Do match ups matter?

[Future Warrior]

What I mean is do the characters individualized abilities always matter when deciding a victor in a battle in One Piece? As an example, DBZ match ups mostly don't matter and are usually placed in a A > B > C scale. HxH highly relies on complex abilities that is effective on some people while not on others. How does One Piece handle it?

 

[Symbiote]

Lately it’s been plot armor.

 

[Warmmedown]

I always thought they did, especially when Luffy was using his durability against blunt attacks so much and with logias and some paramecias being hard for certain characters to hurt, but with haki it might matter less. I still think it matters though, like the Red Hawk against Doffie never would have been landed without Law's power and only someone with sensing haki could have beaten Pica (as in even a swordsman stronger than Zoro probs wouldn't be able to without it).

 

[Warmmedown]

It is maybe my favourite thing about HxH. The entire nen system and its limitations is amazing, along with how fighters actually go into fights with gameplans.

One Piece section HxH takeover confirmed.

 

[Captain Cadaver]

They mattered a fair bit in Part 1, though even then you had cases where plot armour was the deciding factor (Eg. The end of Luffy VS Lucci or the Oars battle). Once Haki became a staple of almost all fights in Part 2 though, abilities and strategy became far more of a secondary factor compared to raw power and plot convenience.

 

[SSJ2]

They still matter but not nearly to the same degree that they did in part 1. Luffy was able to repel Big Mom's electric attack due to being rubber. It's very situational, but overall Haki will be the deciding factor 99.9% of the time.