[DISCUSSION] Why I DON'T Like the Ultra Wormhole Mechanic in Ultra Sun/Ultra Moon!

[0kamii]

 

Hey, everybody! It's 0kamii, and welcome to my Friday post!

Last time I did a rant-esque post of sorts, it was unexpectedly popular. Currently my "Why I'm NOT Soft-resetting for a Shiny Starter in Ultra Sun/Ultra Moon!" has almost 13,000 views! WAY more than I ever thought it would. That's even more than my original Emolga post at only 7,600ish views. Almost double. For some reason, y'all really seem to like hearing me rant, so I thought I'd try it again with something I've been meaning to get off my chest.

The Ultra Wormhole was a mechanic introduced in Ultra Sun and Ultra Moon that enbales the player to catch various mons that they wouldn't ordinarily be able to catch. This includes mons not found in Alola (unavailable through Island Scan), and various legendaries from previous the generations. The premise sounds good on paper, but in execution it's not quite as stellar. I've found myself actively dreading using the Warp Ride feature, and I'm sure I'm not the only one. Therefore, I'd like to spell out a few of the reason I don't like the wormhole mechanic. Hopefully you can all remain objective and hear me out. Though I'm sure the title alone has already made some people angry.

 

Why I DON'T Like the Ultra Wormhole Mechanic in Ultra Sun/Ultra Moon!

 

I'll be the first to admit that for the most part, the Ultra Wormhole is a unique feature that adds substance to the postgame. However, there are three things about the wormhole that make me so frustrated, it's hard to anticipate using it.

1.) It's hard to control.

 

 

Do not tell me that you can switch the controls, I know that. If that made things better, this reason wouldn't be on this list. In my opinion, controlling the ride pokémon, be it Lunala or Solgaleo, isn't exactly a walk in the Pal Park. I would assume that most of us use the Warp Ride feature with the Circle Pad, but even that doesn't save this feature from being maddeningly hard to control. Now obviously, everyone is different, and you may have an easier time controlling Lunala/Solgaleo than I do. From my experience however, it's very easy to loose grip on the circle pad, and have your finger slide off. Not only that, but it doesn't always respond to your movements as well as it should. You try to duck, and it swings slower than you want, and you hit a blue orb instead of the boost you wanted. On top of that, there's also that persistent problem of you being a reasonable distance away from a wormhole, and the game forces you into it anyway. I'm not talking about the times you hit enough orbs and slow down, I mean the times you come out of a corner and glide away from the wormhole, only for the game to get confused and throw you into it anyway. Just me? Eh, the point is that my first issue with this feature is that the controls are nightmarish. And my griping doesn't end there.

2.) The RNG is infuriating!

 

 

If you're like me, and you've been trying to take advantage of the wormhole's ability to find various legendaries to Shiny hunt, then you've probably experienced the same aggravation I have trying to find legendaries. I understand why the system works the way it does, because you're going to far off worlds containing unknown pokémon. You're NOT supposed to know what you're going to find. Frankly, I don't care. This feature makes finding the mon you desire absolutely absurd. I've already had multiple Shiny hunts (Guzzlord, Rayquaza, and Kyogre), where just finding the right mon took me several hours because RNG was not on my side. In that three hours, I could've soft-reset over 300 times! I don't understand why they didn't just recycle the soaring in the sky system from ORAS with the wormhole skin. Make each wormhole unique to the legendary you want to find, that way you don't have to spend hours with RNG, bribing it to give you the legendary you want. At least with the soaring in the sky system, you knew exactly where to go, and what you needed to encounter the legendary you wanted and you could get to hunting it ASAP. Here, it's a constant battle with luck, and it's easily the most annoying thing about the wormhole mechanic. I get that Shiny hunting as a whole is reliant on luck, but simply finding the pokémon TO Shiny hunt shouldn't be.

3.) The non-legendary Shinies are too easy.

 

 

I'm going to say it right now, I'm not an elitist type Shiny hunter that believes in a challenge. Full 1/8,192 odds or nah, you're probably thinking. No, I don't feel that way. I myself am a method hunter, I use the Shiny charm, and S.O.S. battles, and Masuda Method, and so on. I support the practice of increasing the odds of finding a Shiny. Frankly, this reason is more of a nitpick if nothing else, but my last post like this had three reasons, so I'd like to stay consistent. That being said though, it DOES actually somewhat bother me how easy these Shinies are to obtain. There's very little work that goes into finding them, and I've even found a few completely by accident while looking for legendaries to Shiny hunt. I've found a Floatzel, a Lombre, a Quagsire, and a few others. I get that some people have nor the time or patience for traditional Shiny hunting, but something about how readily these mons are found kind of irks me. Again, this is just my opinion (as I suppose it's balanced by the small number of huntable Shinies), but there's something less satisfactory about having a Shiny so readily handed to you. Sure, maybe I'm not one to talk being a method hunter, but 1/512 odds guarantees nothing. I still have to hatch 500, 600, 1,000, in rare cases 2,000 eggs before I see my mon sparkle, and the feeling when it does is SO good. I earned those sparkles. Here, with odds as high as 36/100, they just feel like they lose their value. And as a Shiny hunter, that makes me sad.

Well, there you go. My second ranting on something within the Pokémon franchise that I don't actually like all that much. Be sure to let me know how YOU feel about the Ultra Wormhole mechanic in the thread below. Do you like it? Or do you agree with me and it's not really all that great? I look forward to the replies, and be on the lookout for my Monday post when I'll be bringing you "All Our Favorite Fairy Pokémon"! And that post is way overdue.

Thanks so much for reading, everyone! Battle onwards, friends!

- 0kamii