pokemon-go
Normal moves seem generally more damaging than types like electricity. Do "Thunder Shock" at 5 damage have any advantage over "Tackle" at 12?
If the "Thunder Shock" would grant 2x damage against Water type, then would it still be 10 damage versus 12 of "Tackle"?
Coming back to this, I realized that the answer I linked to in my question has since been updated to answer my question as well. I'll echo @Joakim Isoaho's answer here:
Through testing on the subreddit /r/TheSilphRoad, the answers to 1 and 2 are:
- It uses a modified 6th Gen chart as evidenced by the Fairy and Steel types.
- There are no 4x or 0x attacks, so Ground can hit Flying, and Normal can hit Ghost etc. -Values have been changed: -2x --> 1.25x -1/2x --> 0.85x As for 3, Same Type Attack Bonus (STAB) has been found in the game files to be 1.25x as well.
So, no, type [dis]advantages are not compounded. An Ice-type attack against a Dragonite (dragon/flying) gets the same bonus that it does against a Fearow (normal/flying).
Attack and Defense greatly affect damage.
There is an equation used by the game, but it never reveals exactly what that formula is. However, after lots of testing I believe we've finally figured out what that formula is. You can see how it was done on Reddit here!
Damage = Floor(0.5 * (Attack / Defense) * (CpM_Atk / CpM_Def) * STAB * Type * Power) + 1
Note: Testing has determined that critical damage is not currently implemented in Pokemon GO, so it is not included in the formula.
Note: Some versions of the formula do not have "CpM_Atk / CpM_Def". This means that those numbers were already factored into "Attack / Defense". I choose to separate these so that it is more clear how a pokemon's level affects damage.
The base Attack and Defense stats for all pokemon: here.
The CP_Multiplier for each pokemon level: here.
The type effectiveness for all 18 types: here
Information about what IV's are: here.
Attack = 100
Defense = 50
CpM_Atk = 0.7317 (level 30)
CpM_Def = 0.5974 (level 20)
STAB = 1.25
Effectiveness = 1.25
Power = 25
Damage = Floor(0.5 * (100 / 50) * (0.7317 / 0.5974) * 1.25 * 1.25 * 25) + 1
Damage = Floor(0.5 * (2) * (1.2248) * 1.5625 * 25) + 1
Damage = Floor(1.9138 * 25) + 1
Damage = Floor(47.845) + 1
Damage = 47 + 1
Damage = 48
Now for a real example, and I will go into much more detail this time. Let's say a level 20 Venusaur attacks level 20 Bulbasaur with Razor Leaf. Let's also assume Venusaur's IV's are all 12, and Bulbasaur's IV's are all 9.
Attack = 210
Venusaur's base attack stat is 198. Its Attack IV is 12, so we add those together to have a combined attack stat of 210 (198 + 12).
Defense = 135
Bulbasaur's base defense stat is 126. Its Defense IV is 9, so we add those together to have a combined defense stat of 135 (126 + 9).
CpM_Atk = 0.5974
Venusaur is level 20, and the CP_Multiplier for that level is 0.5974.
CpM_Def = 0.5974
Bulbasaur is level 20, and the CP_Multiplier for that level is 0.5974.
STAB = 1.25
Venusaur is a Grass/Poison type pokemon. Razor Leaf is a Grass type attack. Since the attack type matches one of Venusaur's types, the attack deals bonus damage.
Type = 0.64
Vine Whip is a Grass type attack being used against a Grass/Poison type pokemon.
Grass type attacks are not very effective against Grass type pokemon (x0.8).
They are also not very effective against Poison type pokemon (x0.8).
These two damage multipliers combine to make the attack double ineffective. 0.8 * 0.8 = 0.64.
Power = 15
The base damage for Razor Leaf is 15.
Damage = Floor(0.5 * (210/135) * (0.5974 / 0.5974) * 1.25 * 0.64 * 15) + 1
Damage = Floor(0.5 * (1.5556) * (1) * 0.8 * 15) + 1
Damage = Floor(0.6222 * 15) + 1
Damage = Floor(9.333) + 1
Damage = 9 + 1
Damage = 10
Now let's do the reverse of the above: Bulbasaur attacks Venusaur with Razor Leaf.
Attack = 135 (126 + 9)
Defense = 212 (200 + 12)
CpM_Atk = 0.5974 (level 20)
CpM_Def = 0.5974 (level 20)
STAB = 1.25
Type = 0.64
Power = 15
Damage = Floor(0.5 * (135 / 212) * (0.5974 / 0.5974) * 1.25 * 0.64 * 15) + 1
Damage = Floor(0.5 * (0.6368) * (1) * 0.8 * 15) + 1
Damage = Floor(0.2547 * 15) + 1
Damage = Floor(3.8205) + 1
Damage = 3 + 1
Damage = 4
Example 1 showed how both attack/defense and level affect damage.
Example 2 & 3 showed that when pokemon are the same level, attack and defense play a large role in damage. Venusaur did 10 damage to Bulbasaur with Razor Leaf, while Bulbasaur only did 4 damage with the same attack.
The formula also shows why Magikarp deals damage even though Splash has a base damage of 0. One damage is always added onto the end of every attack.
Best Answer
TL;DR
There's more to a move than just the damage. There's a speed factor that affects the overall DPS. Faster moves also make it easier to dodge.
The moves have three main characteristics to them: Damage, Speed, and Type.
Damage is the number next to the attack, showing how much damage it will do to an enemy. Type is shown below the name and is used when determining type advantages for additional or reduced damage. Speed doesn't not seem to appear anywhere, but it determines how quickly your pokemon can attack.
For speed, I need to do additional testing, but there are some attacks that obvious attack at a faster rate. My Pinsir attacks at blinding speed with Fury Cutter, much faster than my Pidgeot's Steel Wing. But you should note that Fury Cutter does 3 damage while Steel Wing is at 15.
Therefore, it is possible for a lower damage skill to actually out DPS a higher damage skill.
Another important aspect is dodging. If you are using a skill with a long wind-up, your pokemon cannot move for that time. That leaves you vulnerable to attacks. Having a fast move will make it easier for you to react to and dodge attacks. Therefore, even if the DPS is lower, it might be worth it to use the faster, weaker moves.