My main beef with Smogon is that they want to create this "fair fight experience". Not only by banning stuff that's too good, but also stuff that's too swingy or makes the game center around it. But at the same time they leave other super powerful, swingy or game-centric stuff in.
Also, the more you restrict, the less "outside the box" battling is left. If you want monsters hitting each other in turn as the only element of the game, that's fine, but I like stuff like Swagger/Foul Play, FEAR and stuff like that. It's creative. But apparently not competitive.
I do agree that it's good that it exists, since the game is skewed from the start. I just wish that they were more consistent with their monster/move/item-hate.
In general I don't really like third parties making variants, because they "make the game better". In the case of Pokémon, house rules are needed for variation, though. I just don't agree with Smogon being the "only" and "true" way, aside from VGC.
I am pretty sure Swagger/Foul Play is viable, especially with Prankster pokemon. (Edit: but apparently it's banned? OK then.) FEAR is
more viable in Smogon meta than it would be in doubles, because two opposing pokemon are a way bigger threat to a FEAR pokemon. Focus Sash and Sturdy aren't enough then, and Fake Out is a lot better in doubles too.
Other than a vocal minority, I don't think people consider Smogon the only true way. There are plenty of communities centered on VGC; Smogon itself has a forum for it. People also tend to forget that the tier lists aren't exactly ban lists. If you want to use a UU pokemon in ubers, you are certainly free to do so. And then you can also play Anything Goes or, for even crazier stuff, you can try hackmons. If you want to go a different direction, you can play Little Cup and use pokemon that would never get play in any other format!
The online battling with XY showed that a lack of restrictions really limits creativity for singles battling. People were constantly complaining about how every team had the same several super powerful pokemon. And then there are very valid complaints that 3v3 singles often felt like Rock-Paper-Scissors.
I'm not saying other formats are bad. The simple truth is that 6v6 singles is a popular way to play, but the meta becomes very centralized with no restrictions at all. The specific restrictions that Smogon has may not be perfect, and maybe they are a bit overbearing in some places, but the nature of restrictions is that no one set will satisfy everybody. As far as all that goes, Smogon does a pretty good job.
It absolutely does not matter how many fans or haters Smogon has; its rules are the de facto standard. Example: All the Pokemon of the Week sets and analyses on serebii.net assume Smogon's rules and talk about their tiers explicitly.
Smogon's rules are (or were the last time I checked) a product of a very weighted "community discussion" where the top players of the existing game—the ones with the most incentive to maintain the status quo—are the ones that call the shots. dondon, how are these rules "sceintific"? I don't think that word means what you think it means.
Things become de facto for a reason. Even then, there are certainly communities for non-Smogon formats. This complaint sounds like it's hating on them just because they are popular. And here is a snippet from a post I found on their Facebook page:
We would like to remind everyone that this potential tiering change would only affect the official, usage-based Smogon Tiers (OU to NU); tiers such as Ubers, Balanced-Hackmons and Monotype will not reflect this change. This change would only be made on our tournaments and our ladders. You are, of course, more than welcome to play by whatever rulesets you desire on your own servers and tournaments.
Additionally, we would like to stress that we never have nor ever will claim these are Nintendo-official rules; they are Smogon-official rules that are ONLY enforced in OUR environments. We feel there are many ways to enjoy Pokemon, whether singles, doubles, online, or wifi, and we don't feel any one method or metagame is "better" than another (though we obviously emphasize certain ones).
Finally, it's extremely important to note that YOU have the DIRECT ability to influence these changes; simply play on the suspect ladders, qualify, and vote. The algorithm that determines qualification credentials emphasizes BOTH experience and quality of play, so you don't need to be a "smogon elite" with a 90% win percentage to qualify (if you have a lower win %, you just need to play more games).
So no, it's not only top players who have a say.
No. The equivalent to a VP tracker in Pokemon would be maybe tracking the current HP bars and status conditions of Pokemon that aren't currently in play. I can't speak for everyone, but whether or not I have access to a VP tracker doesn't dramatically change my strategy in a game Dominion. In Pokemon, 3v3 Singles and 6v6 Singles are radically different games.
OK, here's a better analogy then:
The difference between playing with Smogon's format and restrictions and not doing so is like the difference between playing Dominion with randomization between only two sets at a time or playing Dominion with All Random, or playing ranked Dominion with some sort of veto method. There are arguments for both. Some players have very strong feelings about which way is better (there's previously been some fierce discussion about veto method, or whether veto should be allowed at all for ranked games).
