Strengths:
+ Decent Larvitar phase, Bite is decent secure while also offering CC, and Rock Polish is good mobility
+ Very high base stats from lvl 9 onward, extremely tanky while also having very high attack
+ Sandstream passive allows you to steadily tear grouped enemies apart while also making you tankier, cannot be ignored
+ TRUE DAMAGEEEEEE
Weaknesses:
– Payoff of the character does not happen for 9 whole levels
– No move upgrades at all from lvl 5-lvl 9, makes the Pupitar phase VERY stagnant and weak while others all get big powerspikes earlier.
– Relatively low mobility, susceptible to kiting
– Damage is sub-par if not done within true damage window
Build + Gameplay
Attack Weight :
The combined damage of low-cooldown Dark Pulse spam along with the constant uptime of Sand Stream ticks (with proper staggered move usage) makes for very high total ratios that add up pretty high over time. In addition, Ancient Power shields also scale on attack, so this becomes a double dip on offensive and defensive power. Stacking is also a naturally quick source of experience building, which helps speed that level 9 power curve along.
Weakness Policy :
Tyranitar thrives on being in the thick of things, taking a ton of punishment and dealing it back out. Weakness turns that natural playflow of how he operates into more power and thicker shields and compounding on Weight bonuses (while also throwing in a lil chunk of HP which he loves).
Razor Claw (Stone Edge only):
This item has clear synergy with the Stone Edge/Sand tomb set, with Stone Edge having 3 uses and Tomb having 2 uses it’s easy to get at least 3-4 Razor procs within a full rotation with proper basic attack weaving, adding substantial damage and some nice burst that Tyranitar generally does not possess. The slow application on the proc in turn also aids in landing ensuing Stone Edge hits, and generally keeping targets within your true damage vortex of doom as long as possible.
Aeos Cookie :
If you’re already stacking weight, Cookie will end up giving you the most bang for your buck in defensive efforts, since Sand Stream boosts your Def/SpDef so much that any HP gains you have are actually worth much more in effective HP (eHP). While it is the best survivability option under ideal circumstances, stacking is not always guaranteed as we know, which brings us to…
Resonant Guard :
Old reliable, big chunk of flat HP along with a nice shield that scales nicely with Tyranitar’s already very high HP pool for an allrounder. The cooldown of the shield proc also matches up very nicely with your main engaging tools (Ancient Power and Sand Tomb) that you play around, so it’s always there when you need it. Great option if Cookie is not looking comfortable.
(Honorable Mention) Muscle Band :
Not only does this passive shred damage help Tyranitar’s meager early game along with speeding up wild Pokemon clears, but you do also happen to use basic attacks in your natural battle flow quite a bit, especially in between waiting for Dark Pulse cooldowns. The extra chunk of attack speed also facilitates during Unite move windows in getting a couple more of those huge angry stomps out, provided you have high uptime during it. This is a strong overall DPS option if/when stacking doesn’t look reasonable.
Moveset 1 - Best
White damage is funny.
You generally want to avoid most conflict until you hit lvl 9, especially since your first jungle clear fast tracks you directly into your Pupitar (crappiest) phase. Be sure to track your farm’s respawn timers as diligently as possible to ensure the most efficient clear routes as you can, as that will be your primary source of livelihood during this phase.
Larvitar laning is actually not horrendous, a Bite done at low health that is also boosted by Rock Polish is quite a decent amount of dmg and the root can absolutely turn a duel. The problem lies post-5, where everyone else in the game gets an additional power spike at 6 or 7, you’re stagnant all the way to 9.
Hitting 9 is truly one of, if not THE biggest 9 power spikes in the game. You get ulti obviously, but also access to also one of the most overloaded moves in Ancient Power/Sand Tomb as well as very substation stat increases across the board. This is where you finally have some much needed movement options, and your true damage niche comes online at last.
Moveset 2
Stone Edge cast animation has been considerably improved, and doesn’t feel like pure torture to use anymore. It pairs particularly well with Sand Tomb’s instant cc upon landing, as well as the constant slow and pull from second activation it as.
An additional benefit to Stone Edge being usable is that it also marginally helps Pupitar’s infamous weak phase a bit. Stone Edge farms wild mons much faster than Dark Pulse (always has, just much more so now), as well as giving him some real respectable scrapping power if Pupitar does find itself in a face to face encounter (which will be pretty often, considering how important it is for the enemy to seek Pupitar out and bury it before it reaches 9). This can very well facilitate that 5-9 slog that has plagued this character, even if not much every bit helps.
Matchups
Favourable Matchup:
These are Pokémon that our team has determined TYRANITAR is strong against. TYRANITAR will generally be able to shut down these opponents playstyle's or have the advantage in a one on one fight.
These are Pokémon that our team has determined TYRANITAR is weak against. These Pokémon will have the upper hand in a fight or be able to exploit TYRANITAR's weaknesses.
PSA: THE GUIDE IS NO LONGER MANAGED OR UPDATED IN ANY FORM, AND WILL NOT BE FOR THE FORSEEABLE FUTURE. Joe thanks everyone for their support (and ad revenue ;) ) and hope the site helped improve their play and hopes you kids enjoy your lives. We encourage you to use the information here in combination with Unite-DB and Mathcord as a jumping off point for your own builds.
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