Not long after Pokemon Unite's launch, it quickly became apparent that the MOBA has a bot problem. For whatever reason, now and then you'll get placed in a match where the entire enemy team is controlled by AI, even in ranked. Many suspected that this was a way to hook people in with practically no wait times between matches, but almost a month in it's still happening… and the bots can play really, really bad.
Frustrated fans are sharing highlights (or lowlights, more accurately) from these bot matches on r/PokemonUnite, and it's painful viewing. Despite taking up so many matches, it appears that the AI controlled opponents don't actually understand the objective of the game at all, and sometimes just aimlessly walk back and forth.
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In one clip shared by user Danw0n, we can see just how messed up the bot's pathing can get. Danw0n scores a goal of 37 right in front of an AI Snorlax, who was perfectly within range to stop them. Instead, the Snorlax just repeatedly walks back and forth, not quite sure what to do with itself. Snorlax is then joined by an Absol… who does the exact same thing.
On the flip side, user BabiTigerWoods had their teammates become bots after they left the match. As it turns out, ally AI isn't much smarter than the enemy's, so the bot teammates followed BabiTigerWoods around like bodyguards, not all that fussed about going after the opposing team or wild Pokemon. Nah, who needs goals, anyway?
Throughout r/PokemonUnite, player patience appears to be running thin. As funny as some of the bot behaviour can be, many feel that it goes against the spirit of the game. In a thread discussing the issue, piepei says, "I chose to play ranked. I chose that because I like the competition of playing with other people. I did not choose to play with bots". Others agree, arguing that having bot matches after a string of losses (which appears to be how they're dished out in ranked mode) artificially inflates player ranks.
But not everyone is complaining. Eugoogilizer, who started the discussion thread, said: "Nobody got to Masters off of bot games to my knowledge. Just take your easy win and move on." Others do share this sentiment, feeling that it can be fun to dunk on some bots for 10 minutes.
Next: Pokemon Unite Doesn't Understand The Importance Of Support Roles
