genuinely curious about HDB.
Obviously, Boots are an unprecedented item that allows its user to outright ignore all hazards on the field. And from what I've read, it's quite controversial. Even the best players are not in consensus as to if they benefit or harm the metagame, as demonstrated here.
Gen 8 appears to be among the more competitive OU tiers, with bulky offense and balance being the premiere team styles. I know many of those mons are aided by boots to offset their weakness to rocks and immense hazard pressure, and this is a common argument made as to why Boots are balanced. To this point, however, I'm a little confused.
Even if boots help defensive/balance-centered mons, don't they help offense mons much more? E.g. Zapdos takes 25% w/o HDB, but it can roost it off or passively recover through lefties. Something like Weavile, on the other hand, isn't going to be able to passively heal it off (at least not as easily), and thus Boots are a much greater boon. In that sense, don't Boots make the metagame more volatile rather than less so?
Obviously, Boots are an unprecedented item that allows its user to outright ignore all hazards on the field. And from what I've read, it's quite controversial. Even the best players are not in consensus as to if they benefit or harm the metagame, as demonstrated here.
Gen 8 appears to be among the more competitive OU tiers, with bulky offense and balance being the premiere team styles. I know many of those mons are aided by boots to offset their weakness to rocks and immense hazard pressure, and this is a common argument made as to why Boots are balanced. To this point, however, I'm a little confused.
Even if boots help defensive/balance-centered mons, don't they help offense mons much more? E.g. Zapdos takes 25% w/o HDB, but it can roost it off or passively recover through lefties. Something like Weavile, on the other hand, isn't going to be able to passively heal it off (at least not as easily), and thus Boots are a much greater boon. In that sense, don't Boots make the metagame more volatile rather than less so?
