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Defender Tier List: Best Defenders

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Pokemon UNITE - Defender Tier List Banner.png

This is Game8's tier list for the best Defenders in Pokemon UNITE. Read on to know each Defender's strengths, weaknesses, and how they measure up against each other in the current meta!

Pokemon Tier Lists
Pokemon UNITE - Button Main Tier List Tier ListMain Tier List Pokemon UNITE - All-Rounder Tier List Navigation ButtonAll-Rounders Pokemon UNITE - Attacker Tier List Navigation Button Attackers
Pokemon UNITE - Defender Tier List Navigation Button Defenders Pokemon UNITE - Speedster Tier List Navigation Button Speedsters Pokemon UNITE - Supporter Tier List Navigation Button Supporters

List of Contents

Defender Tier List

SS.png
Ho-oh Image Mamoswine Image Snorlax Image
S Rank Icon
Goodra Image Lapras Image Slowbro Image
A Rank Icon
Blastoise Image Trevenant Image
B Rank Icon
Crustle Image
C Rank Icon
Greedent Image Umbreon Image

SS Tier Defenders

Pokemon Tier Best Lane
Ho-oh ImageHo-oh S Rank Icon Top/Bot
Defender with a Powerful Support Move
Ho-Oh has high durability, which is typical for Defenders, but also possess high damage potential that's uncommon for the role. Its kit contains a nice mix of high-damage moves with effects and mechanics that give the Pokemon versatility in battle. It's strong right from the start and scales well into the late game. What makes Ho-Oh a one-of-a-kind and valuable Pokemon is its ability to revive fallen allies via its Unite Move, Rekindling Flame, which is a game-changing mechanic. This move is what one would expect from a Supporter, not a Defender.
Snorlax ImageSnorlax S Rank Icon Top/Bot
The Sturdiest Wall
Snorlax is amazing at stalling and setting enemies up for follow-ups and combos. Its signature moves like Block and Yawn can be used in a variety of offensive and defensive scenarios, which ultimately boils down to the player's skill and imagination. Players looking for a dependable Defender that can help teams carry games will find great value in Snorlax!
Mamoswine ImageMamoswine S Rank Icon Top/Bot
Stun. Freeze. Repeat.
Mamoswine's entire moveset comes with some variation of stuns, freezes, or knock-ups, ensuring enemies will have a hard time fighting back. It can start a fight with Earthquake or High Horsepower, and follow up with a freeze or stun-and-displace combo using its damage moves. Aside from disabling enemies, Mamoswine can also make it hard for opponents to score goals with Thick Fat, which elevates its Defender gameplay even further.

S Tier Defenders

Pokemon Tier Best Lane
Goodra ImageGoodra S Rank Icon Top/Bot
Debuff Defender
Goodra plays its role in a special way. It soaks damage either by increasing its own defenses while weakening the opponents' damage output with Muddy Water or healing itself while damaging targets using Dragon Pulse. It can also punish opponents for attacking it by slowing and damaging them thanks to Gooey, making it a great frontliner. However, it lacks a reliable disabling move that is present with other prominent Defenders.
Lapras ImageLapras S Rank Icon Top/Bot
A Menacing Presence
Lapras leans more towards an offensive tank. It can make an impact early on, and it scales well into the late game. Its kit urges the Pokemon to be on the offensive and get close to enemies in fights, but it compensates for it through healing and shielding. Although it has disables, they're not as straightforward to use compared to moves like Heavy Slam and Slowbeam.
Slowbro ImageSlowbro S Rank Icon Top/Bot
A Durable Disabler
Slowbro brings an incredible amount of control in fights. This Pokemon's ability to shut key targets down with Surf, Slowbeam, and Telekinesis makes it a major threat in fights that is difficult to eliminate due to its naturally high durability as a Defender. However, it outshined by other Defenders that can also contribute damage in the mix.

A Tier Defenders

Pokemon Tier Best Lane
Blastoise ImageBlastoise A Rank Icon Top/Jungle
The Best Initiator
While weak at the start, once Blastoise reaches level 7, Blastoise's damage output increases drastically. Rapid Spin and Surf are excellent crowd control moves, which shine in big team fights. Blastoise's lethality skyrockets and becomes the perfect initiator for any team clash.
Trevenant ImageTrevenant A Rank Icon Top/Bot
The Undying Tree
Trevenant's crowd control capabilities with Horn Leech and great burst damage with Curse proved to be a welcome addition to any team composition. It is also an annoying Pokemon to play with as its consistent HP recovery effects make it difficult to take this Pokemon down, and, when you finally do, the damage has already been done.

