Revoking their Unique Status

So, there are many uniques in the game and they come in all shapes and sizes. However, while being quite a rarity at the beginning of the game, more and more have been added and today we are up to a whopping 48. Crazy to think that we just started out with only Trykosaurus and Erlidominus. However as time went on, one thing was made apparant after 2.0: powercreep to the extreme. So these days, there are uniques that don't feel like uniques anymore and I feel should lose their unique status (not physically, but metaphorically).

We'll start with the legendary uniques. What are these? Well, these are the uniques that I feel would fit more at home in the legendary meta. First up is one of the stronger uniques in this section: Ardentismaxima. Ardentismaxima seems that it can never return to the glory days of before and right after 2.0. It has great stats with solid resistances, but it lacks the distraction resistance it needs while also having an OK kit. Taunt shattering rampage is just a really bad move, and when you compare it with something like Geminititan, who's shattering rampage also comes with shields, a raking effect, and no delay, it is just not worth using. So while it looks like it would do well against cunnings, it just does OK. And the same can be said about every other class. It does OK. So when compared with something like Nodopatotitan or Gigaspikeasaur, Ardentismaxima may arguably be a bit better, but not by a full rarity.

Next on the list is the star of Jurassic World Fallen Kingdom. Indoraptor is probably the weakest of this group, but with its new counter and good stats, I felt it would do fine here. Would it be a popular pick on a legendary team? Probably not, but when it comes to putting Indoraptor in either a legendary or epic rarity, Indoraptor can be a bit much for the epics, so I felt it was fair to put it here. Bait with evasive stance is a solid combination, and with cunning strike, this could be a pain for some of the many fierce creatues to deal with.

Next up is Poukandactylus. While this bird is really solid, there is one big issue with it: turn 3. And unlike something like Dsungascorpios which can not only still attack, but also has no escape to work around its weak turn 3, Poukandactylus has no on escape move to work with, allowing your opponent to easily take advantage of your weak position and potentially swap in something for free. However, Poukandactylus would make for an excellent Rexy counter.

One many people may be shocked to see up here is Pterovexus. I was tempted to put it below with the epics, but after learning it slaughters everything in that rarity, I realized it would be more at home in a legendary meta. Pterovexus has possibly the best set of resistances in the game as well as some really good stats. So, what's the issue. Well its kit is a mess. Does it suck? NO. But it needs to be reworked. First of all, it needs to get something like merciless alert or cleansing swoop. Swoop is just so outdated. Next up is that it should get distraction turn 1 instead of nullification. So something like cunning impact turn 1 and null rampage turn 2, allowing it to better tank hits. Pterovexus has the potential, but Ludia holds it back to the point where it's more on par with legendaries.

Speaking of uniques that Ludia has taken a big, steaming dump on, Smilonemys is up next. Why Smilonemys got a nerf is anyone's guess, but it was one, and I mean one of the DUMBEST, MOST IDIOTIC nerfs I think ever in JWA history. Smilonemys at that point in time was just fine, but to take away its hit and run playstyle hurt it a lot. And it was also around this time resilience inflicted vulnerability instead, and guess who lost their vulnerability resistance? Smilonemys would be more at home in a legendary meta as it would stack up well against all the flocks while being kept in check by the likes of Spinoceratops and Rexy.

And if we're mentioning Spinoceratops, then why not mention another bleeder? Spinoconstrictor is the example of its kit working against it. Unlike its component Titanoboa, Spinoconstrictor did NOT inherit on escape rampage, but rather it gained the less impressive on escape evasive strike. And what's annoying about this is that half the time, this move can sometimes be more of a hinderance than an asset. Like with Atrocodistis, you can swap out and deal more to Spinoconstrictor than it did to you. And while other creatures in this rarity have good dodging moves, Spinoconstrictor relies on a 50/50 move to try and not die. Another big issue is that, if Spinoconstrictor wants to deal big damage, it needs to rely on bleed. And with more creatures coming out that resist bleed, Spinoconstrictor is having a rough time. But it would do better against all the flocks. But at the same time, with many legendaries using moves that counteract precision, it's still not going to rule the meta.

Tenontorex is another legendary that has fallen on hard times. It's slow, has no priority, but it does have an alright kit. However, while it does have great bulk with that hp and a healing move, it really doesn't get much use out of it compared to something like Dilorach. If anything, it allows an opponent to take advantage of it and either swap to something that can shut down Tenontorex, or hit it hard and gain a positive effect that'll allow it to succeed in taking down Tenontorex. It has good tools, but Tenontorex is more akin to legendaries these days than to other uniques.

