"An analysis of quick moves by duration and type"

#PokemonGO: One question I’ve been seeing around here recently is “what are the best moves in the game?” While a Pokémon’s stats, type bonuses, and opponents will affect what moves will work best in any specific scenario, I’m going to examine the general differences between the quick moves in the game, primarily from an attacker’s perspective using the data about quick moves from this spreadsheet.First, let’s take a look at the tradeoff between damage per second (DPS), energy generated per second (EPS), and the duration of the move. Each circle shows the damage per second and energy per second generated by a particular move. Larger circles on the diagram show moves that are slower but are typically more difficult to dodge with. Moves up and to the right generate more damage and/or energy per second than moves down and to the left. The labelled moves are moves that are contenders for the best moves in the game in terms of DPS and EPS because there are not moves that generate any more DPS or EPS without giving up the other (they lie on the “Pareto frontier”). Many of the most preferred moves for top tier Pokémon lie on this frontier: Dragon Tail for Dragonite, Counter for Machamp, Fire Spin for Flareon, and Psycho Cut for Alakazam. The choice of moves along this frontier will likely depend on the quality of the charge moves of the Pokémon. Pokémon with poor charge moves will probably be better paired with a high DPS quick move and vice versa.There is some tradeoff between the duration of the move and the DPS/EPS of the move, though some of the moves with a very long duration over 1,250 milliseconds, like Volt Switch and Mud Slap, are some of the worst moves in terms of overall DPS/EPS (exception: Confusion) and are probably used best defensively. Faster moves are not necessarily worse in terms of overall DPS/EPS than slower moves. There are some significant differences in availability of moves by type. This diagram shows the DPS/EPS of moves by type. Keep in mind that some moves of different types have identical DPS/EPS and thus overlap. For example, there are 9 moves that have 10 DPS and 10 EPS. Also, there is no fairy quick move, and I haven’t included Hidden Power (a 10 DPS, 10 EPS move), which is available in most types but only for Starmie, Togepi, Togetic, Porygon, Porygon2, and Unown.Some types specializes in dealing high DPS, while other specializes in providing high EPS. This diagram shows the available Steel and Electric type moves, with the lines connecting moves of the same type (moves that appear to be of a different type, like Thunder Shock, are because of overlap with a move of another type). Steel moves have a higher DPS on average than Electric moves, while Electric moves tend to provide more EPS. The same tradeoff holds between Fire (high DPS) and Bug (high EPS) moves.There are certain types that appear to have relatively weak quick moves overall. For example, Ice and Ground moves lie far underneath (down and to the left) of the Pareto frontier of moves. Perhaps Ice moves are relatively weaker than other types to make Dragonite, which is double weak to ice moves, relatively stronger, but Mud Slap and Mud Shot both look really weak offensively compared to other moves. I’ve never been too impressed with Ground type charge moves like Earthquake either, and it seems like Ground types like Sandslash are candidates for a buff with any future move rebalance. Poison type moves are also relatively weak, especially compared to Ghost type moves. And Flying moves are also fairly weak.Within some types like Dragon and Water, there is a tradeoff between DPS/EPS and the duration of the move. For example, Dragon Tail is a strictly better move than Dragon Breath in terms of DPS/EPS, but it is harder to dodge with because of its higher duration (1,100 milliseconds vs. 500 milliseconds). The same sort of tradeoff holds for Water Gun vs. Bubble (Splash with 0 DPS and 11.56 EPS is not pictured) with Bubble being a higher EPS move than Water Gun without giving up any DPS assuming you don’t dodge.Normal and Rock type moves are shown here with Transform (0 DPS and EPS) off the screen to the left. Aside from Hidden Power Rock, Rock Throw is the only quick Rock type move, though it is similar to Dragon Tail in terms of DPS and EPS. On the other hand, there are many Normal type moves, with Quick Attack being the only Normal type move on the Pareto frontier.Grass and Dark are shown here. Each has a move on the Pareto frontier, Vine Whip for Grass types and Snarl for Dark types.Lastly, let’s take a look at the Fighting and Psychic quick moves. Fighting moves received a significant buff in Gen 2 with the introduction of Counter, which lies on the Pareto frontier as a premier high DPS move. Not only does Counter provide higher DPS and EPS than Rock Smash, it is also a quicker move as well. Counter is just a strictly better move than Rock Smash on offense. Psychic moves stand out since 3 of the 4 moves are on the Pareto frontier with a menu of moves that provide either high DPS (Confusion) or EPS (Psycho Cut).Overall, this analysis is meant to show the differences between the quick moves in the game. It’s not meant to be a substitute for the simulation analysis or damage plots that are out there, but it does help to show the tradeoff between DPS and EPS overall and the specialization in high DPS or EPS in the quick moves for some Pokémon types. via /r/TheSilphRoad http://ift.tt/2rrqpw5