Steel-type weakness
Steel-type defenders take ×1.6 from Fire, Fighting, Ground — those are the moves you bring when a Steel raid boss or Steel-type gym defender is in front of you. Below is the full chart of what hits Steel hard, what resists Steel, the inverse (where Steel attacks shine and where they fall flat), dual-type matchups for the most common Steel-pair defenders in the game, and the top 5 attackers per super-effective type pulled from the live tier list.
Single-type Steel defenders take ×1.6 from any move of the listed weak-to types. Dual-type Steel defenders stack multiplicatively — a second weakness from their partner type can push the multiplier all the way to ×2.56. Resisted attacks deal only ×0.625, and doubly resisted attacks (a stack of two ×0.625) drop damage to roughly ×0.39 — never bring those into a Steel fight.
Use Steel attackers when the boss in front of you is one of the listed types. Stack STAB (×1.2) on top by picking a Steel-type mons that knows a Steel fast and Steel charged move. The combined multiplier is ×1.92 before weather.
Avoid Steel attackers when the defender is one of the listed types. Resisted damage cuts your DPS by 37.5%; doubly-resisted damage cuts it by 61%. In raids this is the difference between a 3-account clear and a relobby.
Most Steel-type bosses in the game are dual-type. Combined effectiveness multiplies through both types, so a Steel/X defender may be ×2.56 weak to a single attacker type, or fully neutral if the partner type cancels the Steel weakness. Pick the attacker type that maxes the multiplier.
| Dual-type | Examples | Top weakness | Mult |
|---|---|---|---|
| Steel / Psychic | Metagross, Solgaleo | Fire | ×1.60 |
| Steel / Rock | Aggron, Probopass | Fighting | ×2.56 |
| Steel / Ground | Excadrill | Fire | ×1.60 |
| Steel / Fairy | Mawile, Klefki, Magearna | Fire | ×1.60 |
| Steel / Flying | Skarmory, Celesteela | Fire | ×1.60 |
| Steel / Dragon | Dialga, Duraludon | Fighting | ×1.60 |
| Steel / Fighting | Lucario, Cobalion | Fire | ×1.60 |
| Steel / Bug | Scizor, Genesect | Fire | ×2.56 |
Leagues: Great / Ultra / Master.
Metagross, Excadrill, Bastiodon, Registeel — Steel is the all-purpose Fairy/Rock/Ice bully.
Knowing the Steel weakness chart matters as much in PvP as in raids — a Steel lead into one of the listed weak-to types loses the matchup before shields even come into play. Always check the dual-typing of the opposing lead: a single Steel mons is harder to counter than a Steel/Y where Y stacks a second weakness.
›What is Steel-type weak to in the game?
Steel-type defenders take ×1.6 damage from Fire, Fighting, Ground attacks. Bring an attacker of one of those types to break a Steel raid boss or gym defender fastest.
›What resists Steel-type attacks?
Steel attacks are resisted by Fire, Water, Electric, Steel (×0.625 damage). Avoid sending Steel attackers into those defenders.
›What is super-effective against Steel?
Steel attacks deal ×1.6 to Ice, Rock, Fairy. Use Steel attackers to clear those defenders quickly in raids.
›Which Steel-type mons are best in PvP?
Metagross, Excadrill, Bastiodon, Registeel — Steel is the all-purpose Fairy/Rock/Ice bully. League fit: Great / Ultra / Master.
›How do dual-type Steel defenders compute damage?
The matrix is multiplicative. If a Steel/Y dual-type has two weaknesses to the attacking type (one from Steel, one from Y), the multiplier stacks to ×2.56 — the maximum without STAB / weather.
The complete attacker-vs-defender chart for every type pairing in the game.
Top S-tier and A-tier attackers grouped by attacker type — full picker for Steel bosses.
Pick an actual current raid boss and get counter recommendations scored by tier × type effectiveness.