B Tier Defenders

Pokemon Tier Best Lane
Crustle ImageCrustle B Rank Icon Top/Bot
The Frontline King
Crustle's amazing versatility lets it sit at the top spot among Defenders in the current roster. This Pokemon can either split fights up with walls or take the fight to enemies directly with sudden bursts of speed and damage. Its solid damage output from melee range makes enemy teams think twice before engaging in fights and skirmishes.

C Tier Defenders

Pokemon Tier Best Lane
Greedent ImageGreedent C Rank Icon Top/Bot
High Risk, High Reward
Greedent lives up to its reputation as a tricky Defender. Those who don't mind a few quirks will see how Greedent can sustain itself with Stuff Cheeks, and how you can easily melt opponents and boss Pokemon with Belch after swooping down with Berry Belly Flop. Greedent has great potential but is held back by its complex gameplay mechanics that don't translate well for the Defender role.
Umbreon ImageUmbreon C Rank Icon Top/Bot
Cunning Defender
Umbreon's gameplay strays too much from a typical Defender. It relies heavily on building up Boosted Atacks and hitting targets with them, which is a mechanic that All-Rounders tend to have. It's also noticeably squishier compared to other Defenders. Although it has disables and debuffs that are typical for Defenders, they're less effective overall.

Pokemon Roster Tier List

SS Tier Icon
Armarouge Image Blissey Image Ho-oh Image Inteleon Image Leafeon Image Mega Mewtwo X Image Mimikyu Image Miraidon Image Slowbro Image
S Rank Icon
Alolan Ninetales Image Blastoise Image Blaziken Image Buzzwole Image Ceruledge Image Chandelure Image Clefable Image Comfey Image Crustle Image Dragapult Image Espeon Image Gardevoir Image Gyarados Image Hoopa Image Mega Mewtwo Y Image Meowscarada Image Mew Image Pikachu Image Sylveon Image Trevenant Image Umbreon Image Urshifu Image Venusaur Image Zoroark Image
A Rank Icon
Absol Image Aegislash Image Cinderace Image Decidueye Image Delphox Image Dodrio Image Eldegoss Image Falinks Image Gengar Image Glaceon Image Goodra Image Greninja Image Lapras Image Lucario Image Mamoswine Image Metagross Image Sableye Image Scizor Image Snorlax Image Tyranitar Image Wigglytuff Image Zeraora Image
B Rank Icon
Azumarill Image Charizard Image Cramorant Image Dragonite Image Greedent Image Machamp Image Mr. Mime Image Talonflame Image Tsareena Image

Roster Tier List and Evaluations

Tier List Criteria

Full Criteria

Criteria
Power Level Team Impact Ease-of-Use Role Effectivess

Each of these factors determine the Pokemon's place within the tier list. Read on to learn what they refer to exactly:

  • Power Level: Determines how strong a Pokemon is in theory (when its potential is realized; optimized itemization and playstyle) compared to other Pokemon within its role.
  • Team Impact: Determines how instrumental a Pokemon is from a team's perspective. What does the Pokemon bring to the table and how effective is this to achieve victory?
  • Ease-Of-Use: When two things perform at roughly the same power level, the one that's easier to use is always better. We always have to consider the amount of effort it takes to play certain Pokemon into account.
  • Role Effectiveness: Determines how well the Pokemon upholds its role and the expectations that come with it. We look at how its playstyle coincides with the fundamental aspects of the role the Pokemon has.

Related Pokemon Guides

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Pokemon UNITE Tier Lists

Character and Item Tier Lists

Pokemon UNITE Main Tier Lists
Pokemon UNITE - Pokemon Tier List Focus Banner.pngPokemon Tier List Pokemon UNITE - Free Character Tier List Focus Banner.pngFree Character Tier List
Pokemon UNITE - Battle Item Tier List Focus Banner.pngBattle Items Tier List Pokemon UNITE - Held Item Tier List Focus Banner.pngHeld Items Tier List
Pokemon UNITE - Low-Elo Tier List Focus Banner.pngLow-Elo Tier List Pokemon UNITE - Solo-Queue Tier List Focus Banner.pngSolo-Queue Tier List

Role Tier Lists

Pokemon UNITE Tier Lists per Role
Pokemon UNITE - Attacker Tier List Focus BannerAttacker Tier List Pokemon UNITE - Speedster Tier List Focus BannerSpeedster Tier List
Pokemon UNITE - All-Rounder Tier List Focus BannerAll-Rounder Tier List Pokemon UNITE - Defender Tier List Focus BannerDefender Tier List
Pokemon UNITE - Supporter Tier List Focus BannerSupporter Tier List

Comment

19 Anonymous3 months

Not to mention Umbreon is easily S tier. What a bad list lmao

18 Anonymous3 months

What a bad tier list. "Defender wise" goodra and Lapras are in no way above blastoise and trevenant. Especially goodra. Goodra is closer akin to an all rounder.

See more comments (19 Comments)

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