapion 7
Pancham 7
Pangoro 7
Rowlet 9
Dartrix 7
Decidueye 8
Drampa 8

Alolan Geodude 6
Alolan Graveler 5
Alolan Golem 7
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Luster Soldier --- ~Shield Bearer~ | ~Data Analyst~
Popular at school, but not as cool as azuarc, Guru Champ!

Magnemite 5
Magneton 5
Magnezone 7
Onix 5
Steelix 6
Mawile 9
Shieldon 3
Bastiodon 4
Ferroseed 4
Ferrothorn 7
Durant 7
Togedemaru 9
Rookidee 8
Corvisquire 7
Corviknight 9

Mega Steelix 6
Mega Mawile 9
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Luster Soldier --- ~Shield Bearer~ | ~Data Analyst~
Popular at school, but not as cool as azuarc, Guru Champ!

+3 Pokemon HG/SS
+2 Pokemon Sun/Moon
+1 Batman: Arkham City
-1 BioShock Infinite
-2 Shin Megami Tensei IV: Apocalypse
-3 Pyre
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Luster Soldier --- ~Shield Bearer~ | ~Data Analyst~
Popular at school, but not as cool as azuarc, Guru Champ!

+3 Pokemon Black 2/White 2
+2 Portal 2
+1 Hollow Knight
-1 Starcraft II: Wings of Liberty
-2 What Remains of Edith Finch
-3 Saints Row: The Third
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Luster Soldier --- ~Shield Bearer~ | ~Data Analyst~
Popular at school, but not as cool as azuarc, Guru Champ!

Leonhart4 posted...

I'd be curious to know what their playrates are here, actually.

It is known for a fact that playrate is the most important factor in a game's strength. Everything else such as how much the game is loved by fans and nostalgia works off the game's playrate. Once a game has achieved a good playrate, it has already established a solid foundation to be a potentially very strong game on this site and that's when other factors determine how the playrate ultimately translates into strength (or lack of strength).

In KP's most recent adjusted X-Stats (that has Witcher at 41% on BotW), Cuphead has an X-Stat value of 23.05% while Minecraft is at 22.32%. These are the 2 strongest indie games in the contest, and Cuphead is only barely ahead of Minecraft. In fact, Minecraft is the only indie game we have actual playrate data on, where it maxed out at a 51.79% playrate. That would be a very solid playrate for the GotD2 field, but the knock against Minecraft is that the site doesn't care about the game that much, so the playrate translates into a lower strength than a majority of the games with similar playrate numbers.

Cuphead would almost certainly have a lower playrate than Minecraft, but the game is more loved by the people who have played it. The lower playrate for Cuphead when compared to Minecraft is the only reason that the 2 games are as close as they are in the adjusted X-Stats.
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Luster Soldier --- ~Shield Bearer~ | ~Data Analyst~
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Leonhart4 posted...

I think I'd give the contest a solid B. I'd have a hard time ranking it near the top for the reasons yoblazer said. Plus, the low vote totals and diluted trends have killed big vote swings and day vote comebacks, which have created some of our all-time great matches.

Trends were already very diluted and the ASV pretty much non-existent even before we switched over to an 8:00 PM start time for matches. The trends that did exist were early vote trends and Geolocation trends, neither of which comes close to replacing the age-based trends that result in large ASV swings.
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Luster Soldier --- ~Shield Bearer~ | ~Data Analyst~
Popular at school, but not as cool as azuarc, Guru Champ!

+3 Xenoblade Chronicles
+2 Phoenix Wright: Ace Attorney - Dual Destinies
+1 Fallout: New Vegas
-1 Until Dawn
-2 Dead Space 2
-3 Forza Horizon 4
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Luster Soldier --- ~Shield Bearer~ | ~Data Analyst~
Popular at school, but not as cool as azuarc, Guru Champ!

