What Separates Ultra from Master Players in Pokémon Unite
We analyzed how ranking up is a matter of time and how you can start winning more games.
Many Ultra players think they're one lucky streak away from Masters, but relying on luck is a bad long-term strategy.
Two things separate Ultra from Masters: time and consistency. Play consistently well, and it'll take less time to rank up. The amount of time depends on two things: your win rate and your current rank. The lower your rank, the easier it is to rank up.
What's important to know here is that the Unite ranked system incentivizes players to experiment more at lower ranks. The system is very lenient in low ranks when it comes to the punishments to your elo (your rank).
It makes sense to experiment in this stage because later, when you get to a higher rank, the system will be much less lenient.
The idea is to get to a stage where you can consistently play well. To do that, it's recommended to go through a sampling phase, then aim for a 50% win rate in the long term.
This guide breaks it down into three steps. None of them require you to grind 12 hours a day. It's all about finding the optimal solution to consistently win in the long term.
A 50% Win Rate Is Your Long-Term Goal
The win rate is a long-term thing because it requires consistency over time. Let’s start from there. What’s the optimal method to having a 50% win rate? In Unite, one of the most reliable is where you simply get really, really good with one mon (a Pokémon). Balancing a team with all 5 roles for each match is nice, but not necessary at this stage. Soloq is soloq, after all.
Step 1: The Sampling Phase
Before you OTP (one trick pony) a mon, it's recommended to do a sampling phase. OTPing is where you only play one mon so you can master its mechanics and matchups. Before OTPing, it’s important to know what vibes with you. During this sampling period, try only two or three builds per mon, no more. It’s best to do at least a dozen games on each mon. Range by David Epstein basically argues that sampling before you specialize makes you better in the long run. This is especially relevant in environments where the rules keep changing. In Pokémon Unite, the meta shifts every patch.
The sampling phase isn't a warmup; it’s your baseline.
After you go through the sampling phase, take a look at your win rate on each mon. Take a second to step back and think: which mon would you be comfortable with playing on repeat? Which is your preferred move set? I suggest finding the latest tier list videos from Spragels and Crisheroes as well. You can choose a mon in S tier, but just know that once you reach master rank, you'll encounter draft and your mon may very well get banned. I also don't recommend choosing something in the bottom half of a tier list. Ultimately, this decision is completely up to you. You can even completely disregard tier lists. Once you've figured out which mon to OTP, play that mon as much as possible until you have a gold ribbon on that mon. A gold ribbon appears on a mon in the loading screen once you've played enough matches with it, signaling a baseline level of experience with that pick.
There are three ribbons you can get on each mon. Green, blue, then gold. If time to green equals x, blue = 2x; gold = 4x.
All those games you've played on other mons give you context. This gives you the ability to read the game in a more wholesome way that increases your chances of success in all roles.
Step 2: Study Your OTP
While you grind out your gold ribbon, you might as well do some research. Some mons offer different play styles even within their move sets. For now, just choose your preferred move set and research that one. Look up guides and videos for that moveset. Just open YouTube and search “[your OPT] guide”, “[your OPT] gameplay”, “[your OPT] techs”.
Go through the list of videos and add the ones that fit the moveset into your watch later playlist. Build up a good catalogue of videos. If you have the time right now, choose one and watch it from beginning to the end. In the future, when you find yourself in a situation with enough time to spare, go through the watch later playlist and watch another video from beginning to end. It’s important to watch the whole thing because doing so will also train your attention span to be at least the length of a Unite match.
Step 3: Start "listening" to your MMR
MMR is essentially a hidden metric you can't see that influences the difficulty of your matches in matchmaking. Your MMR will adjust based on how consistently you win. What this means is that your matches will increase in difficulty the more you win. Although it sounds counterintuitive, that's actually what you want. It's the matchmaking system telling you that your win rate has been above 50% for too many matches, and it will match you with worse and worse allies while also facing more and more competent enemies.
Climbing from Ultra to Master isn't about being the most mechanically gifted player. It's about patience, sampling, gradual specialization, and consistency. Pick your mon, earn the ribbon, and do your homework. The rank will follow.
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