Oh boy, here comes the big bad Aviary Monster. Thoradolosaur has many good things about it. It has a cleansing impact that shatters and bypasses absorb, it has good resistances, and it has a solid priority move in instant charge. The issue is that it has very few other tools that it can use. Great it can fire off a one-two, but it can't do much else compared to another fierce like Thylaconyx or Tarbognathus. Thor may be one of the better creatures on this list, but it's still not strong enough to run with creatures like Pyrorixis or Andrewtops.

We're rounding out this section with one of the two OGs. Trykosaurus was once a really strong unique. Heck after 2.0 it was debatably at the #2 spot. However as time went on, it started to fall more, and more, and more. It got some love, but I mean a 5% increase in armor and a fancier move isn't going to help much. Meanwhile its 1.1 counterpart Erlidominus got enough love to one-shot Tyrannometrodon and Rexy back to back. It's bad against flocks, it struggles with fierce creatures like Thor, Albertospinos, and even Giganotosaurus in many scenarios while also struggling against resilients like Skoonasaurus and Entelolania. And, out of all the uniques in the game, Trykosaurus NOW (if the patch notes are accurate), has the worst resistances in the whole rarity. It sits at #48. I personally can easily kill this unique by swapping into Dimodactylus and then swooping into Monostegotops. The legendary meta would better suit this geezer of a unique.

Now these final 4 are the bottom of the barrel. The absolute worst of the worst. They suck so bad that an epic meta is the right place for them. And to kick things off, we will kick things off with the old saying of "first is the worst". Compsocaulus was once stupidly good when flocks were brand new, but these days it's just trash. These days, it probably sits around the #15 mark out of all the flocks in the game, of which there are only 28 of. It trades everything good about Compsognathus for a bit of extra attack, hp, and decel immunity. The best thing it has over its epic component is restricted group distraction. However, when in a rarity where creatures like Pulmonoscorpios, Diplodocus, Megalotops, Panthera, and Argenteryx roam, it's going to just suck. Heck, I stand by that Compsognathus is better. Why? Well you have stun immunity, a bit of speed which is useful with stuff like Argenteryx. While you have a weaker version on no escape, it's much better than nothing at all. And finally you have a stronger swap in. Compsocaulus may have more hp, but it overall has less bulk, which is crucial for flocks. So while Compsocaulus may be so bad it would fit better with the epic rarity, the other 3 are even worse.

Grypolyth is next. While this crocodile used to be a solid pick, that was before flocks. And these days with everything resisting rending attacks, it's safe to say that Grypolyth's time in the sun is long gone. With terrible speed and a kit that almost completely relies on rend, Grypolyth will do well vs creatures like Diplodocus and Ankylodicurus. However when something like Giganotosaurus or Dimodactylus shows up, it remembers today is not the day to wear white pants. And while the ability to heal with ferocity is nice, if Panthera decides your time is up, well then pray you can leave and have something to swap to because something is taking a hit, and at that point, it might be better to sack the unique over another epic.

If you needed a prime example of an outdated creature in JWA, look no further than Magnapyritor. Mags has been on a downward spiral for the longest time. It's only good quality is its speed and resistances, which were great back in the day. However these days when you look at something like Atrocidistis or Pyrorixis, Magnapyritor sticks out like a sore thumb. It's bad against flocks, cunnings can easily play around it of they're immune to distraction or not, and even fierce creatures like Giganotosaurus can step all over Magnapyritor's hopes and dreams. I do it all the time with my Giganotosaurus. It can really only go 50/50 with Diplodocus and has a slightly better time with Megalotops, loses to Argenteryx, hates seeing Panthera, can't deal with Erlikogamma or Velosrhacos, and even loses to creatures like Ghost. And without any on escape tools, it struggles even more if you have something like Woolly Rhino in the back. It's kit is just outdated. Fierce rampage is a common trend with many of the creatures mentioned like Tenontorex and Trykosaurus. Meanwhile you have moves out there like skirmish, killer instinct, fierce devouring rampage, devouring wound, and revenge definite rampage. The same holds true with distracting impact, which is straight up a worse version of revenge distracting impact. You also have distracting triple strike, precise distracting impact, playful pounce, cautious impact, and cautious cunning rampage as better distracting options. Magnapyritor is just too outdated to really keep up and falls all the way down to the epic rarity.

Finally, we have Tuoramoloch. This isn't really a PVP unique however and is more of a raider. However, it has since lost its niche of a raider to creatures like Parasauthops, Dilorach, and potentially Tsintamoth. PVP wise, it's bad. Is it on par with the rares? Not really. However it's basically the worst PVP unique and needs a lot of loving in order to see usage again in either raids or PVP. 

Well with Ludia saying they want to focus on rebalancing things, I think this is where they need to start. Diorajasaur was so close to being in the epic tier, but Ludia saved it last minute with these new changes to the point where it might be on par with actual uniques once again. However, let's hope these uniques get the same fortune as Diorajasaur and get the love they need to once again do well. I thank you all for reading and don't forget to dart those legendaries!