+3 Bayonetta 2
+2 Resident Evil 2
+1 Sonic Mania
-1 Deus Ex: Human Revolution
-2 The Talos Principle
-3 Judgment
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Luster Soldier --- ~Shield Bearer~ | ~Data Analyst~
Popular at school, but not as cool as azuarc, Guru Champ!

Voltorb 4
Electrode 4
Mareep 7
Flaaffy 6
Ampharos 9
Plusle 8
Minun 8
Pachirisu 7
Tynamo 4
Eelektrik 3
Eelektross 2
Helioptile 8
Heliolisk 8
Grubbin 5
Charjabug 7
Vikavolt 7
Pincurchin 3

Mega Ampharos 10

And now for the past 2 days that I missed:

Dratini 6
Dragonair 8
Dragonite 10
Larvitar 8
Pupitar 4
Tyranitar 8
Bagon 5
Shelgon 3
Salamence 7
Beldum 3
Metang 4
Metagross 8
Gible 6
Gabite 6
Garchomp 8
Deino 4
Zweilous 5
Hydreigon 9
Goomy 9
Sliggoo 5
Goodra 10
Jangmo-o 6
Hakamo-o 5
Kommo-o 6
Dreepy 6
Drakloak 6
Dragapult 8

Mega Tyranitar 7
Mega Salamence 8
Mega Metagross 7
Mega Garchomp 7

Shellder 5
Cloyster 6
Smoochum 3
Jynx 6
Sneasel 8
Weavile 9
Snorunt 6
Glalie 3
Froslass 9
Vanillite 6
Vanillish 6
Vanilluxe 5
Bergmite 4
Avalugg 4
Eiscue 5
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Luster Soldier --- ~Shield Bearer~ | ~Data Analyst~
Popular at school, but not as cool as azuarc, Guru Champ!

PostContestUlti posted...

Some indie games looked okay in this contest. Most did not. Stardew Valley, however, arguably looked better than any other indie game in all of round one. If I'm not mistaken, it scored the biggest blowout of all the round one indie performances, which is rather impressive given all the fodder in this field. I get that its opponent was Destiny, which is quite possibly the most hated game in the history of this web site, but still. An indie title going 71-29 over a AAA main line game is a crazy result, no matter what the big name game is. This was reminiscent of Florida Gulf Coast destroying Georgetown. The game was as unknown as could be when it first came out, but now look at it.

Minecraft actually had the biggest blowout for an indie game in round 1. Despite Microsoft buying out the rights to Minecraft from the original developer, it technically started out as an indie game.
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Luster Soldier --- ~Shield Bearer~ | ~Data Analyst~
Popular at school, but not as cool as azuarc, Guru Champ!

Ekans 5
Arbok 6
Lickitung 4
Lickilicky 1
Wynaut 3
Wobbuffet 5
Yanma 6
Yanmega 6
Wurmple 2
Silcoon 2
Beautifly 6
Cascoon 2
Dustox 5
Seviper 5
Woobat 2
Swoobat 2
Frillish 8
Jellicent 8
Pumpkaboo 8
Gourgeist 6

And my ratings from the previous day:

Gastly 5
Haunter 8
Gengar 8
Misdreavus 9
Mismagius 6
Sableye 6
Drifloon 5
Drifblim 6
Yamask 6
Cofagrigus 5
Runerigus 5
Honedge 6
Doublade 7
Aegislash 9
Dhelmise 6

Mega Gengar 8
Mega Sableye 6
Galarian Yamask 6
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Luster Soldier --- ~Shield Bearer~ | ~Data Analyst~
Popular at school, but not as cool as azuarc, Guru Champ!

+3 Fire Emblem: Three Houses
+2 Octopath Traveler
+1 Fire Emblem: Awakening
-1 Call of Duty: Black Ops
-2 The Legend of Heroes: Trails in the Sky
-3 Hearthstone
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Luster Soldier --- ~Shield Bearer~ | ~Data Analyst~
Popular at school, but not as cool as azuarc, Guru Champ!