The problem here is that I think we each want to get something different out of competitive Pokemon. For me, Pokemon promises lots of variety and Smogon's ruleset is designed to eliminate most of that variety such that each team can cover all its bases and beat each other team and good play wins out over luck as much as possible. Smogon's entire 6v6 metagame is centered around switch-to-a-counter dancing, carefully eliminating anything that can prevent you from sweeping, and then sweeping. Most of the teams look pretty much the same. Special wall, physical wall, rock setter, rapid spinner, sweeper. Leftovers on all the walls, Life Orb or Choice items on all the attackers. BORING! It's so fucking boring! And having 6 Pokemon in your active roster is the primary reason it pans out this way. The more options you have to switch to, the more often switching is a better move than attacking. And on top of that Smogon bans some of the biggest "threats" to this system, like OHKO moves.
But that's just, like, your opinion. You could also say that Smogon's ruleset is designed to eliminate centralizing elements, and that the intricate check and counter "dancing" between opponents is interesting and highly entertaining, with great diversity in how different roles are fulfilled and executed, and multiple tiers to let weaker pokemon have a chance at the spotlight.
And to be completely clear here, I count myself as impartial in this debate. I don't play on Smogon, I have no horse in this race. It just bothers me how vociferously I've seen people argue against Smogon, as if they are some evil organization intent on stripping away all fun from a game. I'm sure there are fair criticisms of Smogon, but I haven't really seen any.
Yes, possibly a bit. In my opinion, the massive amount of new options that would be made viable far outweighs the relatively minor increase in "luck". But luck doesn't increase nearly as much as you might think. You basically have a sideboard, so you have the potential to cover your bases. You just have to be smart about which 3 Pokemon you choose to bring into the match.
Are there stats on this? Last I heard, the meta in the official ranked matches was incredibly samey.
Banning OHKO is like banning a Treasure Map that gave 5 platinums.
Banning sleep is like banning a Militia that says "Each opponent discards 2 cards" from having an attack effect more than once.
Banning Ubers is like banning rebuild, minion, and torturer.
The bans may be bad, but they're not silly.
I think you're overstating these. You could say that banning OHKOs is like banning Treasure Map as printed, though that's not a great analogy because Treasure Map has enablers and absolutely nothing makes OHKO moves hit more often.
Sleep Clause is the rule we've been discussing here that makes the most sense. BUT, Sleep mechanics have changed pretty dramatically in 5th gen and I think it's worth trying the game without the clause first.
Banning "Ubers" is a obviously a good idea, though what constitutes an "Uber" is up for debate. In a game where switching to a counter is no longer the correct move 90% of the time, Wobbuffet isn't quite so dominating.
I think his "Plat Map" comparison is closer to OHKO moves than regular Treasure Map. Having a OHKO trigger in Pokemon is a huge boost (especially in 3v3 -- that's 33% of your team gone). Connecting Treasure Maps is nice but not quite game-changing. Aren't there ways to make OHKO moves hit more often -- No Guard, Lock-On, Mind Reader?
IMO, it would be OK to leave OHKO moves unbanned because they are weak anyway. They would swing matches once in a while but would lose out in the long run. But for that same reason, I don't see why Game Freak made OHKO moves at all. They are so unreliable that using them successfully is far more a matter of luck than skill. That makes them really underwhelming for in-game play and also unsatisfying in competitive matches even when they work. And for that reason, I don't see a problem with banning them either.
Smogon does suspect testing. I would wager that they did try the game without the clause for a while when the mechanics were changed, and then decided to ban it again after that testing. Granted, didn't the gen V change to sleep actually make it a
stronger status condition? Yes, it went from 1-4 turns down to 1-3, but the counter would reset if you switched out. Gen VI repealed that so the counter wouldn't reset.
6v6 singles is what the most dramatic battles in the game (Champion), Anime (rival/dragonite guy) and manga (championships) are. They're more epic than any other format.
First of all, that's just your opinion. Second, comparing in-game battles (with items, uneven levels, etc.) and competitive battles is apples and oranges. And what makes a good anime or manga does not necessarily also make a good game.
It's not just XP's opinion. It's an opinion shared by
many players. Plenty of people enjoy 6v6 over other formats, and part of the reason for that is how battles work in-game and in other media. You might not be a fan of Smogon's rules, and that's fair, but plenty of people like it and that's fair too.