Getting Started Thread Updated

[HKim]

So I went through and updated the Getting Started thread.

It was a little out-of-date and needed some work. The goal is to essentially make it easier for new members to understand who we are and what we do and encourage them to join the URPG.


Let me know what you think and if you have any feedback on what can be done to further improve the thread.

[Fossil Fusion]

I like it so far Harry!

[KidBeano]

Alakazam vs. Azumarill. What do you use, Psychic or Energy Ball? Guide yourself with the following steps:
-First, choose your strongest STAB'd attack with 100% accuracy. For my Alakazam, I choose Psychic, but for a fire-type it could be flamethrower, or heat wave if you're risking the 10% miss chance.
-Multiply your attack's base damage times 1.5, and then divide by 2. (Or, multiply it by .75). My result is 67.5.
-I will NEVER use an attack that has less than 67.5 Base Damage, but it's SE, over Psychic, which is Normal Effective, against an enemy. Thus against Azumarill I'm not using ShockWave since Psychic deals more damage. But I would use Energy Ball (Base 80), which does deal more damage over Psychic.
-Always take in mind type effectivenes. Perhaps I wouldn't use ShockWave against an Azumarill, but I would use it against a Gyarados.
-Always take in mind defensive stats. If your opponent has more defense than your attack, or more special defense than your special attack, you might want to consider other options.
If you don't know what STAB is, you still haven't grasped the basics of Pokémon fighting. Check the Encyclopedia.

That whole Alakazam vs Azurmarill example is very poorly worded, especially the bolded bit which is just a rambling mess. Besides, we shouldn't be teaching newbies to just spam their strongest move in terms of BP - we should be teaching them to analyse the situation and decide what might be best in the long run, which might not be brute strength (e.g. Sure, hitting Blaziken with your strongest move might harm it, but if it can get those Speed Boosts in, you're kinda screwed. Paralysis, or an ability-swapping/-nullifying move would help a lot here.)

Also, in a thread called 'Getting Started (READ FIRST)', saying "check the Encylopedia" doesn't help. It's not much effort to go "STAB is 'Same Type Attack Bonus, which multiplies BP by 1.5".

You have your Weavile on the field, and your opponent has a Miltank. Shame on you if you use Thunderwave when you send first; your opponent will sub and laugh at your attempt. Even more shameful, though, if you are the Weavile and you DON'T substitute against your opponent's Thunderwave.

I'm Weavile? Then why exactly is Thunderwave a bad thing, considering I'm faster? Again, poorly worded to the extent that it is wrong. It should read "You have your Miltank on the field, and your opponent has a Weavile".

I know Marth's thing was already on there, but I thought this was probably an appropriate place to point it out.

Just a couple of other small things I saw:

Natures. You could probably put a warning there that Natures are exclusively used in the National Park and so probably shouldn't be picked until you're familiar with it.

Board overview: Remove the Ultra Words RP from it, from what I can see it's been removed. Also, add the Development forum + sub-forums.

Other than that, looking good :D

[Mubz]

That whole Alakazam vs Azurmarill example is very poorly worded, especially the bolded bit which is just a rambling mess. Besides, we shouldn't be teaching newbies to just spam their strongest move in terms of BP - we should be teaching them to analyse the situation and decide what might be best in the long run, which might not be brute strength (e.g. Sure, hitting Blaziken with your strongest move might harm it, but if it can get those Speed Boosts in, you're kinda screwed. Paralysis, or an ability-swapping/-nullifying move would help a lot here.)

Telling them to use their most powerful move isnt neccessarily a bad move. You'd be surprised how many newbies will use weaker moves for no reason at all, so teaching them the basics of battles first wouldn't be a bad idea

[KidBeano]

That whole Alakazam vs Azurmarill example is very poorly worded, especially the bolded bit which is just a rambling mess. Besides, we shouldn't be teaching newbies to just spam their strongest move in terms of BP - we should be teaching them to analyse the situation and decide what might be best in the long run, which might not be brute strength (e.g. Sure, hitting Blaziken with your strongest move might harm it, but if it can get those Speed Boosts in, you're kinda screwed. Paralysis, or an ability-swapping/-nullifying move would help a lot here.)

Telling them to use their most powerful move isnt neccessarily a bad move. You'd be surprised how many newbies will use weaker moves for no reason at all, so teaching them the basics of battles first wouldn't be a bad idea

Yeah, in most situations, but it's not always the case. Like, Water Pulse vs Surf; let's say both of them 3HKO the opponent. Water Pulse is the superior move in that regard, as it has the 10% confusion chance . But, the way it's worded makes it sound like "Strongest move > everything else". We should be teaching them to think, not spoon-feeding them flawed strategies.

