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GO Rankings Methodology

How we calculate attacker scores and raid counters.

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What the score is

Our tier list and best-attackers pages rank Pokémon by a neutral-target weave-DPS estimate: how much damage per second a Pokémon deals by weaving its best fast + charged move pairing against a target that neither resists nor is weak to the moves. It is a measure of raw offensive pressure — not a prediction of performance against a specific raid boss.

The exact formula

effectiveAttack = (baseAttack + 15) × 0.7903  // perfect-IV attack at level 40

n = chargedEnergy / fastEnergyGain  // fast moves per charged move

cycleDamage = n × fastPower×STAB? + chargedPower×STAB?  // STAB = ×1.2 when move type matches

cycleTime = n × fastDuration + chargedDuration

score = (cycleDamage / cycleTime) × effectiveAttack / 100

For each Pokémon we test every fast × charged move combination it can currently learn and keep the highest-scoring pairing. Scores are relative — only the ordering matters. Tier letters are percentiles of the #1 score: S ≥ 95%, A ≥ 85%, B ≥ 72%, C ≥ 60%, else D. By construction the top Pokémon is always S-tier.

Inputs

  • GO base Attack per form (regional forms, Megas and Primals have their own real stats).
  • Move power, energy, and duration (PvE values), including legacy and Elite-TM moves.
  • The ×1.2 same-type attack bonus (STAB) and the official level-40 CP multiplier (0.7903).

What the model does NOT account for

The overall rankings leave out:

  • Defender typing and type effectiveness — per-boss raid guides use the separate matchup model documented below instead.
  • Bulk and survivability (TDO): on the tier list a fragile attacker scores the same as a durable one with equal DPS. Raid guides do model TDO (see below).
  • The Shadow Pokémon damage bonus — Shadow forms are listed with base-form stats and annotated on their pages instead.
  • Weather boost, friendship bonuses, dodging, relobby time, and multi-Pokémon raid dynamics.
  • Energy gained from taking damage.
  • Availability: whether a Pokémon (or a legacy move) is currently obtainable is not filtered — but movesets that require a legacy/Elite-TM move now carry a “Legacy” badge.

For detailed raid simulations, try Pokebattler. For Trainer Battle matchups, try PvPoke.

The per-boss matchup model (raid guides)

The counter rankings on each raid guide use a deeper model than the tier list: every attacker's best fast + charged pairing is evaluated against that boss's actual typing and tier-scaled boss stats, using GO's real per-hit damage formula.

damagePerHit = floor(0.5 × power × Atk/Def × multipliers) + 1

// multipliers = STAB(×1.2) × type effectiveness × Shadow(×1.2)

Atk = (baseAttack + 15) × 0.7903  // attacker at level 40, perfect IVs

Def = (bossBaseDefense + 15) × bossCPM  // per-tier boss constant, below

DPS = weave-cycle damage / cycle time  // n = chargedEnergy/fastEnergy fast moves per charged

TDO = DPS × timeToFaint

score = DPS³ × TDO ÷ 1000

Type effectiveness uses GO's multipliers — super-effective ×1.6, resisted ×0.625, and ×0.390625 for main-series immunities (GO's double-resist tier) — stacked multiplicatively for dual-type bosses (double super-effective = ×2.56). The fast and charged moves' effectiveness are applied separately, since they can differ in type.

Raid bosses don't have levels: their stats are (base stat + 15) × a fixed per-tier CP multiplier, with a fixed HP pool — the well-documented community constants: Tier 1 CPM 0.5974 / 600 HP, Tier 3 CPM 0.73 / 3,600 HP, Tier 5 and Mega CPM 0.79 / 15,000 HP, Elite & Primal CPM 0.79 / 20,000 HP. Boss HP isn't part of the score (it's shared across the whole lobby); the tier CPM scales every candidate identically, so the counter ordering is robust to the tier choice.

Survivability (TDO) is estimated. Incoming damage uses a neutral boss-DPS proxy: boss effective Attack × 3.6 ÷ the attacker's effective Defense — calibrated so a typical Tier-5 boss (effective Attack ≈ 250) matches the long-standing community rule of thumb of ≈ 900 ÷ Defense. Attacker HP and Defense are (base + 15) × 0.7903; Shadow Pokémon take ×1.2 damage (defense ÷ 1.2). We do not model the boss's specific moveset or its type matchup against your attacker, dodging, energy gained from damage taken, energy overflow (fast-move counts may be fractional), or relobbying.

The combined score is DPS³ × TDO ÷ 1000 — the community-standard balance metric. Cubing DPS weights clear speed heavily (raids are timed) while the linear TDO term still rewards attackers that live long enough to deliver their damage; the ÷1000 only normalizes the displayed numbers. Shadow attackers aren't ranked yet, even though the model supports their ×1.2 damage dealt / ×1.2 damage taken.

How this compares to full simulators: Boss moves and dodging can change which attackers survive longest. Use a full raid simulator when choosing between close counters.

Where the data comes from

Stats, movepools, and move timings are imported from the community-maintained PogoAPI and updated regularly. The date below shows the latest update used by these rankings.

Source: pogoapi.net · Updated: Sep 28, 2026 · About these stats