The Corona crisis is hitting the game Pokémon GO particularly hard, as the central aspect of the AR game is restricted. However, our author Noah believes that developer Niantic is doing everything right during this time.
The coronavirus is on everyone’s lips, and I have to deal with it daily, whether in articles or in my private life. It is particularly difficult for me when my favorite escape, namely Pokémon GO, is indirectly affected.
One should reduce contacts with others to a minimum and ideally only go out when absolutely necessary. However, my previous style of play in Pokémon GO was not compatible with that. Every day I was out with friends, and I walked at least 100 kilometers every week.
All of that is off the table, but I believe that Niantic has found the perfect way to keep its players entertained during these tough times. Therefore, I don’t understand why there is currently so much criticism directed at the developer.
Niantic’s Measures are Great
What has changed in the game: In the past few days, more and more adjustments have been made to Pokémon GO. Here’s an overview of all the important changes:
- Spawns have been increased so that there are more to catch at home
- Niantic has offered 30x incense and 100 Pokéballs for just 1 PokéCoin
- Incense lasts for one hour and attracts significantly more Pokémon
- The egg distance has been halved
- Pokéballs are increasingly found in gifts to prevent any shortage
- EX Raids have been suspended and Raid hours canceled – The return of Lugia is not taking place after all
- The PvP League no longer requires kilometers to fight, and as a reward, Kobalium awaits
This is what I think of the adjustments: It was noticeable that Niantic took some time to respond appropriately to the coronavirus. The adjustments regarding the balls came only after a week, and before that, almost every trainer suffered from a shortage of balls.
I think it’s great how Niantic has made playing from home easier with good ideas in a relatively short time while still keeping the fun factor high. I would never have believed I could have so much fun sitting on the couch for an hour running incense.
I don’t understand this criticism at all: If you look around in some forums or in the comments under Niantic’s Twitter posts, there is a lot of criticism.
It is said that all events should be canceled and that players are only encouraged to go outside. There are too few balls despite the adjustments, and generally, Pokémon GO is really lame from home.
In our comments on the article about the ball adjustment, for example, it was said: “Wow! 100 red balls for a whole week. That means you can easily catch 5 Pokémon a day.”
Of course, you can’t compare playing from home with classic playing, but I believe Niantic also didn’t want to offer that. During the corona crisis, we should all scale down our needs, and that applies to Pokémon GO as well. One should see it positively: When all this is over, we will be even more eager to go out and play.
Optimally Utilize Playing from Home
This is how I play from home: I have now accumulated a solid stock of 500 balls, most of which come from gifts. There are plenty of players who live near a PokéStop and continue to send out gifts diligently. You can benefit from that now. I therefore open my 30 gifts daily – many of my friends come from our Facebook group for Pokémon GO – and collect at least 150 balls just from that.
Otherwise, I light incense and thanks to the spawn adjustment, I also have various Pokémon sitting in front of my door. Just by that, I easily catch 100-200 Pokémon a day.
Lastly, I use the ways when I go out anyway. On the way to shopping, I hit every PokéStop, and even during other errands, I keep my phone open. Of course, you shouldn’t run around aimlessly outside and certainly shouldn’t make plans for raids, but if you’re already on the way, you can combine it with playing.
By the way, I’m not into PvP at all. I’m just currently skipping the legendary raids. Niantic has promised that all legendary bosses will return at a later time, and that is more than enough.
This must be clear to everyone: Pokémon GO is a game meant for going outside. Currently, that is quite restricted, which is completely right given the situation.
No one can and should play Pokémon GO the way they did before the corona crisis.
Now to complain that Pokémon GO is doing everything wrong is the wrong approach. I believe the adjustments have made playing from home easier, and I still catch my 200 Pokémon daily.
However, I look forward even more to the moment when we can all go outside again and play the game that we all love properly. Until then, I will catch the new Pokémon for the Psychic Event comfortably from my bed.
By the way, I’m not into PvP at all. I’m just currently skipping the legendary raids. Niantic has promised that all legendary bosses will return at a later time, and that is more than enough.
This must be clear to everyone: Pokémon GO is a game meant for going outside. Currently, that is quite restricted, which is completely right given the situation.
No one can and should play Pokémon GO the way they did before the corona crisis.
Now to complain that Pokémon GO is doing everything wrong is the wrong approach. I believe the adjustments have made playing from home easier, and I still catch my 200 Pokémon daily.
However, I look forward even more to the moment when we can all go outside again and play the game that we all love properly. Until then, I will catch the new Pokémon for the Psychic Event comfortably from my bed.