[Monbrey]

I agree with what you're saying about how the message being sent isn't the same as the point it's trying to make. An experienced battler can see that it's trying to teach people not to just use a super effective attack if you can get more power out of using something with STAB. However the way it's written does suggest that the math is only to figure out which is more powerful in any situation, and go with that.

[Synthesis]

That whole Alakazam vs Azurmarill example is very poorly worded, especially the bolded bit which is just a rambling mess. Besides, we shouldn't be teaching newbies to just spam their strongest move in terms of BP - we should be teaching them to analyse the situation and decide what might be best in the long run, which might not be brute strength (e.g. Sure, hitting Blaziken with your strongest move might harm it, but if it can get those Speed Boosts in, you're kinda screwed. Paralysis, or an ability-swapping/-nullifying move would help a lot here.)

Telling them to use their most powerful move isnt neccessarily a bad move. You'd be surprised how many newbies will use weaker moves for no reason at all, so teaching them the basics of battles first wouldn't be a bad idea

Yeah, in most situations, but it's not always the case. Like, Water Pulse vs Surf; let's say both of them 3HKO the opponent. Water Pulse is the superior move in that regard, as it has the 10% confusion chance . But, the way it's worded makes it sound like "Strongest move > everything else". We should be teaching them to think, not spoon-feeding them flawed strategies.

Water Pulse and Surf will never both 3HKO the opponent. Also, I'd personally go with Surf anyway because a) unnecessary hax on opponent will spoil the battle and b) does more to most switchins.

[Monbrey]

Surf and Waterfall would be a better example - flinch chance.

[Marth]

Alakazam vs. Azumarill. What do you use, Psychic or Energy Ball? Guide yourself with the following steps:
-First, choose your strongest STAB'd attack with 100% accuracy. For my Alakazam, I choose Psychic, but for a fire-type it could be flamethrower, or heat wave if you're risking the 10% miss chance.
-Multiply your attack's base damage times 1.5, and then divide by 2. (Or, multiply it by .75). My result is 67.5.
-I will NEVER use an attack that has less than 67.5 Base Damage, but it's SE, over Psychic, which is Normal Effective, against an enemy. Thus against Azumarill I'm not using ShockWave since Psychic deals more damage. But I would use Energy Ball (Base 80), which does deal more damage over Psychic.
-Always take in mind type effectivenes. Perhaps I wouldn't use ShockWave against an Azumarill, but I would use it against a Gyarados.
-Always take in mind defensive stats. If your opponent has more defense than your attack, or more special defense than your special attack, you might want to consider other options.
If you don't know what STAB is, you still haven't grasped the basics of Pokémon fighting. Check the Encyclopedia.

That whole Alakazam vs Azurmarill example is very poorly worded, especially the bolded bit which is just a rambling mess. Besides, we shouldn't be teaching newbies to just spam their strongest move in terms of BP - we should be teaching them to analyse the situation and decide what might be best in the long run, which might not be brute strength (e.g. Sure, hitting Blaziken with your strongest move might harm it, but if it can get those Speed Boosts in, you're kinda screwed. Paralysis, or an ability-swapping/-nullifying move would help a lot here.)

Also, in a thread called 'Getting Started (READ FIRST)', saying "check the Encylopedia" doesn't help. It's not much effort to go "STAB is 'Same Type Attack Bonus, which multiplies BP by 1.5".

You have your Weavile on the field, and your opponent has a Miltank. Shame on you if you use Thunderwave when you send first; your opponent will sub and laugh at your attempt. Even more shameful, though, if you are the Weavile and you DON'T substitute against your opponent's Thunderwave.

I'm Weavile? Then why exactly is Thunderwave a bad thing, considering I'm faster? Again, poorly worded to the extent that it is wrong. It should read "You have your Miltank on the field, and your opponent has a Weavile".

I know Marth's thing was already on there, but I thought this was probably an appropriate place to point it out.

Just a couple of other small things I saw:

Natures. You could probably put a warning there that Natures are exclusively used in the National Park and so probably shouldn't be picked until you're familiar with it.

Board overview: Remove the Ultra Words RP from it, from what I can see it's been removed. Also, add the Development forum + sub-forums.

Other than that, looking good :D

Please excuse the poor wording used in the past messages, I must've written that when my english was even more dreadful than it is today. Yes, the Miltank-Weavile scenario is mixed up. The Alakazam vs. Azumaril example was intended for when the player wished to do damage, and doing damage in a logical and cost-efficient way is the first thing every new player should learn.